Fort Worth ISD is down to 20 classroom teacher vacancies with fewer than three weeks before school starts Aug. 10.
The board of managers received an update Tuesday night that provided a snapshot of where FWISD stands on staffing, from vacancies to lingering gaps in special education and bilingual instruction positions.
“We have work to do to get to zero, but these numbers are astonishingly low compared to the historical opening of schools for Fort Worth ISD,” Superintendent Peter Licata said.
Managers also approved an exemption from a new Texas law that will restrict the use of uncertified teachers in core subjects, such as math and reading, by 2027-28. The move allows the district to continue to hire uncertified teachers as it pushes toward eliminating them by the 2029-30 school year, said Daniel Soliz, deputy superintendent and chief of schools.
FWISD has prioritized hiring certified teachers for vacant positions, Soliz said. Leaders reported 800 teacher separations, which includes resignations, separations and retirements. The district has hired 998 certified teachers and 142 uncertified teachers for the new school year.
The district will have 308 uncertified teachers, which includes new and returning employees, chief of staff Louis Kushner said.
Many uncertified teachers in career and technical education courses are experts who left their field to teach, Licata said.
“ We don't have teachers who go to school to become AI teachers or network security teachers,” he said.
FWISD has been allowed to hire uncertified teachers since becoming a district of innovation in 2017, Chief Talent Officer Denisha Presley said. The Texas Education Agency designation provides flexibility under some state rules, such as teacher certification requirements.
The district will monitor and coach uncertified teachers to ensure they receive the support necessary to receive state certification, Soliz said.
The exemption caps uncertified teachers at 12% of FWISD’s educator workforce. The district plans to reduce that share by 4 percentage points annually by the 2029-30 school year, Soliz said.
The cap means the district cannot exceed roughly 500 uncertified teachers, district leaders said.
The staffing update drew skepticism during public comment during which some community members asked for more detailed information.
Educator Randi Wheeler asked the board of managers for increased transparency around teacher vacancies.
“ Will you each commit tonight to holding the district responsible for publishing weekly a staffing dashboard through our first grading period that shows by campus the number of classroom teacher vacancies, long-term subs, and uncertified teachers of record?” Wheeler said to managers.
Licata said the district would post its vacancy numbers online and provide frequent updates. He did not say when the numbers will be posted.
Beyond traditional classroom teachers, Kushner said FWISD reported vacancies in these specialized roles as of July 20:
- 25 speech-language pathologists.
- 11 school psychologists.
- 11 bilingual support teachers.
- 5 dyslexia teachers.
- 4 inclusion teachers.
- 2 bilingual specialists.
- 1 teacher who staffs a self-contained special education classroom.
Mohammed Choudhury, deputy superintendent of curriculum and instruction, said FWISD has about 114 dyslexia teachers, or one for every 25 students who need services.
The district has a lower student-to-dyslexia teacher ratio than its urban peers in Dallas and Houston and has seen little turnover among dyslexia teachers, Choudhury said.
The speech-language pathologist openings are measured against a new staffing model calling for 100 full-time positions, Kushner said. The district has hired 75 pathologists and brought on 15 more through a contracted service provider. Its goal is to replace the contracted pathologists with full-time employees.
The speech vacancies come after months of parent concern over potential disruptions in special education services. When managers approved cuts in April, some families said the decision broke trust that their children would continue receiving speech therapy without interruption.
Managers eliminated 32 categories of positions, including part-time speech therapists, speech therapy assistants and special education service managers. Across 13 jobs categories, 214 employees were laid off, resigned or retired, accounting for about $14.3 million in salary savings; the remaining 19 position types did not appear in the documents the Report obtained.
Trenace Dorsey-Hollins, executive director of parental advocacy group Parent Shield, said she remains concerned about cuts to special education and bilingual services.
“ A few months ago, there was a massive cut that affected both of these groups, and I feel like we as a community deserve an update,” Dorsey-Hollins told managers. “Where are you on restaffing these positions? Who are you placing in these positions, and are they qualified?”
Jacob Sanchez is education editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or @_jacob_sanchez.
Disclosure: FWISD manager Pete Geren leads the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. FWISD manager Laurie George is a member of the Report’s reader advisory council. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
