In 2025, school districts grappled with a wave of federal policy changes — on top of looming budget challenges — that impacted their approaches to staffing.

Sweeping student enrollment declines in public schools nationwide led some districts to initiate mass layoffs to help offset budget shortfalls. Those layoffs raised questions about whether widespread teacher shortages will continue to plague schools or if districts will have to reckon with the swath of uncertified teachers who were hired during the COVID-19 pandemic to address staffing needs.

The second Trump administration has also set federal policies that exacerbated staffing disruptions for some districts that rely on grow-your-own programs, hire international teachers through H-1B visa programs, or promote broader efforts to improve teacher diversity.

But while the way schools navigate staffing challenges at large may have shifted this year, some aspects of the issue remain the same — for instance, the hiring and retaining of enough special education teachers.

Here are three K-12 staffing trends that emerged or persisted for district leaders in 2025.

Shifting K-12 Staffing Trends: Declining Student Enrollment Fuels Staffing Challenges

Public school systems nationwide have seen decreases in enrollment in recent years due to declining birthrates and increased competition from school choice initiatives, among other factors. Some districts, however, were able to delay the associated financial hurdles in the short term as school leaders were buoyed by a historic, one-time influx of federal pandemic relief funding to hire more teachers even as their enrollment dipped.

But now that the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief dollars have dried up, district leaders in the past year have had to take a hard look at their staffing through mass staff layoffs and reassignments or by eliminating a large number of open positions.

In October, for instance, Houston Independent School District laid off 160 uncertified teachers and 54 staff members “to align teachers with student enrollment.” The Texas district also reassigned 232 teachers to unfilled roles.

Read the full article about K-12 staffing in 2025 by Anna Merod at K-12 Dive.