PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Arizona education leaders are trying a new approach to reduce the significant teacher shortage facing classrooms across the state.

“The emergency right now could not be greater. The problem of a teacher shortage is a huge problem,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne .

Right now, the state has about 60,000 teachers, but Horne said they aren’t sure how many will stay in the profession. Teacher retention is not a new problem in Arizona; it’s been an issue for years.

Governor Katie Hobbs formed a task force, which found that in 2023, 13% of teachers were looking to leave the field. That’s higher than the 8% nationwide.

“If we don’t take strong action, this is what I told the legislature, if we don’t take strong action, we could end up with zer

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