The National Teacher Shortage: Addressing the Needs of LGBTQ+ Educators to Increase Recruitment and Retention

The LGBTQ+ community is one overlooked and underresearched in education recruitment and retention, as compared with other minoritized groups. A growing teacher shortage is rooted both in recruitment and in retention and can be mitigated by examining policies that support equitable preservice programs and reduce high teacher rates of attrition. This article investigates the current teacher shortage, examines its roots in issues of retention and recruitment, and situates the role of LGBTQ+ educators. I propose that the teacher shortage could be mitigated by creating a pipeline more attuned to the needs of queer teachers and reimagining school systems to become more inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community. This article argues for increased representation and imagines a school system that actively recruits and retains LGBTQ+ people.