The governor of Florida recently proposed  lowering tuition at state institutions of higher ed for degrees in fields that are in demand in Florida. While Governor Rick Scott is focused on STEM industries, our first thought was whether the same idea could apply to prospective teachers.

Our report on student teaching looked at the issue of teacher supply and demand, and concluded that there is a general oversupply of teachers, particularly elementary teachers. The quality of teacher training would improve if resources were concentrated on a smaller number of teacher candidates.

The Florida State Board of Education's most recent study of teacher shortage areas shows that while special education, math, and science positions are most likely to be left vacant, each year Florida graduates almost three times as many elementary teachers as it needs to hire.

Governor Scott - what do you think of a tuition discount for prospective special education teachers?