The Disappearing Teacher Pipeline: What’s at Stake for Virginia’s Classrooms

This upcoming fall, thousands of students who attend a Virginia public school could start the year without a qualified teacher in the classroom. As the 2025 gubernatorial race approaches, voters must ask themselves, who will fix that?  

Virginia’s educator pipeline is under strain. Classrooms sit empty. Instruction suffers. And the next governor will be forced to either rebuild the system — or watch it collapse. The two main candidates in the upcoming gubernatorial race in Virginia have presented drastically different approaches to education should they win the seat. A Christopher Newport University poll conducted in January revealed that 74% of Virginians view K–12 education improvement as a leading concern. This clear priority among voters will set the stage for why the election between Winsome Earle-Sears and Abigail Spanberger is so important for the future of Virginia's youth. 

Sears, the Republican nominee, backs Governor Youngkin’s education agenda. A core piece of their agenda is support for lab schools, public K -12 schools that collaborate with colleges or universities to train teachers and test new instructional models. Aside from supporting lab schools, Sears has also pushed for upholding school choice in the state. School choice refers to the range of policies that allow parents to select the school their children attend. Sears has pledged to continue advocating for parents by supporting these programs. 

Democrat challenger Abigail Spanberger takes her stance on education from the perspective of a mother with three daughters in public schools. She promises to increase funding for public schools and close the gaps in resources that disproportionately affect low-income students. Her message is centered on her belief that zip codes should not determine opportunity and that having a strong public education system means having a strong investment from the government. 

Different approaches, yes. But both overlook a fundamental truth: none of these policies will work without teachers.

At the federal level, programs to improve teacher quality are at risk of being completely eliminated due to the proposed 2026 fiscal year budget, which includes $12 billion in cuts to the US Department of Education. These cuts will affect all students but have an extreme impact on those in high-need areas, which are primarily comprised of low-income students of color. 

Among these eliminated programs is Title II-A, which aims to support student achievement by providing professional development for teachers and principals in underperforming schools. Prior to the proposed budget, Title II-A was funded at $2.19 billion. Completely scrapping this program will directly impact Title I schools, where at least 40% of students come from low-income families.

Another program getting slashed by the budget is the Teacher Quality Program (TQP). TQP provides high-quality teacher preparation for prospective teachers and school leaders. Through a residency model, TQP recruits and trains a diverse set of future teachers to meet the needs of the student population they will serve through the program's partnerships with underserved districts. Within Virginia, the 2024 grantees were Isle of Wight School Board in Smithfield and Virginia Commonwealth in Richmond. TQP was originally funded at $70 million. 

Next on the chopping block is the Augustus F. Hawkins Center (Hawkins) Program (previously funded at $15 million), which supports state-accredited teacher preparation programs by creating centers of excellence at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges or Universities (TCUs), and Minority Serving Institutions such as Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). Hawkins aims to close opportunity and achievement gaps within underserved primary and secondary schools in the US by providing them well-trained teachers who are supported through evidence-based preparation programs. 

The fate of Personnel Preparation — previously funded at $115 million under Part D of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) — is not quite the same. The budget does not outright cut special education funding; however, its impacts will be just as devastating. Six grants under Part D of the IDEA, including Personnel Preparation, are being consolidated into one block grant under Part B of the IDEA grants, which provides financial aid to students. Ultimately, this change means that states will have more authority to decide what aspects of special education receive funding, leaving Personnel Preparation in the shadows of uncertainty.

The stakes are clear. If Virginia’s candidates are serious about solving the teacher shortage, they must grapple with this reality. The educator pipeline isn’t just leaking — it’s buckling under political neglect and budgetary indifference. Policies that provide monetary incentives that recruit and retain quality teachers have shown to make a difference. Leaders must recognize these strategies not as costs, but as essential steps toward long-term student success.

And whoever wins in November will inherit a choice: invest in teachers and rebuild the foundation of public education — or let it continue to erode under their watch.

DomesticNathalia Villarroel & Maya EquihuaComment