The Iowa Department of Education has released new data showing teaching vacancies in Iowa remain well below national levels for the 2025-26 school year.
According to the report, unfilled teaching positions account for 1.12 percent of all full-time teachers statewide. That compares to about 3 percent nationally, based on data from the National Center for Education Statistics. Iowa districts reported 434 unfilled full-time equivalent teaching positions, a 34 percent decrease from last year and the lowest number since the state began tracking the data four years ago. Half of Iowa’s 325 public school districts reported no teaching vacancies this year.
Special education continues to have the highest number of openings, followed by music, mathematics and science.
