DACA protected teachers at risk
Published on
KPNX 12News presented a Cronkite News report that stated nearly 1,000 DACA recipients in our state currently work as teachers. That number will continue to rise as DACA college students studying education graduate and find jobs in Arizona, which is suffering from a teacher shortage.
Data from a 2017 study by Morrison Institute for Public Policy shows that Arizona is actually losing more teachers each year than it is producing from bachelor of education programs at its three state universities.
The loss of DACA recipients studying to become teachers would make an even bigger dent in the number of educators willing to work in Arizona.
The number of DACA protected teachers is just a fraction of the nearly 60,000 certified educators in Arizona. But every single teacher matters, as many of them are leaving the profession or seeking education jobs in other states.
READ: ASU Economics professor on DACA students: ‘Arizona tax-payers' wallets would still feel an impact'