Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility Tiburcio bill to address Pa. teacher shortage unanimously passes House

Tiburcio bill to address Pa. teacher shortage unanimously passes House

Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus    June 2, 2026

HARRISBURG, June 2 – On Monday, the Pennsylvania House unanimously passed legislation sponsored by state Rep. Ana T. Tiburcio, D-Lehigh, to address Pennsylvania’s teacher shortage.

House Bill 2436 would redirect teacher certification fees from the General Fund to the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Talent Recruitment Account, enabling the use of funds to offer direct support to teachers and strengthen recruitment and retention efforts. 

The bill also would authorize a $1.4 million transfer of unused Keystone Telepresence Education grants to the account.

“I am glad to see unanimous, bipartisan support for our schools, our educators and our students,” Tiburcio said. “This continues progress made by the House to remove barriers to teacher certification and boost qualified educators across the Commonwealth.

“Pennsylvania’s teacher shortage has reached critical levels. As a former teacher who spent years nurturing young minds in the classroom, and a former school board director in the Allentown School District, I have seen firsthand the high teacher turnover rate and understand the struggle for schools to recruit and retain qualified educators. This bill addresses the problem by creating a dedicated funding stream and ensuring existing resources are used towards not just recruitment, but also retention.”

The Talent Recruitment Account was established in 2022 but has never been funded. Currently, certification fee revenue is deposited into the state treasury and included in the commonwealth’s General Appropriations budget.

The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.