Recruiting websites were launched specifically focused on federal workers and their skill sets. And programs for alternative credentialing for teachers, while existing long before the mass federal layoffs, ramped up. "That teacher shortage is bigger than just teachers, and in teaching, we always need experts,” he says. In 2024, Maryland had roughly 1,900 vacancies, Virginia had roughly 3,650 and Washington, D.C., had 288, according to the Learning Policy Institute. The loss of teachers each year is compounded by many school districts grappling with shrinking budgets, therefore leaving some vacancies untouched.