Iowa teacher shortage areas are designated annually by the Iowa Department of Education. Data used to calculate the shortages include the numbers of Class C and Class B licenses issued, the number and frequency of job postings on IowaWORKS (the statewide teacher recruitment website), and the number of projected graduates in each teaching discipline.
Teachers in shortage areas may be eligible for college student forgivable loans through both state and federal programs. Information regarding application for forgivable loans is available on the Loan Repayment & Income Bonus Programs webpage.
2025-26 Iowa Teacher Shortage Areas
| Rank | Endorsement Title | Endorsement Number |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Special Education - All Exceptionalities | 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267 |
| 2 | General Science | 150, 1541, 185, 1823 |
| 3 | English Language Arts | 119, 120, 1201, 1821 |
| 4 | Mathematics | 142, 143, 1431, 1822 |
| 5 | Music | 144, 145 |
| 6 | Elementary Education | 102 |
| 7 | World Languages | 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 187, 188 |
| 8 | English as a Second Language | 104 |
| 9 | Art | 113. 114 |
| 10 | Industrial Technology | 140 |
| 11 | At-Risk* | |
| 12 | Gifted Education | 107 |
| 13 | School Counseling | 172, 173 |
| 14 | Family and Consumer Science | 139 |
| 15 | Business Education | 1171 |
| 16 | Reading | 148, 149, 176 |
| 17 | Physical Education | 146, 147 |
| 18 | Social Sciences | 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 1824, 186, 1861 |
| 19 | Library/Media Specialist | 108, 109, 174 |
| 20 | Early Childhood – Birth through Kindergarten | 1001, 103 |
| 21 | Agriculture Science | 112 |
| 22 | Health | 137, 138 |
| 23 | Science - Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Space, Physics | 151, 152, 153, 156 |
| 24 | Career and Technical Education | 279 |
| 25 | School Social Worker* | 240 |
| 26 | Hearing Impairment | 266 |
| 27 | Computer Science | 277, 278, 279, 2781 |
| 28 | School Nurse* | 175 |
| * not eligible for Teach Iowa Scholar program |