House Bill 1850, introduced by Delegate Suhas Subramanyam, would shorten the amount of time retired teachers need to take before accepting jobs back in the classroom. It’s aimed at addressing the teacher shortage that districts across the Commonwealth are experiencing. 

Travis Mansell heads the Medical and Health Specialties Program at Norfolk’s Maury High School. He said bringing back retired teachers is a mixed blessing.

“I love seeing veteran teachers. You know, we can learn so much from them," said Mansell. "But I'm also like, if you've already taught for 30 years, are we literally just pushing this issue back for two more years?”

In Virginia, more than 10,000 teachers left their jobs before this school year started. Only about 7,200 new teachers took their place. In Hampton Roads, districts started the year with around 700 vacancies.

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