Indianapolis Public Schools is dropping a limit on the number of absences employees could have last spring in order to qualify for a $1,500 retention bonus the district will pay out this week.

Beginning next year, Indiana middle schoolers will take classes on civics and government previously only required in high school. Ball State University will help Hoosier teachers prepare, thanks to a multi-year, $1.3 million federal grant. The plan is to model it in Muncie, then roll it out statewide.

Indiana schools have an urgent need for teachers and support staff. There are thousands of open positions, but a lack of qualified candidates to fill them.

After a rise in COVID cases in May, some IPS teachers hope the district loosens the attendance requirements for this semester’s bonus, as well as for $2,500 in future payments through fall 2023.

Muncie Community Schools is giving teachers what it calls the largest raise in the district’s history. The large pay bumps come from a district that was once considered financially distressed by state lawmakers.

In Hawaii, hiring qualified special education teachers became a lot easier after schools started offering a $10,000 pay bump.

When schools can't find a licensed special education teacher, they hire people who are willing to do the job, but lack the training. It's a practice that concerns some special education experts.

The Indiana State Board of Education approved a new temporary, special education teaching license designed to help schools address the special education teacher shortage.

The purpose is to bolster hiring and retention as schools enter their third year of grappling with the pandemic.

Indiana lawmakers are continuing an effort to change how teachers pay union dues through paycheck deductions with a new law. It tweaks previous legislation that a federal judge said likely violated the constitution.