March 4, 2026 3:52PM # For-Profit Teacher Training By [Jeffrey Miron](https://www.cato.org/people/jeffrey-miron) --- SHARE Listen to this article Generated with [ ElevenLabs](https://elevenlabs.io/) AI technology. Loading the [Elevenlabs Text to Speech](https://elevenlabs.io/text-to-speech) AudioNative Player... Many public schools face persistent teacher vacancies. Lacking fully certified candidates, they often[ hire uncertified teachers](https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/overview-teacher-shortages-2025-factsheet#:~:text=According%20to%20the,for%20their%20assignments.) instead. [Evidence from Texas](https://www.cato.org/research-briefs-economic-policy/should-states-reduce-teacher-licensing-requirements) shows that expanding certification to for-profit teacher training programs > reduced schools’ reliance on uncertified teachers. … \[T\]he lower-cost training routes \[also\] brought new types of certified teachers into the profession. Teachers from for-profit programs > were of lower quality than standard-trained teachers as measured by turnover rates and … the average increase in their students’ standardized test scores … \[But\] they were significantly better on both metrics than uncertified teachers. Also, > the main effect of the policy for teachers was to reduce the time and cost of training\[,\] … \[suggesting\] that the reduction in teacher training requirements was a net positive for public education in Texas. Yet again, fewer government rules lead to more efficient outcomes. *Cross-posted from* [*Substack*](https://jeffreymiron.substack.com/p/immigration-restrictions-cause-enforcement)*.* ##### Related Tags [Regulation](https://www.cato.org/regulatory-studies), [Education](https://www.cato.org/education) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).