The statewide teacher shortage has been at the focus of Arizona politics for years now. Currently, there are still more than 2,000 teacher vacancies in our state, and other states have been actively trying to recruit our teachers out of Arizona.

But there are three bills going through the state Legislature now that aim to help our schools recruit and retain teachers.

So to start with, we have SB 1038, which would create a pilot program for professional development for teachers. It would give teachers access to $2,000 so they could get additional credentials and certifications to teach in high-need content areas.

I spoke with Erin Hart, chief operating officer of education nonprofit Expect More Arizona, more about this.