Demand for Career Technical Education (CTE) Teachers Growing Urgent

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 20, 2026--

Chef Tom Shibley has had an interesting culinary career at upscale restaurants and catering jobs for high-profile events. But he found that the instability of the industry and lack of benefits like healthcare weren’t conducive to supporting a family.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260220645555/en/

“Unless I worked at a large chain restaurant – which I didn’t want to do – I knew I needed to find another opportunity and just do culinary part time,” explained Chef Shibley. “But now I’ve found the best of both worlds – immersed in the culinary profession while teaching young people how to explore their creativity through food.”

As a culinary instructor at Assurance Learning Academy, a public high school part of the Learn4Life network in California, Shibley has the stability he sought along with the fulfilling challenge of teaching and inspiring young people.

“This is my dream job that I didn't really know existed,” he added.

Even as Career Technical Education (CTE) becomes more popular among students, 1 nearly a third of schools report difficulty finding instructors for their CTE programs. 2 The challenges for schools are many – such as the disparity between salaries in the private sector and public schools.

Then getting credentialed can be tedious. State and local school districts require potential CTE teachers to complete basic teacher training along with demonstrating time and knowledge in a given industry – before they can be hired.

“I went through the state and county websites to provide required information, proof of education and work history, along with letters of recommendation. That enabled me to earn a preliminary certificate – enough for Learn4Life to begin the interview and hiring process,” he said. “Now I’m going through a state-approved online program for my permanent teaching credential while I’m working. It should take about two years.”

Leticia Sanchez, who teaches graphic arts and multi-media CTE classes at Learn4Life Assurance Learning Academy, had a similar experience in her industry. She worked for small design studios and found the project-based work to be inconsistent.

“We had some fantastic 3-D modeling and animation projects, but once a job was completed, we would get laid off and have to start the search again,” she said. “I’ve been teaching digital media arts to high school students at Learn4Life for nine years and every day is rewarding. I’m so proud of my students.”

Learn4Life is a network of 80+ public charter high schools that offers personalized learning, flexibility and job training. Students benefit from a wide array of CTE classes, ranging from certified nursing and dental assistants to business, construction and logistics.

“We want to let professionals know that when they’re ready for a career change, schools like ours will eagerly tap their vast expertise for the benefit of students seeking a career path,” said Chef Shibley. “We will help with the certification process and provide support from the entire education staff.”

February is CTE Month, highlighting the many opportunities for youth and how CTE prepares students for careers and college. For more information, visit https://learn4life.org/about/programs/career-technical-education-cte/.

About Learn4Life

Learn4Life is a network of nonprofit public high schools that provide students personalized learning, career training and life skills. Each school is locally controlled, tuition free and gives students the flexibility and one-on-one attention they need to succeed. Serving more than 64,000 students through a year-round program, we help them prepare for a future beyond high school. For more information, please visit www.learn4life.org.

1https://www.edweek.org/leadership/cte-grows-in-popularity-among-students-but-teachers-are-tough-to-find/2025/01
2https://careertech.org/blog/research-round-up-what-research-says-about-supporting-the-cte-educator-workforce/

Learn4Life high school students practice culinary skills taught by a chef, highlighting the popularity of CTE courses that are facing a shortage of credentialed industry professionals to teach

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's far-reaching global tariffs on Friday, handing him a significant loss on an issue crucial to his economic agenda.

The decision centers on tariffs imposed under an emergency powers law, including the sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs he levied on nearly every other country.

It's the first major piece of Trump's broad agenda to come squarely before the nation's highest court, which he helped shape with the appointments of three conservative jurists in his first term.

The Republican president has been vocal about the case, calling it one of the most important in U.S. history and saying a ruling against him would be an economic body blow to the country. But legal opposition crossed the political spectrum, including libertarian and pro-business groups that are typically aligned with the GOP. Polling has found tariffs aren't broadly popular with the public, amid wider voter concern about affordability.

The Supreme Court ruling comes despite a series of short-term wins on the court's emergency docket that have allowed Trump to push ahead with extraordinary flexes of executive power on issues ranging from high-profile firings to major federal funding cuts.

The tariffs decision doesn't stop Trump from imposing duties under other laws. While those have more limitations on the speed and severity of Trump's actions, top administration officials have said they expect to keep the tariff framework in place under other authorities.

The Constitution gives Congress the power to levy tariffs. But the Trump administration argued that a 1977 law allowing the president to regulate importation during emergencies also allows him to set tariffs. Other presidents have used the law dozens of times, often to impose sanctions, but Trump was the first president to invoke it for import taxes.

Trump set what he called "reciprocal" tariffs on most countries in April 2025 to address trade deficits that he declared a national emergency. Those came after he imposed duties on Canada, China and Mexico, ostensibly to address a drug trafficking emergency.

A series of lawsuits followed, including a case from a dozen largely Democratic-leaning states and others from small businesses selling everything from plumbing supplies to educational toys to women’s cycling apparel.

The challengers argued the emergency powers law doesn’t even mention tariffs and Trump's use of it fails several legal tests, including one that doomed then-President Joe Biden's $500 billion student loan forgiveness program.

The economic impact of Trump's tariffs has been estimated at some $3 trillion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The Treasury has collected more than $133 billion from the import taxes the president has imposed under the emergency powers law, federal data from December shows. Many companies, including the big-box warehouse chain Costco, have already lined up in court to demand refunds.

Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.

FILE - The Supreme Court is seen, Jan. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

FILE - The Supreme Court is photographed, Feb. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)