Can California’s Emergency Teaching Permits Lead to Lasting Careers?

California’s emergency teaching permits are often seen as a warning sign: evidence that schools are filling classrooms with teachers who haven’t completed their credential requirements. But new research from Drs. Tom Smith and Yiwang Li complicates that picture. Five years after entering the classroom on emergency permits, 62% of teachers were still teaching, and more than one-third had earned clear credentials.

Smith and Li studied the experiences of new California teachers across their first five years in the profession, examining how entry pathways related to credential progress and retention. Their study of teacher retention in California suggests that emergency permits can be more than a short-term response to teacher vacancies. Although their growing use reflects persistent shortages, the permits also provide a new and expanding entry point into the profession.

“The way people enter teaching is changing,” Smith said. “Emergency permits are bringing a broader and more diverse group of educators into the classroom. The question is whether we can provide the preparation and support that will help them earn their credentials and stay in the field.”

Why Emergency Teaching Permits Are on the Rise in California

Emergency permits are one of three primary teacher entry pathways in California:

• Credential programs, which require graded coursework and 600 hours of student teaching before teachers can lead classrooms of their own.
• Internships, which can be obtained through a credential program and allow a student to work as a teacher of record while completing coursework. To qualify, they must have already completed 120 hours of preparation.
• One-year emergency permits, which require a bachelor’s degree and a passing score on the California Basic Educational Skills Test. Districts can hire teachers with emergency permits when they are unable to fill vacant positions with fully credentialed candidates.

Credential programs have traditionally been the most common route into teaching in California. But Smith and Li found that in comparing the 2014–15 and 2019–20 school years, the percentage of new teachers entering through this pathway fell by 20% while the percentage of new teachers who entered with an emergency permit rose by 20%.

Part of that shift reflects California’s teacher shortage and the need to rapidly fill classrooms, but Smith and Li point to several other pressures affecting the teacher pipeline. The number of teachers retiring from the profession has increased by 17.7% and is expected to continue rising over the next decade. Meanwhile, the cost and time required to complete a credential program can influence how prospective educators enter the field. “Pathway options, certification requirements, and available financial supports are not always easy for prospective teachers to find or interpret,” write Smith, Li, and their colleagues. “Together, they make earning a credential more difficult and expensive.”

Emergency teaching permits in California offer a simpler entry point. Instead of making the full financial commitment to a credential program before beginning their careers, permit holders can immediately begin working with students and determine whether they want to pursue teaching long term. Their time in the classroom can also help them meet requirements for an internship or credential program. For prospective educators who can’t afford to stop working while attending graduate school, that flexibility can make teaching a more accessible career.

Teacher Diversity and the Schools Hiring Permit Holders

The rise of emergency permits has coincided with another important shift in California’s teacher pipeline: a growing number of educators of color entering the profession. Among Black/African American teachers who entered the field between 2024 and 2025, 52.2% started on emergency permits—a larger share than their Hispanic/Latino, White, or Asian American peers. During the same period, Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino teachers were also more likely than their White or Asian American counterparts to begin their careers with intern credentials.

The disproportionate representation of teachers of color in these pathways reflects broader inequities in access to traditional teacher preparation. In addition to the time and expense required to complete a credential program, Smith and Li point to standardized testing as another potential barrier, noting that licensure exams have historically exhibited racial disparities in pass rates.

Against that backdrop, the emergency permit and other alternative pathways carry new potential. The growing representation of Black and Latino teachers within them could help diversify California’s teacher workforce and bring a wider range of experiences and perspectives into schools. Greater representation of Black teachers has also been linked to higher achievement among Black students. “A diverse, high-quality teacher workforce is foundational to the state’s capacity to equitably serve all students,” write Smith, Li and their colleagues.

These educators are also beginning their careers in the schools where teachers are often needed most. Smith and Li found that emergency-permit holders were more likely to teach in small or rural schools and in schools serving larger populations of English learners, students eligible for free or reduced-price meals, and foster youth. This pattern was particularly pronounced among Black and Hispanic emergency-permit holders. Their presence can help schools fill critical vacancies while building a teacher workforce that more closely reflects California’s students.

Five-Year Teacher Retention by Entry Pathway

Smith and Li also examined teacher retention in California over time, asking whether teachers entering through these pathways remained in the profession. Five years after entering the classroom, 62% of emergency-permit holders were still teaching in California. More than one-third had earned clear credentials, while others had moved into intern or student-teaching pathways to continue their preparation.

However, retention rates varied by entry pathway. Among teachers entering through traditional student teaching, 8.5% had left teaching in California after one year and 22.3% had left after five. Emergency-permit holders consistently left at higher rates. “We see the turnover rates differ by pathway,” Smith said. Teachers entering through student teaching had an approximately 8% chance of leaving after their first year. “But if you enter on an emergency credential, you have more than twice the likelihood of leaving at the end of the first year, and about a third have left the profession by the third year.”

Turnover rates also differed by race and ethnicity. Black/African American teachers, who were the most likely to begin on emergency permits, had the highest rates of leaving: 18.7% left after their first year and 40.3% had left after five. Smith points to the conditions in which many emergency-permit holders begin teaching as one possible factor. These educators are often placed in high-need schools with fewer resources while learning to manage classrooms, design instruction, and build a support network. “This is a really challenging place for them to start their careers,” he said.

Smith and Li also suggest that district-level measures such as reduced teaching loads, high-quality mentoring, and greater accountability for supporting new teachers can help improve retention—particularly among teachers of color. The number of permit holders who remain in teaching and complete their credentials suggests that the pathway has long-term potential. Greater support could help more of these educators make that transition.

Helping Permit Holders Earn Credentials and Stay in Teaching

While Smith and Li highlight the opportunities that the emergency permit poses, they maintain that a credential should still be an educator’s end goal, because it fully prepares them for the classroom and sets them up for long-term success.

Smith and Li’s findings suggest that emergency permits can make the credential pathway accessible to a broader and more diverse group of educators. To ensure permit holders receive the resources and preparation they need, Smith and Li recommend that educational leaders and policymakers:

• Renew investments in student teaching and residency pathways by providing paid classroom experiences during the credential process.
• Create clearer routes for emergency-permit holders to enter teacher preparation programs and complete their credentials.
• Build district-level systems to support and retain teachers of color, including mentoring, professional networks, and reduced teaching loads.

“Many emergency-permit holders stay in teaching and earn credentials,” Smith said. “With the right support, an emergency permit can be the start of a long-term career, not just a short-term fix.”