This brief from the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) provides insight into the challenges with, and better alternatives for, proposed solutions for addressing teacher staffing challenges such as lowering standards. Offering better ways to build the pipeline, including targeting solutions based on specific region and district needs and addressing teacher retention, the brief considers the pipeline from a variety of angles. To create a strong and diverse teacher workforce, states and districts should consider incentivizing teaching in rural schools and high-shortage areas, identifying and replicating practices from high-performing institutions to support teachers of color, and subsidizing testing fees for candidates instead. The resource is based on the workforce in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it offers insights that remain relevant to states, school districts, and educator preparation programs.