RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia’s education board has extended the deadline for teachers to renew their licenses by one year.

During an emergency meeting yesterday, officials said a backlog in processing applications means that there’s no realistic path to clearing that logjam by the previous cutoff date of June 30th.

Teachers had been threatened with losing their jobs if their licenses weren’t renewed by that date.

The board blamed a staffing shortage for the unprecedented delays, and said a plan is in place to hire more in addition to opening a new online renewal system in the coming months.