Useful statistics here but note the context:
Data show many of the 69,000 U.S. middle school science teachers have no scientific background. Almost a quarter have neither a science degree nor full certification to teach science, according to a 2017-18 survey by the U.S. Department of Education. At schools where at least three-quarters of students are eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch, 32 percent of middle school science teachers have neither a science degree nor certification to teach science.
The problem isn’t necessarily state teacher certification requirements. Kentucky, for example, requires middle-school teachers seeking certification to have a science teaching degree and pass proficiency tests.
But the state’s teacher shortage means there’s no guarantee that there are teachers with a science background in classrooms. In a 2019 survey of the state’s school principals, 81 percent reported they could find few or no satisfactory applicants for middle school science jobs.
Steven Yoder, “Shaky Science Instruction Pervades Middle School Classrooms” at Undark (April 25, 2022)
The trouble is, the context of the article is an attack on a teacher who doubts the COVID orthodoxy. We would want to avoid the weeds for sure but in principle it is reasonable to doubt the COVID orthodoxy.
There needs to be an approach to science that is not simply an enforcement of orthodoxy.