Running Head: SCARCITY OF QUALIFIED SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS 1
The Scarcity of Qualified Special Education Teachers in America
Thomas C. Sorensen
University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign
SCARCITY OF QUALIFIED SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS 2
The Scarcity of Qualified Special Education Teachers in America
Throughout the United States more and more job openings remain unfilled as fewer and
fewer people spend their higher education years preparing to teach. This is especially true for
math, the sciences, and foreign languages (Lambert, 2018). However, the most acute need in
America is for qualified special education teachers. Simply put, for the last three decades the
supply of qualified teachers has failed to meet the societal demand. This isn’t for a lack of effort.
School districts, administrator, and human resource departments throughout the country
frantically seek to identify the best teachers in the available pool. However, lately their efforts
have become more futile as fewer college students are concentrating on special education as a
career path and attrition rates for special educators continue to rise. In other words, schools are
compelled to overlook a lack of teacher preparation and are forced to fill the position with
whoever will take the job.
The consequences of the shortage are far reaching. Students may receive an inadequate
educational experience, attain reduced student achievement levels, and reach insufficient
competence for success in future employment (Darling-Hammond & Sclan, 1996). Furthermore,
the legalities of special education, large amounts of paperwork, and complexities involved in
Individual Education Plans leaves school districts exposed to lawsuits if the teacher shortage
produces a compliance issue.
This paper explores the complexity and causes behind the difficult time school districts
are having in recruiting, filling, and retaining the quantity and quality of teachers necessary to fill
the special education need. Additionally, this paper relies on current research to make
projections and creative solutions to the issue going forward.
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Magnitude of the Issue
Since the 1970’s, Congress has been aware that there is a substantial shortage of special
education teachers in America. Despite this awareness, the issue endures to the present and
plagues every geographic area of our country. Policymakers and legislatures from the federal,
state, and local government levels have agreed that the magnitude of the problem is staggering as
the total number of special education teachers nationally has dropped by more than 17 percent in
the past decade. Combined with the fact that the number of students with disabilities declined by
only 1 percent over the same time period and a supply and demand issue becomes abundantly
clear (Samuels & Harwin, 2018). In fact, 46 states report a shortage of special education
teachers/related service personnel for 2017-18 (Palmer, 2017).
Special education teachers face numerous unique challenges on a daily basis. Whether it
is policy and legal compliance, paperwork, variability in student needs, or data collection, special
educators have much to do with few resources. Plus, they are being asked take on an increasing
amount of responsibility as there is one special education teacher for every 17 students with
disabilities (Samuels & Harwin, 2018). This workload becomes overly stressful and translates to
a 75% turnover rate within the first ten years of teaching (Samuels, 2018). As such, about 33,000
special education positions are filled by teachers not fully certified, and 4,000 positions remain
vacant (Katsiyannis, Zhang, & Conroy, 2003).
Thus, not only is there a lack of overall teachers willing to teach special education
classes, but those who do are often lacking certifications and licensure credentials. In other
words, the U.S. has both a quantity and a quality shortage. This is an area of extreme urgency
because researchers have found a large difference in achievement between students taught by
SCARCITY OF QUALIFIED SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS 4
licensed teachers and those taught by unlicensed teachers for more than two consecutive years.
(Rivers & Sanders, 1996).
Impactful Laws and Policies
Over the past 30 years, there have been several key pieces of legislation that have
combined to make a direct impact on the teacher shortage. Specifically, the several amendments
to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1997, 2004), as well as the impact of the No
Child Left Behind Act of 2002 have made it difficult to fill the positions available for special
education.
The amendments to IDEA have had a far reaching impact as they “both increased the
number of individuals eligible to receive special service and extended the range of services
available.” (Cooley, Bicard, Bicard, & Casey, 2008). No Child Left Behind focused on the need
for higher quality instruction by requiring increased licensures. Through NCLB, it became
essential, amongst other things, that teachers receive credentials in their areas of instruction.
However, for special educators, this was both an intimidating and confusing undertaking.
Questions as to whether teachers needed to be licensed in special education or in each of the
subjects they taught in an inclusive setting deterred many from entering the field.
Ultimately, the interpretation of this NCLB mandate was left primarily to the states.
However, there was little to no uniformity nationally.
Causes for the Shortage
Special education teacher attrition is a major contributing factor to teacher demand. In
2001, Ingersoll stated that special education can be seen as a giant revolving door, “where large
numbers of teachers depart their jobs for reasons other than retirement.” (p. 5). Generally
SCARCITY OF QUALIFIED SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS 5
speaking, special educator attrition has followed the same course as general educators with exits
happening early in one’s career. However, in a 2012 Edweek survey, 24% of special educators
cited burnout, stress, job pressure, and lack of support as the reason for their departure from their
field. An additional 27% expressed a somewhat related reasoning of a “desire to scale back
responsibilities.” As such, school implemented programs like senior faculty mentoring and new
teacher supports will prove to be increasingly important to in the fight to keep a high number of
qualified special education teachers.
State and Local Response
There are three main strategies that state and local policymakers have produced to
address the quantity and quality issues they face. First, many states have created a pathway for
obtaining a teaching licence without having to go back to college to receive additional training.
These alternative routes to licensure (ARL) are typically rapid ways to receive pedagogical
tutoring. For example, some states require a prospective teacher to take several training courses
during the summer months with the promise of a license in the fall. However, despite its
efficiency, many fast-track programs lack the academic clout to produce real results.
Secondly, many school districts have leaned upon the concept of inclusion by allowing
more special education students to attend classes with general education students. This can be an
ideal situation when the partnership between the special education department is transparent,
communicative, and synergistic. However, often times, over inclusivity has been found to stretch
special education teachers past what is prudently expected. In turn, the mismanagement of
inclusivity can create a situation of potential special education turnover.
SCARCITY OF QUALIFIED SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS 6
Within the realm of inclusivity, many states are investing in “team taught” classes in
attempts to give students with learning disabilities the supports they need. In essence,
paraprofessionals assist teachers or other staff in implementing the state and district curriculum.
By collaborating with a paraprofessional, classrooms can quickly transform into a place where
all students have access to an adult who can give them appropriate amount of time to be
successful. However, this system does have its drawbacks as tt important that paraprofessionals
only be expected to perform tasks for which they are trained. It is the teacher who is usually
charged with this training, thus, adding to the work they are responsible for. Essentially,
credentialed teachers are faced with a daily choice between training the aides or teaching the
students.
Projections and Potential Solution
Looking to the near future, it is doubtful that the special education shortage will improve.
In 1975, more than 22% of college students majored in education. It was the most popular major
in the United States. Currently, fewer than one in 10 Americans pursuing higher education
devote their studies to education (Passy, 2018). These figures are even more pronounced for
special education studies. It should be noted that cultural changes like this don’t change
overnight. Instead, they happen through small, consistent actions. As such, highly-engaged
administrators and policy makers, would be wise to resist the temptation for sudden, sweeping
changes, and instead, think creatively about how to generate lasting change.
When it comes to recruitment, researchers who have delved into this issue have found
that a significant amount of college students receiving their certifications in special education do
so because they have had some kind of a powerful, personal experience with a person who has a
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disability. Many of them cite a member of their family or a close classmate they grew up with as
the inspiration for their career choice (Samuels & Harwin, 2018). This may be the key to the
long term trends of the special educator profession. As more young people experience their
education in an inclusive setting, they will see disability as just one facet of a person’s
educational and life experience. Their experience will open a channel to a career that is in
extreme demand.
Attrition research shows that improvement follows when school districts give bonuses or
provide loan forgiveness to teachers in positions that are hard to staff. Findings show that loan
forgiveness was effective and reduced attrition rates for middle and high school teachers by
10.4% (Feng & Sass, 2017). However, these district wide accomplishment were only met when
the funding for the initiative was fully stocked. The percentages of attrition correlated
significantly with the funding. Thus, if states are going to commit to this course of action, they
must have the financial backing by the state.
Additionally, a proven but relatively unknown method for improving the quality and
quantity of teachers in special education departments is the “Teacher Residency”. These
programs allow for promising recruits to teach alongside an expert mentor teacher while earning
Financial support in exchange for a three to five year commitment. The impact is undeniable as
studies show that 80 to 90% teachers stay in the profession after three years and 70–80% are
teaching after five years (Guha, Hyler, & Darling-Hammond, 2016).
Lastly, many administrators have very little background in special education issues. This
lack of knowledge, coupled with a very busy schedule, often brings a spirit of apathy. If not
apathetic, many principals simply leave special education to the “expert” teachers. This creates a
SCARCITY OF QUALIFIED SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS 8
department feeling like an island. This creates an environment where formal observations and
pedagogic teaching moments by administrators are lacking and sporadic in because of a lack of
experience with the population. Special educators feel isolated and ignored. Schools would do
well to invest greater in principal training programs.
Conclusion
The supply and demand for greater numbers of quality special educators is not a new
issue. America’s failure to address these issues in the near future means that children will
continue to bear the brunt of the problem. Though the current and projected special education
teacher shortage is daunting, it can be overcome. Through increasing the training, recruitment,
and funding that special education teachers receive in the ever-stressful first five years of service,
it will become more attractive to enter the field and students receiving special education services
will receive a more equitable education experience.
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