Access to Excellent Educators in Hard-to-Staff Areas: Special Education

Background

The number of students receiving special education services is increasing. In the 2022-23 school year, nearly 15% of total public school enrollment in the United States received special education services, an increase of nearly 1 million students from the previous decade.¹

However, teacher preparation programs are producing fewer special education teachers than needed, and attrition rates for these teachers are higher than in other content areas.^2,3 As a result, the demand for special education teachers outpaces availability, and vacancies remain a persistent problem across states.^4,5

Training paraprofessionals as special education teachers may bolster the special education workforce pipeline, which would both address teacher shortages and elevate paraprofessional roles. With experience in and commitment to working with the special education student population, paraprofessionals are more likely than other educators to become special education teachers and stay in the classroom.^6,7

At the same time, paraprofessionals face unique teacher training challenges, especially while working as paraprofessionals, such as inflexibile work schedules and tuition fees to complete licensure coursework and exams. Paraprofessionals often benefit from alternative licensure pathways, such as Grow Your Own (GYO) programs, residency, or apprenticeship programs. These programs enable upskilling to a teacher-of-record role while continuing to work and without taking on a large tuition burden.⁸ However, participation in these pathways can also take paraprofessionals away from core classroom responsibilities, requiring backfilling paraprofessional roles to meet special education service needs.

Recommendations

The following actions can help states and districts address the educator shortage.

• Create alternate licensure programs, such as GYO Residency and Registered Apprenticeship, to upskill paraprofessionals in local districts. To support paraprofessionals as working learners, these programs should incorporate practices such as the following:
  • Paid work-based learning experiences
  • Tuition scholarships
  • Asynchronous and evening coursework
  • Credit for prior experience and portfolio-based courses
  • Licensure exam preparation supports
  • Strategies for backfilling paraprofessional positions

Consider financial incentives to enhance teacher supply, such as loan forgiveness or bonuses, or provide an incentive for general education teachers to earn special education licensure.

Partner with educator preparation programs to align special education field experiences with district needs.

Resources

References

¹ Students with Disabilities (National Center for Education Statistics)

² Trends in the Potential Supply of New Special Educators (Justin Harper et al.)

³ The Trouble with Teacher Turnover: How Teacher Attrition Affects Students and Schools (Desiree Carver-Thomas and Linda Darling-Hammond)

⁴ Where Are All the Special Educators? (Chad Aldeman)

⁵ Teacher Shortage Areas (U.S. Dept. of Education)

⁶ Learning by Doing: The Characteristics, Effectiveness, and Persistence of Teachers Who were Teaching Assistants First (Kevin Fortner et al.)

⁷ Putting Paraeducators on the Path to Teacher Certification (Judith Morrison and Lindsay Lightner)

⁸ Complicating the Narrative About Emergency Certified Special Educators (Kimber L. Wilkerson et al.)