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Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Solve the Special Education Teacher Shortage

June 2021

Authors:

George Mason University

University of Missouri

Morgan M. Strimel

George Mason University

Virginia Commonwealth University

In the United States, all students with disabilities are promised access to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). An issue arises, though, in staffing a special education workforce to meet this requirement. For example, 49 states and the District of Columbia currently report shortages of special educators (U.S. Department of Education, 2021). More specifically, this includes 98% of the nation’s school districts (U.S. Department of Education, 2020). Further, teacher attrition is increasing at a rate that is parallel to that of the national population of students with disabilities, and the percentage of students receiving special education services is also growing (National Education Association, 2019). Due to the dual increase of teacher attrition and students receiving special education services, there is a severe need in the field of special education to address the shortage of educators. Therefore, this Council for Exceptional Children blog post aims to examine current content of the discussion surrounding the special education teacher shortage, including political factors, the role of stakeholders, and potential solutions that can be implemented at various levels of government.

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