My work teaching special ed is meaningful. But how much more can I take on?
I became a special education (special ed) teacher after 20-plus years of being a general education teacher. I wanted to work with and advocate for students with disabilities. I like my job, and my support makes a difference. My workload, however, has increased due to staffing shortages, and I wonder how much more I can take on.
I co-teach while providing differentiated instruction, or “service,” for students with special needs placed in general education classrooms. Services, measured in minutes, are stated in a student’s Individualized Education Program and based on their disabilities. I’m also a case manager for 20 students. I maintain special ed documents, track progress, and facilitate meetings with families and educators. I work at full capacity, worried that one mistake might lead to non-compliance.
There is a critical shortage of special ed teachers in Texas, yet the number of students who qualify keeps growing. Heavy workloads negatively impact the quality of services we provide. In one class, for example, eleven students (about half the class) require between 45-75 minutes of individualized instruction. While one student with dyslexia, for example, needs simplified instructions repeated, another student with a learning disability in reading comprehension needs guiding questions to understand the theme of a story. Spending more than a few minutes with one student means I can’t get to everyone.
Special education is underfunded by $1.8 billion annually, according to the Texas Commission on Special Education Funding. Despite this deficit, legislators continue to pass laws requiring more of special ed teachers, such as House Bill 3928, which increases caseloads significantly. We cannot continue to do more with less. State legislators must pass special education finance reform because students with disabilities need qualified special education teachers to provide appropriate services.
Change Texas’ funding formula for special education
The 30-year-old special ed funding formula is inefficient, inequitable, and ineffective for improving student outcomes. According to the 2023 Texas Academic Performance Report, 13.6% of students in special ed were prepared for college, compared to 59.2% of all Texas students. The Commission recommends a “service-intensity” based system that would allow Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to better staff for the services students need, not their placement. Currently, students with multiple disabilities who attend gen-ed classes receive less funding than students with one disability who attend self-contained classrooms.
The Commission recommends establishing grant programs to help LEAs grow teachers from within their communities. Paraprofessionals, for example, might receive financial assistance with acquiring their teaching credentials. Since low compensation is one of the primary reasons special ed teachers
leave, stipends can help entice new teachers (like they did me) and retain existing ones. The Teacher Vacancy Task Force recommends mentors for new teachers and ongoing, high-quality training for us all. Training is especially important for special ed teachers, given the frequent changes in regulations.
Texas must pass stand-alone special education finance reform
In the 2023 legislative session, special education funding was denied because it was tied to the failed effort to pass Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), also called vouchers. ESAs allow public money to be spent on private school tuition. Private schools don’t have to accept or provide services for students with special needs, unlike public schools. If four special sessions were called to push for ESAs, a fifth can address special education funding reform.
In Texas, 11.7%, or about 700,000 students, rely on special ed teachers to receive services. Our students can’t wait until the next legislative session. In the words of Representative Steve Toth following the passage of House Bill 3928, “We need more money for public education…Texas needs to work harder at developing programs to take and train teachers on how to help these kids.” It’s time they get it done. Castañón-Hernandez is a special education inclusion teacher in Austin and a 2022-2023 TEACH PLUS National Senior Writing Fellow.