Use of underprepared special ed teachers harms children

The number of credentialed special education teachers in California has not kept up with demand, a shortage exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The State Teacher Retirement System reported a 26% increase in teacher retirements in the last half of 2020 compared to 2019. A 2021 study by the Learning Policy Institute indicates districts are filling vacancies with underprepared teachers.

The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing reported 60% of first-year special education teachers in 2019-2020 were underprepared to take on the role. Underprepared teachers assume responsibility for specialized instruction and federally mandated Individual Education Plans, or IEPs, despite having taken little coursework and sometimes not being enrolled in a credential program.

This does little to support the academic achievement of special education students who scored 88.1 points below standard in English Language Arts and 119.4 points below standard in mathematics, according to the California Department of Education.

Underprepared teachers miss out on the guidance that expert mentor teachers provide in traditional student-teaching programs. According to a 2020 report from Policy Analysis for California Education and Learning Policy Institute, mentoring from an experienced special education teacher can reduce attrition and help special education teachers meet the diverse learning needs of their students. Unfortunately, underprepared teachers are often left to fend for themselves, leading to high stress and low morale.

One recent conversation with a student highlights this problem: This student had applied for a classroom aide job with a local district and was offered a special education teacher position instead. The district assured her they would provide a mentor to help her, but no mentor ever showed up. She was being asked to both administer assessments and write IEPs without being trained. She was extraordinarily frustrated over the lack of support.

Even worse, she was distressed because she knew her students weren’t getting the education they deserved. Unsurprisingly, she thought about quitting every single day. I provide this scenario not to place blame but to illustrate the broken system. As an associate professor in special education at San Jose State University, I have first-hand knowledge of the teacher-preparation process. Increasingly, our candidates enter as underprepared teachers already working in the field, some having done so for several years.

What can be done? No single entity is going to solve this problem, but here are steps we can take to provide a better education for our children with disabilities:

• Assign experienced mentor teachers to work with underprepared teachers for a full-day each week.

• Ensure fully credentialed teachers work side-by-side with underprepared teachers to write IEPs and administer assessments.

• Cover tuition costs for special education teachers and provide financial assistance for living expenses while they work under the guidance of an experienced mentor teacher.

• Eliminate testing requirements that serve as barriers to teacher preparation programs

• Implement a collaborative (university and district) summer jumpstart program for underprepared teachers before they begin teaching

• Use hybrid, online and sitebased classes to provide critical pedagogical information to underprepared teachers in the field

• Provide opportunities for mentor teachers to co-teach university classes, reducing the theory-to-practice gap for underprepared teachers.

We are experiencing a critical special education teacher shortage in California and students with disabilities are paying the price. Student achievement remains low, and special education teacher attrition remains high. Universities and districts must work together to build capacity within our special education teacher workforce if we are to take real steps toward alleviating this shortage and doing right by our students who need us the most.