Where are all the Special Educators? — from educationnext.org by Chad Aldeman
Schools employ more special education teachers than ever. So why is there a shortage?
Is there a shortage of special education teachers in America’s public schools? If so, why? And how can policymakers fix it?
The first question sounds like an easy one. Yes, there is a shortage of special education teachers. In 2023–24, more than half of districts and 80 percent of states reported such a shortage.
If you doubt the self-reported data, a simple back-of-the-envelope calculation will lead you to the same conclusion. About 46,000 special education teachers leave public schools every year, while teacher preparation programs are training fewer than 30,000 new ones to replace them. Even if districts can supplement those new trainees with teachers who are re-entering the profession, that still makes for a very tight labor market.
Rapidly Rising Demand
The percentage of public school students who receive special education services has risen over time, reaching 15 percent in 2022–23. That increase has been propelled by a number of factors, including better and earlier identification of students who need additional support.