K-12 Dive

Some 45 states reported special education teacher shortages in the 2023-24 school year, according to a Learning Policy Institute study from July that Brookings cited. A separate report from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences found that during the 2021-22 school year, special education vacancies were about twice as likely as vacancies for other teaching positions. To compensate for the shortages and reverse these trends, education experts have been exploring various recruitment and retention solutions. Brookings pointed to a March study from the Learning Policy Institute outlining approaches from four states that included salary increases, residency programs, and support and mentoring efforts. In Indiana, Massachusetts, and Texas, for example, Brookings said “large proportions of special education teachers move into general education teaching positions each year.” While these teachers are not “lost to the system,” initiatives designed to keep special education teachers in special education should be factored in, the authors said.