Consider This from NPR - A Special Ed Teacher Shortage Is Getting Worse — But One Fix Is Catching On

Episode Date: April 22, 2022

For years, most states have reported a shortage of special education teachers. Now, according to federal data, nearly every state is struggling to hire qualified educators. And when schools can't find a licensed teacher, they hire people who are willing to do the job, but lack the training. From member station WFYI in Indianapolis, Lee Gaines reports on what that means for students, and Dylan Peers McCoy reports on one approach — in Hawaii — that's helped to fill shortages. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.Email us at [e-mail] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

At the beginning of this school year, there was an open house at the public school where Becky Ashcraft's 12-year-old daughter is a student. But when Becky walked into her daughter's classroom to meet the teacher, there wasn't one, just a teacher's aide. And she explained that, well, we don't really have anybody for her, you know, for a teacher as of right now. No teacher in a school specifically for kids like Becky's daughter, kids with disabilities. We're not using the girl's name to protect her privacy. Becky had walked into a problem that exists in many places around the country right now. That acute shortage of special education teachers. Schools have been dealing with teacher shortages for years. The biggest shortage is in teachers who work with children with

different abilities. But according to federal data, almost every state is struggling to hire special education teachers. A huge shortage of openings in special education. And when schools can't find a licensed teacher, they hire people who are willing to do the job but lack the training. Which means students who need the most help, like Becky Ashcraft's daughter, are getting less of it. Her daughter doesn't speak, so not having a teacher made it really difficult to know what her child was even doing at school. I wonder what actually kind of education she was receiving. You know, I don't think, you know, just sending home a stack of worksheets that, you know, she really didn't do herself indicates that she was getting an education.

Consider this. A critical shortage of special education teachers has forced states to lower the standards for who can be one. From NPR, I'm Ari Shapiro. It's Friday, April 22nd. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things in other currencies. Send, spend, or receive money internationally, and always get the real-time mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Download the WISE app today, or visit WISE.com. T's and C's apply. It's Consider This from NPR. Becky Ashcraft's 12-year-old daughter started a new school year

last fall, and that was when the mother realized her child did not have a special education teacher. The school would not confirm to NPR that Ashcraft's daughter had no teacher, but a spokesperson did say the school has used substitutes to provide special education services. Ashcraft told NPR her daughter still didn't have a teacher in January of this year. And so I've just been, you know, checking in every month or so and no, still not an assigned teacher yet. Ashcraft lives in northwest Indiana, where she spoke to reporter Lee Gaines of member station WFYI in Indianapolis. Gaines picks up the story here with a look at why the special education teacher

shortage is getting worse and how schools are struggling to adapt. This problem isn't unique to Indiana. Even before the pandemic, 44 states reported special education teacher shortages to the federal government. This school year, that number jumped to 48. To get by, schools in some states are hiring people who are willing to do the job but aren't fully trained. Indiana, California, Virginia, and Maryland are among the states that offer provisional licenses to help staff special education classrooms. The Band-Aid has been, let's put somebody who's breathing in front of kids and hope that everybody survives. Jacqueline Rodriguez is with the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. She says putting unprepared teachers in charge of classrooms is bad for students, even if those teachers are working toward their special education certification. This to me is like telling somebody that there is a dearth of doctors

in neurosurgery. So we would love you to transition into the field by giving you the opportunity to operate on the people while you're taking coursework at night. Would that make any sense to anybody else? Federal law requires that schools provide students with disabilities with fully licensed special educators. But when schools can't find qualified teachers, they're allowed to hire people who aren't fully qualified, as long as they're pursuing their certification. Shalita West had zero teaching experience when she was hired to teach special education at a middle school in Elkhart, Indiana. It was scary. It was scary. I've never taught in a school at all. Her district is helping her work toward her certification by paying her tuition at a nearby university. In exchange, West has agreed to work for Elkhart Schools for five years. She says she would be lost in this job

if it weren't for her university classes and her mentor, who helps with the meetings and complicated paperwork that comes with teaching students with disabilities. To be honest, I don't even know if I would have stayed because I knew nothing. I knew nothing. I came in without any prior knowledge to what I needed to do on a daily basis. Administrator Lindsay Brander oversees the LCART program that supports West. We are able to recruit our own teachers and train them specifically for our students. She says it would be great if all the district special education teachers were fully qualified the first day they set foot in a classroom. But that's not reality. That's not going to happen.

Until we fix some of the structural challenges that we have in education, this is how business is done now. This is life in education. Those structural issues include the high demands of the job and low teacher pay. Desiree Carver-Thomas, a researcher with the Learning Policy Institute, says that can lead to high turnover, especially in schools that serve mostly low-income children and students of color. And when special education teachers leave the profession, the cycle continues. Because when turnover rates are so high, schools and districts, they're just trying to fill those positions with whomever they can find, often teachers who are not fully prepared.

And the impact of that can go beyond what students are learning. There's a body of research looking at how students with disabilities are subjected to referral to law enforcement, to corporal punishment. That may be more common when teachers don't have the tools and the experience and the training to respond appropriately. Carver Thomas says the solution to this problem isn't simple. Schools, colleges, and governments will have to work together to ensure students receive the education they're legally entitled to. In the meantime, schools and families have to make do. Halfway through the school year, parent Becky Ashcraft got a piece of good news. As of mid-January, her daughter now has a licensed special education teacher.

But even if her teacher was unqualified, Ashcraft would be okay with that. You know, let them work towards that. That's wonderful. But, you know, I guess at this point, you know, we're happy to take anybody. Ashcroft says a special education teacher in training is still better than no teacher at all. Reporter Lee Gaines of member station WFYI in Indianapolis. Well, as you just heard, there is no simple solution here. Schools, governments, colleges all have to work together to get more people to pursue special education as a career. Short term, there is one thing some school districts are trying to make the job more appealing.

And it might be simplest. From Member Station WFYI, Dylan Piers McCoy reports from Hawaii. Okay, so we have an expanded form, 100 plus 80 plus 5. Special education teacher Heather Carl is showing her students how to add numbers. One is quick to solve the problem, but the arithmetic is harder for his classmate. I know you can do it. You keep going. You got to do expanded form. Carl got her start almost 20 years ago, but it's a stressful job. She spends a lot of time on the individual instruction, paperwork, and meetings that are legally required for special education. Several years in, Carl needed a break. Eventually, she landed a better-paying district position. Then, two years ago, Hawaii

found a way to entice Carl back to the classroom. The state increased pay for special education teachers by $10,000. I literally could not afford to go back to the classroom without the differential. Hawaii has struggled to recruit educators like Carl for years, and it's not alone. The federal government tracks teacher shortages, and this school year, 48 states, including Hawaii, said they don't have enough special education teachers. That's forced some schools to rely on untrained teachers to educate some of the highest-need students, like those who don't speak and those with challenging behaviors. But Hawaii's pay increase has helped.

I think what we've seen in Hawaii is that it works. That's Teachers Union President Osa Tui. Hawaii is unique because it has a single state-run district. In 2019, almost 30 percent of the state's special education positions were vacant or staffed by unqualified teachers. That number dropped by half after the pay bump. It's definitely having a great impact on getting people to remain in special education and also it's attracting folks to go into special education. Hawaii raised special education teacher pay just weeks before the pandemic brought the state's tourism-based economy to a halt. And the education department almost pulled the plug. But school leaders were committed to the extra pay. In my view, this is an essential cost for the children here who deserve to have teachers who are highly qualified, licensed, and skilled in this profession. That's state school

board chair Catherine Payne. She says the pay increase will cost Hawaii about $20 million this year, 1% of the state's $2 billion education budget. The pay boost kicked in just before the pandemic. For now, Hawaii has been using federal COVID-19 relief money to pay for it, but supporters hope the legislature will provide dedicated funding. Payne says that's a worthwhile investment in students with disabilities. The impact of the teacher on their future is going to make a difference about whether they have a quality life as adults. Hawaii isn't the only school system trying this out. This school year, Detroit began paying special education teachers $15,000 more.

And Atlanta Public Schools is piloting teachers $15,000 more. And Atlanta Public Schools is piloting a $3,000 increase in pay. Both places say they're already seeing results. But large pay incentives are rare. It is frustrating to watch districts say they have this challenge and don't take many actions to address it. Chad Alderman studies school finance at Georgetown University's Edgenomics Lab. He says most districts could afford to boost pay for special education teachers because it's a small part of the budget, and it could lead to other savings. If districts start thinking about the amount of money it would cost to recruit

and replace a teacher who leaves, then it might start to change the calculation. The price tag isn't the only obstacle. Most school districts pay teachers the same salaries regardless of their specialty. It's like this is the way we've always done things, and it's going to take a lot of work to do it differently. Elizabeth Bettini is a professor of special education at Boston University. She says special education teachers are undervalued. A lot of times people think of special education at Boston University. She says special education teachers

are undervalued. A lot of times people think of special ed teachers as like, oh, they're so patient. And then it seems like a de-skilled profession. Then it seems like, oh, well, why would we pay you more for the skills you have working with students with disabilities? And those are just like your natural carrying skills. Bettini says higher pay for special education teachers would recognize their expertise and help make it a more attractive job. But it's just one piece of the puzzle. Teachers also need good training and support from school administrators. Two things former special education teacher Emily Abrams didn't always feel she had.

I mean, after I would get finished with a day, you know, I'd go home and cry. Last year, Abrams worked with students with behavioral challenges at a central Indiana elementary school. It was a physical job that sometimes got scary, like a day last spring when a student became violent. He grabbed the computer charger, yanked it out of the wall, and continued to hit me with it. Abrams and a co-worker tried to put him in a padded seclusion room. Those rooms are controversial, but many schools use them when staff worry students will be a danger to themselves or others. And then used his body to kick me numerous times, and it was just utter chaos throughout the whole thing. Abrams left school that day with bruised and swollen shins,

and she quit less than a month later. Now Abrams answers email questions for a medical company. I have zero stress in this new position. I can turn my computer off after eight hours a day and live my life. Abrams says no amount of money could convince her to go back to special education. Heather Carl in Hawaii knows money won't always be enough, but it could help. I think if the money keeps people to kind of stick with it a little bit, you can get over the hump. Leaders in Hawaii say they expect the state will keep paying special education teachers extra. Now they're waiting to see if other school districts follow their example. Dylan Piers McCoy of member station WFYI. It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Ari Shapiro.