Fewer people are becoming special education teachers.
“It's hard to have to go through all the hoops we have to go through to become a teacher and all the things we have to do while being a teacher, and after becoming a teacher,” Carmen Frank, special education teacher for San Luis Obispo County said.
Only six students will graduate from the Cal Poly Special Education Credentialing program this school year.
Dr. Leah Wood says that number is down 50% from last year.
“Having a reduction in applicants is only going to exacerbate that problem of having special education as a really serious teacher shortage area,” Wood said.
According to the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education, the shortage is because of the high demand, high turnover, lack of qualified candidates, and many credentialing requirements.
“Being a special education teacher requires a lot of technical skills," Dr Stephen Crutchfield, professor of special ed at Cal Poly said. "It does require a lot of specific instructional techniques and without the skills and training it can be a really hard job,”
There is also a lack of highly qualified teachers.
“If we don't nearly graduate enough highly qualified teachers, we can't graduate enough special education teachers to fill the spots in our local school districts,” Wood said.
With more students in the U.S. qualifying for special education services, according to a report from the Learning Policy Institute, two out of three new teachers have not completed proper training.
The number of students ages three through 21 served under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in the United States has increased from 6.4 million in the school year 2012–13 to 7.5 million in the school year 2022–23, according to the National Center for Statistics.
“It's a lot of work but it's also a cool thing to do if you have the resources, if you have the support, and if you have the training to do well,” Wood said.
Cal Poly recently received a $4.6 million grant from the Department of Education.
Professor Crutchfield says the grant will be used for developing skills related to education and supporting learners with disabilities while also recruiting more candidates.
