One of Kathleen Tejeda's students began freshman year just trying to get by. High school can be tricky for any teenager, but she was navigating it as a blind person. By the end of her junior year, with support from Tejeda and other school staff, the student had gone from getting by to going big: She made the cheerleading squad and the school choir.
She even sang the national anthem in front of the whole school. Tejeda, who has been a special educator for 20 years in Riverside County, Calif., said that kind of advocacy is just as much a part of her job as teaching her students. But teachers like her can be hard to find.
There is a shortage of special educators in 45 out of 50 states, according to the Learning Policy Institute, an education research organization. That shortage is growing because the number of special education students is climbing: It's now more than 8.2 million — about 1 out of 6 public school students. While turnover worsened sharply after the COVID-19 pandemic, the shortage isn't new.
It has existed since special education became embedded in federal law with the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1975. Half a century later, a fundamental question remains: Why is this shortage of special education teachers so persistent? Let's start with a common misconception: The kids are hard to work with, so teachers don't want to do the job.
"That is not the case," said Liz Bettini, a former special education teacher who is now a researcher and professor at Boston University. "That has not borne out in our research at all." What Bettini's research does show: Special educators can feel isolated from other school staff and feel they have too many student needs to manage. The volume of required paperwork can be crushing.
These educators are often responsible for teaching across several subjects and grade levels. Many feel they don't get paid enough to do this essential work. "That's a very heavy weight to carry as a teacher," Bettini said.
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