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Special Education Teacher Shortages

Special Education Teacher Shortages. Paul sindelar + Alexandria harvey , university of florida Lucky Mason-williams, Binghamton university- NY. Special Education Teacher Shortage. Quality Shortage= # SETs – HQ SET. Described as chronic and increasing (Boe & Cook, 2006)

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Special Education Teacher Shortages

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  1. Special Education Teacher Shortages Paul sindelar + Alexandria harvey, university of florida Lucky Mason-williams, Binghamton university- NY

  2. Special Education Teacher Shortage Quality Shortage= # SETs – HQ SET • Described as chronic and increasing (Boe & Cook, 2006) • An adequate supply has never been fulfilled by teacher preparation programs nor the reserve pool (Cook & Boe, 2007) • Shortage was reduced (to below 5%) during the Great Recession, but has been growing again since 2012

  3. SET Demand and the Economy • Four factors influence variability in demand: • number of SWDs, • service delivery models/options, • special education funding, & • attrition (Boe et al., 2013).

  4. SET Demand and the Economy • SET employment declined precipitously a decade ago, as numbers of students with SLD declined and schools re-allocated teaching resources from special to general education (Dewey et al. 2017). • Consequently, by 2012, special education student:teacher ratios exceededthose in general education (Dewey et al.) • With economic recovery, hiring has increased generally (Sutcher et al. 2016), • Questions remains: Will schools hire SETs in sufficient numbers to recover losses, particularly given reduced preparation program enrollments?

  5. Data Sources • OSEP personnel, age 6-21, 2000-2015 • OSEP child count, age 6-21, 2000-2015 • OSEP educational environment, age 6-21, 2005-2015 • NCES elementary and secondary teachers, 2000-2015* • Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) • Schools & Staffing Survey *2015 is projected total; all numbers rounded to thousands

  6. SET Employment, 2000 to 2015

  7. % Not Highly Qualified SETs, 2000 to 2015

  8. # SWDs, 2000 to 2015

  9. SLD and SLI, 2000 to 2015

  10. OHI and ASD, 2000 to 2015

  11. Percent Change of SWD, 2000 to 2015 OHI, +205.38% ASD +597.61% SLI -5.89% ED -27.00% ID -31.23% SLD -19.60 SWD overall +3.50%

  12. #SETs and #SWDs, 2012 to 2015 # SETs # SWDs

  13. SET Degree Production and # not HQ SETs

  14. What’s Happening? Speculations & Research Updates • Speculation #1: Schools cope with SET shortages in part by placing more and more SWDs in general education classes. • Question #1: Are more SWDs being placed in inclusive settings with less support from SETs? • Question #2: During the recovery, has the trend of schools investing more in GETs and less in SETs persisted?

  15. What’s Happening? Speculations & Research Updates • Speculation #2: Due to shortages, more complex students, and tighter budgets, service provision is being handled by a variety of professionals. • Question #1: Are SETs being replaced by paraprofessionals? • Question #2: Are special education services being provided increasingly by other related service providers?

  16. What’s Happening? Speculations & Research Updates • Speculation #3: Not all schools experience the shortage of SETs in a similar fashion, leading to an uneven distribution of qualified, prepared SETs. • Question #1: Are student with disabilities in schools with high concentrations of poverty provided access to a qualified, prepared special education teacher? • Question #2: Are student with disabilities in alternative or specialized school settings provided access to a qualified, prepared special education teacher? • Question #3: Are student with disabilities in extreme rural or urban schools provided access to a qualified, prepared special education teacher?

  17. Schools cope with SET shortages in part by placing more and more SWDs in general education classes. Speculation #1

  18. % Change in Placement for SWDs, 2005 to 2015 • Question #1: Are more SWDs being placed in inclusive settings with less support from SETs?

  19. Change in SWD Placement & SET Employment • We used state-level data on change in SWD placement (2005 to 2015) to predict change in SET employment, controlling for • State and year fixed effects • Special education student covariate • State demographic covariate • State finance in education covariate • Change in SET employment proved to be unrelated to increase in SWD placement in inclusive settings (≥80% in general education) • % variance accounted for (waiting on Kramer to run the model with SET as outcome)

  20. Change in SET and GET Employment • Question #2: During the recovery, has the trend of schools investing more in GETs and less in SETs persisted? GET = Total # of Teachers - SET

  21. Instructional Expenditures,2004-05 to 2014-15 • Question 2: Following the recovery, has the trend of schools investing more in GETs and less in SETs persisted? Data from the Elementary/ Secondary Information System (ELSi) http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/elsi

  22. SETs and GETs/1,000 Enrollment, 2000 to 2015 • Question 2: Following the recovery, has the trend of schools investing more in GETs and less in SETs persisted?

  23. Due to shortages, more complex students, and tighter budgets, service provision is being handled by a variety of professionals. Speculation #2

  24. Question 1: Are SETs being replaced by paraprofessionals? • Data on SET employment (2005 to 2015) to predict change in paraprofessional employment • Change in paraprofessional employment is essentially unrelated to change in SET employment • ASD negatively associated • K-12 Instructional positively correlated • K-12 Instructional expenditures negatively correlated • Model accounted for 84.2% of the variance • Controlled for: • State & year fixed effects • SWD • State demographics • State education finance

  25. Question 2: Are Related Service Providers Replacing SETs? Special Education Teachers Related Service Providers

  26. Question 2: Are Related Service Providers Replacing SETs?

  27. Question 2: Are Related Service Providers Replacing SETs? Speech Language Pathologists Special Education Teachers

  28. Question 2: Are Related Service Providers Replacing SETs? Speech Language Pathologists Students with ASD and SLI

  29. Not all schools experience the shortage of SETs in a similar fashion, leading to an uneven distribution of qualified, prepared SETs. Speculation #3

  30. Question #1: Are student with disabilities in schools with high concentrations of poverty provided access to a qualified, prepared special education teacher? Shortages impact all schools! SASS:04

  31. SASS:12

  32. Question #2: Are student with disabilities in alternative or specialized school settings provided access to a qualified, prepared special education teacher? SASS:08

  33. Question #3: Are student with disabilities in extreme rural or urban schools provided access to a qualified, prepared special education teacher?

  34. Conclusions and Implications • Speculation #1: Through 2015, GET employment increased as SET employment continued to decrease • Next several years of OSEP personnel data will be telling • Will employment catch up with increases in SWD prevalence? • Speculations #2: More SWDs are being educated in inclusive environments with fewer SETs • But we lack outcome data and don’t know whether this is a good or bad thing. • Speculation #3: The SET pipeline has not been replenished, and we have evidence that other professionals and paraprofessionals are replacing SETs • Speculation #4:

  35. References Boe, E. E., (2006). Long-term trends in the national demand, supply, and shortage of special education teachers. Journal of Special Education, 40, 138-150. DOI: 10.1177/00224669060400030201 Boe, E. E., de Bettencourt, L. U., Dewey, J., Rosenberg, M., Sindelar, P., & Leko, C. (2013). Variability in demand for special education teachers: Indicators, explanations, and impacts. Exceptionality, 21, 103-125. https://doi.org/10.1080/09362835.2013.771563 Boe, E. E., & Cook, L. H. (2006). The chronic and increasing shortage of fully certified teachers in special and general education. Exceptional Children, 72, 443-460. Cook, L. H., & Boe, E. E. (2007). National trends in the sources of supply of teachers in special and general education. Teacher Education and Special Education, 30, 217-232. Dewey, J., Sindelar, P. T., Bettini, E., Boe, E. E., Rosenberg, M. S., & Leko, C. (2017). Explaining the decline in special education teacher employment from 2005 to 2010. Exceptional Children, 83, 315-329. DOI: 10.1177/0014402916684620 Sutcher, L., Darling-Hammond, L., & Carver-Thomas, D. (2016). A coming crisis in teaching? Teacher supply, demand, and shortages in the U.S. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. Retrieved from https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/A_Coming_Crisis_in_Teaching_REPORT.pdf

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