The US Commission of Civil Rights recently hosted a daylong briefing on the urgent matter of nationwide teacher shortages and how these shortages affect students with disabilities specifically. The briefing contained testimonies from researchers, government officials, educators, and students living the day-to-day realities of the issue.
The briefing offered four panels, “Public Education in the Post-Pandemic Era,” “Education Advocacy Discussion of the Teacher Shortage,” “From the Field: Educators on the Teacher Shortage” and “From the Field: Hearing from Impacted Persons,” all of which were moderated by Commission Chair Rochelle Garza.
An important connection
Garza has a personal stake in the issue, as both of her parents were public school teachers and her brother, Robby, had severe disabilities until he passed away in 2003. Garza’s brother Robby suffered a traumatic brain injury at birth that resulted in him not being able to walk, talk or see.
“But, he was a human being deserving of dignity, of respect, of an education. And my parents fought tooth and nail for that for him,” Garza shared in an interview after the briefing.
Garza grew up in a rural community off a farm-to-market road, making it difficult for her brother to get to and from school.
“Getting a bus out there to pick him up wasn’t a reality until much later, so the onus was a lot on my parents to pick up the pieces. And that is incredibly difficult for working families that do not have the ability, the means, to take care of all of those extra costs,” Garza said.
The teacher shortage
That was in the 1980s, but today, schools in rural areas still struggle to provide students with the resources they need, especially students with disabilities. According to Garza, teacher shortages hit rural areas hardest because it is more challenging to attract and retain qualified teachers.
In the 2023-24 school year, there were around 40,000 known vacant teaching positions across the country, but that does not include New York and California, where vacancy data is lacking, making the national estimate closer to 60,000, according to research by Tuan D. Nguyen, associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Missouri.
This shortage has led to a surge in the number of underqualified teachers in classrooms due to an increase in emergency and provisional licenses issued for substitute teachers. Moreover, states have lowered teaching requirements and necessary certifications, asked parents to assist, imported international teachers and put the National Guard in the classroom The latest data from the Learning Policy Institute suggests some 400,000 teachers in the US — about 10% of the teacher workforce — are underqualified. However, this is primarily based on Nguyen’s research, as opposed to information from the Department of Education, which collects data on special education teacher shortages but does not share it publicly.
Eliminating the Education Department?
Many individuals on the various panels expressed concern that President-elect Donald Trump’s desire to disband the Department of Education will further exacerbate these issues. However, some, like Eric Hanushek from the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, believe federal funding can continue without the department.
“I don’t think eliminating the Department of Education would do much. It mainly disburses appropriated money. Those disbursements would go to some other department … maybe a new [Health and Human Services] or something,” Hanushek said.
“But we didn’t hear who exactly would ensure that those funds are being put to the proper use,” Garza said. “It’s a civil rights issue and an enforcement issue.”
Still, the problem persists even deeper than which department will manage funds. One of the cornerstone policies that could alleviate the issue is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which has not been fully funded since its inception. It is unclear why the act has not been fully funded, though many of the panelists shared the sentiment that society lacks respect for the teaching profession and, more specifically, for educators working with students with disabilities.
Panelists offered several solutions for addressing the gaps in special educators, including giving parents more say in their child’s education, raising the pupil-to-teacher ratio and boosting teacher salaries. Over the course of the briefing, three clear themes emerged: fully funding the IDEA, increasing data on the state of teacher shortages and improving public valuation of the teaching profession.
Fully fund the IDEA
The main solution offered by panelists and commissioners alike was full funding of the IDEA. Even with the Department of Education intact, according to Garza, the IDEA has only been funded about 15%, though the government should be covering 40% of its expenses.
“Public education has been a cornerstone of American society. It’s been something that’s accessible to all families, regardless of financial status,” said Garza. In her mind, federally funded education should level the playing field for all American students, but that mark is missed when students with disabilities don’t get access to the resources they need due to the lack of promised funding.
“We should make good on those promises and not defund public education at the expense of students with disabilities,” said Garza.
Increase data infrastructure
The lack of data — and consequent analysis — surrounding special education teacher shortages nationwide exacerbates the issue by devaluing it. More data on special education teacher shortages, burnout and turnover would allow funds to reach the areas in most need, increasing equity and resource access for the students affected.
Improve public valuation of teachers
On average, US teachers make $68,000, which is 8% less than the average person in the workforce. Thus, 17% of teachers hold second jobs outside of school, while 36% are still trying to pay off student loans. Without public support and government funding, these teachers experience high levels of burnout that increase teacher churn in schools, leading to poorer student outcomes. Due to the aforementioned lack of data, these numbers are not specific to the special education field, so the extent of that struggle is primarily anecdotal.
One way to improve this low valuation is to invest in rural and urban communities’ grow-your-own teacher recruitment pipelines to inspire students to enter the teaching profession. However, this will require data and monetary support to provide financial incentives and bonuses to the areas that need it most.
The US Commission on Civil Rights will take public comments until Dec. 15 before compiling all testimonies and information into a report offering policy recommendations.
“Our role is to make sure that the president and Congress are made aware of these particular challenges,” Garza said, “and then hopefully make some recommendations that can get us to a better place when it comes to access to special education for students with disabilities.”
Garza believes that even if the Department of Education is dismantled by the time the report is done, “it’s important to acknowledge what is happening, which is that there is a teacher shortage across the country and that there are ways of addressing it.”
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
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