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Global report on teachers: What you need to know                                          Last update:15 March 2024 

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Global report on teachers: What you need to know                                          Last update:15 March 2024 

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UNESCO Article

Topics: What are the alarming findings regarding the shortage of teachers?

Does the teacher shortage affect specific regions or income levels?

How to tackle the teacher shortage effectively?

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Global report on teachers: What you need to know

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Teachers play a key role in shaping the future, unlocking every learner's potential, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 4 of inclusive and equitable quality education. Approaching 2030, a major issue looms large: The world is facing a significant teacher shortage.

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To support the preparation and retention of outstanding educators in all fields to ensure a bright future for children and youth in under-resourced and underserved communities in the United States, and for other purposes.

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What One Record-Setting Teacher Shortage Can Tell Us About the Profession

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What One Record-Setting Teacher Shortage Can Tell Us About the Profession

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"Many are deterred by reports of unfavorable working conditions and what they feel is a lack of public respect toward the profession."

"Of the more than 900 respondents, 50 people said they were already planning to become a teacher, and 490 said they would not consider teaching. The rest were somewhere in the middle—27 said they were strongly considering going into teaching, but it wasn’t their first choice, and 376 said they weren’t planning on becoming a teacher, but they would consider it."

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In a field house on a balmy mid-November evening, principals and district leaders here were waiting for prospective teachers to stop by so they could make their pitch: Come work for us. We need you.

The Mid-Del school system didn't used to focus on recruitment in the middle of the school year, but the strategy has become increasingly common in the state as more teachers quit midyear, and as other vacancies remain unfilled for months.

The 12,500-student district was hiring for multiple teaching positions-elementary, secondary, and special education, the toughest shortage area in the state-as well as for paraprofessionals, tutors, and speech pathologists.

And school nurses. And office workers, cafeteria staff, and maintenance workers.

In other words, if you wanted to work in education, you could probably get a job here-and fast. The problem, of course, is finding enough people who are interested.

Alexander Fraboulet, an English education major at the University of Oklahoma, attended the job fair to network. But the senior said in an interview that he's still not sure if he wants to teach in Oklahoma after he graduates this spring. Most people in his cohort at school aren't planning to stick around the state, either, he added-they're planning on getting jobs in Texas or Colorado, where the pay is higher.

"It would almost be financially irresponsible for the long term to go teach in Oklahoma," he said.

In a sense, Oklahoma amplifies many of the issues now facing the American teaching profession. People are reluctant to go into teaching, in large part because they can make more money in other fields.

Such trends have played out differently across states-but they have buffeted the Sooner State intensely, and serve as a microcosm for understanding the tensions in the field.

Over the past few years there have been "continued challenges, left and right, to teacher autonomy, to curriculum, to just every aspect of teaching," said Shelbie Witte, the senior director of teacher education at Oklahoma State University, the largest teacher-preparation program in the state.

"The struggle we have is everyone thinks that they're an expert in education because they went to school," she continued. "There is an art and craft to teaching ... that takes skill to know how to do and how to do it well. ... I would never treat a professional the way that professionals in education are treated across the country. But you only need to look to Oklahoma recently to see that playing out."

Pay is increasing, but turnover remains high

"We need to really figure out where to find people who want to give teaching a try," said Rick Cobb, the superintendent of the Mid-Del schools.

By the 2022-23 school year, Oklahoma teachers were making an average of $55,541-a 23 percent increase from six years earlier, but still below the average salary in many neighboring states. (In Texas, teachers made an average of $60,716; in Colorado, the average teacher salary was $61,907; and in New Mexico, it's $63,580, all according to an analysis by the National Education Association. The national average teacher salary was $68,469.)

That same school year, Oklahoma's teacher turnover rate was 24 percent, the highest in a decade. The figure includes both teachers who changed schools or who moved to a non-teaching job within the same school, as well as those who left the profession entirely.

State lawmakers are responding. To curb the shortage, they have funneled more money into schools and salaries. Last spring, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a record education funding package, which included $625 million for public schools, teacher pay raises of $3,000 to $6,000 depending on experience, and six weeks of paid maternity leave for teachers.

Lawmakers also established a scholarship and employment incentive program for teachers who are trained in an Oklahoma teacher-preparation program that grants a $20,000 bonus for staying in the job for five years. Some state legislators are proposing an additional teacher pay raise this year.

Dan Isett, the director of communications of the state education department, said more than 500 teachers are now in Oklahoma classrooms as a direct result of the bonuses. (Funding for the program has been exhausted, but the department is leaving the application open for the possibility of additional funding in the future.)

"Introducing free market principles like this into our education system is absolutely essential in rewarding our best teachers and driving positive change for our students," Isett wrote in an email.

Even so, educators in the state say there's still a long way to go before teaching in the state is considered a sustainable and attractive profession. The negative rhetoric about teachers isn't helping either, they add.

Walters has become one of the loudest critics of public school teachers in the country as he seeks to root out what he sees as a toxic " woke ideology." Walters, a former high school history teacher, has called teachers' unions " terrorist organizations," claimed that districts make pornographic books available to students, and has called for individual educators to lose their licenses or jobs.

"The radical teachers' unions have fought against parental involvement and choice in schools, have pushed porn into the classroom and libraries, and have been the guardians of the failed status quo in education for generations," Isett said. "Oklahomans are right to be fed up, and Superintendent Walters is their voice to bring sanity back to education."

The state restricted how teachers can discuss race and racism in the classroom, and Walters has pursued additional prohibitions on the books available in schools to weed out what he says is " sexualized content."

The accusation is offensive to some teachers.

"I don't let my 7th graders make a claim without evidence, yet we let this elected official do it, and our state by and large believes what he has to say," said Heather Davis, an English teacher at Central Middle School in Bartlesville.

The negative comments are draining, educators said, even though they largely feel respected by members in their own communities.

"While the few [voices] that may be very disrespectful are just a few, they're very loud," said Katherine Bishop, the president of the Oklahoma Education Association. "It hurts at your core."

Young people have a poor perception of teaching as a career

Perhaps, then, it's no surprise that teaching in Oklahoma has a real public relations problem.

Jacob Pleasants, an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma's college of education, surveyed first-year college students in a variety of majors in the falls of 2022 and 2023 about their views about teaching. He shared some preliminary findings with Education Week.

Of the more than 900 respondents, 50 people said they were already planning to become a teacher, and 490 said they would not consider teaching. The rest were somewhere in the middle-27 said they were strongly considering going into teaching, but it wasn't their first choice, and 376 said they weren't planning on becoming a teacher, but they would consider it.

Those two categories represent the people who teacher-educators and policymakers should try to convince to give teaching a shot, Pleasants said. But it's an uphill battle.

The disrespect and the unfunded mandates just keep coming.

It's not convincing them of the job's power to change lives that's the problem. It's countering the bad storylines floating around.

"Everyone agrees that teachers make a huge difference," Pleasants said. "But people have this perception that teaching is a grindingly difficult job-almost like a joyless profession."

Respondents had picked up on the rhetoric about the profession, as well as a sense that it involved low pay, long hours, and little autonomy. "A lot of people said, 'I wouldn't want to be a teacher because teachers are not respected by parents, respected by politicians, respected by students,'" Pleasants said.

And respondents indicated that they're not getting much encouragement to go into teaching, either, from close, trusted sources.

"The number of people who said that, 'My teachers have actively discouraged me from going into teaching,' was like, holy cow," Pleasants said. "A lot of them also said that a family member [who is a teacher] also told [them], 'Don't go into teaching, it's terrible.' That was one of those mind-blowing things here-the sheer number of people who are reporting that the people discouraging them from teaching are the teachers in their life."

That trend is not unique to Oklahoma: Nearly 80 percent of teachers across the United States said they were not likely to advise their own child or a child of a loved one to pursue a career in teaching, according to a nationally representative survey by the EdWeek Research Center.

'Hungry' for teachers

In the meantime, districts in Oklahoma are trying every avenue they can to fill their classrooms.

Some principals have urged their student-teachers to quit school before graduating so they can hire them as adjunct teachers full-time, teacher-educators have said.

And the competition is fierce.

Fraboulet, the senior education major at the University of Oklahoma, said at one job fair, recruiters were literally trying to grab hold of teachers.

"Districts were pulling me to the side, taking my arm, which you never see at a job fair for any [other field like] accounting. You usually approach them if you're interested," he said. "They were hungry."

There was no such arm-pulling at the Mid-Del school district job fair, but administrators there were hoping to make a good impression. School leaders decorated tables with jars of candy, pictures of school sports teams, and mascot memorabilia, like a stuffed tiger head and a blue jay. About 20 prospective applicants came by over the course of an hour, shaking hands and hearing sales pitches.

We need to really figure out where to find people who want to give teaching a try.

Recruiting teachers these days "is a challenge," said Charita Hunt, the principal of Midwest City Elementary School. "You just look everywhere. You're just constantly looking."

Hunt was recruiting for a paraprofessional at the job fair. Those positions have had the highest amount of turnover lately, she said, because she's been tapping her current paraprofessionals to become adjunct teachers. Such a cycle is common in Oklahoma; school leaders say they'd rather have their paraprofessionals fill in, since they know the school community and have experience working with students. That's not always an option, though.

"We've had emergency certified teachers who don't have education experience but [do have] a college degree that have turned into great teachers," said Cobb, the Mid-Del superintendent. He's now hoping his adjunct teachers will pursue their college degrees and become fully certified teachers.

Even so, educators say that the high volume of emergency certified and adjunct teachers in the state has shifted the culture and climate in schools. Principals are overwhelmed with getting those teachers up to speed and providing more intensive support, which can pull them away from their other responsibilities.

Certified teachers are also asked to do more to support their untrained colleagues, who often don't understand things like individualized education programs or high-stakes assessments, said Davis, the teacher in Bartlesville.

"It does put an additional stress onto the teachers who have been here and who are traditionally certified," she said. "As the experienced teachers, we didn't sign up to be your teacher as well. We're happy to help, but it does take a toll."

Even first-year teachers are often asked to mentor emergency certified teachers, teacher-educators and union leaders say.

Some teachers are "just saying, 'I can't continue to do this,'" said Bishop, the state teachers' union president.

In other words, "every time they reduce the requirements, the shortage gets worse," said Kim Pennington, the director of educator preparation and assistant dean of the University of Central Oklahoma's college of education. "It's having an inverse effect."

Early signs of recovery

There are some signs of hope on the horizon, as the declines in teacher-preparation enrollment in the state have started to reverse.

The University of Central Oklahoma, for instance, is expecting to welcome its largest incoming class this fall in at least the past six years. By Feb. 15, the college had admitted 347 education majors for the fall-a 260 percent increase compared to this time in 2022 and a 180 percent increase from this time in 2023. The school admits students on a rolling basis throughout the spring.

"It's showing me that there's an uptick in students who are raising their hand saying, yes, I want to be a teacher," said Jennifer Burris, the project manager of teacher recruitment and retention there. She's hopeful that the state's new pay raises, scholarships, and incentive program will encourage them to teach in Oklahoma after they graduate.

Still, teachers in the state are waiting for more to change.

"The disrespect and the unfunded mandates just keep coming," Davis said. Some veteran teachers have said of the 2018 walkout: "Are we going to have to keep doing this every five to six years just to keep their attention?" she noted.

After all, it was the second one in Davis' career-teachers in the state walked off the job in 1990, too, for similar reasons.

"It's like home ownership-it's constant maintenance," Davis said of teacher advocacy. "We can't just say we're done and call it finished. I'm just so exhausted by it all."

Even so, she said, she can't imagine doing anything else. The love for the job keeps her-and so many peers in Oklahoma and elsewhere-in the classroom, despite all the frustrations.

"I don't know of any other profession anywhere that gets to see a kid's brain in action and see the learning happen and see the synapses firing off in their brains-and I get to see that, on a good day, multiple times a day," Davis said. "It's very, very hard, [but] what we do is important, and it's worth it."

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What One Record-Setting Teacher Shortage Can Tell Us About the Profession

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Oklahoma struggles mightily with the widespread perception that teaching is a low-wage, high-stress, low-respect profession.

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JANUARY 2024Michigan Teacher Shortage Study: 2024Report

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JANUARY 2024Michigan Teacher Shortage Study: 2024Report

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An excellent visual here shows all the Michigan Teacher Workforce Enhancement Initiatives programs!

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TEACHER RETENTION for District and School Districts. WHY IS FOCUSING ON TEACHER RETENTION CRITICAL?

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TEACHER RETENTION for District and School Districts. WHY IS FOCUSING ON TEACHER RETENTION CRITICAL?

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https://www.edelements.com/teacher-retention-guide#:~:text=Teacher%20retention%20is%20one%20of%20the%20most%20complex%20and%20challenging,a%20single%20or%20clear%20solution.

"WHY DO TEACHERS STAY AT THEIR JOB? WHY DO TEACHERS LEAVE THEIR JOB?"

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It is important to know the reason why there is a sensory room. Training and understanding what the equipment is used for.

~ Self Regulation ~ Calming ~ Sensory Issues ~ Balance and coordination ~ Helps with behavior issues.

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The Sensory Room: Helping Students With Autism Focus and Learn

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Imagine a safe space where students with autism can go to calm their bodies and then get back to the business of learning.

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Children with Special Needs have Sensory Issues

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Children with Special Needs have Sensory Issues

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Sensory seeking: What it is and how it looks

Sensory avoiding: What it is and how it looks

Types of sensory input include:

Sight

Touch

Smell

Hearing

Taste

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At a glance

There are two ways kids with sensory processing issues respond to sensory input.

When kids underreact to sensory input, they may seek out more input.

When kids overreact, they become overwhelmed and may avoid the input.

Our brains are constantly taking in information from our senses. For most people, processing that information isn't a problem. But dealing with that stream of input is a struggle for kids with sensory processing issues.

Kids don't all have the same reactions to situations and stimuli. But their responses tend to fall into one of two categories.

Some kids tend to be "sensory seekers." They underreact to sensory input or need more of it to function. Others are generally "sensory avoiders." They overreact to sensory input and become overwhelmed and hyperactive.

Learn more about the differences between sensory seeking and sensory avoidance.

When we think of sensory input, we think of having five senses: sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. These are some common examples of things kids seek and avoid from those senses.

Sight: Visual patterns, certain colors or shapes, moving or spinning objects, and bright objects or light.

Smell: Specific smells. Some kids like to smell everything, while some kids are able to detect - and object to - smells that other people don't notice.

Hearing: Loud or unexpected sounds like fire alarms or blenders, singing, repetitive or specific types of noises (like finger snapping or clapping).

Taste: Specific tastes (like spicy, sour, bitter, or minty) and textures (like crunchy, chewy, or mushy), chewing or sucking on non-food objects (like shirt sleeves or collars).

Touch: Touch from other people, touching and fiddling with objects, tight or soft clothing, and certain textures or surfaces.

But there are two other senses that affect kids with sensory processing issues. One is the ability to sense body movement, position, and balance. This is called proprioception. Sensory-seeking kids will try to get more proprioceptive input. They might give people tight hugs or crash into things to feel the physical contact and pressure. Sensory avoiders will try to get away from those sensations.

The other sense has to do with spatial orientation, or knowing where your body is "in space." In this case, sensory seekers might rock back and forth, spin or swing, hang upside down or jump from heights. Sensory avoiders may be more physically cautious.

Sensory seeking: What it is and how it looks

Most sensory seekers are undersensitive to input (this may be referred to as "hyposensitivity"). They look for more sensory stimulation. Kids who sensory seek may look clumsy, be a little too loud or seem to have "behavior issues."

Sensory input can help stimulate kids to feel less sluggish.It can also soothe an "overloaded system" and help kids feel more organized in their own bodies and in space. A sensory seeker may:

Stand too close when talking to others andnot have a good sense of personal space. (Learn how one mom taught this to her son using the "elbow rule.")

Have an unusual tolerance for pain.

Walk with loud, heavy steps.

Enjoy jumping, hopping, and bumping and crashing into things and people - sometimes to the point of being unsafe.

Not know their own strength. (Kids may rip paper when writing, break toys, or hurt others by accident.)

Prefer "rough play" on the playground.

Touch people and objects often.

Seek out or make loud noises.

Chew on shirt sleeves or collars and other non-food items.

Sensory avoiding: What it is and how it looks

Most sensory avoiders are oversensitive (this may be referred to as "hypersensitivity"). They experience sensory input more intensely than the average person, and they avoid it because it's overwhelming to them.

Kids who sensory avoid may seem timid. They may be "picky eaters" or be particular about the types of clothes they wear. A sensory avoider may:

Not liked being hugged or kissed, even by family.

Be startled and frightened by unexpected sounds and bright lights.

Hear background noises other people aren't able to detect.

Worry about being bumped in line or touched by other kids while playing.

Refuse to wear scratchy, tight, or otherwise "uncomfortable" clothes.

Be wary and avoidant of swings and other playground equipment that provides vestibular or proprioceptive input.

Have trouble knowing where their body is in relation to other people or objects.

Prefer to be in quieter environments and avoid crowds.

It's not always one or the other

Not all kids are clearly sensory seekers or sensory avoiders. Some kids may show a combination of these reactions. That's because their responses can change based on their level of arousal or how well they're able to self-regulate.

For example, some kids are fine in familiar settings, but might have sensory meltdowns in crowded, unfamiliar places. Or they might seek out more input to help calm themselves down, when they ordinarily don't.

Key takeaways

Sensory seekers are undersensitive to sensory input, while sensory avoiders are oversensitive.

Some kids may show a combination of these reactions.

Knowing your child's triggers can help you find ways to help your child cope.

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Sensory seeking and sensory avoiding: What you need to know

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Kids with sensory processing issues may be sensory seekers, sensory avoiders, or both. Read why kids seek or avoid sensory input and what the behaviors look like.

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How acting out is different from being defiant...

ANXIETY

Changes in routine

Trouble with self-control

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Angry outbursts may seem to come out of nowhere. But kids often act out because they're struggling with something they don't understand or don't know how to put into words.

Here are common reasons why kids act out:

Anxiety: Kids often act out when they're anxious about big changes, like a new baby at home or a death in the family. Smaller things can cause anxiety too, like a test or trouble with a friend.

Changes in routine: Kids may respond in anger if they feel like they don't know what's happening now or what will happen next.

Trouble with self-control: Some kids act out because they struggle to control their impulses. This makes it hard for them to follow directions.

Trouble with a school subject: When kids refuse to do schoolwork, that could be their way of saying "I don't know how to do this."

Kids who act out at the end of the day may have spent the school day trying to hide their struggles. They act out to show they're struggling and can't find the right words to use.

Learn more about why some kids fall apart after school.

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Kids often act out because they're struggling with something they don't understand or don't know how to put into words. Learn more reasons why kids act out.

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What it looks like to work with special education. "Day in the Life of a Disability Services Coordinator"

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What it looks like to work with special education. "Day in the Life of a Disability Services Coordinator"

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Day in the Life of a Disability Services Coordinator |

A series of short videos shows in an inclusive classroom.

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Are you curious about what a day in the life of a disabilities services coordinator might look like? This series of short videos shows the process that Kellie Nketiah, a disabilities services coordinator in Washington state, goes through when she supports both educators and children in inclusive classroom settings. In these videos, Kellie talks about various steps in developing an individual support plan for a child, beginning with setting up an inclusive "no fail" learning environment for all children.

Disabilities services coordinators and educators can see examples of environmental supports and teaching practices that help children function successfully in group classroom settings. They can learn about what a disabilities services coordinator does during a classroom observation and the steps involved in developing an individual support plan for a child with challenging behaviors. Educators can hear from a colleague about the benefits and challenges in implementing the plan.

Disabilities services coordinators can use these videos to discuss the process with educators, answer their questions, and clarify expectations. Educators can watch the videos to learn more about what they can do to create inclusive learning environments for all children.

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Day in the Life of a Disability Services Coordinator | ECLKC

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Watch this set of short videos to see some of the ways Kellie, a disabilities services coordinator in Washington state, supports both educators and children in inclusive learning settings.

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VISUAL SUPPORTS ARE USED EVERYDAY THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE SCHOOL

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VISUAL SUPPORTS ARE USED EVERYDAY THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE SCHOOL

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THE TOP 4 REASONS WHY WE USE VISUAL SUPPORTS IN OUR CLASSROOMS.

THEY HELP THE STUDENTS TO TRANSITION AS WELL.

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Some children have difficulty understanding verbal instructions and requests. Not understanding the expectations of a learning environment, what to do, or what will happen next can have a negative effect on a child's participation and engagement in activities, routines, and interactions. Head Start staff can use pictures or visuals in a variety of ways to present important information in a way that helps children understand and use it. Visual supports encourage engagement and learning in many different settings - including in the classroom, at home, and in the community - as well as across routines and activities.

This high-quality collection of visuals and supports can be printed and used immediately to support young children's development and learning. Each visual support includes a guide that explains what the support is, why it might be used, and how to increase the participation, engagement, and learning of children in your learning environment.

These visuals show examples of common rules in early learning environments. Use them to teach children a variety of safe and positive behaviors. Post them in your learning environment and talk about them often with children. Model the behaviors and provide children many opportunities to practice them.

These visuals show examples of play areas and materials that are common in early childhood environments. They can help children understand what to play with and how to play, which supports children to engage more independently. Display these visuals in the learning centers within your program environment. Use them to label areas and materials. Have conversations about the pictures to help children get ideas for things to do during play and art activities.

These visual supports provide information about common daytime activities, routines, and transitions to help children fully participate and engage. Use the visuals to help children understand what they should be doing and when they should be doing it to increase independence. Create a daily schedule with the pictures so children know what activities will happen next. An activity schedule can also help children understand the parts of a routine with multiple steps.

These visuals support children in learning important social and emotional skills, such as emotion regulation, problem-solving, and friendship skills. Use them to help children recognize, communicate, and manage their emotions. Build children's social skills using pictures of ways to initiate interactions with peers, comfort a friend, or solve a social problem. Talk about the pictures and encourage children to use them in different situations.

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These pictures and visuals help present important information in a way that children can understand and use. They encourage engagement and learning in many different settings, routines, and activities.

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School Services for Children with Special Needs: Know Your Rights

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School Services for Children with Special Needs: Know Your Rights

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Federal law mandates that every child receive a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment possible. To support their ability to learn in school, three federal laws apply specifically to children with special needs:

1. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (1975)

2. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

3. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (1990)

physical disorders

psychiatric disorders

emotional problems

behavioral problems

learning differences

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School Services for Children with Special Needs: Know Your Rights

No. 83; September 2016

Some children experience difficulties in school, ranging from physical differences, problems with concentration, learning, speech, language, and perception to problems with behavior and/or making and keeping friends. These difficulties may be due to one or more of the following:

physical disorders

psychiatric disorders

emotional problems

behavioral problems

learning differences

Children with such special needs are usually entitled to receive additional services or accommodations through the public schools. Federal law mandates that every child receive a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment possible. To support their ability to learn in school, three federal laws apply specifically to children with special needs:

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (1975)

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (1990)

Different states have different criteria for eligibility, services available, and procedures for each of these laws. It is important for parents to be aware of these laws and how they are applied in their state.
The Laws
IDEA is a federal law (1975, amended in 2004) that governs all special education services for children in the United States. Under IDEA, in order for a child to be eligible for special education, they must have issues in one of the following categories:

a serious emotional disturbance

a learning difference

intellectual disability

having had a traumatic brain injury

being diagnosed on the spectrum of autism

vision and hearing impairments

physical disabilities

developmental delays (including speech and language difficulties)

other health impairments

Section 504 is a civil rights statute (1973) that requires that schools not discriminate against children with disabilities and provide them with reasonable accommodations. It covers all programs or activities, whether public or private, that receive any federal financial assistance. Reasonable accommodations include untimed tests, sitting in front of the class, modified homework and the provision of necessary services. Typically, children covered under Section 504 either have less severe disabilities than those covered under IDEA or have disabilities that do not fit within IDEA. Under Section 504, any person who has an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity is considered disabled. Learning and social development are included under the list of major life activities.

The ADA (1990) requires all schools, other than those operated by religious organizations, meet the needs of children with these differences or disorders. Under the ADA children who qualify cannot be denied educational services, programs or activities and it prohibits discrimination against all such students.
Evaluation of Your Child
As a parent, you may request an evaluation of your child to determine any needs for special education and/or related services. The evaluation may include psychological and educational testing, a speech and language evaluation, occupational therapy assessment and a behavioral analysis. These are the steps you need to take:

1. Meet with your child's teacher to share your concerns and request an evaluation by the school's child study team. Parents can also request independent professional evaluations.

2. Submit your requests in writing for evaluations and services. Always date your requests and keep a copy for your records.

3. Keep careful records, including observations reported by your child's teachers and any communications (notes, reports, letters, etc.) between home and school.

The results of the evaluation determine your child's eligibility to receive a range of services under the applicable law. If qualifying disabilities or differences are found, an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a Section 504 plan (often less strict in its definitions) would be developed. Examples of categories of services in IEPs include: Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, and/or the provision of a classroom aide.

Parents do not determine whether their child is eligible under the law, however, parents are entitled to participate in the development of the IEP. Also, the findings of a school's evaluation team are not final. You have the right to appeal their conclusions and determination. The school is required to provide you with information about how to make an appeal.
What a Parent Can Do
Children with special needs are entitled rights to services in school under federal and state laws. Parents should always advocate for their child and take necessary steps to make sure their child receives appropriate services. The process can be confusing and intimidating for parents. Here are some tips:

Parents should request copies of their school district's Section 504 plan. This is especially important when a school district refuses services.

If the school district does not respond to your request, you can contact a U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights Regional Office for assistance.

If the school district refuses services under the IDEA or Section 504 or both, you may choose to challenge this decision through a due process hearing (a legal hearing in which you and your child have an advocate who can help talk about your views and concerns).

It may also be necessary to hire your own lawyer if you decide to appeal a school's decision.

Other resources for parents include: the State Department of Education, Bazelon Center for Health Law at www.bazelon.org.

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school services for children with special needs: know your rights

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School Services for Children with Special Needs: Know Your Rights

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School Services for Children with Special Needs: Know Your Rights No. 83; September 2016 Some children experience difficulties in school, ranging from physical differences, problems with concentration, learning, speech, language, and perception to problems with behavior and/or making and keeping friends.

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Things You’ll Learn Working with Students with Special Needs

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Things You’ll Learn Working with Students with Special Needs

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1. You Must be Patient

2. You’ll be a Jack of All Trades

3. Use Correct Language

4. Prioritize Behavioral Issues ~ According to one estimate, on average, 144 minutes per week of instructional time is lost in classrooms because of behavior disruptions.

It may be best to overlook a student’s mildly disruptive behavior to avoid taking time and energy away from a more pressing situation

5. Every Student is Unique

6. Special Educators Are in High Demand

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Things You’ll Learn Working with Students with Special Needs | NU

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Learn how to support students with special needs. Gain practical insights and helpful resources to create an inclusive learning environment.

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High-Leverage Practices for Students with Disabilities: Glossary

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High-Leverage Practices for Students with Disabilities: Glossary

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GREAT RESOURCE TO LEARN THE LINGO IN SPECIAL EDUCATION

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High-Leverage Practices for Students with Disabilities: Glossary

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This glossary defines terms used in the discussion of high-leverage practices (HLPs) and provides references and resources related to those terms.

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There are many articles that cover the teacher shortage. Some listed below.

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There are many articles that cover the teacher shortage. Some listed below.

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It’s Not Always About the Pay: Establishing Supportive Working Conditions and Environments

Increased Compensation: State and District Efforts to Stabilize and Strengthen the Educator Workforce

The Power of Collaboration: Partnering to Support and Retain Novice Educators

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States, districts, schools, and educator preparation programs are continuing to operate tirelessly to ensure all students are provided a high-quality education while simultaneously balancing staffing shortages greatly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent survey conducted by the National Education Association revealed that members reported they are more likely to leave the profession earlier than originally planned, that burnout is a serious problem, that they have observed more teachers leaving the profession or retiring early, and that unfilled positions have increased their workload (55%, 90%, 86%, and 80%, respectively). The reasons for teacher shortages are complex and require systemic, evidence-based strategies and strong partnerships at all stages of the career continuum.

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Different trainings. Some are free and some have a fee

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The Stepping Stones Group is transforming solutions for school districts nationwide!

We have a proven record of success in delivering special education services, both in-person and virtually. Whether your district needs short-term or full-time personnel, we provide professionals who are licensed, certified, trained, and ready to assist.

Related Services:

Speech-Language Pathologists

Occupational Therapists

Physical Therapists

School Psychologists

Social Workers

Special Education Teachers

Reading Specialists

Teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Teachers of the

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Paraeducators are critically important to schools, teachers, and students-and they face unique challenges in classrooms they work in every day. Here are some of the resources that CEC has developed for paraeducators and the teachers and Administrators who work with them.

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Dispute Resolution Options

"When parents and schools work together on an issue, both parties are more likely to be satisfied with the solution. Direct, early, and meaningful communication between parties helps create a positive working relationship."

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Blind/Visual Impairment

Deaf/Hard of Hearing

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)

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Many offices, agencies, and organizations outside of the Office of Special Education (OSE) work with families and schools to support students with disabilities.

Academic Supports
Personal Curriculum (PC)
A PC can be used to modify any content within the Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC) for a student with an individualized education program (IEP).

Alternate Assessment

MI-Access: Michigan's Alternate Assessment System
MI-Access is designed for students who have, or function as if they have a significant cognitive impairment. MI-Access satisfies the federal requirement that all students with disabilities be assessed at the state level.

MI-Access is managed through the MDE Office of Educational Assessment and Accountability.

Assistive Technology

Alt+Shift
The Alt+Shift Lending Library contains assistive technology equipment and software that is available to Michigan's PK-12 public schools for short-term use.

Michigan Department of Education - Low Incidence Outreach (MDE-LIO) Technology Resources
The MDE-LIO provides resources and workshops for assistive technology to support students who are blind or have a visual impairment.

Autism

Statewide Autism Resources and Training (START)
The START Project provides evidence-based training, technical assistance, and resources to school-based teams that support students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Behavior Supports

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)
PBIS supports schools, districts, and states to implement a multi-tiered approach to social, emotional, and behavioral support.

Blind/Visual Impairment

Michigan Department of Education - Low Incidence Outreach (MDE-LIO)
The MDE-LIO provides educational materials and supports to students who are blind/visually impaired (BVI), their families, and school district personnel.

Camp Tuhsmeheta (Camp T)
Camp T is a campground in Greenville, Michigan owned and operated by the state of Michigan. The Michigan Department of Education - Low Incidence Outreach (MDE-LIO) oversees the operation of the camp and provides programming for students and their families. Camp T is also open to other education groups.

Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP)
The Michigan Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP) helps students with a visual impairment become employed and gain independence. BSBP provides training and other services that empower people to achieve their individual goals.

Deaf/Hard of Hearing

Michigan Department of Education - Low Incidence Outreach (MDE-LIO)
The MDE-LIO provides educational materials and supports to students who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHH), their families, and school district personnel.

Michigan School for the Deaf (MSD)
The MSD in Flint, Michigan is the state's school for educating students in a bilingual setting: American Sign Language (ASL) and English.

Early Childhood Education Services

Early On ® Michigan (Birth to 3)
Early On Michigan offers early intervention services for infants and toddlers birth to three years of age (and their families) with developmental delay(s) and/or disabilities.

Early Childhood Special Education (Age 3 to 5)
Preschool-aged children who are eligible for special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) are entitled to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) from their local school district.

Office of Great Start (Birth to 8)
The Michigan Department of Education Office of Great Start has been charged with ensuring that all children ages birth to eight, especially those in highest need, have access to high-quality early learning and development programs and enter kindergarten prepared for success.

Mediation

Special Education Mediation Program (SEMS)
SEMS provides free special education mediation and IEP facilitation.

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)

Michigan's MTSS Technical Assistance Center
The MiMTSS Technical Assistance Center works on behalf of the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) to provide a continuum of technical assistance to intermediate school districts (ISDs), districts, and schools in a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework.

Parent Supports

Michigan Alliance for Families
A state-funded initiative that works directly with families across the state.

Transition Services

Office of Career and Technical Education (CTE)
The Office of Career and Technical Education (CTE) oversees high school instructional programs that teach students skills in a specific career cluster.
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS)
Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS)
Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS) provides specialized employment and education-related services and training to assist teens and adults with disabilities to become employed.

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Many offices, agencies, and organizations outside of the Office of Special Education (OSE) work with families and schools to support students with disabilities. Personal Curriculum (PC) A PC can be used to modify any content within the Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC) for a student with an individualized education program (IEP).

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Ways for Parents and educators to regroup after a tough moment

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Ways for Parents and educators to regroup after a tough moment

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Eye of the Storm Meditation.

Body Scan Meditation.

Mindful Breathing Meditation.

Deep Breathing Meditation.

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When your child has a disability

Whether your child has a developmental issue, a physical disability, or a sensory impairment such as vision or hearing loss, their disability can have a significant impact on both of your lives. Studies show that parents of children with chronic physical problems, such as cerebral palsy or blindness, for example, experience higher stress than other parents.

Every parent worries about their children and how to provide the best for them in life. But when your child has a disability, these fears are often magnified. You may worry about how you'll handle the practical aspects of caregiving. What will public outings be like? What about schooling? How will you balance looking after your child with other household and family responsibilities? How can you make your home safer or more accessible for your child?

Beyond the practical considerations, you'll likely also face significant emotional challenges. You might fear that your child will never be able to live what is considered a "normal" life, or worry the physical challenges they face could limit their opportunities.

You may feel isolated if you're unable to attend certain social events with your child, or enjoy certain physical activities, such as sports. You may even worry about the social stigma your child could face, or how other people may perceive them. Will your child be bullied by peers? Excluded or ignored?

It's easy for these emotional and caregiving challenges to leave you feeling overwhelmed by stress and anxiety. But even when things seem overwhelming, know that there are ways to overcome these challenges, build a sense of resilience, and help your child to thrive in life.

Since every child is unique and every parenting journey different, the circumstances you're dealing with may be very different from those facing other parents of children with disabilities. However, you there are lots of coping strategies you can tailor to suit your child's specific needs. The path forward often involves identifying potential roadblocks, reaching out for support, and determining how best to adapt to each challenge.

Common challenges facing parents of children with disabilities

Raising a child with a disability can come with unique challenges, including the mental stress and physical exhaustion of family caregiving. Other obstacles can include:

Dealing with difficult emotions. You may feel guilty if you question whether you could've prevented your child's disability. Anxiety and depression can set in if you see your child in pain or struggling with their condition. You may even feel angry or abandoned if you believe you're not getting support from other family members. When it comes to disabling conditions that are expected to get progressively worse over time, you may experience anticipatory grief, grieving a loss before it occurs.

Maintaining other responsibilities. When caring for a child with a disability, it can be difficult to balance work, home, and caregiving responsibilities. You may be tempted to cut back on sleep, but that will only lead to a host of other issues, like fatigue, higher stress, and a weakened immune system. If you have other children, you may worry about ensuring their needs are also met-as well as your own self-care.

Managing your child's medical care. Navigating the healthcare system can often be an overwhelming experience. If you're raising a child with a disability, you'll likely spend extra time researching treatment options and local resources. Then, of course, you'll need to schedule and attend medical appointments, fitting all of this into your other daily responsibilities.

Advocating for your child. Whether in the classroom or at social events, you may need to speak up for your child or ask for accommodations. To do this, you'll not only need to educate yourself on your child's disability, but also communicate effectively to others. It's possible that you'll have to deal with judgments from other people who don't understand your child's condition. From occasional stares from strangers to insults from playground bullies, it can feel as if you have to defend your child from the world.

Accepting your child's diagnosis

A life-changing diagnosis can hit hard and trigger feelings of grief and loss. It's normal to mourn a change in your child's physical health, or grieve the loss of future plans and opportunities.

Patience is important. Don't rush the grieving process or feel like your emotions need to follow a timeline. Some days you might feel anger and sadness, others denial. Childhood landmarks, such as the first day of school, can often be emotionally difficult times as well. Go easy on yourself and know that coping with difficult and negative feelings can be an ongoing challenge.

Know that your child can still live a happy, meaningful life. If you need evidence of this, look up stories of people who have similar disabilities. You'll find that people often find ways to adapt to their condition, overcome challenges, and thrive in life. Believe that your child can do the same with the right guidance and support.
[Read: Coping with a Life-Threatening Illness or Serious Health Event]
Look ahead. Some people experience a sense of relief over their child's diagnosis-especially if they've spent a lot of time trying to understand the cause of their symptoms. Having a diagnosis now gives you an opportunity to gather useful information and seek support.

Identify your child's strengths and build on them. It's easy to dwell on your child's limitations. But don't forget that, just like any other child, they also have their strengths. Perhaps they have a mobility issue but excel at mathematics. Or maybe they're hearing impaired but have many artistic talents. Encourage those skills, and ensure your child has opportunities to put their strengths to use.

Educating yourself about the disability

By learning as much as possible about your child's disability or impairment, you can feel more confident in caring for them. You'll also be able to better understand what your child is going through, and articulate their needs to others.

Talk to your pediatrician and seek recommendations. Your child's doctor can be an excellent source of information, so don't hesitate to ask them questions. Take things a step further and ask them for trustworthy books, websites, and other resources that can expand your knowledge.

Be a diligent fact-checker. It's easier than ever to find information on specific disabilities and health conditions online. However, not everything you read is accurate. Develop a habit of cross-checking information with multiple sources and reviewing source credentials. Often, academic and government-run websites have credible information, as do specific organizations that relate to your child's condition.

Recognize the benefits and limitations of online forums. Blogs and forums can give you insight into other people's experiences. You might even find some helpful tips that you can incorporate into your own childcare routine. But again, don't assume everything you read is true.

Know what works (and doesn't work) for your child. What motivates your child? What tires them out? What triggers their stress or anxiety? What calms them down? Answering these types of questions can make it easier for you to predict difficult situations, make adjustments, and advocate for their needs.

Share your knowledge. Whenever you find a new resource or make a new discovery about your child, pass on that information to the rest of your family or other potential caregivers. School staff might also benefit from your findings. The more information they have, the better they'll be at providing support to your child.

Explore support groups. You might be able to find support groups that focus on your child's specific disability, or more general support groups for caregivers. These groups can make you feel a little less alone in your struggles, and can often be a source of practical coping tips.

Developing day-to-day coping tips

Part of caring for a child with a disability is knowing that even mundane daily activities can sometimes require a little extra thought or preparation.

Research and try out assistive technology. Assistive devices are tools that can make daily tasks easier for your child. They can include anything from wheelchairs and walkers for children with mobility issues to hearing aids and screen readers for those with impaired senses. Learning how to use specific assistive technology can often enhance your child's quality of life.

Follow a schedule. Having predictable routines can make any child feel safe and secure, but is especially important for children with disabilities. Aim to feed, bathe, and play with your child at around the same time each day, whenever possible.

Plan outings. Consider how busy your destination may be at certain times of the day. Your child might feel overwhelmed if you need to navigate a noisy restaurant or crowded theme park at the busiest times, for example. In some cases, going at off-peak hours might ensure that staff can be more attentive to your child's needs.

Always give yourself extra time. From inaccessible buildings to pain flare-ups, all sorts of factors can add delays to your plans. Giving yourself extra time can help avoid the stress of rushing and allow you to calmly deal with any unexpected obstacles.

Bring help if necessary. Depending on the nature of your child's disability, it may help to have another adult or an older sibling with you. They can assist with any physical challenges, for example, such as helping your child up and down stairs.

Consider how you'll handle rudeness. In some cases, you might decide to ignore intrusive comments or impolite stares from strangers. Or you may feel motivated to explain your child's condition. Having a go-to plan in mind can help reduce your stress. For example, you could rehearse a simple explanation to share with strangers.

Dealing with behavioral issues

Disciplining a child with a disability can feel like a difficult task. When faced with outbursts or defiance, you might feel tempted to let them carry on because it simply "feels easier." However, you can find many healthy ways to discipline your child-and they can learn and benefit from the boundaries you set.

Find ways to clearly communicate the rules. Depending on your child's disability, you might need to use pictures, gestures, or other means of communication to convey your expectations.

Set predictable consequences. For example, being mean to a sibling might result in your child losing playtime. Consider using "if-then" language when explaining the consequences or giving the child a warning: "If you push your brother, then you'll lose playtime."

Be consistent. If you say that bullying will lead to a timeout, be sure to enforce that rule each time. This helps foster predictability. If you're raising multiple children, you'll want to use the same rules and consequences for each of them or be willing to explain why exceptions exist.

Offer lots of praise. Remember to use praise and rewards, such as extended play time, to encourage good behavior.

Manage your own stress and emotions. Research indicates that there's a "transactional" connection between a parent's stress levels and a child's behavioral problems. This means that not only does bad behavior stress a parent out, but the parent's elevated stress can worsen the child's behavior. For instance, when you're stressed, you might be less responsive to your child, and that could encourage your child to act out for attention.

Practicing self-care

When raising a child with a disability, it's easy to forget about your own needs. However, self-care is a vital part of caregiving. You can't effectively care for your child if you don't care for yourself as well.

Make time for exercise. You don't necessarily need to get a gym membership. Just spend a little time doing physical activities you enjoy, such as a walk around the park or a cycle ride. If you get creative, you can mix this in with quality time with your child. For example, they might enjoy regular walks or tossing a ball back and forth in the park. You can also explore exercises for people with limited mobility.

Get enough rest at night. Most adults need at least seven hours of quality sleep each night. This might be easier to accomplish if you set a regular bedtime for your child as well-and take time to relax before bed.
[Read: How to Fall Asleep Fast and Sleep Better]
Eat a healthy diet. Some people are prone to emotional eating when they're stressed. Make sure you have a kitchen stocked with nutritional food options for yourself as well as your child.

Maintain lines of support. Whether you open up to a friend, family member, or therapist, it's important to share your feelings rather than keep frustrations bottled up. Caregiver support groups are another option when you're looking for advice and understanding.

Keep up with activities you enjoy. Parenting can be all-consuming, and it's easy to lose track of your own hobbies and interests. But making even just a little time for your favorite activities can help you unwind and avoid burnout.

What to do when you feel overwhelmed

The demands of caregiving for a child with a disability can be overwhelming. The prolonged and excessive stress can even lead to caregiver burnout, a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion, where you feel disengaged, unmotivated, and helpless. But there are steps you can take to manage overwhelming stress and avoid burnout.

Several studies suggest that mindfulness practices are effective in reducing stress and improving well-being in parents of children with disabilities. Mindfulness involves tuning into your present experiences, whether they're thoughts, emotions, or sensations, and adopting a nonjudgmental acceptance of what's happening.

Slow down. Try to notice when you're rushing through life. Maybe you're trying to make breakfast, dress your child, and get out the door in ten minutes. When possible, fix your focus on one thing at a time rather than multitasking. This allows you to be calmer and more attentive, and avoid stressing yourself and your child

Try a guided meditation. Meditation can help you build mindfulness by drawing your attention to your thought patterns and physical experiences. Explore the following exercises to find one that's most effective for you:

Practice self-compassion. Sometimes it may feel like you can't quite seem to do things right. Maybe you forgot your child's medication at home. Or perhaps you lost your temper while they were misbehaving. Even when you feel like you're failing, remember to take a step back, acknowledge what's going right, and give yourself credit for your efforts. Let go of the idea that you need to be a "perfect" parent or caregiver.

Balancing the needs of all your children

Depending on the severity of your child's disability, they may require much more attention than your other children. This can lead to a tough balancing act. How do you tend to your child's needs without neglecting other members of your family?

Offer honest explanations of their sibling's disability. Rather than try to deny the existence of differences, be upfront about the situation. Depending on your children's ages, you might have to use simple terms, such as: "Your sister's eyesight isn't as strong as yours." For school-age children, you can explain the disability in more detailed terms. You can even use roleplay exercises to help your child explain their sibling's disability to other people in a way that's accurate and respectful.

Set aside time for one-on-one engagement. Even if one child requires extra attention, it's important to find moments to give each of your other children your undivided attention. This quality time could involve one-on-one outings each week, or short walks together in the evening. Be as present as you can during these activities. For your child, it's an opportunity to share their feelings, voice their needs, and feel connected with you.

Encourage open dialogue. Sometimes your other children may feel jealous or frustrated with the amount of special attention their sibling with a disability receives. One way to mitigate tension is to promote open communication. Give your children time to express any issues they have. Be an active listener who's receptive to their concerns.

Expect the conversation topics to change over time. Younger children might need help working through jealousy. Older children might have concerns over responsibilities they have in the household, or when helping their sibling with a disability.

Seeking support for you and your child

When it comes to caring for a child with a disability, you may feel tempted to do everything on your own. But that approach can quickly lead to burnout. Knowing when and how to lean on others can significantly improve your sense of well-being, as well as your ability to care for your child.

Support doesn't necessarily have to come from close family members. Help from outside of the family, such as from friends and professionals, can also reduce stress.

Evaluate caregiving tasks. Consider making a list of your typical caregiving responsibilities. Which ones are hard to manage alone or leave you feeling overwhelmed? Be realistic in your assessment and think about your physical and time limitations.

Recruit help for specific tasks. You may feel hesitant to ask for assistance from others, but friends and family members will likely be understanding and eager to help. Have a one-on-one conversation with the person and see if they have time and energy to lend you a hand. Be specific about your needs. For example, if you need someone to take your child to a medical appointment, give them the specific time, place, and any details they need to know about your child's needs.

Ask for more general help. You can also mention general areas that you're struggling in. Then, you and the other person can brainstorm ways they can best help you out. Maybe you have a friend who is good at research and is willing to identify local programs for you and your child.

Expand your search for support. If you're religious, consider asking people in your place of worship for support. Caregiver organizations and organizations that focus specifically on your child's disability can also be good resources. If you need temporary relief from your caregiving duties, you can look into in-home or out-of-home respite care options.

Stay educated on helpful policies and programs. Government policies regarding disabilities vary by country or state. Knowing more about your local policies can end up making life much easier for you and your child. In the U.S., for example, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires child care centers to make reasonable modifications and provide certain types of aids and services for children with disabilities.

Always keep in mind that while you're the child's parent and primary caregiver, you don't have to handle everything alone. Recognizing your limits and leaning on others can make your parenting efforts even more effective, and strengthen the bond between you.

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doi: 10.1606/1044-3894.4150                           PMCID: PMC3364020NIHMSID: NIHMS371479PMID: 22661878                                                                Parenting a Child with a Disability: The Role of Social Support for African American Parents               

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doi: 10.1606/1044-3894.4150                           PMCID: PMC3364020NIHMSID: NIHMS371479PMID: 22661878                                                                Parenting a Child with a Disability: The Role of Social Support for African American Parents               

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"Caring for a child with a disability brings multiple challenges to parents, such as additional financial burdens for treating their child’s condition, dealing with the child’s problematic behavior, and social stigma associated with disabilities "

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Fam Soc. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2012 May 30.

Published in final edited form as:

Abstract

This paper examines: (1) the impact of having a child with a disability on parents' mental and physical health among urban-dwelling African Americans and (2) the extent to which positive and negative social interactions with family other than the spouse moderate the impact of child's disability on parental adaptation. Analyses are based on a probability sample of African Americans living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The analytic sample includes 48 parents of a child with a disability and 144 comparison group parents of non-disabled children. Results showed that having a child with a disability is associated with more somatic symptoms. However, the negative consequences of the child's disability on parents' mental health are reduced when parents receive greater positive support from family.

Having a child with a disability poses a significant risk to parents' physical and emotional well-being ( Greenberg, Seltzer, & Greenley, 1993; Kling, Seltzer, & Ryff, 1997). However, this risk may vary across different racial and ethnic groups, given diverse cultural norms, resources, and support available to these parents ( Magaña & Smith, 2006; Mary, 1990). Furthermore, within each minority population, different factors may account for the variability in the extent to which having a child with a disability leads to negative health and mental health consequences ( Harry, 2002).

Although a handful of studies have examined racial differences in the impact of caring for a child with a disability ( Magaña & Smith, 2006; Mary, 1990; Pruchno, Patrick, & Burant, 1997), relatively few studies have closely investigated in urban-dwelling African American population the factors that may account for the influence of raising a child with a disability on parental well-being. The current study aims to address this gap in prior research by examining: (1) the impact of having a child with a disability on parents' mental and physical health among urban-dwelling African Americans and (2) the extent to which positive and negative social interactions with family other than the spouse moderate such impact of child's disability on parental adaptation. Findings from this study will allow us to benchmark the stress that African American parents of children with a disability experience in light of previous research findings based on mostly White sample members. Furthermore, findings will enhance our understanding of the role of non-spousal family support in adjusting to this stress.

Impact of Having a Child with Disability on Parental Well-Being among African Americans

Caring for a child with a disability brings multiple challenges to parents, such as additional financial burdens for treating their child's condition, dealing with the child's problematic behavior, and social stigma associated with disabilities ( Baker & Heller, 1996; Lecavalier, Leone, & Wiltz, 2006). Consequently, parents of children with a disability often experience more physical health symptoms, negative affect, and poorer psychological well-being than parents without a child with disabilities ( Ha, Hong, Seltzer, & Greenberg, 2008; Seltzer, Greenberg, Floyd, & Hong, 2004; Singer, 2006).

However, previous findings were largely based on White samples and little is known about how African American parents cope with the stress of raising children with a disability. A few existing studies suggest that there are both similarities and differences in parental adaptation to the stress of raising a disabled child across different racial groups. For example, using a sample of African American and White mothers of children with a developmental disability or schizophrenia, Pruchno and her colleagues (1997) found that race did not significantly influence caregiving burden or satisfaction. However, compared to White mothers, African American mothers were more likely to coreside with the child with a disability and less likely to be married ( Pruchno et al., 1997). Another study conducted a within-group analysis comparing African American parents of a disabled child with their African American peers with non-disabled children and found that, although the former group did not significantly differ from the latter in depressive symptoms, they reported more limiting health conditions (e.g., arthritis and diabetes) than non-caregivers in old age ( Magaña & Smith, 2006).

The current study extends previous research by examining the impact of having a child with a disability among urban-dwelling African Americans who may face extra challenges of caregiving due to limited socioeconomic and environmental resources ( Ceballo & McLoyd, 2002). Furthermore, by using a representative sample collected as part of a larger population-based study, this study aims to provide not only the within-race comparison of African American parents of children with a disability and parents of non-disabled children but also findings that can be compared with the results from our previous study based on a nationally representative yet largely White sample. Consistent with prior literature, we hypothesize that having a child with a disability would be associated with negative mental health and physical health outcomes among urban-dwelling African Americans.

Moderating Effects of Positive and Negative Social Interactions with Non-Spousal Family on Parental Well-Being

The second objective of this study is to examine the role of positive and negative social interactions with family other than the spouse on African American parents' adaptation to raising a child with a disability. Non-spousal support has important implications for African Americans' well-being. Previous research suggests that extended families constitute a core social network for African Americans and provide important financial and instrumental support ( Ellison, 1990). Furthermore, support from kin is related to happiness and life satisfaction among African Americans ( Ellison, 1990).

The role of non-spousal family support may be especially salient among urban-dwelling African Americans given that many of them are not married and have low incomes ( Jarrett & Burton, 1999; Wilson & Tolson, 1990). Furthermore, because of the lack of formal supports available in urban communities, the family may be a major, if not the only, source of support parents of children with disabilities can turn to ( Ceballo & McLoyd, 2002). Support from families can have both positive and negative implications, however. Although families may be an important source of support, close relationships also involve negative interactions ( Akiyama, Antonucci, Takahashi, & Langfahl, 2003), which can exert a negative effect on psychological well-being ( Rook, 1997).

Previous studies have shown that positive and negative social interactions have distinct impacts on well-being and that negative social interactions tend to have more potent effects than positive social interactions ( Ingersoll-Dayton, Morgan, & Antonucci, 1997; Newsom, Nishishiba, Morgan, & Rook, 2003). Furthermore, although empirical evidence is mixed, previous research has continuously raised the possibility of the stress-buffering effect of positive social interactions (i.e., negative consequence of a stress is lessened in the presence of positive support) and the stress-exacerbating effect of negative social interactions (i.e., negative consequence is intensified in the presence of negative social interactions) ( Cranford, 2004; Rauktis, Koeske, & Tereshko, 1995).

In the context of raising a child with a disability, a few studies found that parents with greater social support show more positive parenting behaviors ( Ceballo & McLoyd, 2002) and lower levels of parenting stress ( Smith, Oliver, & Innocenti, 2001). One study showed that the presence of close social relationships helps parents cope with the stress of raising a disabled child ( Christina & Patricia, 1992). Rauktis et al. (1995) examined the moderating effects of both positive and negative social interactions among caregivers of mentally ill family members. They found that negative interactions had a significant impact on caregivers' distress and depression and that the relationship between caregiving demand and stress was exacerbated when the caregiver had greater negative interactions. However, they did not find a significant buffering effect of positive interactions.

In the current study, we build on prior literature by examining the extent to which the impact of parenting a child with a disability on African American parents' well-being differs depending on the level of positive and negative social interactions with family other than the spouse. Consistent with previous literature, we hypothesize that positive interactions would enhance parents' ability to cope with the stress of having a child with a disability, while negative interactions with other family members would exacerbate the stress of having a child with a disability on parental well-being. The findings of this study will help both the affected individuals and the helping professionals who work with urban-dwelling African Americans better understand the consequences of parenting a child with a disability and the role of non-spousal support among this population.

Methods

Sample

African Americans living in Milwaukee

Analyses are based on an African American sample collected in Milwaukee County, WI ( Almeida et al., 2009) as part of the Midlife in the US (MIDUS) Study ( Brim, Ryff, & Kessler, 2004). MIDUS is a national probability sample of English-speaking, non-institutionalized adults. Respondents were first interviewed in 1995-1996 and followed up in 2004-2006. In order to oversample African Americans in the second wave of MIDUS data collection, a supplementary sample of African Americans was drawn in the Milwaukee area.

The sampling frame of the Milwaukee data consisted of Census tracts in which at least 40 percent of the population was African American. These tracts were stratified according to the proportion of African Americans; those areas with higher proportions of African Americans had a higher chance of being selected for data collection than the areas with lower proportions. Using area probability sampling methods, potential respondents were identified, and field interviewers screened households to determine if they contained any African American adults. The sample was further stratified by age, gender, and income. Respondents were interviewed in their homes using a Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI). After completing the in-person interview, respondents were asked to complete a self-administered mail-back survey. All measures in the Milwaukee data are identical to the ones administered in MIDUS I or II, although the mode of interview differed for some items (i.e., interviews vs. mail-back). Response rate for the Milwaukee sample was 70.7% for the in-person interview and 67.2% for the mail-back survey. A total of 592 individuals participated in both the in-person interview and the mail-back survey. The African American Milwaukee sample provides a unique opportunity to address within-racial group differences in the impact of having a child with a disability.

Analytic sample

Our analytic sample consists of parents of children with a disability (n = 48) and the comparison group of parents who do not have a child with a disability (n = 144) drawn from the Milwaukee data. In the MIDUS data, 8 African American respondents had a child with a disability. However, because of the different sampling frame and mode of data collection between the Milwaukee and the MIDUS data, these respondents were not included in our analytic sample. The presence of a child with a disability was determined by asking the respondents whether each of their children has a developmental disability, such as autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy or intellectual disability (formerly referred to as mental retardation), or has ever had a long term serious mental health problem. Among the 592 respondents in Milwaukee data, a total of 48 individuals have responded that they have a child with a disability with a confirmed diagnosis. The characteristics of these parents are presented in the results section (see Table 1 ). The average age of the children with a disability was 27 and 38% of them were female. About 60% of them were living with their parent(s) at the time of the survey.

Table 1

Parents of a child with a disability

Comparison group

M

SD

M

SD

Dependent variables

Negative affect

2.05

1.05

1.73

0.83⁺

Somatic symptoms

4.00

1.91

3.18

2.00**

Interactions with non-spousal family

Sociodemographic variables

Number of children

4.31

2.47

3.06

1.82**

The comparison group was drawn from the original sample based on the following criteria: (a) the respondent has at least one living child, (b) the respondent does not have a child with a disability, and (c) the respondent has not provided care to others in the past 12 months. Out of the total sample of 592 respondents, 399 persons met these criteria. We then used stratified random sampling to select a matched comparison group. Sample members were matched on respondent's gender and coresidence status of children. These variables were selected because the proportion of mothers and coresident children differed between parents of children with a disability and parents of non-disabled children in the original sample and also because these factors may affect parental well-being and caregiving burden ( Greenberg, Seltzer, & Greenley, 1993). Specifically, we created four cells (i.e., mothers with a coresiding child, mothers without a coresiding child, fathers with a coresiding child, and fathers without a coresiding child) and drew a random sample of comparison group parents proportionate to the distribution of parents of children with a disability across these four cells. Instead of drawing the same number of parents of children with a disability and parents of non-disabled children, we selected three comparison group parents for each parent of a child with a disability in order to increase statistical power.

Measures

Dependent variables

Three indicators of psychological and physical health are considered as dependent variables: positive affect, negative affect, and number of somatic symptoms. Positive (α = .91) and negative affect (α = .86) are each assessed with six items (Mroczek & Kolarz, 1998). For positive affect, respondents were asked "During the past 30 days, how much of the time did you feel (a) cheerful, (b) in good spirits, (c) extremely happy, (d) calm and peaceful, (e) satisfied, and (f) full of life." Response categories ranged from 1 = none of the time to 5 = all the time. Higher scores represent greater positive affect. For negative affect, respondents were asked "During the past 30 days, how much of the time did you feel (a) so sad nothing could cheer you up, (b) nervous, (c) restless or fidgety, (d) hopeless, (e) that everything was an effort, and (f) worthless?" The same response categories were used as in the positive affect items. Higher scores represent greater negative affect. The measures of positive and negative affect were calculated for a respondent when at least two third of the items for that scale had valid responses. When this criterion was met, missing values were imputed with the mean of available items in calculating the total score.

The measure of somatic symptoms (α = .69) is a count of the number of somatic symptoms reported by the respondent from a list of seven symptoms: headaches, backaches, sweating a lot, stiffness in joints, trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep, leaking urine, and pain or aches in extremities (arms/hands/legs/feet). Respondents were asked how often they experienced these symptoms in the past 30 days. Response categories ranged from 1 to 6 (not at all, once a month, several times a month, once a week, several times a week, almost every day). Symptoms were counted toward the summary score if the frequency was several times a month or greater.

Independent variables

Our main independent variable assesses whether the parent had a child with a disability. Parents of children with a disability were coded 1 and parents of non-disabled children were coded 0.

Moderating variables

Positive and negative interactions with family are used as moderating variables in the model. Positive interactions with family (α = .84) was assessed with the following four questions: "Not including your spouse or partner, how much (a) do members of your family really care about you, (b) do they understand the way you feel about things, (c) can you rely on them for help if you have a serious problem, and (d) can you open up to them if you need to talk about your worries?" Response categories ranged from 1= not at all to 4 = a lot.

Negative interactions with family (α = .80) was assessed with the following four questions: "Not including your spouse or partner, how often (a) do members of your family make too many demands on you, (b) do they criticize you, (c) do they let you down when you are counting on them, and (d) do they get on your nerves?" Response categories ranged from 1= not at all to 4 = a lot.

Control variables

Analyses controlled for sociodemographic variables that previous studies have found to be important predictors of well-being or confounders of the relationship between having a child with a disability and parental well-being ( Ha et al., 2008). These variables include parents' age (in years), gender (1= female; 0 = male), marital status (1= married; 0 = not married), education (in years), log household income, employment status (1 = employed; 0 = not employed), number of children, and number of coresident children.

Analysis plan

First, we provide descriptive statistics of dependent and independent variables separately for parents of children with a disability and parents who do not have children with a disability. T-tests are used to compare means between the two groups. Next, hierarchical regression models are used to examine the effect of having a child with a disability and the moderating effects of positive and negative interactions with non-spousal family, controlling for potential confounding factors.

Results

Group comparisons

Table 1 presents descriptive statistics comparing the means (or proportions) of the dependent and independent variables for the parents of children with a disability and the comparison group. T-tests results show that the two groups differed significantly with respect to the number of somatic symptoms. Specifically, parents who have a child with a disability reported significantly more somatic symptoms than parents of non-disabled children. The difference in the level of negative affect between the two groups was marginally significant, with parents of a child with a disability showing slightly higher levels of negative affect. The two groups did not significantly differ in the mean level of positive affect. On average, parents of a child with a disability also reported having more children than parents in the comparison group. There were no significant differences between the two groups with regard to other demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

Our sample consisted of predominantly women (85%). Because mothers and fathers may perceive the caregiving burden or parenting stress differently ( Pruchno & Patrick, 1999), we conducted a supplementary analysis examining whether mothers and fathers within the disability and the comparison samples differ on independent and dependent variables. We found no significant gender differences; thus, a pooled sample is used for all subsequent analyses.

Effect of parenting a child with a disability on parents' well-being

The first objective of this paper was to examine the effect of having a child with a disability on parents' well-being among urban-dwelling African Americans. Table 2 presents the results of three pairs of regression models, one for each dependent variable. For each dependent variable, Model 1 examines the main effects of parenting a child with a disability, whereas Model 2 examines the potential moderating effects of positive and negative interactions. As presented in Model 1 in Table 2 and consistent with the descriptive findings, the multivariate analyses showed that having a child with a disability was associated with a significantly greater number of somatic symptoms. The effect of having a child with a disability on positive affect was not significant and the effect on negative affect was marginally significant.

Table 2

Positive affect

Negative affect

Somatic symptoms

Model 1

Model 2

Model 1

Model 2

Model 1

Model 2

Child has a disability

−0.07

−1.60⁺

0.23⁺

2.07**

0.68*

0.26

Sociodemographic variables

Parent's age (in years)

0.01

0.01

−0.02*

−0.02⁺

0.00

0.00

Log household income

0.07⁺

0.05

−0.02

0.00

−0.07

−0.06

Employment status (1 = employed; 0 = not employed)

0.32**

0.34**

−0.57***

−0.60

−0.35

−0.38

Number of coresident children

−0.12⁺

−0.12⁺

0.10

0.11⁺

0.10

0.10

Interactions with non-spousal family

Positive interactions

0.23*

0.04

−0.22*

0.01

−0.41

−0.40

Negative interactions

−0.11

−0.14

0.24***

0.27**

0.29

0.20

Interaction effects

Child has a disability × positive interactions with family

0.45*

−0.56**

−0.06

Adjusted R ²

0.19

0.21

0.31

0.34

0.04

0.04

Positive and negative interactions with family exerted significant main effects on mental health. Positive interactions with family were associated with significantly higher levels of positive affect and lower levels of negative affect. In contrast, negative interactions with family were associated with significantly higher levels of negative affect. As for the effects of other variables, those who are older reported lower negative affect. Higher income was associated with marginally higher levels of positive affect. Those who have a job showed higher levels of positive affect and lower levels of negative affect.

Moderating effects of positive and negative interactions with family

Model 2 in Table 2 shows the moderating effects of positive and negative interactions with non-spousal family. As shown in the significant coefficients of interaction terms, positive interactions with family significantly moderates the effect of having a child with a disability on positive as well as on negative affect. More specifically, the effects of having a child with a disability on positive and negative affect are mitigated for those who have higher levels of positive support. Figures 1 and ​and2 2 show these significant interaction effects. Positive interactions with family, however, did not affect the relationship between having a child with a disability and the number of somatic symptoms. Negative interactions did not significantly moderate the effect having a child with a disability on any of the outcomes.

Discussion

This study examined the extent to which having a child with a disability affects African American parents' well-being and the role of positive and negative interactions with non-spousal family in parental adaptation. Our study is unique in that it uses a probability sample of urban-dwelling African Americans, a population that has been rarely studied in the caregiving literature. The findings highlight the negative consequences that having a child with a disability brings to parents' physical health and underscores the importance of positive support from non-spousal family in reducing the psychological distress of parents of children with a disability. In the following, we summarize the main findings and discuss limitations and future directions as well as implications for practice.

Summary and interpretation of findings

Regarding our first hypothesis that having a child with a disability is associated with worse physical and mental health outcomes, our findings provided partial support. Consistent with our hypothesis and the findings from previous research based on the nationally representative, though largely white, MIDUS sample ( Ha et al., 2008), having a child with a disability was associated with significantly more somatic symptoms. However, the current study did not yield strong evidence that having a child with a disability is associated with worse mental health outcomes. Specifically, the main effect of having a child with a disability on positive affect was not significant and the effect on negative affect was only marginally significant.

The significant association between children's disability and parents' physical health is consistent with the findings of Magaña and Smith (2006) and may be attributable to the heavy caregiving burden that many of these parents assume. Personal help with daily activities of children with a disability as well as the lack of time to take care of one's own health may take a tangible toll on parents' physical health. Future studies could further develop this line of research by examining various mechanisms by which having a child with a disability affects parents' physical health. One possible mechanism may be changes in physiological functioning. Recent literature suggests that compared to parents of unaffected children, parents of children with a disability show different patterns of cortisol expression throughout the day ( Seltzer et al., 2009). Whether these different physiological responses to the stress of parenting a child with a disability mediates the link between having a child with a disability and somatic symptoms warrants further investigation.

The lack of statistically significant effects of the child's disability on parental mental health in the current study is also consistent with the results of Magaña and Smith (2006) and may signify that African American parents of children with a disability are no more psychologically distressed than their peers who raise non-disabled children in an urban environment. The scarcity of social or community support and resources ( Green, Furrer, & McAllister, 2007; Kotchick, Dorsey, & Heller, 2005) as well as frequent experiences of discrimination ( Murry, Brown, Brody, Cutrona, & Simons, 2001) may put urban-dwelling African American parents of unaffected children into a similar risk for psychological distress as parents of children with a disability. Alternatively, the children of comparison group parents, though not disabled, might be struggling with other challenges of urban-dwelling African American youth, and these could be just as stressful to parents as childhood disability.

However, given the small sample size of parents of children with a disability in the current study, the lack of significant effect could also be due to low statistical power. Although we tried to maximize the power by drawing a bigger comparison group sample, our statistical power to detect the significant differences in negative affect between the two groups was only .45. Replication of this study using a larger sample would help us better understand the impact of having a child with a disability among African Americans. Furthermore, examining racial differences using a pooled sample of different racial and ethnic groups would further clarify whether having a child with a disability exerts a differential impact across different racial groups.

Partly supporting our our second hypothesis, positive interactions with non-spousal family had a significant moderating effect in predicting mental health but not physical health. Specifically, the detrimental impact of having a child with a disability on positive and negative affect is reduced for parents who had greater positive interactions. In other words, although on average, urban-dwelling African American parents who have a child with a disability are no more psychologically distressed than their peers who have non-disabled children, those parents who have lower levels of positive support from family are more likely than the comparison group to have negative mental health profiles, and those who have higher levels of positive family support are more likely than comparison group parents to have positive mental health profiles. This finding highlights the importance of engaging other family members in positive interactions with parents of children with a disability. Providing information to the family members about the child's disability and the needs of the parents who are caring for these children could enhance the family functioning and facilitate the exchange of support.

Unlike positive interactions, negative social interactions with family did not exacerbate the stress of having a child with a disability. Thus, the findings suggest that the presence of positive interactions is more imperative than the absence of negative interactions in adjusting to the stress of having a child with a disability. Nevertheless, the main effect of negative social interactions was statistically significant for predicting greater negative affect, suggesting that negative interactions with family is detrimental for mental health, although it does not aggravate the stress of caring for a child with a disability.

Limitations and future directions

The current study has a number of limitations. First, the sample we used is limited to African Americans living in Milwaukee only and those who live in racially non-diverse neighborhoods. Thus, the findings cannot be generalized to all African Americans in the US.

Second, the measure of support from family is limited in that we do not know who the respondent was thinking about when rating positive and negative interactions with family. Children, siblings, and parents all count as family yet they may be different in their functions of social support ( Messeri, Silverstein, & Litwak, 1993). Examining the role of positive and negative social interactions with these different sources of support within the family as well as with neighbors and community members would provide deeper insights into the ways social support affects parental adaptation to children's disability.

Because of the small sample size, we included all parents of children with a disability into one group and did not distinguish between different types of childhood disabilities. Furthermore, the measure of child's disability used in the current analyses does not include those children who have physical disabilities. Given the differences in the symptoms as well as in the level of help required from parents, different disabilities may have different effects on parental well-being ( Greenberg et al., 1993). Using more inclusive and sophisticated measures, future studies should examine the extent to which characteristics of children's disability (e.g., types of disability, severity, degree of behavioral problems, age of onset, etc.) affect parental adaptation to stress among African American parents of children with a disability.

Implications for Practice

Our findings provide several practical suggestions for mental health practitioners or social workers who work with African American families of children with a disability. First, the finding that raising a child with a disability has physical health consequences for parents suggests that programs for these parents should not be confined to relieving their emotional distress; the availability and access to tangible support such as day care and respite care facilities in the community may be as important as the provision of emotional support. Furthermore, this finding encourages health care providers to pay attention to caregiver's health as well as children's health. Health education for caregivers to take care of their own health may be also critical.

Second, the findings highlight the importance of engaging families in helping the parents of children with a disability. This can be done in two ways. One way is to assess whether the support system is in place, and if it is, to make a better use of and promote the existing support system. Previous research has shown that although grandparents provide significant emotional and instrumental support for parents of children with a disability ( Trute, 2003), social workers rarely involve them in their services ( Findler & Ben-Ari, 2003). Given the consent of the parents as well as other family members, social workers and mental health practitioners can invite and help the extended family play a role in helping the child with a disability by providing them with information regarding the child's disability (e.g., expected symptoms) and the areas that the children or the parents need assistance (e.g., emotional or instrumental support). Another way to support the family is to address the emotional burden that other family members may be experiencing. Previous studies have shown that siblings of children with a disability who participated in the after-school programs designed to support them showed lower psychological distress and reported greater support from peers, schools, and center staff than their peers who did not participate in the program ( Phillips, 1999). Programs such as these may not only directly contribute to the well-being of the siblings but also indirectly lessen the burden of the parents who may feel overwhelmed to meet the needs of their child with a disability as well as the needs of other non-disabled children.

Finally, the finding that positive interactions had a significant moderating effect in the relationship between having a child with a disability and parental well-being, and that negative interactions did not, suggests that strength-based approach (i.e., promoting positive interactions) may work better in working with families of children with a disability than reducing negative interactions. Future studies should examine what strategies may be useful in increasing the positive interactions among distressed family members and the role of a support group or supportive programs that could foster positive environment for caring for children with a disability.

Contributor Information

Jung-Hwa Ha, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago.

Jan S. Greenberg, Waisman Center and the School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin - Madison.

Marsha Mailick Seltzer, Waisman Center and the School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin - Madison.

References

Almeida D, Ayanian JS, Carr DS, Cleary PD, Coe C, Davidson R, et al. Midlife development in the United States (MIDUS II): Milwaukee African American sample, 2005-2006 [computer file]. ICPSR22840-v2. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research; 2009. [Google Scholar]

Brim OG, Ryff CD, Kessler RC. How healthy are we? A national study of well-being at midlife. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press; 2004. [Google Scholar]

Cranford JA. Stress-buffering or stress-exacerbation? Social support and social undermining as moderators of the relationship between perceived stress and depressive symptoms among married people. Personal Relationships. 2004;11(1):23-40. [[PMC free article] [PubMed] Google Scholar]

Ha J, Hong J, Seltzer MM, Greenberg JS. Age and gender differences in the well-being of midlife and aging parents with children with mental health or developmental problems: Report of a national study. Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 2008;49(3):301-316. [[PMC free article] [PubMed] Google Scholar]

Seltzer MM, Almeida DM, Greenberg JS, Savla J, Stawski RS, Hong J, et al. Psychological and biological markers of daily lives of midlife parents of children with disabilities. Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 2009;50(1):1-15. [[PMC free article] [PubMed] Google Scholar]

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Parenting a Child with a Disability: The Role of Social Support for African American Parents

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This paper examines: (1) the impact of having a child with a disability on parents' mental and physical health among urban-dwelling African Americans and (2) the extent to which positive and negative social interactions with family other than ...

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How can parents maintain self-care while caring for a special-needs child?

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Parenting a child with a special need, whether a physical disability, a learning delay, an emotional challenge, or a developmental disorder, may require the acquisition of specific skills, such as caregiving or advocacy, and demand a commitment of time and energy that can jeopardize careers, marriages, and connections with other children. While every child's particular need may be different, the experts' advice for parents is the same: Do not let your own physical and mental well-being decline.

Following is some expert advice on maintaining relationships and well-being in special-needs families. For more detailed information on parenting children with specific diagnoses, please follow the links below:

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Parenting a child with a special need, whether a physical disability, a learning delay, an emotional challenge, or a developmental disorder, may require the acquisition of specific skills, such as caregiving or advocacy, and demand a commitment of time and energy that can jeopardize careers, marriages, and connections with other children.

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Why Social and Emotional Learning Is Essential for Students

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Why Social and Emotional Learning Is Essential for Students

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Learn more about the critical role that social and emotional learning plays in promoting student success.

5 KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL SEL

THE SHORT- AND LONG-TERM BENEFITS OF SEL

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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Speech is an integral part of being human, and while it comes naturally and easily to the majority of the population, language is not so effortless for some. Luckily, when speech disorders are caught early in childhood, it is much easier to make improvements than when neglected with the hopes that the child will "grow out of it".

The majority of elementary teachers are aware that they should be on the lookout for children who might benefit from speech services, but it is not always obvious what to look for. Especially with the range of different speech pathologies, one student's problem may look nothing like another's, though both may be suffering from a speech disorder. There are, however, some common signs, so watch for them. This increases the chances you'll get a kid to a speech therapist in plenty of time to help.
Common Speech Development Issues
Numerous speech and language disorders exist, stemming from physical conditions to learning and behavioral problems. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, speech problems can be broadly categorized into speech disorders, language disorders, and medical and developmental conditions.

An example of a speech disorder include childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). This is where the brain has trouble planning out the movements required to form the sounds of language, or stuttering, which is produced by "disfluencies" in the brain and results in broken, repetitive words and prolonged speech sounds.

Language disorders affect children differently. Rather than having trouble producing specific sounds or words, they typically have trouble comprehending and producing speech as a whole. With a preschool language disorder (which may still be present in Kindergarten), a child may not be able to follow directions well or understand gestures, and can also have trouble identifying objects or images. A language-based learning disability may mean a child can communicate verbally fairly well, but struggles to read and form words by sounding them out phonologically. Selective mutism is when a child can speaks quite well, but does not do it in some situations.

Possible medical and developmental conditions include autism, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and brain injury. Medical problems such as a cleft palate can also impact speech.
Signs of a Speech Disorder
Normal speech development in children follows a predictable course. Signs that your student may have a speech disorder, therefore, vary by age. Although as an elementary school teacher you won't be diagnosing children younger than 5 years old, you should still know the signs of normal speech development in the case parents ask and so you can gauge the severity of development.

According to the Center for Parent Information and Resources, problems with the following four categories may indicate a speech disorder in any age:

Voice: The child's voice is abnormally high or loud

Language: The child has trouble conveying ideas and understanding the ideas or instructions conveyed by others

Articulation: The child produces sounds incorrectly, like subbing "w" in for "l" and "r" or lisping

Fluency: The child has trouble mastering the normal "flow" of language, stopping and starting, repeating, prolonging, or inhaling and exhaling inappropriately

Speech disorders may fall into one or more of these categories, so look for signs such as:

Parents can understand the child, but you cannot

Trouble putting words together into phrases and sentences, even if the student can say them clearly

Inability to express ideas or understand the ideas of adults, peers, books, videos, or other sources of speech

Trouble retaining new vocabulary words and routinely dropping ones that were already learned

Smaller vocabulary than is age-appropriate

Inappropriate use of grammar

Routinely using words incorrectly (though some incorrect word usage is developmentally appropriate)

Trouble using an "inside voice"

Hearing or seeing a word but not understanding the meaning

Confusion or inappropriate responses to questions or directions

Poor social interaction

Trouble reading

Signs will vary with age, but if you notice a student whose language comprehension and use of speech is significantly behind his/her peers, it may be time to refer him/her to speech therapy.
When to Schedule an Appointment
Err on the side of caution when it comes to scheduling an appointment with a speech pathologist and set up a meeting. Children benefit hugely from speech therapy if they have a disorder, and the earlier you can catch the problem the better for lifelong communication and learning. At most, the speech pathologist will assess the child and determine that he/she doesn't need help, so it's always best to suggest an appointment if you have any doubts.

Remember that each child is different. As the teacher, you have the most contact (aside from parents) with that child throughout the day and the year, and are in the best position to notice irregular patterns that may indicate a problem. For best results, keep a log of symptoms, involve the parents, and trust your instincts. Someday a child may thank you.

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How to Tell if Your Student Could Benefit From Speech Therapy

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Speech is an integral part of being human, and while it comes naturally and easily to the majority of the population, language is not so effortless for some. Luckily, when speech disorders are caught early in childhood, it is much easier to make improvements than when neglected with the hopes that the child will "grow out of it".

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New research shows just how much losing a teacher midyear hurts students

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New research shows just how much losing a teacher midyear hurts students

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"tudies focusing on turnover in general have found that higher pay, better working conditions, and more effective principals can make a difference."

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The consequences of teacher churn were apparent to Esperanza Vazquez, a mother of two from New York City.

"I had an experience with my son where he had a new teacher every week in math," she told Chalkbeat recently. "That doesn't help students."

Now new research backs up Vazquez's experience, documenting for perhaps the first time the steep consequences for students after teachers leave a classroom in middle of the school year.

The finding comes in a trio of new studies focusing on North Carolina. Together, they suggest that ill effects of teacher turnover identified in previous research may be driven largely by midyear departures; that those consequences extend even to students in the same grade whose teachers stay on; and that midyear turnover may be more common than previously thought, especially in schools serving more students of color and those from low-income families.

"While it is possible for turnover to be beneficial for school systems, an extensive body of research points to the ways that teacher turnover disrupts ... the continuity of a child's learning experiences, particularly in underserved schools," write researchers Gary Henry of Vanderbilt and Christopher Redding of the University of Florida in one of the papers.

Henry and Redding's three studies - two of which were published earlier this year in peer-reviewed journals, with the other is set to be published in coming weeks - home in on the rarely studied phenomenon of midyear teacher turnover.

Using recent data from North Carolina, two of the papers focus on the prevalence of the phenomenon. Annually 4.6 percent of teachers in the state departed midyear; among teachers in their first three years the rate jumped to 6 percent. The number was higher in schools deemed "underserved," meaning they had more students of color and students in poverty, as well as lower test scores and fewer resources. Turnover was lower when principals were rated as more effective by teachers. It was higher among teachers who were less effective, those eligible for retirement benefits, and high school and middle school teachers.

Roughly a quarter of all teacher turnover in the state occurred in the middle of the school year.

The third study uses data from 2008 to 2014 to examine the consequences of midyear teacher attrition on elementary and middle school students' test scores. In both math and English, students saw drops in learning as a result, controlling for a number of other factors. The decline in math scores was nearly as large as the difference in performance between an average teacher and an excellent one - a difference that has motivated dramatic policy changes in many places.

Impacts were smaller in English and in middle school, but also consistently negative. Students in the same grade level, but not class, of teachers were also harmed, but again less so.

The negative results are consistent with research on the effects of hiring teachers after the school year starts, in some ways a mirror image of the phenomenon.

The paper suggests three things that might explain the results: disruption in classrooms where teachers leave, instability in a school where teachers are exiting midyear, and less effective teachers replacing those who depart. The study suggests the first two theories seem to be clearly at play, since it was relatively ineffective teachers who were particularly likely to leave.

"When multiple teachers exit a school during the year, it can become increasingly difficult for teachers to maintain a work environment with a high degree of collaboration," the researchers say.

The study did reach some surprising results: Students of color, students in poverty and students with lower prior test scores, generally did not suffer more as a result of midyear turnover; if anything, they suffered less in English. It may be that their schools were better prepared for midyear exits since they happen more frequently; it could also be that those students were simply "not well served by the teacher who departed," the paper hypothesizes.

Another counterintuitive result: Unlike midyear turnover, departure of teachers at the end of the school year did not lead to declines in student learning, and even led to small benefits in some cases. That's surprising in light of past research - and conventional wisdom - suggesting that teacher turnover harms students. (Prior studies generally have not distinguished between midyear and end-of-year turnover.)

The latest research does come with a key caveat: Test scores might be lower in classes where teachers leave midyear for other reasons - perhaps a particularly disruptive class causes both a teacher to quit and students to learn less in school. The authors attempt to account for this by comparing how the same student did in years when their teacher does not turnover.

The studies also look at just a single state, so it's unclear whether the results would look similar elsewhere.

The researchers point out that some churn is inevitable, even healthy. "Many of the personal factors driving within-year teacher turnover are unlikely to be amenable to change: a teacher takes time in the middle of the school year for parental leave; a veteran teacher retires midyear; a beginning teacher leaves a few months into the school year after realizing teaching is a poor occupational fit," write Henry and Redding. Indeed, female teachers between the ages of 26 and 40 years old were particularly likely to exit mid-year, indicating that parental leave plays a significant role in the results.

But the studies collectively conclude that students could benefit from combating midyear departures - although the best way to do that is not clear.

In Detroit, some schools have adopted a crude - and some would say cruel - approach, imposing financial penalties for teachers who left midyear. Studies focusing on turnover in general have found that higher pay, better working conditions, and more effective principals can make a difference.

At the same, time Henry and Redding argue that policymakers ought to make extensive efforts to avoid midyear teacher turnover when possible. For instance, they point out that information from teacher evaluation systems, including "value-added" test scores measures, aren't always available until after the school year has begun. Finalizing those results before classes are underway could decrease midyear exits, they speculate.

"All measures of teachers' performance, including their value-added scores, should be provided during the summer to allow teachers and administrators to attend to employment decisions without disrupting classes that have already begun," the researchers conclude.

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New research shows how much losing a teacher midyear hurts students

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The ill effects of teacher turnover identified in previous research may be driven largely by midyear departures, which might be more common than previously thought.

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Focus instead is on moral panics that undermine public schools

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In other words, nearly one in every 18 classrooms lacked an appropriately licensed teacher. Thanks to the actions (or lack thereof) of the General Assembly, schools are likely to face even more vacancies for the 2023-24 school year.

Schools that are unable to find qualified teachers may instead fill positions with untrained substitute teachers or novice teacher candidates who have yet to complete their licensure requirements. Of course, such instructors tend to be less effective than qualified, experienced teachers. The negative impacts on students are substantial, as research has shown that teacher quality is, unsurprisingly, the most important factor for student success.

When teachers aren't available, some students might have to settle for virtual classes which are shown to be less effective than in-person learning.

The negative effects of teacher vacancies extend beyond the 5,095 classrooms lacking qualified teachers.

Vacancies often mean larger class sizes. In some cases, classes are combined and moved to larger spaces like gyms or cafeterias. Experienced teachers are regularly pulled from their classrooms to assist untrained, novice teachers. They might sacrifice a planning period to fill in when substitutes are nowhere to be found. Other teachers are forced to balance instructing the students in their own classroom, while also making their lessons accessible to remote classrooms of teacher-less students watching on video feed.

A shallow candidate pool means an overall reduction in teacher quality.

To make matters worse, vacancies are increasingly the result of teachers leaving in the middle of the year. Between the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years, mid-year turnover increased from less than 4 percent to over 6 percent. Such mid-year departures are especially disruptive to student development.

Exacerbating racial and economic opportunity gaps

Teacher shortages tend to exacerbate the opportunity gaps between white students and students of color and between students whose families are wealthy or not. We've long known that schools and districts that enroll higher percentages of students of color and students from families with low incomes face greater challenges in recruiting and retaining teachers. The data on vacancies last year confirms this understanding.

District-level vacancies on the fortieth day of school are significantly correlated with both student race and income.

Districts serving greater shares of students from families with low incomes tend to have more teacher vacancies than districts with fewer students from families with low incomes. Every 10-percentage point increase in a district's share of students from families with low incomes is associated with an increase of 1.1 classroom teacher vacancies per 1,000 students.
: 22-23 district-level teacher vacancies (40th day) versus enrollment of economically disadvantaged students
The relationship between teacher vacancies and student race is, unfortunately, even stronger than the relationship with income. Districts tend to have lower vacancies as their population of white students increases. For every 10-percentage point increase in a district's white enrollment, teacher vacancies decrease by 0.8 classroom teacher vacancies per 1,000 students.
: 22-23 district-level teacher vacancies (40th day) versus enrollment of white students

By contrast, teacher vacancies increase in districts with higher shares of Black students. Every 10-percentage point increase in a district's share of Black students is associated with an increase of 0.9 classroom teacher vacancies per 1,000 students.
: 22-23 district-level teacher vacancies (40th day) versus enrollment of Black students
In total, the average district-level teacher vacancy rate for an economically disadvantaged student is 11 percent higher than it is for the average non-economically disadvantaged student. Similarly, the average Black student attends a district with a teacher vacancy rate that's 16 percent higher than the district teacher vacancy rate of the typical white student.

Legislative leadership fails to offer solutions

One would expect that this dire situation would spur a response from legislators. Yet there have been no major efforts to reverse these trends. None appear forthcoming. Instead, legislators are likely making the problem worse by fanning the flames of racist and transphobic moral panics that make schools less welcoming environments for students and teachers alike.

Unfortunately, House and Senate budget proposals hardly keep pace with inflation. Their budget proposals would only raise teacher salaries in 2024 by between 2.3 and 5.3 percent.

Leaders could also dramatically improve teacher working conditions by implementing the Leandro Plan. The plan would provide teachers with the supplies, materials, and support staff necessary to help all students meet state achievement standards. Additionally, it would restore funding for professional development and the mentoring of early career teachers. The plan's investments especially benefit high-poverty rural districts with the greatest challenges recruiting and retaining teachers.

Additionally, legislators have taken away many benefits from teachers over the past decade. Legislators could improve recruitment and retention by restoring career status, master's pay, funding for National Board Certification applications, longevity pay, and retiree health benefits. They could further strengthen teacher benefits by granting teachers the authority to collectively bargain.

Focus instead is on moral panics that undermine public schools

For example, HB 187 seeks to create a chilling effect around an honest teaching of history and current events. The bill prohibits teachers from "promoting" certain concepts around racism and other forms of discrimination. If it becomes law, the vague wording will undoubtedly lead many teachers to avoid instruction on controversial subjects.

Another bill, SB 49, prohibits instruction on "gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality" in kindergarten through fourth grade and forces teachers to inform parents if a student wishes to change their name or pronouns.

Early signs point to a worsening problem

Teacher vacancies have exploded in the wake of the pandemic. Fortieth day vacancies have tripled from pre-pandemic levels.

Brunswick County is reporting 31 teacher vacancies, up from just 14 in the previous year. Buncombe County is reportedly entering the school year with 26 vacancies, also up from 14 the prior year.

North Carolinians will need to wait until early 2024 before the Department of Public Instruction publishes official, verified data on teacher vacancies for this school year. But we know right now that legislative leaders have failed to make any serious effort to address North Carolina's unacceptably high level of teacher vacancies.

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At the beginning of the last school year, North Carolina faced an unprecedented teacher shortage. On the fortieth day of the 2022-23 school ...

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BEFORE COVID ARTICLE                                            The Trouble with Teacher Turnover: How Teacher

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BEFORE COVID ARTICLE                                            The Trouble with Teacher Turnover: How Teacher

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Attrition Affects Students and Schools

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During the 2020–21 school year, a higher percentage of elementary public school teachers than of secondary public school teachers reported being threatened with injury

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During the 2020–21 school year, a higher percentage of elementary public school teachers than of secondary public school teachers reported being threatened with injury

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Teachers Threatened With Injury or Physically Attacked by Students

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COE - Teachers Threatened With Injury or Physically Attacked by Students

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doi: 10.1136/injuryprev-2017-042472 Student-inflicted injuries to staff in schools: comparing risk between educators and non-educators

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doi: 10.1136/injuryprev-2017-042472 Student-inflicted injuries to staff in schools: comparing risk between educators and non-educators

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PMCID: PMC6580785

PMID: 29079578

Student-inflicted injuries to staff in schools: comparing risk between educators and non-educators

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Abstract

Objective

Student-inflicted injury to staff in the educational services sector is a growing concern. Studies on violence have focused on teachers as victims, but less is known about injuries to other employee groups, particularly educational assistants. Inequities may be present, as educational assistants and non-educators may not have the same wage, benefits, training and employment protections available to them as professional educators. We identified risk factors for student-related injury and their characteristics among employees in school districts.

Methods

Workers' compensation data were used to identify incidence and severity of student-related injury. Rates were calculated using negative binomial regression; risk factors were identified using multivariate models to calculate rate ratios (RR) and 95% CIs.

Results

Over 26% of all injuries were student-related; 8% resulted in lost work time. Special and general education assistants experienced significantly increased risk of injury (RR=6.0, CI 5.05 to 7.15; RR=2.07, CI 1.40 to 3.07) as compared with educators. Risk differed by age, gender and school district type. Text analyses categorised student-related injury. It revealed injury from students acting out occurred most frequently (45.4%), whereas injuries involving play with students resulted in the highest percentage of lost-time injuries (17.7%) compared with all interaction categories.

Conclusion

Student-inflicted injury to staff occurs frequently and can be severe. Special education and general assistants bear the largest burden of injury compared with educators. A variety of prevention techniques to reduce injury risk and severity, including policy or environmental modifications, may be appropriate. Equal access to risk reduction methods for all staff should be prioritised.

Keywords: violence, injury compensation, school, occupational injury, workplace, risk factor research

Significance and background

The educational services sector employs approximately 12.6 million workers1 in the USA, of which about 7.5 million are employed in local primary and secondary schools.2 Work-related violence is a growing concern in the educational services sector as data indicate surprisingly high rates of non-fatal workplace violence, the fifth highest of all industry sectors.3 The violence, both verbal and/or physical, that staff experience has been shown to be perpetrated by students in many reported cases.3-10 Data collected by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry indicated that assaults or violence against staff accounted for 13% of all workers' compensation injury claims from the education sector in the 2012-2015 school years. Injuries from being hit, kicked, beaten or shoved accounted for 59% of violent injuries to staff, with 13% from restraining or subduing the student, and 8% from sports or physical training.11

School violence and the associated injuries and workers' compensation costs can have serious impacts on the school district, staff, students and public. Violence can influence quality of teaching, create reduced retention of educators and affect educators' mental and physical health.9 12-17 Identified risk factors for violence against educators include geographical region, school/district resource allocation, gender, age, grade and teaching specialty, specifically special education (SPED).4 7 18-22 Descriptive data on the nature of student-related injury and circumstances surrounding the injury are not widely available and need to be further characterised.

Other factors that may contribute to risk in some districts include an influx of students with a greater range of mental, behavioural and physical diagnoses and associated SPED18 20; an ageing workforce; ageing school buildings and infrastructure; changing school district demographics and tax base; and budget, staffing and resource allocation differences.22

Substantial evidence has demonstrated the risk to educators from student violence. However, educators are not the only employees who experience student-related injury. The danger of injury to non-licensed staff, such as educational assistants (EAs), has been shown to be elevated18 and needs further exploration.23 EAs are involved with classroom management, monitoring, assisting students and/or instruction under the guidance of a teacher. EAs often have the most direct physical contact with students, especially SPED students and students who may have greater physical and behavioural needs. There is a growing and substantial population of EAs working with SPED students; 32 states are reported to have more EAs than educators in SPED, an increase of 8% over the last decade.24 EAs, along with other non-licensed staff, may be in more precarious positions of employment. They may not be afforded the same level of contractual protections and benefits, training, preparation, supervision and/or economic compensation as professional staff.25-29 These factors, and others, may put them at increased risk of student-related injury and increase the potential impacts of workplace injuries.

The goal of the study was to determine risk of student-related injury among all employee groups in the primary and secondary public education sectors and to characterise the nature of the injury events.

Methods

Study population

The study used workers' compensation claim data from a private, regional insurance company in the Midwestern region of the USA and all policyholder school districts and claims from 1 July 2009 through 30 June 2015. The population included 138 independent school districts, which represents about 40% of the independent districts in the state of Minnesota. The population included 169 619 full-time equivalent (FTE) or, alternatively, 202 916 employment positions. All district job positions were included in the study.

Workers' compensation data

Workers' compensation data from district employees provided information on employee and injury characteristics, cost and a text description of the injury event. Severity of the injury was categorised as medical only or lost time; lost time occurs when an employee cannot return to work within three calendar days. Body part injured, injury type and mechanism of injury were assigned based on the first report of injury. The insurer coded claims according to Workers' Compensation Insurance Organization (WCIO) codes and provided data to the researchers.

Determining underlying population

Data on the underlying population of employees in school districts were available via the Staff Automated Reporting from the Minnesota Department of Education (MNDOE). All districts complete this report annually; it includes information on staffing numbers and assignments. Hires late in the academic year, substitutes and temporary employees were not captured in the report. Injury claims that could not be directly linked to employees in the underlying population were excluded from rate and multivariate analysis to mitigate overinflation of results.

Districts were categorised by zip code as located in the Minneapolis-St Paul Metro or Out-state. District type was predetermined and classified as public, charter, integration or intermediate. Public districts serve communities based on geographical boundaries; charter districts have a specific academic focus; integration districts are jointly funded and serve neighbouring districts to prevent racial isolation of surrounding districts; and intermediate districts are jointly funded, serve geographically surrounding districts and provide highly specialised services for students, particularly those high-level SPED needs.

Employee characteristics available from the report included job classification, age and gender. Job classifications were condensed into eight employment groups within licensed staff and non-licensed staff. Licensed staff included all teachers, administrators, counsellors and others providing professional services to the district. Non-licensed staff included clerical, custodial, food service, EAs special education assistants (SEAs), transportation (included bus assistants, similar to EAs) and other non-licensed staff (after-school programme, coaches, community education and so on). Employee ages were categorised as ≤ 20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50 and ≥61.

The report counted the underlying population in two different ways: per cent of full-time contract (FTE) and per contracted position (head count). The FTE denominator measure was chosen for all rate and multivariate analyses due to a closer approximation to time at-risk and generalisability. However, age and gender records were only recorded via per contracted position; thus, this was used when analysing these variables.

Student-related injury characteristics

Student-related injuries were defined as physical injuries resulting from student interaction. Text was manually coded, aided by WCIO codes and keyword search. Primary and secondary researchers, familiar with both workers' compensation and school data, worked together to perform coding; ambiguous classifications were decided mutually with a third team member. Injuries were assigned to one of six unique categories based on district feedback, frequency and detail in the data set, and ease in determination of both major underlying factor and prevention opportunities. Categories were as follows: ' Acting out' included students with escalated or aggressive behaviour, deliberately or intentionally making contact or throwing objects. ' Breaking up fights' occurred when staff became injured by intervening in student-on-student violence. ' Holding/restraining/escorting' encompassed staff intentionally physically interacting with a student, using their bodies to restrict a student's movement, in a behavioural, safety management or disciplinary intervention. ' Incidental' included non-deliberate/unintentional interactions like trips and falls, being knocked off balance and being struck by objects. ' Daily life' events occurred during assistance with toileting, transfers, lifting, wheelchair or mobility. ' Play ' involved staff participation in games/play with students.

Data analysis

Descriptive analysis characterised student-related injury events. All student-related injuries in the data set were examined, including an additional 202 not in the rate and multivariate analysis because they could not be linked to the underlying employee population data. The effects of district location, district type, employment group, age and gender on student-related injury rates and severity were examined. Injury claims served as the numerator, and FTE and contracted position served as the denominator to determine injury rates. Rates were further stratified into lost time and medical claims to examine severity. Multivariate analyses, used to measure the associations between potential risk factors and injury rate outcomes (stratified by severity), calculated rate ratios (RR) and 95% CI. Because overdispersion was demonstrated in the data, negative binomial regression models were employed to calculate rates and RRs. Generalised estimating equations with a model-based variance estimate accounted for correlated observations within districts over time.30 Time at-risk of custodial staff was adjusted to account for work activities over summer months. Zero inflation was not present in the data. All analyses were done using SAS V.9.4.31

Results

Student-related injuries made up a large proportion (26%) of the 8082 workers' compensation claims that were studied. The population had a student-related injury rate of 1.26 per 100 FTEs, of which 8.6% were classified as lost time.

Metro school districts had higher rates of student-related injury claims than out-state districts ( table 1 ). Intermediate districts had the highest rate of student-related total claims (8.85 per 100 FTE), which was over seven times higher than the rate among public school districts ( table 1 ). Rates of more severe lost-time claims were almost tenfold higher in intermediate districts versus public districts ( table 1 ). Women experienced double the rate of student-related injury compared with men ( table 2 ). Employees in age groups 21-30 and 31-40 incurred the highest rates of student-related injury. The oldest employees, age 61 years and older, experienced the lowest rate of student-related injury ( table 2 ).

Employee job classifications exhibited varying rates of injury between groups. SEAs experienced the highest rate of student-related injury (4.54 per 100 FTE), followed by general EAs (1.59 per 100 FTE) and licensed staff (0.80 per 100 FTE) ( table 1 ). When examining claims resulting in lost time from work, SEAs continued to exhibit the highest rate (0.50 per 100 FTE), but transportation employees were the second highest with a rate of 0.16 per 100 FTE, followed by general EAs (0.11 per 100 FTE) ( table 1 ).

Multivariate analysis of data revealed the employees of the Metro districts were at a significantly higher risk of student-related injuries (RR=1.54, CI 1.04 to 2.27) versus out-state districts. Intermediate districts illustrated a significant increase in risk of student-related injury, as compared with public districts (RR=7.03, CI 3.19 to 15.48). This trend was even more evident for student-related lost-time claims in intermediate districts (RR=9.48, CI 7.64 to 11.75). Alternatively, charter and integration districts had a reduced risk of student-related injury, compared with public districts ( table 3 ). Male employees had significantly reduced risk of student-related injury versus female employees ( table 4 ). Age groups 51-60 (RR=0.75, CI 0.61 to 0.93) and 61+ (RR=0.57, CI 0.43 to 0.77) had significantly reduced risk of student-related injury versus the referent group of employees aged 31-40 years old ( table 4 ).

Multivariate analysis showed employees' risk of student-related injury differed by job classification. For total injuries, SEAs and EAs were at significantly higher risk of student-related injury compared with licensed staff ( table 3 ). When examining lost-time claims, SEAs had significantly higher risk (RR=9.51, CI 6.25 to 14.48), and transportation employees also demonstrated a significantly higher risk (RR=3.30, CI 1.28 to 8.53) ( table 3 ).

Text analysis revealed injury events where students were acting out occurred most frequently (45.4% of claims). Situations when employees physically contacted students and escorted, restrained or held students for behavioural or disciplinary reasons contributed to 15.1% of injuries ( table 5 ). However, play injuries caused the most severity, with 17.7% of incidences resulting in lost-time claims.

Daily life injuries (lifting, transferring or assisting students) also exhibited high severity; 12.6% resulted in lost-time claims. Escorting, restraining or holding students resulted in lost-time claims 9.5% of the time ( table 5 ). A notable percentage (36.3%) of student-related claims was determined to be non-violent in nature based on the text description.

'Struck by' events caused the highest frequency of student-related injuries, occurring in 67.8% of all claims, whereas falls-slips-trips were identified in only 4.8% of student-related injuries, yet 18.2% of these resulted in lost-time claims ( table 6 ). Contusions occurred most frequently (39%) among student-related claims, although few had lost time (3.1%). Sprain/strains were the next most frequently occurring injury type (38%), and 13.8% of these resulted in a lost-time claim. Concussion occurred infrequently (1.2%), yet resulted in lost time 53.6% of the time ( table 6 ). Upper extremities were injured most frequently (32.9%), but only 6.3% were serious enough for a lost-time claim. Injuries to the neck occurred in only 1.9% of the student-related claims, but 18.6% of these resulted in lost-time claims ( table 6 ).

Discussion

This research identifies new risk factors for student-related injuries and suggests approaches for prevention. We found that student-related injuries make up over one-quarter of injuries in districts. Risk of student-inflicted injury is heightened for metropolitan-area districts, intermediate-type districts, women, younger workers, and educational (general and special) assistants and transportation workers. Students acting out caused the most frequent injuries to staff. These findings, based on novel data that characterise injury events, agree with similar reports,11 18 and extend what is known about student-related injuries in schools.

Our findings indicated that districts in the seven-county Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area had higher risk of student-related injuries than out-state. Districts in the metropolitan area tend to have larger and more diverse student populations and offer a greater range of special services, including intermediate districts, thus may have a greater population of students with special needs, behaviours or diagnoses. The excess risk of student-related injuries in intermediate districts is most likely attributable to their population of students; intermediate districts serve mainly SPED students with the highest level of needs.

We found that female employees were more likely to suffer a student-related injury, which agrees with several reports on violence towards staff in schools,9 19 yet is opposite of others that suggested men were at increased risk.6 20 Younger workers were more likely to suffer student-related injuries, which was consistent with some reports.19 This may be attributed to lack of experience, or younger workers with less seniority who may receive more difficult or physical assignments. Adequate knowledge of job demands and appropriate training for new and inexperienced employees may reduce risk.

High levels of risk among EAs and SEAs were observed, which agreed with other reports.18 20 22 32 However, those reports focused solely on educators and did not find the magnitude of risk we observed. This may be related to the fact that EAs/SEAs, as more precarious workers, are more difficult to capture via surveys or union records. Additionally, transportation employees were shown to be at increased risk of lost-time injury, which has not been reported elsewhere. They interact with students in a novel environment wholly separate from the school, which is arguably less controlled, and this may increase risk.

We found that interaction with a student in a behavioural or disciplinary event resulted in the most frequent injury to staff, consistent with other reports on student-related injury.11 18 Complex factors likely contribute to these events and solutions will be highly individualised, especially with SPED students.13 Focusing on factors extrinsic to the student, such as physical environment (classroom design and layout, furnishings, lighting and so on), may provide more consistent injury prevention solutions that can be applied to a population versus an individual student or staff member. Policies and procedures that are well-defined and implemented may reduce injury23 33 by eliminating ambiguous situations and making expectations clear to staff, especially when physical contact such as engagement in physical restraint or interceding in student fights may be involved. If physical interventions with students are permitted, comprehensive and timely training should be provided.23 33- 36

Our findings indicated that potentially inadvertent or non-violent physical interaction (transfers, lifts, sports and so on) caused a notable percentage of staff injuries, many with high severity. Injuries to staff during field trips or play with students occurred frequently. Policies on acceptable participation in non-instructional activities should be implemented. Also, assisting physically disabled students caused frequent injuries. Installation and use of mechanical lifting equipment or environmental modifications, similar to methods used in healthcare facilities, could prevent injuries to staff.

Additional research efforts should focus on EA/SEAs to determine barriers and unique prevention opportunities to reduce their injury burden. Future priorities include the identification of modifiable risk factors among EA/SEAs, and the development of interventions that can be tested in a comprehensive school-based system.

Strength and limitations

Our study captured a sizeable percentage of independent school districts in Minnesota, evaluated risk for all district employees based on workers' compensation and MNDOE records over multiple years, and did not rely on survey-based recall. This study quantified risk to school employees other than educators, an understudied group of workers. Similar education data are collected in most states, and this innovative approach to the use of relevant denominator data when calculating claim rates could be emulated in other states, research and/or outcomes. In addition, the researchers have multiple years of experience with the workers' compensation system and with studying injury prevention in schools.

Limitations include the text analysis for this research, which was done manually. Larger data sets or additional variables would likely pose challenges for this methodology, potentially limiting its generalisability. This also applies to the categorisation of student-related events. The process assigned one category only to each student interaction; some event causes may be complex, multifactorial and not mutually exclusive. However, it did share similarities with other independent reports.11 18 When utilising workers' compensation data for research, under-reporting of injury claims is a consideration,18 37-39 and EAs may under-report to a greater degree,18 which would artificially reduce the magnitude of EA risk. Lastly, because our study used data from Minnesota schools and workers' compensation, results may not be generalisable to all locations.

Conclusion

Student-related injury to faculty and staff occurs frequently in schools and can be severe. Findings draw attention to the high risk of injury among EAs and transportation employees, which has not previously been captured in the literature. EAs bear the largest burden of injury, especially those working in SPED. Additionally, this study adds to the knowledge about student-related injuries by providing detailed descriptors of these injuries and the circumstances in which they occur. It also revealed that a notable subset of student-related injuries were non-violent. These data can be used as a framework for future research to design and evaluate injury prevention tools for schools. Future research should explore a wide spectrum of prevention techniques, in addition to behaviour management or violence reduction, to reduce injury risk and severity, including environmental modifications or policy changes. Injury prevention methods that ensure equal access to methods, training and knowledge for all staff should be prioritised.

Student-related violence contributes to injury in school settings and can be severe.

Evidence has demonstrated risk of violence and injury to educators from students.

Student-inflicted injuries are frequent and severe.

Educational assistants, especially those working in special education, bear the burden of injury and have significantly elevated risk.

Non-educators may face injury inequities, suffering a greater burden but having less work protections than professional educators.

Focus should be on prevention for this group, specifically special/educational assistants, and prevention techniques related to policy, environmental modifications and behaviour management.

Other risk factors include age, gender and school district type.

Circumstances surrounding student-inflicted injuries as well as injury characteristics are described.

A notable percentage of student-inflicted injuries are not violent in nature.

Footnotes

Contributors: KES designed the study, acquired data, performed analysis and interpretation of results, drafted the manuscript, and will be involved in final approval for publication. ADR substantially contributed to data analysis and interpretation, critical revision of the manuscript, and will be involved in final approval. CS substantially contributed to data acquisition and descriptive analysis, critical revision of the manuscript, and will be involved in final approval.

Funding: This work was supported by a Pilot Project Grant through the Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety (MCOHS) Education and Research Center, University of Minnesota (UMN), Subaward P004312501.

Disclaimer: The content of this work is solely the responsibilities of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the University of Minnesota Duluth, the University of Minnesota, SFM, MCOHS, or NIOSH.

Competing interests: None declared.

Ethics approval: University of Minnesota Institutional Review Board exempt status.

Provenance and peer review: Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

References

1. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2013. a. Occupational employment statistics, All Educational Services.

2. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2013. b. Occupational employment statistics, Elementary and Secondary Schools.

3. Robers S, Zhang A, Morgan RE. Indicators of school crime and safety: 2014. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics; 2015, Report No: NCES 2015-072/NCJ 248036. [ Google Scholar]

5. Dinkes R, Kemp J, Baum K. Indicators of school crime and safety: 2008. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics; 2009, Report No: NCES 2009-022/NCJ 226343. [ Google Scholar]

7. Dinkes R, Cataldi EF, Lin-Kelly W. Indicators of school crime and safety: 2007. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics; 2007, Report No: NCES 2008-021/NCJ 219553. [ Google Scholar]

8. Devoe JF, Peter K, Kaufman P, et al.. Indicators of school Crime and Safety, 2004. Washiongton, DC: National Center for Education Statistics; 2004, Report No: NCES 2005-002. [ Google Scholar]

13. Bon SC, Faircloth SC, LeTendre GK. The School violence dilemma: protecting the rights of students with disabilities while maintaining teachers' sense of safety in schools. J Disabil Policy stu 2006;17:148-57. [ Google Scholar]

17. Elliott DS, Hamburg BA, Williams KR. Violence in American schools: a new perspective. Cambridge University Press 1998. [ Google Scholar]

18. Tiesman H, Konda S, Hendricks S, et al.. Workplace violence among Pennsylvania education workers: differences among occupations. J Safety Res 2013;44:65-71. 10.1016/j.jsr.2012.09.006 [[ PubMed] [ CrossRef] PMC free article] [ Google Scholar]

25. Breton W. Special education paraprofessionals: perceptions of preservice preparation, supervision, and ongoing developmental training. Int J Spec Educ 2010;25:34-45. [ Google Scholar]

28. Maggin DM, Wehby JH, Moore-Partin TC. Supervising paraeducators in classrooms for children with emotional and behavioral disorders. Beyond Behaviour 2009;18:2-9. [ Google Scholar]

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34. Individuals with disabilities education improvement act. 2004. 20 U.S.C. § 1400.

Articles from Injury Prevention are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

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Student-inflicted injuries to staff in schools: comparing risk between educators and non-educators

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Student-inflicted injury to staff in the educational services sector is a growing concern. Studies on violence have focused on teachers as victims, but less is known about injuries to other employee groups, particularly educational assistants. Inequities ...

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Fewer college students want to be teachers, and why it matters (searchable database)

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Fewer college students want to be teachers, and why it matters (searchable database)

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College Enrollment Change

Nearly every teacher-prep program in Michigan is enrolling fewer students today than just a few years ago. Search for an individual school, or click the arrows on the columns to sort accordingly.

Baker College1,172113-90.4%

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Nearly every teacher-prep program in Michigan is enrolling fewer students today than just a few years ago. Search for an individual school, or click the arrows on the columns to sort accordingly.

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Complaint Conflicts: How Michigan’s State Complaint Oversight Fails

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Complaint Conflicts: How Michigan’s State Complaint Oversight Fails

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to Protect Students with Disabilities

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MICHIGAN

Part 1: EXAMINING THE FUNDING SHORTFALL

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SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDING

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In 2001, ELC with co-counsel Gibbons Del Deo, filed a class action lawsuit against Newark Public Schools and the New Jersey Department of Education, alleging that Newark and the State failed to identify, locate, refer and evaluate students with disabilities for special education services, failed to provide these students with appropriate special education services, and failed to provide "compensatory education" for the deprived services. The complaint also charged the State with failure to monitor school districts and failure to provide appropriate relief in response to special education complaint investigation requests. [Docket No. 01-cv-3389 (US District Court for the District of NJ) Docket No. 02-1799 (US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit)]

Status: Plaintiffs obtained a preliminary injunction on behalf of two of the named plaintiffs, and withstood extensive motions to dismiss from both sets of defendants. In a decision from the Third Circuit, the Court affirmed both the preliminary injunction and the denial of the motions to dismiss. After a prolonged and unsuccessful attempt to settle the matter, the district court certified the class in 2009 in response to the motion brought by ELC, Gibbons and newly-added co-counsel, Seton Hall Law School Center for Social Justice. The parties then conducted additional discovery and again commenced settlement discussions. The parties entered into a Settlement Agreement, which was endorsed by the Court in 2012. The Settlement Agreement calls for the provision of special education services on a timely basis, "compensatory education" for students who did not receive timely services, implementation of a comprehensive special education database, mandatory staff training, extensive reporting of compliance activities, guidelines for corrective action if warranted and independent monitoring of special education services. Newark has issued two Compliance Reports ( July 2012 and February 2013), and the State has instituted one Corrective Action Plan. ELC is monitoring NPS and State compliance with the Settlement Agreement and, together with Seton Hall, prepared parent training materials in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Creole, and is training parents across the district.

A.R. v. Freehold Regional High School Board of Education

ELC, with the support of several pro bono attorneys, filed a motion on behalf of a group of disability advocacy organizations to appear as amici curiae in this case regarding who should bear the burden of proof in a due process hearing when a school district seeks to change a child's special education Individualized Education Program (IEP). The amicus brief argued that, pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court case of Schaffer v. Weast, the burden is on the district when it seeks to change the IEP, even where the parent files the hearing request to challenge the school district's action. The brief additionally explained why placing the burden of proof on parents in such cases would be unfair, violate public policy and undermine the goals of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (United States District Court for the District of NJ Docket No. 06-cv-03849)

Status: Shortly after ELC filed the amicus brief, the school district settled the case with the student and the matter was dismissed. Subsequently, ELC successfully spearheaded an advocacy effort, with other New Jersey special education practitioners, that resulted in the passage of legislation imposing the burden of proof at special education hearings on school districts in all cases.

A.W. v. Jersey City Public Schools

ELC filed a federal lawsuit to challenge the failure of a school district, the state education department, and individual employees to identify and remediate A.W.'s dyslexia. The case reached the Third Circuit twice, with the Court holding in the first decision (2003), that the state defendants had waived sovereign immunity by accepting federal financial assistance and could therefore be sued under IDEA and Section 504 and, in the second decision (2007), that individual state defendants could not be held liable under Section 1983. A.W.'s claims against his school district and NJDOE were successfully resolved through settlement. [341 F.3d 234 (3d Cir. 2003), 486 F. 3d 791 (3d Cir. 2007)]

Baer v. Klagholz

In 2001, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on eight challenges to the State's special education regulations brought by the Education Law Center and co-counsel. The Appellate Division ruling included the mandate that school districts provide parents with evaluation reports prior to eligibility determination meetings, that all students with disabilities receive assessments to determine appropriate post-secondary outcomes, that the pool of community rehabilitation programs for older students include those programs that serve students with the most severe disabilities, and that the scope of IDEA's disciplinary rights and protections be broadened to comply with federal law. [Docket No. A-7451-97T3 (Superior Court of NJ, Appellate Division)]

Status: Plaintiffs were subsequently successful in a contested motion for prevailing party attorney's fees.

Disability Rights New Jersey v. New Jersey Department of Education

In 2007, ELC, together with pro bono co-counsel, filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey challenging the New Jersey Department of Education's failure to educate children with disabilities in the least restrictive environment as mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. [Docket No. 07-cv-02978 (US District Court for the District of NJ) Docket No. 08-8059 (United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit)]

Status: In February 2014, the parties entered into a historic Settlement Agreement designed to improve New Jersey's implementation of IDEA's mandate that students with disabilities receive an appropriate education in the least restrictive environment. The Agreement's requirements include: a needs assessment to be completed in the 75+ school districts with the worst track record in inclusion, heightened oversight of districts that segregate a disproportional number of students of color with disabilities, extensive training and technical assistance, specially designated state and local inclusion facilitators, parental input regarding district failures, and oversight by a stakeholder committee comprised of disability advocates.

P.N. v. Clementon Board of Education

ELC filed an amicus brief in this case in the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on its behalf and on behalf of numerous disability and education advocacy organizations. The Third Circuit ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, recognizing that "prevailing party" attorney's fees are available to students with disabilities who resolve their educational disputes with districts via a stipulated settlement agreement entered into by an administrative law judge. Citing to ELC's amicus brief, which detailed the important role the attorney's fee provision plays for poor parents, the Third Circuit noted that it was "particularly troubl[ed]" by the District Court's holding that reimbursement of a $425 psychologist fee was "de minimis" and did not support a prevailing party finding. ELC then represented the plaintiff in the United States Supreme Court, where it successfully urged the Court to deny the Defendant's petition for a writ of certiorari [Docket No. 04-4705 (United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit) Docket No. 06-7 (US Supreme Court) Docket No. 02-1351 (District Court for the District of NJ)].

Status: Plaintiffs were subsequently successful in a contested motion for prevailing party attorney's fees before the District Court.

SPAN v. Hendricks

ELC represented SPAN in challenging the State's failure to complete an independent study of the census-based funding methodology for special education by June 2010, as required by the School Funding Reform Act. While the litigation was pending, the State released its independent study of the special education census funding method in the State school aid formula. (Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, Docket No. A-000852-10)

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Significant Special Education Cases - Education Law Center

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M.A. v. Newark Public Schools In 2001, ELC with co-counsel Gibbons Del Deo, filed a class action lawsuit against Newark Public Schools and the New Jersey Department of Education, alleging that Newark and the State failed to identify, locate, refer and evaluate students with disabilities for special education services, failed to provide these students with...

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Why Special Education Teachers Leave the Profession

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Why Special Education Teachers Leave the Profession

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Findings

1. Special education teachers want effective mentorship and continued professional

development throughout their careers.

2. Increasingly heavy workloads result in lack of time to fulfill duties and responsibilities

and deteriorating mental health for special education teachers.

3. School administrators do not have a comprehensive understanding of special

education teachers’ responsibilities and duties.

4. Educator preparation programs do not adequately prepare special education

teachers for non-instructional parts of their job such as writing Individual Education

Plans (IEPs) and successful collaboration.

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Students with disabilities have a right to qualified teachers — but there's a shortage

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Students with disabilities have a right to qualified teachers — but there's a shortage

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APRIL 20, 20225:01 AM ET

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This is the first in a two-part series on the special education teacher shortage. You can read part two .

At the beginning of the school year, when Becky Ashcraft attended an open house at her 12-year-old daughter's school, she was surprised to find there was no teacher in her daughter's classroom - just a teacher's aide.

"They're like, 'Oh, well, she doesn't have a teacher right now. But, you know, hopefully, we'll get one soon,' " Ashcraft recalls.

Ashcraft's daughter attends a public school in northwest Indiana that exclusively serves students with disabilities. She is on the autism spectrum and doesn't speak. Without an assigned teacher, it was difficult for Ashcraft to know what her daughter did everyday.

"I wonder what actually kind of education she was receiving," Ashcraft says.

Ashcraft's daughter spent the entire fall semester without an assigned teacher. One other parent at the school told NPR they were in the same position. Ashcraft says the principal told her they were trying to hire someone, but it was difficult to find qualified candidates.

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 amid the shortage of qualified educators.

The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act guarantees students with disabilities access to fully licensed special educators. But as Ashcraft learned, those teachers can be hard to find. In 2019, 44 states reported special education teacher shortages to the federal government. This school year, that number jumped to 48.

Let them work towards that [license], that's wonderful. But, you know, I guess at this point, you know, we're happy to take anybody.

When schools can't find qualified teachers, federal law allows them to hire people who aren't fully qualified so long as they're actively pursuing their special education certification. Indiana, California, Virginia and Maryland are among the states that offer provisional licenses to help staff special education classrooms.

It's a practice that concerns some special education experts. They worry placing people who aren't fully trained for the job in charge of classrooms could harm some of the most vulnerable students.

But given the lack of qualified special education teachers, Ashcraft says she wouldn't mind if her daughter's teacher wasn't fully trained yet.

"Let them work towards that [license], that's wonderful," she says. "But, you know, I guess at this point, you know, we're happy to take anybody."

The case against provisional special education licenses

Jacqueline Rodriguez, with the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, is alarmed at the number of provisional licenses issued to unqualified special education teachers in recent years - even if those teachers are actively working toward full licensure.

"The band aid has been, let's put somebody who's breathing in front of kids, and hope that everybody survives," she says. Her organization focuses on teacher preparation, and has partnered with higher education institutions to improve recruitment of special educators.

The band aid has been, let's put somebody who's breathing in front of kids, and hope that everybody survives.

She worries placing untrained people at the helm of a classroom, and in charge of Individualized Education Programs, is harmful for students.

"This to me is like telling somebody there's a dearth of doctors in neurosurgery, so we would love for you to transition into the field by giving you the opportunity to operate on people while you're taking coursework at night," Rodriguez says.

She admits it's a provocative analogy, but says teaching is a profession that requires intensive coursework, evaluation and practice. "And unless you can demonstrate competency, you have no business being a teacher."

One district is building a special education teacher pipeline

Shaleta West had zero teaching experience when she was hired as a special educator by Elkhart Community Schools, a district in northern Indiana.

She says her first couple weeks in the classroom were overwhelming.

"It was very scary because, you know, I know kids, yes. But when you're trying to teach kids it's a whole other ball game. You can't just play around with them and talk to them and chit chat. You have to teach."

Her district is helping her work toward her certification at nearby Indiana University South Bend. Elkhart Community Schools pays West's tuition and, in exchange, West has agreed to work for the district for five years.

The district also provides West with a mentor - a seasoned special educator who answers questions, offers tips and looks over the complicated paperwork that's legally required for students with disabilities.

West says she would have been lost without the mentorship and the university classes.

"To be honest, I don't even know if I would have stayed," she explains.

"I knew nothing. I came in without any prior knowledge to what I needed to do on a daily basis."

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.

Administrator Lindsey Brander oversees the Elkhart schools program that supports West. She says the program has produced about 30 fully qualified special educators over the past four years. This year, it's serving about 10 special educators, all on provisional licenses.

"We are able to recruit our own teachers and train them specifically for our students. So the system is working," Brander explains. The challenge, she says, is that it's become increasingly difficult for the district to find people to participate in the program.

And even with a new teacher pipeline in place, the district still has 24 special education vacancies.

Brander would prefer if all the district's 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," she says.

How high teacher turnover impacts students

The structural issues contributing to the special educator shortage include heavy workloads and relatively low pay. At Elkhart schools, for example, new special education teachers with bachelor's degrees receive a minimum salary of $41,000, according to district officials.

Desiree Carver-Thomas, a researcher with the Learning Policy Institute, says low compensation and long workdays can lead to high turnover, especially in schools that serve students of color and children from low-income households. 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," Carver-Thomas says.

Hiring unprepared teachers can also contribute to high turnover rates, according to Carver-Thomas' research. And it can impact student outcomes.

As NPR has reported, Black students and students with disabilities are disciplined and referred to law enforcement at higher rates than students without disabilities. Black students with disabilities are especially vulnerable; federal data shows they have the highest risk for suspension among all students with disabilities.

"That may be more common when teachers don't have the tools and the experience and the training to respond appropriately," Carver-Thomas says.

Schools and families have to make do

The solution to the special educator shortage isn't simple. Carver-Thomas says it will require schools, colleges and governments to work together to boost teacher salaries and improve recruitment, preparation, working conditions and on-the-job support.

In the meantime, schools and families will have to make do.

In January, Becky Ashcraft learned her northwest Indiana school had found a teacher for her daughter's classroom.

She says she's grateful to finally have a fully licensed teacher to tell her about her daughter's school day. And she wishes the special educators that families like hers rely on were valued more.

"We've got to be thankful for the people that do this work," she says.

Nicole Cohen edited this story for broadcast and for the web.

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Students with disabilities have a right to qualified teachers - but there's a shortage

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When schools can't find a licensed special education teacher, they hire people who are willing to do the job, but lack the training. It's a practice that concerns some special education experts.

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Special education teachers need more mental health initiatives

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Special education teachers need more mental health initiatives

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When Erica Mazariegos heard that a shocking number of special education teaching positions remain vacant, she was not surprised. With over 27 years as a special educator, Mazariegos is dedicated and passionate, yet says "the stress of recent years has led me to question my ability to carry on. There will come a point when I must prioritize my health over my career."

Like Erica, special education teachers throughout U.S. public schools have been vocal about their concerns regarding working conditions after the pandemic, particularly the shortage of resources and staff support. The attrition rates among special education teachers soared following Covid-19, and educators have endured heightened levels of job-related stress, prompting an increasing number of them to exit the profession.

This exodus has left schools grappling with severe teacher shortages. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 45% of schools reported unfilled positions in special education roles, with 78% citing difficulties in hiring special education staff for the current school year. The situation in California closely mirrors the national shortages, with the Learning Policy Institute describing the teacher shortage in California as a "five-alarm fire."

The stress experienced by special educators is not only deeply ingrained in the inherent nature of their roles but also in the perceptions surrounding them. A key contributing factor is the idealization of special education teachers by schools, often portraying them as extraordinary individuals who are characterized as nurturing and self-sacrificing, willing to prioritize their students' well-being over their own. It's commonplace to hear general education teachers express sentiments like, "I could never do what you do." This portrayal creates unrealistic expectations for special educators, adding to the systemic sources of stress, which include unequal resource allocation and a shortage of adequately trained support staff.

Padma Vajhala, an early-career special education teacher with two years of experience, highlights many stressors in her job, such as individualized education program meetings, conducting paperwork checks, navigating uncertainties about parental consent, encountering subtle racism in schools, and adhering to the core mission of special education - differentiated teaching for each student. But, she underscores that these stressors are overshadowed by the primary source of stress: daily management of challenging behavior exhibited by her students in class without enough staff support. She points out that her stress affects students by hindering effective instruction, classroom management and the modeling of social-emotional skills. Stressed teachers are more likely to react unpredictably and employ ineffective behavior management strategies.

While it remains crucial to address such systemic causes of stress as lack of staff support in the classroom, schools must simultaneously implement programs dedicated to teaching self-care strategies and allocate resources to support these educators' mental health and overall well-being. These initiatives should involve professional development programs that prioritize physical wellness, encompassing exercise, dietary choices, and sleep, to sustain energy levels and enhance emotional resilience.

Additionally, it is imperative to equip special educators with training in social-emotional learning skills. This training should cover the establishment of clear boundaries between their professional and personal lives, mindfulness practices, participation in yoga, and learning relaxation techniques. Acquiring these skills can significantly reduce stress levels among special educators while providing positive role models for students concurrently learning these skills in their classes.

Most importantly, special education teachers can create communities of practice informally with their colleagues based on shared interests, facilitating connections with colleagues, mentors, and therapists to seek guidance and share their experiences. Moreover, these communities of practice can leverage self-reflection practices to recognize and manage stressors effectively.

A notable approach is reflexive visual journaling, a creative process that intertwines written reflection with images, drawings, and other visual elements. This practice has demonstrated considerable effectiveness in early detection of burnout indicators, pinpointing triggers, and aiding individuals in navigating and coping with stress. Zachary McNiece, assistant professor of counselor education at San Jose State University, emphasizes the importance of visual journaling, stating, "In today's post-Covid world, while teachers act as front-line mental health advocates, they can experience the after-effects of trauma their students have faced over the last few years; visual journaling creates a means for teachers to slow down, allow space for their feelings and reactions, and let go of the emotional residue of secondary trauma exposure, so they can improve their wellness and support their students." These self-reflective practices can also be embedded into teacher preparation programs to support new special education teachers.

Preventing burnout in special education cannot be solely an individual responsibility; it requires collaboration from schools, districts and policymakers. Special educators are pivotal in fostering an inclusive and equitable education system.

It is essential that schools prioritize special educators' well-being by supporting and implementing targeted self-care strategies to sustain their passion and dedication. This approach not only safeguards the mental and emotional health of educators but also enriches the educational experience for students with disabilities, ultimately contributing to the development of a stronger and more compassionate society.

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Sudha Krishnan is an assistant professor at San Jose State University's special education department, Lurie College of Education, and a Public Voice Fellow with the OpEd Project.

The opinions in this commentary are those of the author. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.

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COMMENTARY: Special education teachers need more mental health initiatives

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To keep special education teachers from burning out and leaving the profession, schools need to support them in taking care of themselves.

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Amid shortages, schools settle for underprepared special education teachers

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Amid shortages, schools settle for underprepared special education teachers

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Photo: Diana Lambert/EdSource

Due to statewide teacher shortages, many of California's approximately 800,000 special education students are being taught by teachers who haven't completed teacher preparation programs or have received only partial training.

There were more special education teachers with substandard credentials than in any other subject area in 2017-18, the most recent year for which data is available. About 60 percent of first-year special education teachers were working without a full special education teaching credential, according to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

That year, the number of first-year special education teachers without full credentials totaled 5,196. That is the highest number in a decade, said Desiree Carver-Thomas, a researcher with the Learning Policy Institute, a research and policy organization based in Palo Alto.

Special education students, in some instances, need teachers with deeper knowledge of medical and psychological issues, said Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the Learning Policy Institute and the State Board of Education, in a previous interview with EdSource.

Underprepared teachers are more likely to suspend or expel special education students or to use other exclusionary discipline, Darling-Hammond said.

"The lack of teachers adequately prepared on the behavioral and academic side can make for a torturous experience for the students," she said.

To earn a full special education credential, teachers must have a bachelor's degree, pass credentialing tests and complete a teacher preparation program in a specialty area like early childhood special education, physical and health impairments, visual impairments, deaf and hard of hearing, language and academic development, mild/moderate disabilities or moderate/severe disabilities.

But the majority of the first-year special education teachers without a credential - about 3,000 of the 5,000 or so underprepared teachers - are working with short-term staffing or provisional intern permits that require only a bachelor's degree, the completion of a basic skills test and as few as nine semester units of coursework in a combination of special education and what is called "general education" - classes for students not in special education.

Districts can hire these teachers only if a credentialed teacher is not found after a job search that includes distributing an announcement of the job opening, contacting college and university placement centers and advertising in print and electronic media.

About 2,100 of the special education teachers who started teaching in 2017-18 had an intern credential. These teachers are required to have 120 hours of preparation, typically in classes over the summer before they enter the classroom. That's far less than the preparation a teacher in a regular credentialing program would receive. Those with intern credentials are expected to earn a full credential within two years.

Districts and the state have turned to intern credentials as an imperfect response to teacher shortages in key areas such as special education. The credential is viewed as a way to attract mid-career people in other professions and those who don't have the time or money to spend a year or two in a post-graduate program to earn a full teaching credential.

Districts are undertaking a range of strategies to deal with the shortage of teachers, including paying bonuses and recruiting teachers while they are still undergraduates. Spearheaded by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the state this year is also investing $90 million to cover tuition fellowships for aspiring teachers who commit to teach subjects with chronic shortages, including special education.

The governor's proposed 2020-21 budget includes $900 million to help recruit and train teachers, particularly those who want to work in special education, math and science where there are dire teacher shortages.

It is too soon to know whether these efforts will produce their desired results. The reality is that California schools have struggled for years to hire enough special education teachers. According to a Getting Down To Facts survey in 2017, nearly 8 in 10 California schools were looking to hire special education teachers and 87 percent of principals reported that finding them is a challenge. To meet the need, many school districts have had to place some of their least prepared teachers in special education classrooms.

Students are referred by teachers, parents and others for evaluation to determine if they need special education services. If a range of diagnostic tests determine a student has a disability that requires special education services, an individualized education program, or IEP, is drawn up that outlines what they should learn in a specified period of time and what services they need.

The shortage of special education teachers can be explained, in part, by some of the same factors contributing to an overall shortage of teachers, Carver-Thomas said.

Declining enrollment in teacher preparation programs and teacher attrition have contributed to the shortage over the years. Teacher turnover currently accounts for 88 percent of the demand for new teachers overall, according to a Learning Policy Institute report. But the report also found special education teachers leave their jobs at higher rates than other teachers, as do underprepared teachers.

Special education teachers interviewed for this story said the primary reason they have left or have considered leaving their occupations is the overwhelming workload. Other factors include the stress of working with high-needs students and demanding parents.

President of the California Association of Resource and Special Educators Nica Cox retired early from her job as a special education teacher at Granada High School in Livermore because the growing responsibilities of her job left her no time to relax and little time for family.

During her years in special education, Cox said she had "coached many a teacher off the ledge, ready to throw in the towel." Now, Cox said she continues to hear stories from teachers about the difficulty of completing all the paperwork and meeting required deadlines.

"Think about the pressure and necessity of compliance: a general education teacher forgets to send home a progress report, no big deal," Cox said. "If a special education teacher does it is a federal offense ... literally. IEP compliance is federally mandated."

Tamara Camp also retired early from her job as a special education teacher. She left Wilson C. Riles Middle School in Sacramento in 2013 due to health issues exacerbated by job stress.

Although the state does not require lower class sizes for special education day classes than for general education classes, most districts limit them to 12 or 15 students. Camp said she had classes with as many as 20 students and no classroom aide to help. Because the students in her class had a variety of needs, she was required to offer instruction tailored to each of them.

"That last year put me in the hospital," said Camp, who has lupus, an auto-immune disease that can be exacerbated by stress. "I was in the hospital a week. You can't take the stress anymore."

Camp also managed a caseload of 20 students, most of whom she taught in her classes. It was her responsibility to test each of these students and to analyze the results annually. She also had to manage each child's individualized education program and met regularly with parents and other teachers who worked with the child.

She finally quit teaching after a student who exhibited violent behavior was enrolled in her class, bringing back memories of a 1994 assault. That year Camp was working at a school in Diamond Springs when she was kicked in the head by a boy wearing steel-toed boots. The incident resulted in head injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder that took her out of the classroom for four years, she said.

Despite these difficult experiences, Camp, who retired at age 54, misses being a special education teacher.

"I absolutely adored my job, loved my job, loved being a teacher," she said. "I would have done it another 30 years. I couldn't do it."

The shortage of special education teachers has become more acute as the number of special education students in the state has steadily increased, from 650,000 in 2000 to nearly 800,000 last year, according to the California Department of Education.

Teacher Janey Muñoz thought of leaving special education for general education classes a few times, but she never did. Instead, Muñoz spent 21 years as a resource specialist before retiring from Fillmore Unified in Ventura County in 2017. Resource specialists manage special education caseloads and sometimes teach students who spend more than half their time in general education classes.

State law allows resource specialists to have caseloads of up to 28 students, which Muñoz said was almost always the case for her.

"I almost never left school until 5 p.m. and went in on Sunday afternoons to finish up," Muñoz said. "Sometimes you are finishing up lesson plans and sometimes IEPs."

School districts face competition when hiring special education teachers. Willits Unified in rural Mendocino County can't find enough fully qualified candidates for special education job openings despite adequate pay and affordable housing in the area, said Superintendent Mark Westerburg.

It is especially difficult to find teachers who have the proper credentials to teach emotionally impaired, autistic or deaf students, he said.

Officials at the 1,500-student district attend about six jobs fairs each year and post jobs on the websites EdJoin and Handshake. But even then, the district struggles to find fully credentialed teachers in special education. The district didn't mince words in a post on EdJoin last school year: "Interns are encouraged to apply!"

But job fairs and online job postings aren't enough, said Carver-Thomas of the Learning Policy institute. District officials need to go to universities to recruit students in teacher credentialing programs and be prepared to offer information about alternative credentialing routes for people pursuing other careers or working in other fields.

Larger school districts like the 50,000-student San Juan Unified in Sacramento, with well-staffed human resources departments, can be more proactive. San Juan Unified managed to hire special education teachers who were all fully credentialed this year because staff was able to forecast the number of teachers leaving and began looking for teachers early.

The district also contacts students still completing teacher preparation programs and offers them jobs in anticipation of future job openings, said Paul Oropallo, the district's assistant superintendent of human resources.

Districts may have to come up with other strategies soon. A quarter of the California special education teachers who were teaching in 2014 will retire by 2024 - a higher percentage than in any other subject area, according to a Learning Policy Institute report.

Strategies could include loan forgiveness or scholarships to cover the costs of teacher preparation, said the institute's Carver-Thomas. Another strategy is to encourage prospective teachers to enroll in a so-called "residency" program in which a student teacher works under a mentor teacher for a school year, and gets paid while doing so, before getting their own classroom.

Teachers who have access to high-quality mentorship and support when they first begin teaching are more than twice as likely to stay in teaching, she said.

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Amid shortages, schools settle for underprepared special education teachers

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Photo: Diana Lambert/EdSource Due to statewide teacher shortages, many of California's approximately 800,000 special education students are being taught by teachers who haven't completed teacher preparation programs or have received only partial training. There were more special education teachers with substandard credentials than in any other subject area in 2017-18, the most recent year for which data is available.

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States Are Desperate for Special Ed. Teachers. But They Can’t Cut Corners to Get Them

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States Are Desperate for Special Ed. Teachers. But They Can’t Cut Corners to Get Them

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The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the federal law on educating students with disabilities, requires that special education teachers be "appropriately and adequately prepared and trained" and "have the content knowledge and skills to serve children with disabilities."

"Based on media reports and discussions with states and advocates, OSEP is aware that some states currently have policies and procedures in place that may not be consistent with IDEA requirements," Williams wrote. "OSEP also recognizes that states are facing many challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the impact it has had on exacerbating the shortage of special education teachers and related services providers across the country."

Federal law says that special education teachers must have obtained full state certification in that field and passed the state licensing test for special education teachers. Districts can hire teachers pursuing certification through an alternate route that puts them in the classroom before being fully licensed, but they must receive mentorship and high-quality professional development. And they cannot act as a teacher for more than three years before earning certification.

"Our students with disabilities have such large gaps already with their outcomes," said Meg Kamman, the co-director of the federally funded CEEDAR Center, which works to strengthen teacher preparation in the special education field. "We really want to make sure that our teachers have the knowledge and skills to be able to help students."

Special education teachers who are fully prepared are more likely to stay in the classroom for longer and are more likely to improve their students' academic outcomes, Kamman said. The CEEDAR (Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform) Center has encouraged districts to partner with universities so they can work together to find solutions to vacancies, including pipelines for paraprofessionals to become special education teachers.

One state works to follow the law after years of violations

Indiana is forging a new path away from emergency teaching credentials for special education.

In April, the Indiana State Board of Education voted to end the use of emergency permits for special education teachers. The state had been violating IDEA for years- an investigation from W F Y I in Indianapolis found that Indiana had issued more than 1,200 special education emergency teaching permits in 2019-20, up from about 850 in 2016-17.

Most of the emergency permits were for mild intervention, but about 150 emergency permits each year were issued for intense intervention, WFYI found. Teachers who are licensed for intense intervention are able to teach students with moderate to profound cognitive impairment, autism, multiple disabilities, traumatic brain injury, and orthopedic or other impairments.

"Schools of education were not producing special education teachers at the rate that districts were demanding them," said Carey Dahncke, the executive director of the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning at the University of Indianapolis.

The candidates, most of whom already have a bachelor's degree, fall into two main categories-paraprofessionals or emergency certified teachers who need a teaching license, and teachers of other subjects who need to add a special education endorsement to their existing license. (I-SEAL also offers testing workshops for candidates who have already completed the coursework but have had a hard time passing the licensing exams.)

Some principals have encouraged some of their teachers to go through the program because they have urgent vacancies in their classrooms for children with disabilities. They might feel like, "I don't have to have an art teacher-I have to have a special education teacher," Dahncke said.

It will take about two years for most candidates to go through the program. They take classes online while still working in schools and earning a paycheck. Their tuition and other associated costs, including textbooks, are covered by the state, and in return, they must teach special education in an Indiana public school for at least two years upon completion of the program.

In about a year, the program has enrolled about 600 candidates who are on track to become fully certified special education teachers in the state.

However, the program has been funded in part through federal pandemic relief money, and Dahncke said he's not sure whether it can maintain such a high volume of candidates when that money runs out.

But given the success so far and the urgent need for certified special education teachers, the state "would not sunset the project," Dahncke said. In fact, the center is exploring a similar program for teachers of English learners.

Finding certified special education teachers is source of 'anxiety' for district leaders

"Over the past nine years, the hiring of special education teachers has been one of the biggest concerns for educational leaders of Oklahoma, but this year, it probably grew to a new height of anxiety for school leaders as they tried to start the school year," said Shawn Hime, the executive director of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association, which has surveyed district leaders in the state for almost a decade.

"It's definitely the worst-case scenario," Hime said.

Districts are also using financial incentives. In Oklahoma, special education teachers receive 5 percent more in their salary than other teachers with similar education and experience levels, but Hime said that hasn't been enough to make a real difference in the shortages. Some school districts have increased the salary differential for special education teachers to 7.5 or 10 percent, he said, or have offered signing or retention bonuses that are typically between $3,000 and $5,000.

The Union public school district in Tulsa is offering both a 10 percent salary differential for special education teachers, as well as a $2,000 signing bonus.

"These are things in my 37 years [in education] that we've never had to consider in order to try to entice teachers to move into special education or move [to the district]," said Superintendent Kirt Hartzler.

The district has also consolidated some of its special education programming to maximize the reach of staff. But Hartzler said the situation feels like a "tsunami"-the state is not producing enough new teachers to meet current vacancies, retirements are high due to an aging teacher workforce, and he worries the number of students needing special education services will continue to grow following the pandemic.

He hopes that Oklahoma lawmakers will make significant investments in teacher pay and per-pupil funding, which he said would allow the district to hire more paraprofessionals and provide more support for special educators.

He added: "I'd love to have highly qualified teachers for all of our programs and students, but special education is one of those really important programs that we absolutely must do whatever we can do have the most highly qualified and trained teachers in front of those kids-they deserve it."

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States Are Desperate for Special Ed. Teachers. But They Can't Cut Corners to Get Them

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The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the federal law on educating students with disabilities, requires that special education teachers be "appropriately and adequately prepared and trained" and "have the content knowledge and skills to serve children with disabilities."

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Special Educator Shortage: Examining Teacher Burnout and Mental Health

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Special Educator Shortage: Examining Teacher Burnout and Mental Health

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May 22, 2023 NCSER-Funded Studies on Special Educator Burnout

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Inside IES Research | Special Educator Shortage: Examining Teacher Burnout and Mental Health

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In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, NCSER would like to discuss special education teacher bur

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I'd say from my own perspective, it was a really impactful and meaningful career choice where I could see sort of my efforts paying off right in front of my eyes and investing in students who other people have kind of written off.

My own daughter decided to go into special education. She is actually an early career special educator. In her fourth year, you know, she feels pressures and she feels stretched thin, and she sometimes leans on me for ideas and support and I wish that more districts could provide more support to those early educators to help prevent them from getting burnt out.

And providing more support might be opportunities for those veteran or experienced educators to have some additional sort of impacts in their own buildings as well.

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What's driving a special education teacher shortage and how schools are responding

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More than 7.5 million American students have disabilities that qualify them for individual education plans. But teachers trained in this critical area are in short supply. Special education teachers and administrators share how the shortage is affecting them, and John Yang speaks with Kimber Wilkerson, professor of special education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to learn more.

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Finding a fix for Michigan’s special education teacher shortage

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Finding a fix for Michigan’s special education teacher shortage

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Michigan school districts are struggling to find special education teachers, a problem national in scope

Some states, notably Hawaii, have found success by offering higher pay for teachers in this specialty

A state-appointed group is working on ideas to lessen barriers for college students hoping to enter the field

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The group looked at the barriers to attract people to the field, including current teacher training programs and licensing requirements.

Laurie VanderPloeg, consultant for the group, now called Optimise, said the group focused on addressing the length and expense of training, and how teaching programs don't always align with what students with disabilities need.

Madison Stone, a special education teacher at Lamphere Schools in Oakland County, works primarily with students with autism in kindergarten through third grade. She said it's also important for schools to understand and acknowledge the value special education teachers bring to classrooms.

Stone pulls elementary students out of their general classroom to work on specific skills and also supports students in the classroom directly. She said the job is extremely rewarding but people often only see the challenges.

"It takes a lot of patience," she said, "a lot of really knowing your kids to kind of figure out what makes them tick and kind of figure out like, what's going to trigger them and what's gonna work really well and what's gonna, maybe not work so well."

More openings than candidates

In a survey of 46 out of the 56 intermediate school districts in Michigan, most districts selected special education teachers as one of their most critical shortages.

Michigan is hardly alone. In 2021, 48 states reported a shortage of special education teachers, despite a federal requirement that students with disabilities be taught by fully licensed teachers.

Lacking enough specialists, districts apply for temporary approvals from the state to put general education teachers in classrooms even though they haven't yet earned the added credential. This can stretch school resources and, critics say, shortchange the education of the district's most vulnerable students.

Advocates note that the shortage is not confined to teachers: Michigan also lacks speech language pathologists, social workers and paraprofessionals who work with this student population.

Eastpointe Schools in Macomb County uses third-party hires. The district has five speech therapists: three working inside the schools with two others who work virtually through a third party.

Lorena Rush, Eastpointe's director of student support services, said she is searching for three more speech therapists, two teachers, three social workers and four paraprofessionals.

"It's really, really challenging," she said.

Marcie Lipsitt, a longtime education advocate for special education students and families, said the shortage has real-life implications for families. Students, she said, aren't getting individualized instruction, and more are refusing to go to school or getting suspended.

"My fear after COVID was that parents were going to be so thrilled to have kids back to school, that they wouldn't care who is staffing the classroom," Lipsitt said. "And that's exactly what happened."

Melissa Hoffman has a fifth-grade son with autism and is chair of the parent advisory committee at Rochester Community Schools that focuses on special education. As of Friday, the district had seven openings for special education teachers and eight openings for special education paraprofessionals.

Hoffman's son's classroom has up to six students, she said, and is staffed by a long-term substitute who is not a certified special education teacher, which the principal told her over the summer would happen.

"I know he was working really hard to try and find somebody," she said. "But the reality is there's more openings than candidates."

For these students, "that teacher is a very pivotal important part of their lives" and not having a specialist "can really just throw everything off kilter."

A new approach

How many more special education teachers are needed?

The statewide picture is unclear. Even though 13 percent of public school students receive services for a disability, the state does not track real-time shortage numbers, making it difficult to quantify the gap.

It's also unclear just how many teachers are teaching under a temporary approval from the state. The Michigan Department of Education referred questions from Bridge Michigan about that number to the state freedom of information act process.

In the meantime, five Michigan universities are working to shorten the time it takes to produce special education teachers.

Central, Eastern, Northern and Western Michigan, along with Oakland University, are offering expedited teaching programs for special education. They do so by waiving the need for students who want to teach special education from student teaching in a general education setting.

Special education teachers' pay ranges by district, with 2022 median pay at $62,950 per year nationally, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In order to attract more college students to teaching in general, the state has provided grants for district "grow your own" programs, in which current district employees can take university classes to become certified teachers. There is also the Talent Together initiative, which pays school employees and community members to get teaching credentials. It's hoped that some are interested in teaching students with disabilities.

Emma Booth, an Ingham Intermediate School District paraprofessional, will begin her Talent Together training in January.

She works with students in the Skills for Adult Independent Living (SAIL) to develop daily living and employment skills.

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Finding a fix for Michigan's special education teacher shortage | Bridge Michigan

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Michigan schools do not have enough special education teachers, leaving many students without the services they need. Higher pay may help, as would lowering barriers for college students to teach in the speciality.