The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act:
Promoting Well-Trained Teachers and Research-Based Instruction in the Face of a Chronic Shortage of Special Education Faculty

A Forum — March 8, 2002

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ensures a free appropriate public education for every child with a disability. A specially trained workforce is required to carry out this mandate, yet a critical shortage of faculty at institutions of higher education threatens the nation's capacity to train teachers, researchers, and leaders in special education.

In 1998, the U.S. Department of Education funded Vanderbilt University to study the shortage of special education faculty at institutions of higher education around the country. The results present a bleak picture of fewer and fewer people choosing to pursue doctorates in special education and, of those who have doctorates, fewer choosing to work in higher education. One result of the persistent faculty vacancies is a diminished capacity of Departments of Special Education at colleges and universities to not only prepare teachers, researchers and other leadership personnel, but also to generate new knowledge about effective instructional practices.

The shortage of qualified special education teachers now equals that for math and science teachers. Last year, over 600,000 students with disabilities were taught by unqualified special educators. The shortage of faculty available to train teachers further exacerbates the shortage of well-qualified teachers.

This special education leadership shortage is likely to impair the nation's ability to ensure high academic achievement for all students. Without well-trained teachers who are proficient in delivering effective research-based instruction, improved student outcomes are unlikely. Without enough doctoral level personnel in special education, professional development for general educators is also limited. The faculty shortage is also an obstacle to ensuring continued research on effective instruction for students with disabilities as well as those with diverse learning needs.

A recent Vanderbilt University study, The Shortage of Special Education Faculty: Why It Is Happening, Why It Matters and What We Can Do About It, recommends a range of practical strategies to address the shortage including reducing the amount of time graduate students spend in post-secondary education, increasing the ability of graduate students to relocate, reducing the costs of a special education doctorate, and incentives for pursuing faculty careers.

Deborah D. Smith, Research Professor of Special Education at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Senior Scholar at the John F. Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, and Principal Investigator for the study, presented major findings of the report. While in the 1980's there was a supply-demand balance of special education faculty in the United States, Smith found that today there are many fewer special education faculty than are needed. According to the study, there are 30% fewer special education Ph.D.s today than there were twenty years ago. While the number of position openings for junior faculty and the number of annual graduates are roughly equal, only about half of all graduates choose to work at universities. As a consequence, 30% of faculty vacancies remain open, while another 20% of unfilled positions are "lost." According to Smith, this greatly reduces the capacity of special education programs to do the training necessary to meet increased needs for special education teachers.

Smith proposed a number of possible explanations for the shortage of special education Ph.D.s who choose to take university positions. The average age of special education Ph.D. graduates is forty-three, making these graduates non-traditional higher-education hires. Because they are in mid-career, have amassed large educational debts, and have often come from teaching in public schools, the relocation burden and low salary of a junior faculty position are not attracting these graduates.

To address the problem of the shortage of special education faculty, Smith made the following recommendations for changes that could be made as IDEA is reauthorized: · Increase student stipends and return stipends to tax-free status

• Remove the service obligation for loans to students of special education (99% of doctoral graduates stay in the field, so the contract is unnecessary, she argued.)

• Fund recruitment activities

• Reduce the time between degrees for special education Ph.D.s by increasing Masters student stipends and forgiving educational loans

Smith concluded by underscoring the scope of the problem, pointing out that fewer special education faculty is leading to fewer qualified teachers, which is leading to lower student achievement, making research-based instruction less likely.

Sue Gamm, Chief Specialized Services Officer for the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), reported that a shortage of special education teachers is currently one of the most pressing issues in CPS, which serves 57,000 students with disabilities. According to Gamm, 95% of school districts across the country report a chronic shortage of special education personnel. These shortages dwarf the shortages of math and science teachers. In 1971, Illinois produced 608 teachers with BAs in special education. In 1976, that number had risen to 1666, but by 2000, Illinois produced only 675, or 60% fewer than in 1976. Figures for the Masters level are similar. In the same period, the numbers of students requiring special education has soared, increasing 21% since 1978. Today CPS has 350 special education teacher vacancies, a disproportionately large percentage of which are in the lowest performing schools. While the applicant pool for special education teachers is decreasing, the number of vacancies is increasing, the number of students is increasing, and schools are being held more accountable than ever.

CPS is attempting to change special education certification requirements to be less specialized and is seeking state support in the form of legislation to implement a new program to provide alternate routes to certification. Gamm called for cooperation between local, state, and federal governments, such as expanded loan forgiveness for special education training. In addition, she requested increased cooperation between states to recognize credentials so special education teachers can remain in the field even after a move.

Douglas Palmer, Professor and Chair of the Department of Educational Psychology at Texas A & M University, reported on his department's Doctoral Training Grant focusing on the education of Hispanic students with disabilities. The goal of the project was to use effective and innovative strategies to recruit and train bilingual personnel in the fields of education psychology and special education. Initial funding supported recruitment of specialized faculty and student financial assistance.

Palmer discussed a number of factors contributing to the project's successful recruitment of Hispanic students:

• Texas A & M's academic reputation and faculty quality (including expertise in Hispanic issues)

• The dual outcome of the program (Ph.D. and psychology licensure)

• The quality of the program and unique curricular components

• Peer support and using students in the recruitment process 

• Faculty "buy-in" to the project · The legacy of the program

Palmer made a number of recommendations to address the shortage of special education faculty. First, there needs to be long-term support for effective leadership projects to build recruitment capacity at the university level. Second, programs should develop multi-career tracks, such as Texas A & M's school psychology and special education program, to attract and train students who otherwise might not plan on university faculty careers. Finally, Palmer called for increased funding incentives for students, such as increased student stipends and loan-forgiveness programs.

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