Retention Is the Missing Ingredient in Special Education Staffing

By Evie Blad — May 13, 2024

Special education staffing strategies often focus on recruiting and training new teachers in the specialty, but those efforts alone aren’t enough to address shortages in the high-demand field.

Education labor economists say it’s equally important to address leaks in the educator pipeline—stressful working conditions and a lack of resources that cause many special education teachers to retreat to general education positions in the middle of their careers.

Special education teachers often teach multiple subjects across multiple grade levels, manage loads of paperwork to track individual student’s progress, and regularly communicate with families.