This resource was developed by EALA partners to give an overview of strategies for preparing and developing highly qualified general and special education teachers. It will show how states and districts can invest Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to address the current and growing need for educators to support students with disabilities and their peers. It shares data and research on both current challenges and recommended strategies and outlines recommended actions for states, districts, and educator preparation programs.
Survey: How Schools Plan To Spend Their Federal COVID Relief Money
New staff, new tech and even new classrooms — that’s just some of what school superintendents across the country are buying with the windfall of COVID-19 relief dollars Congress has sent their way since the pandemic began. Those are the findings of a new survey of hundreds of school leaders put together by the national School Superintendents Association (AASA).
Read the full article.
How Schools Are Using ESSER Funds to Attract, Retain Teachers
In plans submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, states are detailing how they will use COVID-19 relief funding to recruit and retain teachers, including strengthening the teacher pipeline through “Grow Your Own” programs, offering financial incentives, providing staff mental health supports and creating alternative licensure routes.
Read the full article.
Miami University, Hamilton County Confront School Psychologist Shortage With Win-Win Solution
An aspiring school psychologist splits his time between two local schools in Hamilton County, Ohio.
During an average week, Christopher Perry, a Miami University graduate student in the educational psychology department, works directly alongside professional school psychologists to help boost the academic, social, and emotional success of students in each school.
He’s been placed by the Hamilton County Educational Service Center (HCESC) to support a severely understaffed area of education, to provide a critical service desperately needed in most school districts everywhere, and all while getting the experience he’ll need to soon do the job himself.
Attract, Prepare, Retain: Effective Personnel For All – Information and Resources
The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is focusing on strategies to attract, prepare, and retain effective personnel—general and special education teachers, early childhood personnel, and related services providers—who have the knowledge and skills needed to provide effective instruction, interventions, supports, and services to children with disabilities. This is a topic that is important for schools, states, communities, businesses, districts, and professional organizations. This topic disproportionately affects children with disabilities and their families due to the many unfilled positions and high attrition rates among special education teachers, early childhood personnel, and related services providers. This page provides research and resources for stakeholders to explore potential strategies and innovative approaches to address this critical need.
2020 Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Virtual Summit
Attract, Prepare, Retain: OSEP National Summit on Improving Effective Personnel for Children with Disabilities
October 27–29, 2020
The event host and moderator is Laurie VanderPloeg, OSEP Director, U.S. Department of Education.
Learn more about this event.
Tuesday October 27, 2020: Panel on Attracting Effective Personnel
Wednesday, October 28, 2020: Panel on Preparing Effective Personnel
Thursday, October 29, 2020: Panel on Retaining Effective Personnel
California’s Special Education Teacher Shortage
Naomi Ondrasek, Desiree Carver-Thomas, Caitlin Scott, Linda Darling-Hammond
Originally posted by the Learning Policy Institute
California is in the midst of a severe and deepening shortage of special education teachers—and it is not alone. The field of special education at large has long been plagued by persistent shortages of fully certified teachers, in large part due to a severe drop in teacher education enrollments and high attrition for special educators. As a result, students with disabilities who often have the greatest needs are frequently taught by the least qualified teachers.
To better understand the nature of the shortage in California, and what can be done about it, the Learning Policy Institute released California’s Special Education Teacher Shortage.
Read the full article.
Watch Video of ASHA Town Hall on Attracting, Preparing, and Retaining School-Based SLPs
Video recordings and slides from the 2019 ASHA Schools Virtual Town Hall, the second installment in the town hall series, are now available.
The event featured a moderator and panel to address the need to expand the school-based speech-language pathologist (SLP) workforce. Panelists presented innovative strategies and solutions to attract, prepare, and retain school-based SLPs. View presentation slides and video from the event.
Free Toolkit Helps Address Special Education Teacher Shortages Locally
A new, free toolkit is now available to help lead state and district teams through a collaborative process in developing a comprehensive approach for addressing special education teacher shortages.
The toolkit, “Educator Shortages in Special Education: Toolkit for Developing Local Strategies,” is a collaborative effort between the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders and the Collaborative for Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform, both funded by the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).
The free resource is organized around a facilitation guide and three supporting tools. Aligned with current efforts from OSEP, the collaborative process featured in the toolkit intentionally examines shortages across the entire career continuum—from attracting to preparing to retaining teachers—so that all students with disabilities have access to effective teachers.
Get Resources and Solutions to Attract, Prepare, and Retain School-Based SLPs
Please join the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) for the 2019 ASHA Schools Virtual Town Hall, “Attract, Prepare, and Retain School-Based SLPs,” on Monday, December 9, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., EST. This free livestream event will feature a moderator and panel to address the need to expand the school-based SLP workforce.
Town Hall participants will learn from school-based SLPs, school district decision makers, and state education departments about strategies to attract, prepare, and retain school-based SLPs. Attendees will be able to ask questions and comment during the event. Register today.