Examining the Supply of New Special Educators

Authors: Tuan D. Nguyen, Elizabeth Bettini, Allison F. Gilmour, Christopher Redding

Project Summary

Special education teacher shortages have been a consistent problem around the U.S. for decades and have only grown since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, reports of declining interest in special education among prospective teachers are especially concerning. The authors of this study examined the supply of new special education teachers into the workforce and the institutions that are supplying them, shedding light on the increasingly prominent role of for-profit alternative certification programs in the preparation of special education teachers.

Key Findings

• The annual potential supply of new special education teachers has substantially dropped off in the past decade.
• For-profit institutions have substantially increased their production of new special education teachers in recent years and are now the top suppliers of special education teachers nationally.