The nationwide teacher shortage has worsened among those dedicated to special education since the pandemic when many of them, exhausted with work, decided to leave the classroom to pursue other careers and opportunities.
“The educators of children with special needs went back to school to study other things, others decided to go to work in non-profit organizations and some more returned to their homes in other states,” said Pablo Olivares, vice president of Inclusive Education Bright Start Schoolswho for 15 years worked as a special education teacher.
He said teacher shortages are across the country, at all levels, not just in special education.
“What happened is that with the pandemic it became very difficult. Teaching for children with special needs is most effective in the classroom. For these kids, being on a computer all day was a huge battle,” she said.
And he observed that the work of a special education teacher multiplies up to 10 times depending on the program that the student receives, and the demand is much greater when the minor comes from a broken and low-income family.
He recalled that when a special education teacher arrives in the classroom for the first time, he thinks that he is going to change the lives of special students, but more than 50% of the time, he goes to work writing legal reports, because that is what the law says. federal law.
“That does not depend on whether it is a charter or public school. We had a pandemic, but federal law didn’t change.”
The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that special education teachers be appropriately prepared and trained, and have the content knowledge and skills to serve children with disabilities.
So the pressure that teachers suffered during the pandemic made many decide to change careers or look for other jobs.
“To that we have to add that they don’t make the money they deserve. They don’t earn more than any other teacher. A K-12 special needs teacher earns between $45,000 and $47,000 a year in California. Maybe they can win $60,000; and if there are cases of teachers who can already obtain a master’s degree, up to $90,000”.
Definitely, Professor Olivera believes that we are facing a crisis due to the lack of teachers.
“Federal law is the same, and the demand is high.”
He said that despite this shortage of mentors, he has faith that the teachers will arrive; And in his case, he continues to look for talent who have a passion for children who need special education and for the Latino community.
“The reward of being a special education teacher is incredible, especially when one of them calls you one day and tells you that they are already studying at UCLA; or is a cameraman or television editor. It’s an uncontrollable joy.”
Anahí Pérez, who has been an education teacher in elementary school Valor Academy in the city of Arleta in the last three years, said that after the pandemic, the lack of teachers grew, especially those in special education
She commented that although she receives a good salary and benefits, she knows that many teachers in other schools are not well paid, and do not have enough support to assist children with disabilities.
Despite all the obstacles, he maintained that being a special education teacher is a highly rewarding job.
Lisetta Huerta, a parent of a student with special needs who attends the Valor Academy Elementary SchoolHe said that he has not had any problems with his son, but he has information that those who attend public schools face many problems.
“I know because I have a special needs nephew who attends a Los Angeles Unified School District school. Many times they do not give you the facilities, the procedures are very long, they struggle to get the evaluations done; and if they have a complaint, they don’t know who to talk to.”
And he also said that having very full classrooms, many times they do not have enough teachers, psychologists and assistants.
The opinion did not get a response from the Los Angeles Unified School District or the union United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) on the impact of the special education teacher shortage.
Edison McDonald, of the non-profit organization The Arc of Nebraskashe said at a seminar organized by The Education Writers Association that the shortage of special education teachers in the country boils down to two big problems, funding and the general personnel crisis.
“In terms of funding, special education has been radically underfunded from the start. And typically, in most states, special education suffers the most shortage of all departments, even more so than STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). And because of that shortage for a long time, we have had a system that is cobbled together and barely able to sustain itself.”
What happened with covid, he explained, is that they began to lose a lot of people, and what should have happened in 20 years, happened in a year or six months.
“Now we have to deal with that huge shortage.”