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(ROCKVILLE, MD-August 10, 2005) Nationwide personnel shortages and persistent vacancies of qualified special education and related services have become the focus of a new national coalition that will solve a serious and growing problem for schools.
"More attention needs to be given to improving working conditions, reducing caseloads, implementing a workload model, and educating the public about the value of providing quality programs and services by qualified personnel," according to Susan Karr of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, (ASHA), which helped spearhead the formation of the new group, the National Coalition on Personnel Shortages in Special Education and Related Services. Karr says such steps "would help to recruit and retain qualified personnel in our nation's schools."
The shortage of related service personnel is a growing concern. In the 2004 ASHA Schools survey of school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs), 62% of the respondents reported that job openings were more numerous than job seekers in their school. SLPs report that such shortages impinge on the time for planning and collaboration with teachers and other professionals and on meeting the individualized needs of students.
The National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) also played a lead role in the formation of the new coalition, which includes organizations representing related service providers, special and general education teachers, special education administrators, higher education, and consumers and parents. The group will provide a forum for national dialogue, sharing information and research, and developing and promoting the implementation of national, state and local strategies to address the issue of chronic personnel shortages in school settings.
The shortage of special education teachers now surpasses the shortage of math and scienceteachers. Ninety-eight percent of school districts report that one of their top priorities is tomeet the growing demand for special education teachers who, in accordance with the new Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004), must now meet the standard of "highly qualified." This shortage of special educators extends to faculty at Institutions of Higher Education, where 30% of vacancies are left unfilled because applicants are too few. The most recent data available indicate that in 2002, the nation produced only 213 doctorates in special education, 30% fewer than 20 years ago. For every special education faculty position left unfilled, 25 special education teachers go untrained.
Related services personnel, such as speech-language pathologists, school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, physical therapists and occupational therapists face expanding caseloads and unmanageable workloads that are the result of shortages of qualified personnel to meet student needs.
IDEA, the nation's federal special education law, is intended to ensure that students with disabilities - more than 6 million this year - receive appropriate special education and related services that will meet their individual needs. Since its passage in 1975, the full implementation of the law has been plagued by a lack of qualified personnel in place to carry out its mandate. Some argue that increases in litigation and behavior problems in schools partly reflect the chronic shortage of qualified personnel.
"It is time to become much more focused on the shortage," according to Phoebe Gillespie of NASDSE. "With the thirtieth anniversary of the IDEA fast approaching, we want to have a mechanism for highlighting what we view as one of the biggest challenges to the full implementation of the law - finding enough qualified personnel to implement it."
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing organization for more than 120,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders. For more information on ASHA, visit www.asha.org
NASDSE is a not-for-profit organization established in 1938 to promote and support education programs and related services for children and youth with disabilities in the United States and outlying areas. NASDSE accomplishes its goals by establishing and maintaining relations between those responsible for the development of statewide and federal special education programs and those responsible for general curriculum planning at the local, state and national levels. NASDSE activities are designed to provide professional support to its members and others interested in special education.
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