News Report | January 28, 2021
Virginia Has A Shortage Of Special Education Teachers; 15% Are Under Provisional Licenses
Virginia’s public schools have a shortage of special education teachers. At the start of the 2019-20 school year, about 1,500 special education teacher positions were unfilled. Of those open positions, 303 were filled by recently graduated and fully licensed special education teachers. To fill the estimated 1,200 open positions, school districts hired provisionally licensed teachers or long-term substitutes.
About 15% of the current special education teacher workforce is under working a provisional license; they represent 2,038 teachers. An estimated 30,000 students with disabilities were being taught by a provisionally licensed special education teacher . . .