Certificate program aims to reduce Delaware’s ‘severe shortages’ of special ed teachers

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Delaware is facing a big shortage in teachers focused on special education.

According to research by Rachel Juergensen, assistant professor of special education at Delaware State University, there were 165 vacant special education teaching positions over the summer.

“The need for special education teachers in Delaware is critical, and without intervention, the severe shortages and subsequent negative impact on students with disabilities will continue to prevail,” Juergensen said.

To help fill the gap, the U.S. Dept. of Education awarded Juergensen a $1 million grant to help solve the problem. The funding will be used to create the Delaware Special Educator Certificate, or DE-SPEC program, which will help speed the process of getting more special ed teachers into the classroom. The program will help new teachers be better prepared to work with students who have special needs and provide support for any challenges they face.

“Teachers that are in the field report very commonly that they did not receive enough preparation in how to best teach students with disabilities that they have in their classrooms,” she said.

“One of the ways to battle that is to prepare them with more coursework regarding what special education history and law looks like, what it looks like to write a really high quality individualized education program, and what it looks like to use evidence-based and research-based practices that we know work for students with disabilities,” she said.