Special education was all over the news this week.

Starting in New York City, a survey from the United Federation of Teachers found nearly 9,000 students with disabilities are not receiving their mandated services across 474 schools. The main culprit? A shortage of paraprofessionals.

The special ed teacher shortage is a nationwide crisis, with some 70% of schools surveyed by the National Center for Education Statistics reporting special ed teacher vacancies in the 2023-24 school year. Which is why the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights held a panel this week to discuss how the shortage hurts both the academic growth and due process rights of students with disabilities.

There were some articles as well on how a Trump administration could affect special education. There’s a lot of conjecturing, but he did leave a trail of clues from his first term that makes the guesswork easier. For instance, as NY Focus reports below, Trump’s return could pose risk to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, the arm of the agency responsible for investigating claims of discrimination at schools and universities across the country.

The bigger education picture is also anxiety-provoking: The president-elect’s nominee for the Dept. of Ed, a department he has said he wants to dismantle, is a highly controversial pick: Wrestling magnate Linda McMahon. McMahon has no actual teaching experience, and had resigned from her only education-related position after it was discovered she had lied about having bachelor’s degree in education. She was also named in a recent child sex abuse lawsuit.

Lastly, a new report on charter schools is one of the most positive The Boost has seen in terms of special education, noting that some (albeit a small number) have met the needs of disabled students.

Let’s get to it.

Special Ed  Staffing Shortages

NYC special ed staffing shortage leaves students in limbo, teachers union charges A complex hiring process and low pay (a starting salary “just shy of $30,000) make it difficult to recruit and retain staff. (Chalkbeat.org)

Special ed staffing shortages put students’ futures at risk. How to solve that is tricky.  (Chalkbeat.org)

Special education in NYC public schools is ‘broken,’ teachers union says (Gothamist)

Facing special education workforce shortage, Oregon to give special education teachers, paraeducators one-time stipends (Oregonlive.com)

The SPARC of an idea: Researching the special education workforce Thanks to a $5 million investment by the National Center for Special Education Research and the U.S. Dept. of Education, a Binghamton University professor will spend the next five years helping to develop the “Special Education Workforce: A Research Collaborative (SPARC) Center” — evaluating the composition, distribution, effectiveness and stability of the special education workforce. (Binghamton.edu)

Commission on Civil Rights probes special educator shortage (K12dive)

At Special Ed Teacher Shortage Hearing, Panelists Debate Dismantling Ed Dept. (The 74 Million)

Trump & Special Ed

What Trump’s Second Term Could Mean for New York Schools Regardless of whether the Dept. of Education closes, Trump can seek to limit federal aid to schools — something he repeatedly tried to do during his first term. The proposed federal cuts are coming just as New York begins to reevaluate Foundation Aid, the formula used to distribute most state funding to public schools. (NYFocus.com)

How Trump’s Policies Could Affect Special Ed (Education Week)

Dept. of Ed Nominee Linda McMahon

Trump’s Education Secretary Pick Named in Sexual Abuse Lawsuit (New York Times)

Linda McMahon Lying About Education Degree ‘Disqualifying’: Attorney (Newsweek)

What Linda McMahon is likely to prioritize as education secretary under Trump (PBS.org)

Charter Schools

Report: Charters’ Flexibility Can Enable Better Outcomes for Disabled Pupils Adding to the slender but growing body of research regarding outcomes for students with disabilities, the Center for Learner Equity has released a report describing innovative strategies 29 diverse charter schools and school networks have created to meet their needs. (The 74 Million)