Texas Study of Personnel Needs in Special Education

Overview & Synopsis

This study supports efforts by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to foster greater state accountability and establish data-driven planning and self-assessment processes that help states and schools to address provisions of the recently enacted Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004. In response to state-level requirements, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) asked Region 4 Education Service Center (ESC) to facilitate the second statewide study of special education professionals personnel needs. This study, which was authorized in December 2004, augments the initial "Statewide Study of Special Education Professionals' Personnel Needs" conducted by the Texas Center for Educational Research (TCER) and published in September 2001. The current study was designed to identify existing shortages in special education teacher and other professional positions, to investigate the various issues that appear to influence turnover in these positions, and to identify effective approaches to retention. Report sections are organized around findings for the study's major research questions. Key findings are summarized for Texas single districts and SSAs. "Section 2, Method" gives a description of the instrument development and validation process, the four surveys used in the study, and the data collection procedures. The authors also discuss the generalizability of the study to public schools statewide. "Section 3, Special Education Personnel Staffing Needs" provides information on special education positions and critical shortage areas, and special education personnel turnover. This section specifically addresses the special education personnel needs in Texas public schools. "Section 4, Hiring Special Education Personnel" provides information on recruitment strategies and barriers to hiring qualified special education personnel. "Section 5, Retaining Special Education Personnel" provides information on retention strategies and barriers to retaining qualified special education personnel. "Section 6, Special Education Teachers" provides information on teacher workload and teaching arrangements, teaching experience and preparation of special education teachers, perceptions of the work environment, and intentions to remain in the job. "Section 7, Other Special Education Professionals" provides information on special education professionals workload and service arrangements, certifications attained by special education professionals, perceptions of the work environment, and intentions to remain in the job. "Section 8, Professional Development Needs of Special Education Personnel" provides information on administrators' perceptions of the degree to which their staff required professional development. This section also identifies the professional development areas in which special education teachers and other professionals had completed training as well as the areas in which they desired additional training. "Section 9, Special Education Staffing in Charter Schools" provides information on the special education staffing levels in charter schools, and the recruitment, staffing, and retention strategies utilized by these schools. "Section 10, Policy Implications and Recommendations" discusses the implications of the results of the current study, and recommendations for addressing recruitment, staffing, and retention issues relative to special education personnel. (Contains 103 tables and 7 figures.) [For "Texas Study of Personnel Needs in Special Education. Executive Summary," see ED538138.]