Special Education Teachers

Overview
Special education teachers work with children and youths who have a variety of disabilities. Most special education teachers instruct students at the elementary, middle, and secondary school level, although some teachers work with infants and toddlers.

The United States is currently experiencing a critical shortage of personnel to meet the needs of children with disabilities. In 1999, more than 8,000 full-time-equivalent special education teaching positions were vacant, and an additional 44,000 special education teachers were not fully certified for their positions. 

Special education teachers held about 510,000 jobs in 2000. The majority of special education teachers were employed in elementary, middle, and secondary public schools. The rest worked in separate educational facilities—public or private—residential facilities, or in homebound or hospital environments.

In 2000, about 63 percent of special education teachers belonged to unions mainly the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association.

Employment of special education teachers is expected to increase as a rapidly over the next five years because of the continued growth in the number of special education students needing services, legislation emphasizing training and employment for individuals with disabilities, and educational reform. Turnover will lead to additional job openings as special education teachers switch to general education or change careers altogether. Special education teachers have excellent job prospects, as many school districts report shortages of qualified teachers. 

The number of students requiring special education services has been steadily increasing. This trend is expected to continue because of legislation which expanded the age range of children receiving special education services to include those from birth to age of majority.

An excellent source for information is the National Clearinghouse for Professions in Special Education, Council for Exceptional Children, 1920 Association Dr., Reston, VA 20191-1589. Internet: http://www.special-ed-careers.org

Although helping students with disabilities can be highly rewarding, the work it can also be taxing. Special education teachers are under pressure due to heavy workloads. They must produce a substantial amount of paperwork documenting each student’s progress. This is coupled with the threat of litigation by students’ parents if correct procedures are not followed, or if the parent feels their child is not receiving an adequate education. Pennhurst can help find better positions for those teachers interested in an advanced career and prevent burnout by finding ideal positions with high paying salaries. 

Special Education Teacher Certification
All 50 States and the District of Columbia require special education teachers to be licensed. Special education licensure varies by State. In many States, special education teachers receive a general education credential to teach kindergarten through grade 12. These teachers train in a specialty, such as learning disabilities or behavioral disorders. Some States offer general special education licenses, others license several different specialties within special education, while others require teachers to first obtain a general education license and then an additional license in special education. State boards of education or a licensure advisory committee usually grant licenses.

All States require a bachelor’s degree and completion of an approved teacher preparation program with a prescribed number of subject and education credits and supervised practice teaching. Many States require special education teachers to obtain a master’s degree in special education, involving at least one year of additional coursework, including a specialization, beyond the bachelor’s degree.

Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia have enacted alternative-teacher certification programs, most since 1989 when a shortage of public-school teachers was recognized as a growing national problem.

Fourteen states do not have a program to recruit, train and license teachers who come from careers other than education: Alaska, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Rhode Island, West Virginia and Wyoming. Rhode Island is in the process of developing an alternative program.

Alaska
Alaska Department of Education & Early Development
801 West 10th Street, Suite 200
Juneau, Alaska 99801-1894

Tel: (907) 465-2831  Fax: (907) 465-2441
E-mail: tcwebmail@eed.state.ak.us

Arizona
1535 West Jefferson Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85007

Tel: (602) 542-4367  Fax: (602) 542-1141

Arkansas
Education Department Arch Ford Education Bldg
Four Capitol Mall
Little Rock, AR 72201-1071

Tel: (501) 682-4475  Fax: (501) 682-4249

California
1900 Capitol Avenue, Sacramento, CA
(Certification staff on duty from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. workdays)
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 944270, Sacramento, CA 94244-2700

e-mail: credentials@ctc.ca.gov

Telephone: (916) 445-7254, or for calls originating outside of the 916 area code, dial toll free at (888) 921-2682 (Automated system available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including application status information and voice mail to order application materials.)

(Allow 2 - 4 working days for a response. Please include your name, mailing address and telephone number. We will send you information and answer specific questions via the best means available [telephone, e-mail, or traditional mail]. To do any type of evaluation, the Commission requires an application, fee and official copies of supporting documentation

Colorado
Educator Licensing
201 East Colfax Avenue, Room 105
Denver, CO 80203

Tel: (303) 866-6628  Fax: (303) 866-6866

Connecticut
Division of Teaching and Learning
Connecticut State Department of Education
165 Capitol Avenue
P.O. Box 2219
Hartford, CT 06145
Tel: (860) 713-6700  Fax: (860) 713-7015
E-mail: Betty J. Sternberg, Associate Commissioner
betty.sternberg@po.state.ct.us

Delaware
Public Instruction Department
Townsend Bldg.
P. O. Box 1402
Dover, DE 19903

Tel: (302) 739-4583  Fax: (302) 739-4654

District of Columbia
D. C. Public School System
415 12th Street N. W.
Suite 1205
Washington, D. C. 20004-1994

Tel: (202) 724-4044  Fax: (202) 724-2040

Florida
Florida Department of Education
Bureau of Educator Certification
Suite 201, Turlington Building
325 West Gaines Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400
edcert@mail.doe.state.fl.us

Georgia
Georgia Professional Standards Commission
Certification Section
1452 Twin Towers East
Atlanta, GA 30334
Tel: (404) 657-9000 (in Metropolitan Atlanta)
Tel: (800) 869-7775 (in Georgia only)
Fax: (404) 651-9185
24-hour Status Line (404) 657-1313
E-mail: mail@gapsc.com
URL: http://www.gapsc.com

Hawaii
Office of Personnel Services
Teacher Recruitment Unit
P.O. Box 2360
Honolulu, HI 96804

Tel: (808) 586-3420 or 1-800-305-5104 Cont. U.S. & Alaska
1-800-468-4644 Ext. 63420
Neighbor Island Only

Illinois
State Board of Education
100 N. First Street
Springfield, IL 62777-0001

Tel: (217) 782-4321  Fax: (217) 524- 8585

Iowa
Department of Education
Grimes State Office Building
Des Moines, IA 50319-0146

Tel: (515) 281-5294  Fax: (515) 242-5988
webmaster@ed.state.ia.us

Indiana
INDIANA PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS BOARD
101 W. Ohio St. Suite 300
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Tel: (317) 232-9010  Fax: (317) 232-9023

Kansas
Education Board
120 SE 10th Avenue
Topeka, KS 66612

Tel: (913) 296-3201  Fax: (913) 296-7933

Kentucky
Contact the Education Professional Standards Board:
Division of Certification
Janet Banta, Director
1024 Capital Center Drive, Suite 225
Frankfort, KY 40601

Tel: (502) 573-4606
E-mail: jbanta@kde.state.ky.us

Louisiana
Education Department
P. O. Box 94064
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9064

Tel: (504) 342-4411  Fax: (504) 342-5843

Maine
Education Department
23 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333

Tel: (207) 287-5800  Fax: (207) 287-5900

Massachusetts
Education Department
350 Main St
Malden, MA 02148-5023

Tel: (617) 388-3300  Fax: (617) 388-3395

Maryland
Maryland State Department of Education
School and Community Outreach Office, 7th floor
200 W. Baltimore Street
Baltimore, MD  21201

Tel:  (410) 767-0600 or 1-888-246-0016 (toll free)

Michigan
Education Department
P. O. Box 30008
Lansing, MI 48909

Tel: (517) 373-3324  Fax: (517) 335-4575

Minnesota
Department of Children, Families & Learning
550 Cedar Street, Room 845
St. Paul, Minnesota 55101

Tel: (612) 296-2400  Fax: (612) 297-1795

Missouri
Teacher Certification
P.O. Box 480
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0480

Email to: webreplyteachcert@mail.dese.state.mo.us
Tel: (573) 751-0051 or (573) 751-3847

Montana
The Montana Office of Public Instruction
Linda McCulloch, Superintendent
P.O. Box 202501
Helena, Montana 59620-2501

In-State 1-888-231-9393 or (406) 444-3680

Nebraska
Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education
P.O. Box 95005
Lincoln, Nebraska 68509-5005

Tel: (402) 471-2847  Fax: (402) 471-2886

Nevada
Carson City, Teacher Licensure Office
700 East Fifth Street
Carson City, Nevada 89701

(775) 687-3115 - Voice Mail between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.,
open line from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Fax: (775) 687-9101

Las Vegas, Teacher Licensure Office
1820 East Sahara, Suite 205
Las Vegas, Nevada 89104
(775) 486-6457 - Voice Mail
(775) 486-6458 - Open line between 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Fax: (775) 486-6450

New Hampshire
Education Department
101 Pleasant St.
Concord, NH 03301

Tel: (603) 271-3494  Fax: (603) 271-1953

New Jersey
Education Department
225 E. State St.
CN 500
Trenton, NJ 08625-0500

Tel: (609) 292-4469  Fax: (609) 292-1221

New Mexico
Professional Licensure Unit
New Mexico State Department of Education
Education Building
Santa Fe, NM 87501-2786

Tel: 505-827-6587  Fax: 505-827-4148

New York
Education Department
Education Bldg.
Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12234

Tel: (518) 474-3852  Fax: (518) 473-4909

North Carolina
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
301 N. Wilmington St.
Raleigh, NC 27601

Tel: 919-807-3300

North Dakota
North Dakota Capitol Building
600 E. Boulevard Ave., Dept. 202
9th Floor
Bismarck, ND  58505-0080

Tel: (701) 328-2264  Fax:   (701) 328-2815

Ohio
Education Department
65 S. Front St.
Columbus, OH 43215-4183

Tel: (614) 466-3641  Fax: (614) 466-0599

Oklahoma
Education Department
2500 N. Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-4599

Tel: (405) 521-3301  Fax: (405) 521-6205

Oregon
Education Department
Public Service Bldg.
255 Capitol St., NE
Salem, OR 97310-0203

Tel: (503) 378-3573  Fax: (503) 373-7968

Pennsylvania
Education Department
333 Market St.
Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333

Tel: (717)783-6788  Fax: (717) 783-4517

Rhode Island
Education Department
255 Westminister St.
Providence, RI 02903

Tel: (401) 277-4600 ext 2003  Fax: (401) 277-6178

South Carolina
Education Department
1429 Senate St.
Room 1006
Columbia, SC 29201

Tel: (803) 734-8500  Fax: (803) 734-8624

South Dakota
Education Services & Resources Div.
700 Governors Dr.
Pierre, SD 57501-2291

Tel: (605) 773-3134  Fax: (605) 773-6139

Tennessee
Education Department
Andrew Johnson Tower
710 James Robertson Pkwy.
Nashville, TN 37243-0375

Tel: (615) 741-2731  Fax: (615) 741-6236

Texas
Education Agency
1701 N. Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78701-1494

Tel: (512) 463-9734  Fax: (512) 463-9838

Utah
Education Office
250 E. 500 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Tel: (801) 538-7500  Fax: (801) 538-7521

Vermont
Education Department
120 State St.
Montpelier, VT 05620-2501

Tel: (802) 828-3147  Fax: (802) 828-3140

Virginia
Education Department
101 N. 14th St.
P. O. Box 2120
Richmond, VA 23218-2120

Tel: (804) 225-2020  Fax: (804) 786-5389

Washington
Public Instruction Department
Old Capitol Bldg.
P. O. Box 47200
Olympia, WA 98504-7200

Tel: (360) 753-6738  Fax: (360) 586-2357

West Virginia
Education Department
State Capitol Complex ,
Bldg. 6, Rm. 358
1900 Kanawha Blvd., East
Charleston, WV 25305-0330

Tel: (304) 558-2699  Fax: (304) 558-0882

Wisconsin
Public Instruction Department
P. O. Box 7841
Madison, WI 53707-7841

Tel: (608) 266-3390  Fax: (608) 267-1052

Guam
Education Department
P. O. Box DE
Agana, GU 96910

Tel: (671) 475-0457  Fax: (671) 472-5003

Puerto Rico
Education Department
P. O. Box 190759
San Juan, PR 00919

Tel: (787) 763-2171  Fax: (787) 250-0275

United States Virgin Islands
Education Department
Office of the Commissioner
44-46 Kongens Gade
St. Thomas, VI 00802

Tel: (809) 774-2810  Fax: (809) 776-4028