MARQUETTE – There has always been a shortage of special education teachers and the turnover rate is high, according to the Learning Disabilities Association of America.

In Michigan, more than 3% of special education teaching positions are vacant, the highest vacancy rate of all types of teachers included in a recent report from the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative.

Two of the biggest factors contributing to the shortage are low teacher pay and lack of support with caseloads, said Alex Stamm, the education policy analyst at the Michigan League for Public Policy, a research and advocacy organization. 

“Michigan is ranked very low in teacher pay, especially starting pay when you compare it to other states,” Stamm said.

Alex Stamm is the education policy analyst at the Michigan League for Public Policy. Credit: Michigan League for Public Policy

Bonnie Fernandez, a Mattawan Consolidated Schools special education teacher, has been teaching for eight years.

She said college programs don’t prepare teachers – especially special education teachers – well enough for what the classroom is really like. 

“I think a lot of teachers get into a job they didn’t expect or prepare for, and leave within the first few years,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez said the shortage in staffing causes learning to be less individualized.

“Students have to be seen in bigger groups if there are less teachers, which means the learning becomes less and less individualized,” she said.

Mattawan special education teacher Bonnie Fernandez. Courtesy photo

“It also means they may have less access to support inside the general education classroom,” Fernandez said.

Stamm said one thing that schools can do to improve special education students’ experience – despite the shortage – is to make sure schools follow students’ Individual Education Programs, or IEPs.

That’s because they are entitled to certain accommodations under Michigan and federal law, based on their diagnosis.

“That is non-negotiable,” Stamm said. “And, of course, it’s harder when special education teachers have so many kids who they’re responsible for in a day and they’re spread so thin.”

Stamm said, “When students are left in a general education classroom with just a general education teacher, it becomes really hard for them to get those services that they’re entitled to.”

Fernandez said schools can improve the experience of special education students by training general education teachers on how to differentiate curriculum and provide modifications on the fly, as well as hiring paraprofessionals to assist in the classroom.

“Hiring paraeducators who are trained to work in special education, even if they aren’t certified as a teacher, can be invaluable,” Fernandez said.

Stamm agreed. “Hiring paraprofessionals is important for the students and teachers so students are not isolated to special education classrooms,” Stamm said. “They’re integrated into general education classrooms as much as possible.”

While 71% of students with disabilities nationally graduate with a high school diploma, only 60% do in Michigan, according to the Southfield-based Autism Alliance of Michigan’s 2025 special education benchmark report.

Stamm said that Michigan can and must do better for these students.

“If they are provided the support that is listed in their IEP and that they’re entitled to, then they should be graduating at the same rate as our general education students,” Stamm said.