{"id":21690,"date":"2025-01-14T00:00:06","date_gmt":"2025-01-14T00:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/?p=21690"},"modified":"2025-04-04T11:21:01","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T15:21:01","slug":"devoting-more-resources-to-special-education-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/devoting-more-resources-to-special-education-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Devoting More Resources to Special Education Services"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Dr. Jeffery Fox<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Educating and nurturing children and young adults with developmental disabilities are among the most critical needs\u2014and the most rewarding endeavors\u2014a community can face. That mission, however, has become additionally challenging as more children are diagnosed with developmental disabilities. There is a dire shortage of high-quality special education programs and qualified teachers to serve them. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ground Reality<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The proportion of students with developmental disabilities\u2014a subset of special education overall\u2014has been climbing. A 2023 survey from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that, among children ages 3\u201317, the percentage with developmental disabilities rose to 8.65% in 2021 from 7.4% two years prior. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

At the start of this school year, 72% of public schools nationwide with at least one special education vacancy had trouble finding fully certified teachers, the National Center for Education Statistics reported. In the Northeast, that number was 77%. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That need is certainly felt in the Hudson Valley region of New York State. <\/span>Abilities First<\/span><\/strong><\/a> recently stepped in to provide specialized preschool and school-age services at two programs in New York\u2019s Orange County when their previous administrator opted out of the education space, citing difficulty finding teachers. The programs would have ceased had Abilities First not intervened. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Lending Hand<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Combined, two locations employ about 130 staff members and serve approximately 200 preschool and school-age students with disabilities. These programs foster students\u2019 growth and help them lead fulfilling lives. The programs also support their families. This prepares students with disabilities for success in life even after school.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

To close the gap between the critical need and programs available, more must be done to increase education slots to serve these students and families. We also must attract devoted, highly trained special education teachers. That means offering sufficient compensation, ample resources to support their work and a positive work environment fostering appreciation. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abilities First is proud to do their part. They are committed to fulfilling students\u2019 needs and supporting their families to advance independence and quality of life. But we need help to make sure educational resources are available to every family that needs them. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is a dire shortage of special education programs and qualified teachers for children with developmental disabilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":21699,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4129,2941],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21690","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education-news","8":"category-special-education"},"yoast_head":"\nDevoting More Resources to Special Education Services - TEACH Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There is a dire shortage of special education programs and qualified teachers for children with developmental disabilities.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/devoting-more-resources-to-special-education-services\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Devoting More Resources to Special Education Services\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There is a dire shortage of special education programs and qualified teachers for children with developmental disabilities.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/devoting-more-resources-to-special-education-services\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TEACH Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/teachmag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-14T00:00:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-04T15:21:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/children-drawing-together-classroom_twitter.jpg?_t=1743780061\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1256\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dr. Jeffery Fox\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@teachmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@teachmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dr. Jeffery Fox\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/devoting-more-resources-to-special-education-services\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/devoting-more-resources-to-special-education-services\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dr. Jeffery Fox\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbf41557b5f500200d5a093dbfff37b\"},\"headline\":\"Devoting More Resources to Special Education Services\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-14T00:00:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-04T15:21:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/devoting-more-resources-to-special-education-services\/\"},\"wordCount\":355,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/devoting-more-resources-to-special-education-services\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/children-drawing-together-classroom_web.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Education News\",\"Special Education\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/devoting-more-resources-to-special-education-services\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/devoting-more-resources-to-special-education-services\/\",\"name\":\"Devoting More Resources to Special Education Services - 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