Washington lacks qualified special education teachers and teachers’ aides, but the state doesn’t know how bad the problem really is — just that at least 1.5% of the teachers aren’t qualified for their jobs.

That’s according to a new state audit, which found that alongside high vacancy rates in special education, a “significant number of those in the classroom do not hold full teaching endorsements for special education or are comparatively inexperienced in this field.”

While the percentage may appear relatively small, it’s nearly three times higher than the percentage of instruction statewide provided by underqualified teachers in other content areas. The next highest percentage of under qualified instructors is in elementary education, at 0.6%, according to data from a 2024 Professional Educator Standards Board report.

Roughly 143,000 eligible students in Washington receive special education and related services, according to the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. The office did not immediately provide the exact number of total special education teachers in Washington, but reported 5,813 full-time equivalent classroom teachers in the special education program during the 2022-2023 school year.

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction said it appreciated the efforts of the auditor’s office to study the issue and said they’re making “good progress in this area.”

“In our state and across the nation, special education is consistently an area with above-average educator turnover,” Katy Payne, the office’s spokesperson, said in a statement. “We are proud of our efforts to attract and retain high-quality educators into these critical positions.”

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction touted its teacher residency program, which is focused on training future special education teachers. Several residents from the first cohort just got hired for permanent jobs, Payne said.

The agency has also advocated for funding a hiring bonus for teachers within a district’s special education program and pointed to multiple requests to provide more funding for special education and data tracking to accurately estimate vacancies.

It’s not surprising that there are comparatively more under-credentialed special education teachers in Washington’s classrooms than in other content areas, said Josh Taylor, assistant professor of special education at Washington State University.

“I was surprised the number was as low as it was,” Taylor said.

Taylor said shortages in special education are routine across nearly every state in the country, if not every state. Districts hire teachers without special education certifications because turnover and vacancies are so high, and they need staff — but then those teachers leave because they aren’t well-prepared.

“That becomes this nasty, cyclical problem,” Taylor said. “We just need to devote more resources at a systemic level, both in preparing more teachers, preparing them better and then supporting them when they’re in a place to stick around until they can become experienced teachers and mentor others.”

Washington does not track statewide teacher vacancy data, but the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction said in a 2024 state budget proposal that the vacancy rate for special education teachers “was much higher than for general elementary teaching positions.”

A 2021 University of Washington study analyzing district job postings found that about 20% of vacant teaching positions were for special education, a rate three times higher than for elementary education teachers.

Inexperienced teachers and teachers’ aides, also known as paraeducators, are also common in special education settings, the audit found. Paraeducators are particularly important in special education, Taylor said, and the profession has long seen high turnover rates. Nearly 50% of Washington paraeducators have less than five years of experience, the audit says, citing a 2023 study from an education research center that includes 11 universities, including the University of Washington.

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction attributes paraeducator turnover to low wages. The average hourly wage for paraeducators in Washington is $22 an hour, according to the agency. The office recommended the Legislature raise wages by $7 an hour during this year’s legislative session. Instead, lawmakers gave districts additional funds that they can use on paraeducator wages but aren’t required to.

Taylor, a former paraeducator, said the profession needs much more support from lawmakers. He also wants to see lawmakers support more pathways for aspiring special education teachers — many of whom begin as paraeducators — and incentivize pursuing special education as a profession. Mentorship and guidance once educators begin teaching, he said, is also sorely needed.

Research also suggests high turnover could be partly attributed to changing perceptions of the field of education, according to Taylor.

“Some of the criticism, I think, of K-12 education has had a detrimental impact on morale,” Taylor said. “I talk to teachers who are wavering about staying in the field and feel like they’re just not valued by society in the same way they felt like they were when they went into the field. And that stinks.”

“Hopefully, it’ll change, because education is really important, and our teachers should deserve to know that the work that they’re doing matters,” he added.

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