Special education is defined as “instruction that is specially designed to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability,” according to the Center for Parent Information and Resources. 

It’s a highly specialized field that demands a unique blend of skills, patience and dedication that not all educators are called to. It takes a distinct passion and commitment to tackle the diverse needs of individual students, while creating a cohesive and dependable environment in the classroom. 

Put simply, it’s not a field for everyone. The job is particular, it’s difficult, and it’s not very popular.

But while it takes a certain type of teacher to enter the profession, that isn’t the key issue in America; It’s retaining those teachers. 

Nationwide, a special education deficit lies within the larger teacher deficit in America. According to Education Next, nearly 46,000 special education teachers leave public schools every year; alongside that statistic, teacher preparation programs typically train fewer than 30,000 new educators to replace them.

In broad terms, Arizona faces some of the lowest teacher retention rates in America within its public schools. In data sourced from Scholaroo, Arizona has the 50th worst teacher-student proportion in public schools of nearly 43.8%. That is less than half of the best ratio in the nation, a title that belongs to Vermont, where the proportion is nearly 94.8%. 

Consequently, Arizona struggles with special educator retention rates within its statewide teacher shortages. 

Stephanie Holder has been an Arizona special education teacher for nearly 30 years, a rare feat within the field. Her drive is fueled by a passion she’s seen within the community. 

“The thing with teaching is, I don’t make much more now than I did when I first started teaching… but I think the hardest thing is, every teacher I know teaches because they want to make a difference. They want to do something for a kid that they see is lacking in their community,” Holder said. 

In Arizona, Exceptional Student Services (ESS) “ensures that public education agencies (PEAs) in Arizona have special education programs, policies, and procedures that comply with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its implementing regulations and that eligible children and youth with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE).” 

The Teacher Attrition Survey is hosted by ESS every year, with the goal of helping to “track, quantify, and understand special education personnel shortages.” All PEAs in Arizona are required to take the survey. 

2024 results reflected the struggles Arizona faces regarding special educator retention. In one section of the survey, 39.1% of special educators left the field. The top reported reasons for leaving included better paying positions (11.8%), career changes (11.2%), moving out of state (10%), and work related stress (7.6%). 

The evidence lies beyond the numbers; as an expert in the field, Mrs. Holder has seen firsthand the reasons that drive teachers to exit their positions. 

“Every single year I’ve taught, we’ve been asked to do more with less. When I started teaching 28 years ago, there was a supply closet. And it wasn’t huge, but it existed. Those don’t exist anymore in most places,” Holder said. “I’ve purchased my own supplies for school for the last 15 years. But lawmakers want us to make sure that these kids hit every single mark on every single test, then they berate us when they don’t. Expectations really outweigh the resources and the experience.”

Special educators are one of many positions in an underrepresented yet necessary field like education. And while Arizona leads the nation in teacher shortages, it is one of many states fighting the battle. 

“Arizona has a long way to go when it comes to recognizing teacher support,” Holder said.