More than 7.5 million American students have disabilities that qualify them for individual education plans. But teachers trained in this critical area are in short supply.
Special education teachers and administrators share how the shortage is affecting them, and John Yang speaks with Kimber Wilkerson, professor of special education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to learn more.
At the beginning of the current school year, 70 percent of schools surveyed said they had openings for special education teachers. PBS NewsHour asked special education teachers and administrators to tell us how the shortage is affecting them.