SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego State University has launched a new special education minor fall to help address the growing shortage of special education teachers in San Diego and across the country.
The new program comes as 72% of U.S. public schools reported struggling to hire special education teachers for the previous school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
The minor will focus on the structure of special education and provide students with a general background on disability experiences. It's designed not only for education majors but also for students in psychology, speech pathology and social work.
"We get calls every semester from districts saying, 'Do you have anybody? We just need people.' We're hoping to cater to those that might have a spark in there to work with kids with disabilities that might not realize it yet," a professor at SDSU said.
The shortage is being felt locally as well. In June, San Diego Unified announced it had more than 300 positions to fill, including several in special education. The district entered into an agreement with the International Alliance Group to help fill those vacant spots.
The special education minor will be offered under the Liberal Studies undergraduate program.
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