The number of credentialed special education teachers in California has not kept up with demand, a shortage exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The State Teacher Retirement System reported a 26% increase in teacher retirements in the last half of 2020...

Finding and treating developmental delays early can have a huge impact on children and their families. Children who are screened early and receive early intervention services show improved social and cognitive skills and have higher academic achievement than children who...

In a rare move by a presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden detailed his plans this month calling for full federal funding of special education—something that hasn’t happened since Congress first passed sweeping legislation for students with disabilities 45...

A week after state and federal authorities directed school districts to continue offering special education during school closures, the level and quality of those services remains a patchwork in California.

Special education in California should be overhauled to focus on the individual needs of students, with better training for teachers, more streamlined services and improved screening for the youngest children, according to a compilation of reports recently released.

There are 725,000 K-12 students in California who receive special education services -- and a new report says that the state has a long way to go to adequately meet the needs of these kids. With us to break down...

California is in the midst of a severe and deepening shortage of special education teachers. The field of special education has long been plagued by persistent shortages of fully certified teachers, in large part due to a severe drop in...

While California Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CA CCSSM) call for rigorous mathematics for all students, students with disabilities have not been provided equal access to instruction that meets these standards. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a research-based...

Special education in California should be overhauled to focus on the individual needs of students, with better training for teachers, more streamlined services and improved screening for the youngest children, according to a compilation of reports released today. Those were...

Special education in California should be overhauled to focus on the individual needs of students, with better training for teachers, more streamlined services and improved screening for the youngest children, according to a compilation of reports released today.

California is in the midst of a severe special education teacher shortage that threatens the state’s ability to improve outcomes for students with disabilities, who often have the greatest needs but receive the least expert teachers. To help policymakers address...

One in eight students in California receives special education services, but the state’s schools are often “ill-equipped” to serve them, and funding for students with disabilities has not “kept pace with district costs,” according to a collection of research papers...

This brief identifies the steps necessary to realize an integrated system of care, reviews two current approaches, and makes recommendations—including specifying policy reforms that would promote interagency collaboration, integration, service delivery, and improved outcomes for California’s children, both with and...

Distinguished Professor George Farkas presented his latest research findings at the Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) group in Sacramento on August 13. The meeting title was PACE Policy Research Panel on Special Education: Organizing Schools to Serve Students with...

The Policy Analysis for California Education Policy Research Panel on Special Education has released a series of policy briefs summarizing key findings from the project Organizing Schools to Serve Students with Disabilities.Distinguished Professor George Farkas's article - "Achievement Gaps and...