October 2023
MDE released this guide to help school districts, charter schools, and parents/guardians understand their roles and rights as it relates to providing special education and related services when facing staff shortages of qualified education teachers, related service providers, paraprofessionals, and other essential staff. MDE encourages all parties to work collaboratively, remain flexible and think creatively as they deal with the challenges of teacher shortages. MDE encourages teams to consider the following:
Students with an IEP
- The responsibility of school districts and charter schools to provide special education and related services does not change due to staff shortages. School districts and charter schools must provide a FAPE to students with disabilities, regardless of staff shortages.
- If a school cannot provide services contained in an IEP due to staff shortages, the school must determine how to continue to provide a FAPE to the student. MDE encourages the parties to work together to find different ways the students’ needs can be met including reimbursing parents/guardians for transportation, consolidating paraprofessional support, utilizing state approved online providers and using virtual staffing
- If staffing roles change, the school must clearly define the new role and provide any necessary training. If the school provides services that change the educational placement of the student or how FAPE is provided, the school must change the IEP through a prior written notice that describes the change in identification, placement or provision of special education services. The parents must be given an opportunity to object and request a conciliation conference or other meeting.
- All staff must be properly licensed, and schools cannot waive the certification or licensure requirements on an emergency or temporary basis.
- Personnel who have not obtained full State certification can receive their special education certification through an alternate route provided the certification: 1) provides high quality professional development that is sustained, intensive, and classroom focused; 2) requires participation in a program of intensive supervision that consists of structured guidance and regular ongoing support for teachers (mentoring program); and 3) allows the participant to demonstrate progress toward full certification as prescribed by the State.
- Paraprofessionals must have all State approved qualifications; a waiver or those requirements is not permitted.
- Special education teachers holding a Tier 1 license cannot work for more than three years.
- Schools cannot reduce placement options due to teacher shortages.
What should IEP teams do if they are unable to provide a FAPE due to staff shortages?
When a school district or charter school is unable to provide FAPE for students with disabilities, the IEP team must decide whether the child needs compensatory education and to what extent those services are needed. Compensatory services seek to make up for any loss in a student’s skills, including academic, functional, or behavioral skills, and any lack of expected progress in the general education curriculum or toward the student’s IEP annual goals that resulted from the school district’s or charter school’s inability to provide services as described in the student’s IEP. Services may include, but are not limited to, additional special education and related services, small group or individual tutoring, reimbursement to parents for outside tutoring or programs, or additional academic or enrichment services necessary to compensate for the student’s loss of skills or lack of progress. IEP teams must also consider the critical impact of delaying compensatory services for students with disabilities and work to ensure students receive the compensatory services in an expedited manner.
Infants and toddlers with an IFSP
- The responsibility of the district to provide services for infants, toddlers, and their families does not change due to staff shortage. The school district must continue to provide a FAPE per the IFSP. If services cannot be provided pursuant to the IFSP, the team must determine how to continue services (outside resources and virtual staffing) and must revise the IFSP through a prior written notices of there are changes to the identification, evaluation, or placement to the infant, toddler or family.
- School districts cannot delay or limit eligibility determinations for infants and toddlers based on staff shortages.
- Staff shortages do not permit a school district to provide early intervention services in a setting other than the infant and toddler’s natural environment.
What should IFSP teams do if they are unable to provide FAPE to infants and toddlers due to staff shortages?
IFSP teams should develop ways to mitigate any lack of progress on outcomes, as well as develop a process to track services missed due to staff shortages for the purpose of determining the need for compensatory early intervention services. The type and extent of compensatory education services must be determined on an individual basis.
Strategies for dealing with staff shortages
- Join networks and organizations that are focused on this issue.
- Increase and expand advertising practices to online nationwide platforms.
- Reach out to the school community about opportunities to help the school district.
- Reach out to recently retired teachers to offer full or part-time positions as well as substitute positions.
- Provide financial incentives.
- Increase and improve HR strategies.
- Create partnership agreements with neighboring school districts and/or colleges and universities.
- Work with teachers to offer hiring bonuses or other added compensation, help with additional training or education, and offer time for support and training.
- Create or expand loan forgiveness, grants or service scholarship programs.
- Prioritize mentoring.
- Schedule staff planning time into work hours.
For more information see Providing a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) during Staff