Joint Council of County Special Services School Districts
Testimony Before State Board of Education – September 17, 2003

Good afternoon. I am Regina Swierc, superintendent of the Warren County Special Services School District and Chair of the Joint Council of County Special Services School Districts. I appreciate this opportunity to comment on special education certification.

The Joint Council represents the eight county-based public school districts serving some of the state’s most severely disabled students. Our 4,500 students have multiple disabilities, autism, behavioral disorders, and severe cognitive and physical impairments. Most perform at a grade level well below their chronological age. These special students require teachers with an understanding of their cognitive, physical, and emotional needs and training in the specialized teaching techniques that address these issues.

The special services districts are working hard to reconcile these needs with new federal requirements that all teachers be "highly qualified" in the academic areas they teach. While this requirement makes sense in most settings, it poses a tremendous challenge for some of our schools. Because of the specialized educational and emotional needs of our students, some classes are taught by one instructor with experience in many subjects. No Child Left Behind and the proposed certification code require these teachers to be "highly qualified" in the academic content areas they teach.

For example, my district has a self-contained class of teenagers with severe behavioral disorders. These students do not handle transitions well and are best served in a very small group with one teacher. Under the new federal requirements, the teacher must now complete numerous forms to demonstrate that she is "highly qualified" in each subject area. While she will not have to meet the certification requirements in the proposed code, a new teacher for this class would have to hold endorsements in special education, language arts, math, science and social studies. I believe this is unrealistic, and as a result, my district may be forced to eliminate self-contained classes that serve small groups of students with highly specialized needs.

Overall, the Licensure and Professional Development Code takes many positive steps to raise the quality of teacher preparation in New Jersey. The additional emphasis on academic content knowledge will ensure that teachers are better prepared to address the state’s rigorous Core Curriculum Standards. However, the impact on special education is potentially devastating.

The proposed code requires special education teachers to hold two endorsements – one in special education, and the other in elementary or content knowledge. We are told that dual certification is necessary under No Child Left Behind.

While we agree that special education teachers need content knowledge appropriate to the areas and level that they teach, this must not come at the expense of specialized programs or an adequate supply of trained professionals. Our concern is that requiring candidates to earn two certificates will extend the time it takes to complete a special education program. Clearly, this would discourage many future teachers from pursuing special education certification.

The Joint Council thanks the Board’s subcommittee for considering this concern and making a clear statement that special education certification should be a four-year collegiate program. However, we believe the proposed code leaves this to chance rather than establishing specific requirements that parallel those for regular education.

The code permits dual certification programs that combine the academic content and pedagogy requirements of regular and special education. But, to our knowledge, there are no assurances that colleges and universities are able or willing to accomplish these requirements in four-years. If special education training becomes significantly longer than regular instructional certification, the field will loose many potential candidates. School districts are already facing a shortage of special education teachers – this would make it even more difficult to hire candidates qualified to teach students with disabilities.

In the short-term, we hope the Department of Education will work closely with New Jersey colleges to ensure the development of dual certification programs that enable motivated candidates to earn special education certification in four years.

However, I must ask this: If special education teachers need expertise in all subject areas, shouldn’t regular teachers have equivalent expertise in special education? Given the growing number of students with disabilities included in regular classes, don’t all teachers need extensive special education training to be highly qualified?

The Joint Council believes all teachers should experience a common core of professional preparation emphasizing special education as well as academic content. If teacher preparation became a five-year program, it would raise the bar for all new teachers, equalize preparation requirements for elementary, subject area, and special education, and ensure that all new teachers meet the NCLB definition of "highly qualified."

We realize that a five-year requirement would be a major policy change, but it merits consideration for the future. In the meantime, we ask the State Board and the Department of Education to be proactive in ensuring parity between the training requirements for special and regular education, so that the current shortage of special education professionals is not exacerbated.

Thank you very much for this opportunity to speak on behalf of the county special services school districts.