NCTQ identifies six policy levers states can use to build a stronger teacher workforce for students with disabilities and English learners.
November 03, 2025 by Shannon Holston 
Every morning, Ms. Alvarez walks into her classroom with determination — and exhaustion. As a special education teacher in a mid-sized district, she serves 18 students with an incredible range of needs: dyslexia, ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, and emotional regulation challenges.
On paper, each student has an individualized education plan (IEP). To make those plans a reality, Ms. Alvarez is challenged to find time or support to deliver the many different interventions those plans require. Half her planning period is spent covering other classrooms because substitutes are hard to find. She writes progress notes at 9 p.m. and spends her lunch time tutoring struggling readers because, as she says, “If I don’t do it, no one will.”
She loves her students and has seen them make remarkable progress. But her story also reveals an uncomfortable truth: dedication isn’t enough to overcome a system stretched thin by teacher shortages, under-preparation, and inadequate support.
Ms. Alvarez’s experience mirrors what the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) documents in its new report, Building a Strong Teacher Workforce for Students with Disabilities and English Learners (2025). The report lays out the scope of a national challenge — and a roadmap to fix it.
The Equity Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight
Students with disabilities (SWDs) and English learners (ELs) are among the fastest-growing student groups in public education. Yet they are often taught by teachers who haven’t been fully prepared to meet their learning needs.
Roughly 70% of fourth-grade students with disabilities and English learners score below the “basic” level in reading, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. These gaps reflect systemic inequities, not student potential.
Students who depend most on skilled, specialized instruction are the least likely to receive it. And teachers like Ms. Alvarez — who are doing some of the hardest, most technical work in education — often do so with little compensation, preparation, or ongoing professional learning.
This isn’t just a workforce issue; it’s an equity issue.
What states can do — and where they’re falling short
NCTQ identifies six policy levers states can use to build a stronger teacher workforce for students with disabilities and English learners. Several speak directly to Ms. Alvarez’s experience:
States should: Set strong preparation and licensure standards for teachers. Define what every teacher-prep program must include about literacy, disability, and language acquisition.
Principals are a key factor in retaining teachers, but many do not have a background in teaching students with disabilities or multilingual learners. Principals are a key factor in retaining teachers and supporting their instructional effectiveness, as well as creating inclusive environments where teachers and students can thrive.
States should: Set strong preparation and licensure standards for principals that focus on instruction and go beyond training them on legal compliance.
Only half of states require aspiring teachers to be mentored by someone certified in their field during student teaching. In Massachusetts, special education teachers whose cooperating teachers held special education licenses were 12 percentage points less likely to leave the workforce.
States should: Require teacher candidates to be mentored by certified educators in their field.
States should: Ensure all teachers serving SWDs and ELs demonstrate mastery of evidence-based reading instructions through an acceptable reading licensure test or equally rigorous measure.
States should: Provide competitive pay and bonuses to attract and retain teachers in high-need roles.
States should: Replace isolated workshops with robust induction and ongoing coaching and peer collaboration.
When Systems Depend on Heroics
Ms. Alvarez has seen three of her colleagues leave special education in the past two years — one moved to a general education classroom, another to private tutoring, and a third out of teaching entirely. Their departure wasn’t about a lack of passion. It was about the lack of systemic support.
“I can handle hard work,” she says. “What I can’t handle is feeling like I’m failing my students because the system won’t change.”
That statement captures the core problem. The education system has built its special education and English learner services on the extraordinary efforts of individual teachers, rather than systemic strength. Equity requires a different approach—one that ensures teachers are well-prepared, well-compensated, and well-supported, so that every student can access the quality of instruction they deserve.
A Call to Action
The shortage of teachers like Ms. Alvarez is not inevitable. It’s the result of policy choices. And it will take new actions to fix it.
If you’re a state policymaker, make special education and English learner teaching the most supported — not the most draining — roles in education.
If you’re a teacher-preparation leader, ensure graduates are ready to teach all learners, including those with disabilities and diverse language backgrounds.
If you’re an educator or advocate, use your voice to push for sustained professional learning, differentiated compensation, and reasonable caseloads.
Students with disabilities and English learners deserve more than well-intentioned teachers—they deserve well-prepared, well-supported, effective teachers.
Commitment should be celebrated. But it should never be the only thing holding the system together.
Shannon Holston is the chief of policy at the National Council for Teacher Quality
Guest blog posts are the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of EdTrust.
