TULSA, Okla. — Local teachers’ unions and parents said the Oklahoma State government needs to do more to keep special education teachers in Oklahoma.
“The need for teachers is vital. The need for special education teachers is more critical,” said Shawna Mott-Wright, President of the Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association. “It’s insane the amount of special education teachers we need.”
In recent reports from the National Learning Center and the State Department of Education, there are over 660,000 students in Oklahoma, and one in every six receives some sort of special needs services.
The number of teachers certified and capable of serving those students is dwindling in this state.
“Everyone says there’s a massive teacher shortage — I say there’s a massive teacher exodus,” said Mott-Wright. “We have over 3,.000 people in Oklahoma with teaching certificates who are just not willing to do it anymore with everything that’s been done to us and our profession.”
Mott-Wright pointed the finger back at state leadership and a lack of resources to support special education teachers and their paraprofessionals. Paraprofessionals are staff who assist and guide students with specific disabilities every day of their education. Some specific disabilities require a para.
“I have seen a child go from the beginning of elementary to high school graduation with their person. That person becomes part of their family,” said Mott-Wright. “The parents treat them as part of the family, they are their child’s person; it is unbelievably important. So we need that for support staff and for special education teachers, because if you also don’t have a special education teacher running that classroom, working in concert with the paras, then the children are losing, and that’s what we have to get back to.”
Past reports showed the state had hundreds of vaccines for special education teachers in both rural and urban school districts. A local parent, Kelly Cooper, has a daughter with special needs.
He said that his family has experienced both sides: a school with plenty of resources and staff & a school district that has almost none.
“So we’ve been on both sides of the spectrum. We’ve had a bad experience and a good experience,” said Cooper. “I think just seeing the change in my daughter in being in an environment that seems to have all the resources needed; I went from seeing my daughter totally distraught every day, [not wanting] to go to school. We noticed she was losing weight because she wasn’t even eating at school — she was just so nervous about going. And then now, we turn around, and we just are in a much better situation. She’s happy, she’s doing well, she’s thriving — I think that we need to figure out how to get some more quality teachers in there to help out with the future and development of their needs.”
The Oklahoma State Department of Education told FOX23 they would not have the exact number of vacancies until late October, when those numbers are submitted by school districts.
They did send their latest efforts under recently resigned State Superintendent Ryan Walters:
“We awarded Teacher recruitment and Retention bonuses to 153 certified Special Education teachers, totaling $2,013,055 in signing bonuses. The breakdown is as follows:
- $20,000 for already-certified Special Education teachers
- $10,000 for newly certified Special Education teachers
- Retention bonuses of $5,000 for out-of-state Special Education hires and $2,500 for new teachers
Other targeted bonus programs include:
- 2023–24: Preschool through 3rd Grade and Special Education Teachers — 522 certified teachers, $15,755,000
- 2024–25: Math and Science Teachers for Rural Schools — 61 certified teachers, $1,200,000
We do not yet have shortage data available for the 2025–26 school year.”
When FOX23 reached out to OSDE board member Becky Carson, who is a retired special education teacher, she sent the following response:
“The last data collected showed 17% of our student population is served via special education in some way, and that number is rising.
Special Education teachers are vital because they create an inclusive environment, they provide support for students with an IEP or 504 plan. They ensure students with learning differences can succeed both academically, socially and emotionally.
Special Education teachers in a lot of our programs also provide support for the regular classroom teacher.
These educators leave the field for many reasons, including high burnout, excessive workloads, a high amount of paperwork, behavior challenges, inadequate support, and lack of training and resources.
In Oklahoma, we have given new SE teachers a bonus of $20,000, which is great for recruitment but does nothing for retention. Honestly, it is hurtful to our veteran teachers who stay in the field despite the daily challenges.
I think we solve this issue by addressing all the reasons they leave. Right now, ALL educators are feeling the results of what happens when those in leadership positions don’t support them.”
