The Special Education Teacher Pipeline in Pennsylvania: Year 4 Report

This report summarizes findings from the fourth year of a long-term research partnership on the special education teacher pipeline in Pennsylvania and projects associated with the Bureau of Special Education’s Attract-Prepare-Retain (APR) efforts. We analyzed administrative and survey data associated with eight APR projects and grants that occurred during the 2025–26 school year: Accelerated Program for PK–12 Special Education Teacher Certification Grant, Developing Future Special Educators Grant, APR Mentoring, Networking and Learning Communities, Middle School Learning Institute, World of Learning (WOL) American Sign Language (ASL) courses, Paraeducator Preparation Pathways Grant, and Master’s Level Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) Stipend for School-Based Placements. The findings build on data from the 2024–25 school year implementation and provide early evidence of project success.