Staffing for Special Education Service Delivery and Impacts of SPED Service Delivery Models

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

This session explores how special education (SpEd) staffing policies and service delivery models influence both student achievement and educator development. The four papers presented offer diverse empirical insights into the systemic, instructional, and organizational factors that affect the capacity and equity of SpEd services in U.S. public schools.

In "The Effects of Response to Intervention on Disability Identification and Achievement," Nicholas Ainsworth (University of California, Irvine), Christopher Cleveland (Brown University), and Andrew Penner (University of California, Irvine) leverage a staggered rollout of Response to Intervention (RTI) in Oregon to assess its impacts on elementary student outcomes. Using state administrative data from 2008–2022, they find that RTI significantly reduced special education and specific learning disability identification rates. While average achievement remained stable, Black students experienced notable reading gains, suggesting that RTI may promote more equitable academic outcomes.

In “The Effects of a Teacher Licensure Policy Change on Special Education Teachers’ Caseloads”, Hannah Kistler (Annenberg Institute at Brown University) and Tashnuva Shaheen (University of Florida) investigate the implications of Indiana’s 2021 decision to eliminate emergency licensure for special education teachers. Using statewide administrative data from 2012–2024, they explore how this policy change may have affected SET caseloads, particularly in schools that previously relied on emergency-licensed teachers—often those serving economically disadvantaged students.  They assess whether the policy unintentionally intensified workload burdens and exacerbated inequities when staffing realities are not fully considered.

In "Does Co-Teaching Help Teacher Development?" John Fallon (Boston University) and Andrew Bacher-Hicks (Arnold Ventures) study how co-teaching influences the professional growth of general and special education teachers. Using Indiana data from 2012–2021, they find that co-teaching assignments are common early in teachers’ careers and often lead to shifts in student rosters and instructional roles. General education teachers paired with experienced special educators show improved student outcomes—approximately 0.10 standard deviation gains—in subsequent years. These effects suggest that co-teaching may serve as a valuable embedded development tool, especially for novice teachers.

In "Roles of Paraeducators: A Text Analysis of Job Advertisements," Lindsey Kaler (Annenberg Institute at Brown University) uses web-scraped job posting data from Rhode Island to examine how paraeducator roles are communicated to prospective applicants. Analyzing the universe of publicly posted job advertisements for paraeducators in Rhode Island in 2024, Kaler finds that many postings underemphasize key responsibilities outlined in state and national standards (e.g., cultural competence, ethics, learning differences). This disconnect may contribute to role confusion and high turnover in the paraeducator workforce, despite the essential contributions of paraeducators to special education service delivery.

Together, these papers provide a comprehensive look at how staffing models, policy interventions, and workforce communications affect both the quality and equity of SpEd services. This session will offer timely, actionable insights for education leaders, researchers, and policymakers seeking to strengthen special education systems and support the professionals who sustain them.

Policy Area

• Education

Discussants

• Roddy Theobald, American Institutes for Research

• Shaun M Dougherty, Boston College

Organizer

• John Fallon, Boston University

Individual Presentations

• Does Co-teaching Help Teacher Development? - Presenting Author: John Fallon, Boston University

• Roles of Paraeducators: A Text Analysis of Job Advertisements - Presenting Author: Lindsey Kaler, Brown University

• The Effects of a Teacher Licensure Policy Change on Special Education Teachers’ Caseloads - Presenting Author: Hannah Kistler, University at Albany

• The Effects of Response to Intervention on Disability Identification and Achievement - Presenting Author: Nicholas James Ainsworth, University of California, Irvine