American Institutes for Research to Lead New Research Center Focused on Strengthening the Special Educator Workforce

Arlington, Va. - The American Institutes for Research (AIR) has been awarded a federal grant to conduct research and lead systemic change to strengthen the special educator workforce through the newly launched Special Educator Workforce: A Research Collaborative (SPARC Center).

This five-year initiative is funded by a $5 million grant from the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The SPARC Center will:

• Help address the long-standing challenges related to the composition, distribution, stability, and effectiveness of the special education teacher workforce;
• Conduct national leadership activities to raise awareness of its research findings, inform policymakers, and improve the capacity of states to conduct high-quality research on the special educator workforce;
• Use state longitudinal data systems and qualitative data to conduct a cohesive, mixed-methods program of research; and
• Work with seven state education agencies to examine their special education teacher workforce data.

"For decades, special education teacher staffing challenges have persisted, making it difficult for schools to provide a free, appropriate public education to students with disabilities," said Roddy Theobald, AIR Managing Researcher. "I am so pleased that this work will address those challenges."

The SPARC Center's co-directors include Theobald and Allison Gilmour from AIR, and Elizabeth Bettini (Boston University; Wheelock Educational Policy Center). Li Feng (Texas State University), Loretta Mason-Williams (Binghamton University), and LaRon Scott (University of Virginia) will serve as co-principal investigators.

Updates about the SPARC Center's research will be available on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn.