Special education vacancies previously sat at 16 openings during a board presentation May 12, but have gone up to 34 open positions, according to job openings posted on Frontline Education, the recruiting and hiring platform link on the district website.
What’s happening
Chief Human Resources Officer Christina Courson presented an update to the board of trustees May 12 after district families voiced concern over special education staffing shortages.
The presentation included 16 total special education vacancies as of May 7, highlighting both teachers and paraprofessional staff. Some of the previous staffing vacancies are not listed on the hiring website, however as of June 12, the total number of vacancies has increased to 34 staffing positions.
The special education teacher position has the largest number of vacancies, with nine openings.
Chief Communications Officer Tim Savoy said the increase could be due to the end of the school year period being the “height of hiring season” for school districts. Contracted teachers have a June deadline to commit to the upcoming school year or to leave the district to move, retire, leave for another opportunity or other reasons.
At a May 12 meeting, community members spoke during public comment regarding special education staffing shortages and providing consistency for students in special education.
“Year after year we see that our children get shuffled between campuses over and over again, switching teachers, classrooms and administrators who have to learn all about their complex needs over again,” one parent said.
Other parents said they are concerned about the large case load for current teachers and staff due to the shortage.
The plan
Courson said the HR department is currently working to fill in the gaps in special education teaching.
The district launched a Grow your Own program in the spring to get teachers special education certification The cohort currently consists of 13 participants, with two that have passed certification exams, she said. One will be a dyslexia teacher and the other will be a special education inclusion resource teacher. It is unclear if they have been officially hired yet. HCISD officials did not respond to a request for clarification as of press time.
HCISD also has a career and technical education program for education in training. There are nine high school graduates eligible to apply for instruction aide positions at the elementary level. As part of the program, the district would “encourage” participants to attend Austin Community College for free, then transfer to a bachelor’s degree program for certification. It is unclear if any of the nine graduates have applied for an instructional aide position. HCISD officials did not respond to a request for clarification as of press time.
Additionally, HCISD is working with Texas universities for special education staffing. HCISD will host five Texas State Teacher Residents for the 25-26 school year, with one pursuing special education certification, Courson said.
The district is also in the process of finalizing a partnership with Texas Tech University for staff to complete a bachelor’s degree with special education certification at the university after they have completed coursework at ACC, she said.
Over 140 HCISD substitute teachers have completed special education training and the district is providing expanded training this summer, she said.
Looking ahead
Board President Byron Severance said despite the shortage and state funding impacts on the budget, the HR department is looking to address the issue.
“I do appreciate your collaboration with the department to look for some creative, different ways to try to close some of these gaps in the short term,” he told Courson at the May 12 meeting.
