Special education communications development credential backed

A proposal to develop a new Education Specialist: Communications Development Credential drew the support of Dr. Kathy Kinley, CSBA's immediate past president, at a hearing of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing earlier this month.

"There is such a severe shortage of qualified teachers," Kinley said after the hearing. "The new teaching credential would be a big help, particularly for our young students who need teaching assistance with their speech."

Existing special education credentials would not be affected by the addition of this new avenue for professionals committed to helping students with special needs to join the work force, Kinley explained. Special education teachers are in short supply generally, forcing many school districts and county offices of education to contract out for expensive services from specialists; many local agencies, particularly in rural areas, have difficulty meeting the need.

"There was substantial support for the development of this credential. It was clear that a crisis exists in providing services to students with speech and language needs," said CSBA Senior Research and Policy Consultant Stephanie Farland, who also attended the CTC hearing.

"Teachers holding these credentials would be authorized to provide site-based language development services to students, such as addressing articulation problems that are very common in younger students," Farland explained. "This would mean that districts would not have to contract out with licensed speech therapists for many services."

The recommendation for the new credential was part of a report to the Legislature on special education certification required by Senate Bill 1209. The report examines ways to improve services to students, including a call for all special education credential candidates have training in autism spectrum disorders.

CSBA supports all the recommendations, Kinley and Farland said. The 25 specific recommendations are generally designed to:

· provide more opportunities for special education teacher certification while reducing redundancies in the preparation program and streamlining the credential process

· improve the skills and retention rates of special education teachers

· help local agencies meet staffing needs

The CTC approved the report and its recommendations. The state Legislature would have to enact the changes, including authorization to develop the new credential.