Ethnically Diverse Rural Special Educators who are Highly Qualified: Does NCLB Make this Impossible?

Abstract

Ethnically diverse special educators are in short supply not only in urban and suburban schools, but in rural areas as well. Finding teachers who meet the highly-qualified definition under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 worsen the shortage problem. This article addresses the impact of the definition of highly-qualified teachers on the recruitment and retention of ethnically diverse special educators and provides some suggested solutions for rural schools and districts to consider.