This article provides a review of the arguments for and the history of recruitment of paraeducators into teacher education and special education. Paraeducator recruitment is portrayed as an effective response to the problems of teacher shortages in special education and the problem of inadequate diversity of students in teacher education. Evaluation outcomes, including performance outcomes for four cohorts of paraeducators attending the University of North Carolina at Charlotte's special education teacher education programs from 1988 to the present, are presented and compared to a major national study of paraeducator-to-teacher programs. New national initiatives in the area of paraeducator recruitment and recommendations for strengthening this recruitment effort are provided.
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