Chronic shortages of qualified personnel have been a persistent challenge in special education. Recent amendments to IDEA that emphasize participation and progress in the general education curriculum for students with disabilities along with state initiatives to improve educational outcomes are likely to exacerbate this challenge. This article addresses legal and practice considerations in this area. The au thor recommends the expanded use of a state comprehensive system for personnel development along with the need for credential uniformity across the states as viable means to address the quality of special education personnel.
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