As part of an ongoing effort to recognize the increasing workload of special education teachers due to federal, state, and local requirements, Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) and the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County (TAAAC) have been engaging in collaborative discussions regarding a series of joint initiatives to support those educators in their work.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Bedell and TAAAC President Nicole Disney-Bates today announced the following supports for special education teachers:
- Experienced special education teachers who opt to assist conditionally certificated teachers once per month with various aspects of their position and associated requirements can do so and will receive additional pay for that work.
- Special education certified teachers who are teaching in general education positions and who have experience writing IEPs, testing, or delivering services can opt to work with small case load of students and will receive additional pay for that work.
- Special education teachers and related service providers can opt to work on Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and related paperwork for an additional small case load of students’ IEPs and related paperwork and will receive additional pay for that work.
“These are the type of collaborative efforts in which we need to engage to help build a school system that is great in all aspects,” Dr. Bedell said. “Our special educators and related service providers do incredible work in the face of ever-mounting paperwork and other documentation requirements, and we must recognize them for that and show them that we value them.”
“We are excited for this collaborative effort with AACPS to provide additional opportunities to retain and recruit special education teachers and related service providers,” Ms. Disney-Bates said. “We look forward to continuing this collaborative work in providing additional compensation to all school staff for their dedication to this county and our students in a time of nationwide shortages.”
AACPS and TAAAC also jointly recognize the following:
- AACPS retirees have been hired to assist special education teachers responsibilities associated with testing.
- General education teachers are encouraged to be certified in Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) and schools should maintain teams of CPI certified staff to support emotional regulation of students in all environments.
- Professional development should be relevant and applicable to the work of special education teachers and related service providers.
AACPS and TAAAC will also continue to advocate at the state level to reduce requirements of special educators that take them away from their important work of supporting students, and partner to recruitment efforts to hire special educators at AACPS.