Supply and Demand for Education Personnel Serving Students with Low Incidence Sensory Disabilities in Ohio: A Report to the Ohio Deans Compact
Author: Howley, Craig B.
Date: 2021-03-06
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Teacher Supply and Demand,Perceptual Impairments,Students with Disabilities,Hearing Impairments,Visual Impairments,Deaf Blind,Special Education Teachers,Visually Impaired Mobility,Specialists,Incidence,Faculty Workload,Teacher Certification,Teacher Shortage,Blindness,Deafness,Intervention,Geographic Regions,Beginning Teachers,Institutional Cooperation,Teacher Education Programs

Purpose: The Ohio Deans Compact sponsored a study of the supply of and demand for educators to serve Ohio students with low incidence sensory disabilities (LISD). Conducted from August through December 2020, the study appears to be the first of its kind in North America. Such educators include teachers of the hearing impaired, teachers of the visually impaired, certified orientation and mobility specialists, and interveners (who assist students with deafblindness). Methods: The researchers used existing data and relevant literature about prevalence, caseload, and licensure to estimate supply and demand. Demand was estimated from median prevalence values as a proportion of total student enrollment. Supply was estimated from records in the publicly accessible database of information about Ohio educators. Results are estimates within the parameters disclosed in the study, a disclosure that permits users of the study to generate other estimates by varying the estimation parameters. Supply and demand are estimated both for the state as a whole and for the regions assigned to Ohio's 16 State Support Teams (SSTs). Results: The study found substantial statewide and regional shortages in Ohio, consistent with the suggestions of national and international research. Based on its estimates of supply and demand, the study concludes that Ohio has a substantial statewide gap between supply and demand to serve these students in its schools. Ohio would ideally need: (1) 75 additional licensed teachers for students who are Deaf/hard of hearing; (2) 110 additional licensed teachers for students with blindness/visual impairment; (3) 72 trained teachers (e.g., of students with hearing and vision impairment) to serve students with deafblindness, (4) 110 additional certified orientation and mobility specialists; and (5) 215 additional trained interveners. The statewide shortages are unevenly distributed across the 16 SST regions, with some roles oversupplied in two metro regions, but shortages everywhere else. Shortages are more notable in regions more remote from the few centers where traditional training programs are located, especially smaller towns and rural areas. But supply appears to be limited in some suburban areas as well. The new multi-institutional LISD Collaborative, which has recently begun to train LISD educators, is making a notable contribution toward addressing the shortage. Implications: Ohio appears to have a substantial shortage of educators to serve students with low-incidence sensory disabilities. Lack of access to LISD educators is likely to persist without additional provisions to prepare more educators and to ensure access evenly across the state's 610 traditional districts and more than 3,500 schools. Additional research is needed to assess supply and demand at regional levels. Educational Service Center (ESC) regions are one possibility, particularly since ESCs often provide special education personnel to local districts. [The report was published by WordFarmers Associates.]