New Jersey certified teachers will now have a faster, less expensive and more flexible path to obtaining a special education endorsement under a new online learning course that seeks to address the shortage of special education teachers statewide. 

The first phase of the course was built by the New Jersey Center for Teaching and Learning (NJCTL) and approved by the New Jersey Department of Education this month.  Teachers can immediately enroll in the online, asynchronous teacher preparation program that will lead to a graduate-level Teacher of Students with Disabilities (TOSD) Add-On Endorsement for certified teachers who hold a Standard, CEAS, or CE certificate.

Most TOSD endorsement programs in the state are offered by major universities and colleges in person and cost more than $16,000 and often more than $20,000, a sometimes prohibitively expensive pursuit for the average teacher making about $80,000. The total cost of this new program is $4,680 and discounted to $3,744 for New Jersey Education Association members.

“We know that schools are grappling with an increase in students with special needs and teachers need more and better tools to serve students,” said Senate Education Committee Chair Vin Gopal. “This new program makes a special education endorsement accessible to more teachers and I commend NJCTL on offering this program that provides a more affordable avenue towards certification.”

“There is a chronic shortage of special education teachers in New Jersey and, with the state Department of Education’s approval, we now have a one-of-a-kind solution that will be implemented immediately,” said NJCTL Executive Director Robert Goodman. “This is an unprecedented program in New Jersey. The results will make an incredible difference; we’re already hitting the ground running.”

Jamie Moscony, chair of the New Jersey Joint Council of County Special Services School Districts, representing all special services superintendents in the state, said she is “thrilled” to learn of NJCTL’s state approval.

“This fast-track, cost-effective option is a wonderful opportunity to help address the TOSD shortage that we have been experiencing in our special services districts as well as in all special education programming across the state,” Moscony said. “With more teachers in the pipeline, we will be able to continue providing our high-quality, individualized services with specialized staff members who understand the unique needs of our students.” 

Local directors of specialized schools are echoing strong support for this low-cost, yet high-quality, alternative in special education, as the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that 40% of public schools across the country struggle to fill special education teaching positions or fail to do so.

“As we see an increasing number of students requiring specialized services, we are pleased that NJCTL has received this significant approval from the state Department of Education,” said Dr. Michael Kaufman, who runs the High Point School in Lodi and has been operating specialized schools in New Jersey 32 years.

“It is a constant challenge to recruit and retain teachers who have the proper certifications for special education,” Kaufman added. “I’m pleased to learn of this novel approach and I laud the state Education Department and NJCTL for filling this need through a convenient, affordable program the state needs right now.”

NJCTL was able to create the initial module for the special education endorsement because of a grant from the New Jersey Children’s Foundation. 

“When we set out to help tackle the special education teacher shortage problem in New Jersey, we knew the first people to talk to would be the NJCTL,” said Barbara Martinez, Executive Director of the foundation. “We’re so proud to have been able to fund this new offering for teachers because of the impact that we know it will have for teachers, schools, and most importantly, students with special needs, in the years to come.”

In addition to allowing NJCTL to provide programs leading to teacher certification in special education, NJ DOE has also granted NJCTL permission to provide four new graduate level Add-On Endorsement programs for teachers in Computer Science Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. The latter three programs allow science teachers to add endorsements to teach additional sciences with fewer credits than are required for non-science teachers.

With these five new programs, NJCTL is now authorized to offer a total of 20 Educator Preparation Programs in New Jersey, some of them having started more than 15 years ago. During that time, more than 450 programs have been completed by New Jersey teachers.