As a follow-up to its all-day briefing about teacher shortages in special education last month, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will hold a virtual listening session next week to hear from the public about improving access to education for students with disabilities.
In Monday's announcement about the listening session, the commission specifically said it wants to hear from educators, parents, students and community members. Participants who would like to speak must preregister. The session will be livestreamed Dec. 13 from 12-2:30 p.m. ET on the commission's YouTube channel.
The eight-member bipartisan commission is also accepting written public comments at [email protected] through Dec. 16.
At the commission's Nov. 15th briefing, 22 panelists shared a variety of solutions to curb special education teacher shortages, including by raising teacher salaries, increasing class sizes, reducing compliance tasks, offering more school choice, and investing in teacher career pipelines. Some speakers talked about the hardships caused by teacher vacancies, while others raised doubts that there is a national crisis.
The commission is researching the topic and plans to issue a report to the president and Congress in the latter half of 2025.
Editor's note: The commission has changed the time of the listening session. This article has been updated to reflect the new time.
