The Career Advancement and Working Conditions of Multilingual Paraprofessionals in Special Education

There is a critical issue of special education teacher shortages in the United States. Student populations, many of whom are multilingual and have disabilities, continue to grow while there is a decrease in the teaching workforce. One policy initiative developed to combat the teacher shortage is the Assistant to Teacher Program. The Assistant to Teacher Program is a school district policy that aims to fill high-need teacher vacancies by supporting paraprofessionals to become certified teachers in a career advancement cohort. This qualitative study examines the working experiences of multilingual paraprofessionals in special education and their perceptions of the Assistant to Teacher program within their school district. A thematic analysis reveals the bureaucratic and financial obstacles that multilingual paraprofessionals encounter in their career advancement, and their working conditions specific to special education as linguistic liaisons. Findings from the study are then linked to recommended policy actions intended to mitigate special education workforce disparities.