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The effects of mental health challenges in the United States are growing and affect both Grades P–12 special education teachers and faculty at institutions of higher education (IHE). Educators struggle with compassion fatigue and associated burnout. With educators leaving the field for a plethora of reasons, it is vital to examine factors that support those who remain in education. Thus, we analyzed factors that support the retention of educators at both levels of instruction. In a qualitative analysis of data from survey respondents (N= 200), we examined the resiliency and endurance of practicing rural P–12 special educators and faculty at IHEs. Results from inductive content analysis indicate that factors leading to persistence in education begin with educators finding meaning in their teaching. Educators who demonstrate career endurance have a strong sense of self-efficacy in their teaching abilities, receive emotional benefits from their students, and have quality opportunities to mentor and collaborate with others. By contrast, some educators indicate burnout is a key factor for leaving the field, and reported reasons include low pay, paperwork, poor work/life balance, lack of respect, and the mental health of themselves and their students. Based on these findings, we offer recommendations for research and practice.

National- and state-level education policies are evolving to address teacher shortages that are pervasive across the United States and are particularly problematic in rural special education. In this article, we describe a policy we call “endorsement by exam” in which teachers certified in one subject area can become certified in other areas by passing a content knowledge test. Although such add-on endorsements are not uncommon in some content areas (e.g., chemistry teachers adding certification in biology), some states have extended this practice to include special education certification. The purpose of this article is to explore what state agencies have adopted endorsement by exam for special education. Despite difficulties in obtaining reliable information, we determined approximately eight states have adopted some form of this policy. We discuss results in terms of rurality and conclude by explaining our position that endorsement by exam is a potentially harmful quick fix that may in fact exacerbate teacher shortages in the long term and thus is ill advised.

The purpose of the current study was to examine barriers, if any, reported by special education directors to providing extended school year (ESY) services. Results indicate four barriers to providing ESY services listed in order of importance by special education directors: difficulty in finding qualified personnel to work over the summer, determining eligibility for ESY services, compliance of parents, and limited financial resources to provide ESY services. Rural special education directors reported the barrier of difficulty in finding qualified personnel significantly more often than nonrural directors. Rural special education directors also reported significantly more barriers to providing ESY services in general.

Supporting the needs of youth with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) and their families can be challenging in rural settings. Implementing strategies that take into account for and address barriers in rural settings is important. One strategy to improve outcomes for both students with EBD and their families in rural settings is providing parental support. Parent Connectors is a phone-based parent-to-parent support program designed to improve parental engagement in their child’s education and mental health services. Parent Connectors is described in detail along with preliminary outcomes and implications for rural communities.

Knowledge and understanding of assistive technology is important for all education majors as they prepare to serve increasingly diverse classrooms. This article provides a program description of how one rural university embedded assistive technology content and skills in both a special education plan of study, as well as in professional core courses for all education majors. The process and model are described for both on-campus and distance education populations. In addition, strengths and challenges of the model are discussed.

Assistive technology (AT) for students with visual impairments (VI) is an essential part of their educational program. AT allows students to develop skills, engage in the academic environment, and function independently. Despite the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandate for AT as part of a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP), research has found that rural schools use fewer AT devices when compared with urban schools. The extent of AT use is significantly determined by the level of teachers’ training and their familiarity with AT. In this article, the authors present an AT resource they created to provide teachers and parents with current, helpful information on AT for students with VI. The resource details (a) application/devices about which teachers need to know more, (b) the type of VI with which an application/device is most helpful, (c) key features, (d) cost, (e) sources for additional information, (f) product guides and research evaluating the AT, and (g) organizations that provide additional information.

Researchers have demonstrated the positive outcomes of using video self-modeling (VSM) with students with emotional behavior disorders (EBDs). VSM typically refers to teacher-created videos demonstrating desired skills or behaviors where the student is the video model performing the skill at a level higher than his or her typical display. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the ease and effectiveness of a student-created VSM to generate social skills use in rural general education classrooms. Included are the steps three students with EBD used to produce VSM using an e-book application as an assistive technology to promote their performance of social skills in the general education environment. Suggestions are provided for school personnel who want to implement this assistive technology strategy in the general education setting.

Increasingly, researchers have successfully identified strategies to promote comprehension to students who are nonreaders. Further research is needed to replicate these promising results. In the current study, we used a multiple probe across participants design to evaluate the effectiveness of an iPad app, which incorporates evidence-based practices such as constant time delay and system of least prompts, on the acquisition of targeted vocabulary and comprehension of four middle school students with significant intellectual and developmental disability (SIDD). Findings suggest that the intervention resulted in improved performance across all participants and that some generalization and maintenance of skills was seen. Limitations and implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Rural special educators face unique challenges in providing high quality special education services, especially when teaching grade-aligned science content. Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) is one strategy that has the potential to address two major challenges (i.e., a lack of preservice training and limited professional development opportunities) in providing grade-aligned content instruction with fidelity. This study investigated the use of a CAI intervention package to teach three middle school students with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability the structure and function of five key elements of an amoeba. Results showed a functional relation between the number of correct responses made during probe sessions and introduction of the CAI intervention. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are also discussed.