Economic Disadvantages Disparities for Students with Special Education Needs

Kelly Tatarka

Co-Presenters: Individual Presentation

College: College of Education

Major: BA.EC/P3/TSD

Faculty Research Mentor: Sehba

Abstract:

The most recent figures from the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) indicate that 242,548 students with special educational needs in New Jersey are receiving Free and Appropriate Education. This is a result of a Federal law that guarantees children with disabilities the right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). The aim of this research is to examine if the number of special education teachers in public schools is adequate. Union County is selected as a case study. Both at the national and state level, the most common type of disability for students involves “specific learning disabilities,” such as dyslexia. The study is underway, and the results will be useful for school districts to identify the need for employing teachers of students with disabilities certification. The results will likely be useful for teacher education institutions in New Jersey to approximate the number of candidates to prepare for the Students with Disabilities Endorsement (Code: 2475). This endorsement authorizes the holder to teach students classified with disabilities in preschool through grade 12. Data for this study will be from the publicly available data set from the NJDOE.
(The analysis and findings will be available by the deadline for submission for the Kean Research Day 2026).