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Overrepresentation of minority students in special education has been a concern for more than 3 decades. Such overrepresentation has triggered a number of legal challenges, educational reforms, and legislative actions. However, a question still remains in the field: Have there been any recent changes or improvements? We addressed this question by analyzing data published by the federal government. Racial representation along with regional variations and state poverty rates were examined. The results indicated that American Indian/Alaskan Native and African American students were overrepresented in high-incidence disabilities (i.e., emotional and behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, and mental retardation); that significant regional variations existed in minority representation, but that these variations were not correlated with state poverty rates; and that racial representation in certain disability categories was negatively correlated with state poverty rates for certain racial groups.

A national shortage of fully certified special education teachers has been a persistent concern over the years. The purpose of this study was to examine teacher availability by analyzing data from the annual reports to Congress over a 10-year period. Findings indicate (a) that there is a nationwide shortage of teachers who are qualified to teach across all disabilities, including a particularly disproportionate shortage in the area of emotional and behavioral disorders, and (b) that there has been a dramatic decrease in the teacher shortage rate, beginning in the 1993—1994 year and continuing in subsequent years. Possible explanations for this decrease may be the expanded reliance on the proliferation of alternate or emergency certification, inclusionary practices, personnel preparation training grants, and noncategorical certification. In the short run, alternate or emergency certification routes may decrease the shortage of special education teachers; however, we caution against the use of these routes to teacher certification, if they become an institutionalized alternative to a comprehensive teacher education program.

teaching experience and the use of teaching approaches, and the teachers' involvement in transition services. METHOD ParticipantsOne hundred ninety-nine (199) secondary special educators teaching Grades 7 through 12 in the state of Wisconsin were randomly selected to participate in this study from a list of all secondary special education teachers (N = 4,809) supplied by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (WDPI). Teachers employed by the Department of Corrections or the Department of Health and Family Services were not included on the list supplied by WDPI. A cover letter explained the purpose of the study and requested the completion and return of a 2-page survey.