In this article, the authors provide a summary of the current techniques being used to recruit, retain, and support a diverse range of scholars, including students with disabilities, in a doctoral program. The manuscript provides a summary of the current need for leadership personnel who are scholars with knowledge in special education, general education content, research, and advanced technologies, while staying true to the mission of our field to serve students with disabilities and their families. This article provides the current success of this doctoral program in preparing scholars for higher education, the techniques used to build and support a very diverse population of scholars, and case-based examples. In addition, lessons learned over a decade are provided to inform the field of special education about recruiting, retaining, preparing, and employing doctoral-level scholars in special education who are ready to enter the profession with a balance related to innovation and preparation of highly qualified teachers in our field.

The history of special education is a chronicle of advocacy efforts affected by the socioeconomics of the time (Yell, Rogers, & Lodge Rodgers, 1998). During the Great Depression of the 1930s, a decline in the number of programs for students with disabilities occurred. Because of a conflict over money and high standards in public schools, a societal shift occurred that resulted in more restrictive placements within the schools and continued institutionalization of children with severe disabilities (Yell et al., 1998).Given the socioeconomics of the present day, a call to action for all persons supporting the education of children with disabilities may be necessary to maintain the current level of services. The advocacy movement for persons with disabilities was critical to the development of policy and special education services (Yell et al., 1998). Special educators can play an important role in policy advocacy for persons with disabilities. Special educators, however, may not believe they can have an impact on the political system.

Advocating for students with special needs at the school-and classroomlevel is an extremely important role of a special educator. Special education professional advocacy guidelines are governed by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). Five professional standards identified by CEC that all educators must use in their advocacy are (a) working toward improving how government services are provided to individuals with exceptionalities, (b) working in collaboration with various professionals to ensure individuals with exceptionalities are receiving appropriate services, (c) maintaining objective and documented evidence of any inadequate services or resources afforded to individuals with exceptionalities, (d) ensuring appropriate placements are provided to individuals with exceptionalities, and (e) adhering to federal and local legislative mandates to ensure individuals with exceptionalities receive a free and appropriate public education (FAPE; CEC, 2008).In alignment with the CEC professional standards, special educators accept their professional responsibility to advocate for their students with dis-abilities; however, they also report a belief acquired through experience that personal and professional risks are inherent in doing so (Gartin, Murdick, Thompson, & Dyches, 2002). Figure 1 provides a summary of CEC professional standards for advocacy.Advocating for a student can cause inherent risks for special education professionals (Peters & Reid, 2009).

Special education teachers continue to be in short supply. The shortage is especially significant in rural areas. Identifying pools of potential new rural special educators is a challenging prospect for university personnel responsible for recruiting new students and populating graduate level special education teacher training programs. This article describes the current need for recruiting new rural special education teachers, traditional recruitment avenues, special recruitment challenges, and a unique and successful approach for recruiting new special educators. Aspects of the strategy described include the identification of specific populations of university students and recruiting new special educators from those populations of students who hold undergraduate degrees in fields other than teaching. Specific components of a unique recruitment effort designed to enhance enrollment in special education graduate programs are included.

The purpose of this study was to provide content validation for quality indicators included in an observation instrument developed to evaluate classrooms serving students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A panel of 103 subject-matter experts consisting of a mixture of field personnel ( n = 64; 59 classroom teachers, five school administrators) and university faculty ( n = 39) provided feedback regarding construct validity. Results were analyzed using two approaches: a simple aggregation of responses in the form of averages, with an a priori threshold for the determination of what will be considered acceptable, and Lawshe’s Content Validity Ratio methodology. All items in the instrument were deemed to have demonstrated content validity as did the overall instrument. Based on the data from this study, the Quality Indicators for Classrooms Serving Students With ASD (QIASD) instrument can be considered to have demonstrated content validity.