San Diego, CA: Special needs students taught by subs "more than half the year"
At some San Diego Unified Schools, students with disabilities spend more than half of the school year being taught by a revolving door of substitute teachers.
District officials say there’s a severe shortage of special education teachers nationwide. Nonetheless, parents of these children feel like the district failed them.
The numbers: Our Jakob McWhinney reviewed the district’s records and found that in 2025, special education classrooms in at least 21 San Diego Unified schools used substitutes for at least half the school year.
Most of those subs weren’t fully credentialed, and even fewer had special education credentials. Schools in lower income areas and those that have higher support needs were hit the hardest.
McWhinney spoke to some of the parents of children with disabilities, some of whom haven’t had a consistent and qualified special education teacher for their child in years. They all said their children haven’t been making progress in their classrooms, and in some cases, they have regressed because of that instability.
Unfortunately, it’s a nationwide trend. Fewer people are becoming teachers, and even fewer are becoming special education teachers. But parents are left wondering where that leaves their children.
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