Southern Oregon University’s School of Education is stepping up at a pivotal time for Oregon’s public schools, as the state faces a critical shortage of licensed special education teachers. Across southern Oregon, districts continue to post unfilled positions, rely on emergency or restricted licenses, and struggle to meet the needs of students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). According to the Oregon Department of Education, hundreds of special education positions remain vacant each year, revealing a pressing demand for fully prepared educators.
SOU is answering that call, as interest in its special education programs has surged. Undergraduate enrollment in the licensure pathway has doubled this year, while the Master of Arts in Teaching in special education continues to grow. That momentum is an indication that students across the region recognize both the urgency and the stability of the special ed career path. Many see it as more than a profession; they see it as a commitment to human connection.
New leadership and deeper expertise
The School of Education this year welcomed Somer Matthews, Ph.D., whose expertise in inclusive instruction and teacher preparation for diverse learners strengthens SOU’s capacity for hands-on, evidence-based training. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and focuses on leadership in inclusive education and severe disabilities. Her addition expands mentorship and course development, ensuring that candidates learn disability as a natural part of human diversity and that every child deserves an inclusive classroom where they are supported and seen.
School districts throughout southern Oregon are actively recruiting for special education-endorsed teachers, without whom the region’s schools struggle to staff resource rooms, co-teaching models and IEP services. SOU’s expanded preparation pipeline helps to close that gap. Graduates of the SOU program are entering classrooms in Ashland, Medford, Grants Pass and Klamath Falls, where every new teacher means that student are receiving the support they need, sooner rather than later.
What graduates gain
SOU’s special education program prepares educators to deliver differentiated instruction for a wide range of learning needs; collaborate with general education teachers to design inclusive environments; apply Universal Design for Learning and evidence-based interventions; serve students with learning disabilities, autism, behavioral challenges and other exceptionalities with empathy and skill; and graduate fully credentialed and job-ready, entering a field where demand is consistently high.
Nearly all graduates secure full-time teaching positions within months, and the SOU program includes many instructional assistants and teachers with emergency licenses completing their credentials while continuing to serve in schools – a model that sustains classrooms while building long-term capacity.
For SOU graduates, a special education endorsement brings immediate job security, competitive pay and lasting relevance. For Oregon communities, it means students with disabilities are supported by teachers trained to meet them where they are. And for the university, it reflects leadership, responsiveness and commitment at a moment when public education urgently needs all three.
SOU is expanding special education teacher preparation with purpose and urgency, as enrollment is growing, faculty expertise is deepening and partnerships with regional districts are strengthening. The School of Education is not simply growing a program; it is preparing the educators who can see and understand every child, not their label.