The North Dakota United Special Education Collective is an online group that was started in 2023 as a collaboration between our staff and members who work in the field of special education services to students in our state. At its onset, one of the key driving forces for the collective’s creation was Amber Haskell, who was then a member of ND United and the Grand Forks Education Association and had worked for over a decade in the field, teaching in ND and a couple of districts in the state of Minnesota.
“I was very involved with Education Minnesota and was a member of EdMN’s Special Education Task Force for a couple of years,” Haskell said. “This group was very involved with the Legislature and advocating for special educators.” So, she brought her experiences with Minnesota’s Special Education Task Force with her as a member of our union, and when Haskell was hired by NDU as a field consultant in early 2024, she took up the responsibility of leading the group she helped create.
“Jared (Adams) and I had discussed my experience with EdMN, when he was field consultant for the NE region,” Haskell said. “Our collective goal was to increase the understanding of administrators, legislators and our communities as to the various impacts that heavy workloads have on special educators. Offering Band-Aid solutions to the plight of special educators is not sufficient to keep them in the field.”
“Being able to collaborate, celebrate successes and commiserate challenges with other special education teachers has always been very valuable for me throughout my career.”
Any NDU member working in special education is welcome to join the collective, Haskell said. Emails with a meeting registration link are sent out at least monthly to a list of more than 600 members compiled from our membership data and previous event registrations. Zoom meetings are held the third Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m.
Jessica Nolz, a special education strategist for Grand Forks Public Schools the past 11 years, said she first heard about the Special Education Collective last year and thought it would be useful to her. “Being able to collaborate, celebrate successes and commiserate challenges with other special education teachers has always been very valuable for me throughout my career,” Nolz said. “I was thrilled to see that there would be such a group at a statewide level.”
The collective has been busy of late on several projects, working alongside Haskell and NDU field consultant Matt Liebel. They first put together a Special Educator Retention Continuum and, realizing that contract language specific to special education is still needed in most of our state’s school districts, they have shared some sample language from ND and Minnesota school districts with local presidents.
Additionally, the group did a survey of special education teachers, paraprofessionals and related service providers, including occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, physical therapists and school psychologists.
Some of the findings they got from the 297 responses were:
- 86% report they currently feel overwhelmed by their special education workload
- 44% report they are considering leaving special education
- 78% report that the shortage of paraprofessionals adds stress to their jobs
- 85% report they know colleagues who have left special education
- 83% report their district is having difficulty filling special education positions
Our Special Education Collective has also been involved during this current legislative session. Together with Rep. Mary Schneider, the group collaborated on drafting HB 1530, a study bill to address major issues in the recruitment, retention, pay disparities, duties and responsibilities for special education teachers in ND.
So far, HB 1530 has passed the ND House with significant support and waits for the Senate to consider it next. Members of the collective have been active in efforts to get this legislation across the finish line, with 11 special education teachers attending our Lobby Day and several providing written testimony in support.
“It gave me hope to see this group take such a proactive approach in addressing the challenges within special education,” Nolz said. She’s regularly attended the monthly Zoom meetings and encourages any NDU members who work in special education to do so, too.
“Special education is challenging work,” she said, “work that no one should have to do alone. It truly takes a village, and that’s exactly what the Special Education Collective offers. It’s a chance to connect with fellow special education professionals, share successes and challenges, as well as create actionable steps to advocate for the resources, policies and support systems we – and our students – need.”
“Special education is challenging work. Work that no one should have to do alone. It truly takes a village, and that’s exactly what the Special Education Collective offers.”
