Has Access to Paraprofessionals Changed? A Cross-Decade, Cross-Cohort Analysis

Due to shifts in society’s attitudes toward special education and changes in U.S. federal policies, such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and No Child Left Behind, more students with disabilities (SWDs) are beginning kindergarten in general education classrooms. As a result, schools and districts across the United States have needed to adjust their personnel resources to accommodate these changes to classroom demographics. This study aims to better understand how paraprofessional resources (i.e., availability and hours) have shifted before and after key federal legislation. We specifically examined the presence and hours worked by general and special education paraprofessionals in general education kindergartens. Using two nationally representative datasets from 1998 and 2010, we found that kindergartners with disabilities in 2010 have greater access to paraprofessionals (both general and special) in general education classrooms compared with children having disabilities from a decade earlier. Implications are discussed.