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Historical Perspectives - Inception and the Early Years (1999 - 2002)

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At its meeting on January 14, 1999, the Council of Deans of the State University System Colleges of Education reviewed and expressed support for an innovative Call for Proposals to develop and implement a specialized online professional preparation program. When the Florida Board of Regents published this Call for Proposals, the Florida Department of Education, Division of Public Schools, Bureau of Instructional Support and Community Services (BISCS), Exceptional Student Education Program Development Section endorsed responding to the new Call for Proposals that would build a statewide collaborative program to address critical shortages of exceptional education teachers in the state. The Florida Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) Project, whose purpose was to assure qualified professionals in every classroom for students with disabilities, submitted a response to the Call for Proposals to fund and implement the Virtual Varying Exceptionalities Master's Degree Program among all Departments of Special Education in Florida's State University System. The Board of Regents awarded $134,554.00 to begin implementation of the program.

The initial proposal described the development and implementation of a specialized online professional preparation program for approximately 40 teachers of students with disabilities.  Specifically, a master's degree program in varying exceptionalities was to be offered on-line and/or through cable TV or satellite broadcast using existing equipment and facilities already in place throughout the state.

The State University System's (SUS) special education teacher preparation programs did not have the online capacity to meet the demands of all local districts for highly qualified personnel to work with students with special learning, behavioral, and social development needs.  This was particularly true in the state's thirty-one rural school districts where high percentages of out-of-field teachers are employed to meet the diverse learning needs of students with disabilities.  In addition, there were unfilled teaching positions in many schools because of the high demand for qualified exceptional student educators.

Further, examination of data on (1) credit hours and FTE in Exceptional Student Education courses, (2) admissions to Exceptional Student Education teacher preparation programs, and (3) Exceptional Student Education Degrees granted from the State University System's nine Departments of Special Education yielded disturbing trends.  Throughout the SUS, the annual FTE in Exceptional Student Education courses was dropping, admissions were off by 25% since 1994/95, and the number of Exceptional Student Education degrees granted had remained flat for the past two years.