At the beginning of this school year, there was an open house at the public school where

Becky Ashcraft's 12-year-old daughter is a student.

But when Becky walked into her daughter's classroom to meet the teacher, there wasn't

one.

Just a teacher's aid.

And she explained that, well, we don't really have anybody for a teacher as of right now.

No teacher in a school specifically for kids like Becky's daughter, kids with disabilities.

We're not using the girl's name to protect her privacy.

Becky had walked into a problem that exists in many places around the country right now.

The acute shortage of special education teachers.

Schools have been dealing with teacher shortages for years.

The biggest shortage is in teachers who work with children with different abilities.

But according to federal data, almost every state is struggling to hire special education

teachers.

A huge shortage of openings in special education.

And when schools can't find a licensed teacher, they hire people who are willing to do the

job but lack the training, which means students who need the most help like Becky Ashcraft's

daughter are getting less of it.

Her daughter doesn't speak, so not having a teacher made it really difficult to know

what her child was even doing at school.

I wonder what actually kind of education she was receiving.

You know, I don't think it was just sending home some stack of worksheets that she really

...