Persistent teacher shortages have led states to promulgate policies to support alternative pathways into teaching and hence supplement supply. Such alternatives may differ from traditional preparation in many ways, but each tends to tap non-traditional participants. Currently, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that special education teachers (SET) be fully certified and, if not, that they be enrolled in high-quality alternative preparation. The purpose of this study was to identify state policies supporting alternative route programs and to organize them into mutually exclusive conceptual models. We also determined whether and under what circumstances these models satisfy IDEA Part B assurances concerning SETs who are not fully certified. We identified 174 policies across 48 states and grouped them into eight models, two of which offer good potential for addressing the IDEA assurances. We discuss the implications of these findings for states and, with regard to design, alternative route providers.

持续的教师短缺导致各州颁布政策，以支持替代性的教学途径，从而补充供应。这样的选择可能在许多方面与传统的准备不同，但是每种选择都倾向于吸引非传统的参与者。当前，《残疾人教育法案》（IDEA）要求特殊教育老师（SET）拥有完整的认证，如果没有，则要求他们参加高质量的替代准备。这项研究的目的是确定支持替代路线计划的国家政策，并将其组织成互斥的概念模型。我们还确定了这些模型是否以及在何种情况下满足IDEA B部分有关未经完全认证的SET的保证。我们确定了48个州的174条政策，并将其分为八个模型，其中两个具有解决IDEA保证的良好潜力。我们讨论了这些发现对各州的意义，以及在设计方面，替代路线提供商的意义。