K-12 educational systems are currently facing the issue of special education teachers leaving their positions prematurely and the struggle to retain highly qualified special education teachers. The attrition rate of special education teachers continues to rise due to the demands placed on this group of teachers, such as behavior and discipline issues, paperwork, legal policies, and poor administrative support. Current research highlights the issues of the lack of highly qualified special education teachers, special education teachers leaving the field prematurely and the accompanying attrition rates. Current literature and research also offer suggestions to help improve special education teachers' experiences in their role, to contribute to reducing the special education teacher attrition rate. This paper will examine policies that are currently in place in five southeastern states and universities for special education teacher preparation programs. An overview of existing research on the attrition rates of special education teachers in K-12 schools establishes the foundation for the overarching research question: What policies are currently in place to support teachers in five southern states? [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]