>> tonight on pbs news weekend. how the shortage of special education teachers across the country is affecting students with disabilities and educators trained to work with them. the changing face of motherhood and professional sports and the push for paid maternity leave in the united states. >> historically, we've had a lot of men at the table who haven't seen or heardr taken issue with the issues women face across the board. the modern workforce includes women. >> and a 14-year-old science phenom in his quest to develop a

soap that fights skin cancer. ♪ >> major funding for pbs news weekend has been provided by. >> qnod is a proud supporter of public television. on a voyage with q nod, the world awaits. a world of flavor, diverse destinations, and immersive experiences. a world of leisure. an british style. all with the white star service. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions.

and friends of the newshour. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. good evening, i'm john yang. today is holocaust room burns day. a time to commemorate the killing of 6 million jews and many other groups by the nazis. in israel, there's extra significance because of the trauma of the bloody october 7 hamas attack. and the war the attack triggered, there were more israeli airstrikes on gaza less than a day after the un's highest court ordered israel to do all it can to prevent

civilian deaths. at least three people were killed in an airstrike israel said targeted a hamas commander. a relative said the strike killed the mother and her children. they were sleeping under the mercy of god. suddenly the rocket fell on them. that is all i know. it was the body of my sister and her children. tensns remain high in the red sea. the u.s. military does -- destroyed anotherhouthi rebel ship ready to launch into the sea. then one struck a british tanker setting it on fire. the flames were finally extinguished today. six additional countries joined the u.s., australia, and canada in pausing funding for the principal aid agency of gaza. 12 employees under fire after israel presented agency officials with evidence they took part in the october 7 attack. national security advisor jake

sullivan wrapped up two days of meetings with china's foreign minister aimed at lowering tensions. officials said sullivan talks paved the way for it sometime in the spring. among the topics, they discussed the future of taiwan and whether china could use i influence with iran to ease middle east tensions. boeing 737 max 9 planes are flying again after the faa grounded nearly 200 of them for inspections. the only two u.s. carriers operating the plane, alaska and united air lines, returned to service for the first flight since three weeks ago when a panel blew out of the side of one of alaska's planes at 16,000 feet. the faa is investigating boeing manufacturing practices. the world's biggest cruise ship is set to sail tonight from the port of miami for the caribbean on its maiden voyage. the royal caribbean vessel the icon of the seas is about as long as the empire state

building is tall. 1200 feet from bow to stern. covers almost four city blocks, has 20 c decks with eight neighboring's within them and can carry up to 7600 passengers and more than 2300 crew. the cruise industry is still trying to recover from being shut down by the covid-19 pandemic that cost tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in revenue. still to come. how professional athletes are helping push for paid maternity leave. a 14-year-old invention that could help save our skin. >> this is pbs news weekend from w eta studios in washington. home of the pbs newshour. weeknights on pbs. >> 7.5 million american students , roughly 15% of them, had disabilities that alified them for special instruction, known

as individual education plans. teachers trained in this critical area are in short supply. at the beginning of the current school year, 70% of schools surveyed had openis for special education teachers. we asked special education teachers and administrators to tell us how the shortage is affecting them. >> you are spread thin, you are working with a student on a lesson to meet their academic goals, but also thinking about the student behind you working on feeding or getting medication, thinking how can i support that student when i'm working with another student? i name is mary lynn robinson, special education teacher for students who have complex support needs in boston, massachusetts. >> i'm sarah davis, special education teacher in minnesota. i teach emotional and behavioral disorders. they've gone so far as to reach out to a temp agency to bring

para-educators, which helps having bodies in the building. but it is not the same as having a teacher who is trained and has specialized in behaviors and mental health. >> i am a retired schoolteacher. >> i'm assistant superintendent for people services for public schools in lafayette, massachusetts. >> it breaks your heart everything will day as a teacher to know you still needed more time with a student. it doesn't break your heart, but i can cry every single day worrying about the kids and that they need more time. >> in my office, part of my job. but usually when someone is upset about something, we can work together and figure out a solution that is going to benefit people and we can move forward. this year, i don't have a solution because i don't have people.

>> the staffing shortage really makes me question if i want to spendhe rest of my career in this setting. >> it makes me feel sad knowing there is such a shortage of people who want to go into this field and working with students like my own. >> i really love working with those kids who are struggling, building that relationship, and helping them see this is a positive thing and i can help you through this. and those successes, even though they feel very small, are huge for those students. >> we have to do a better job celebrating these peoplend thanking them and supporting them. i don't want them to leave. let's get past this bump. there is always a hope it's got to get better next year. it has to get better. >> the voice of special education teachers and administrators. kimber wilkerson is a professor of special education wisconsin madison. we heard in that tape the talk

of burnout factor. they are frazzled from all they have to do. how big a factor is it in the shortage? >> the job of a special educator is a meaningful job that provides a lot of satisfaction. the stresses and pressures on teachers in schools are real. it contributes to people leaving their jobs faster than they may have in the past. >> in addition to that burnout, what are the other factors behind the shortage? >> overall in the last 10 years or so, there has been an increase in the shortage of educators. special education has always been hit the hardest of all the education professions since it became a thing in the 1970's. over the last 10 years or so, there has been an erosion in the public's view of teaching as a desirable profession. maybe some erosion of benefits and autonomy for teachers experienced. so they combined to create a

public narrative that makes teaching and special education less desirable than in the past. >> the federal law guarantees students with disabilities on appropriate public education. how is the shortage affecting that? >> the shortage of special educators has an impact on the quality of services students with disabilities receive. when special educators are spread more thin, may be in a school where there used to be three special educators for the middle school band, and now we are down and educator, so you have two or one now serving the population, the caseload will be higher. the amount of individual attention they will be able to give to specific students is decreased. >> what are some of the things schools are doing to bridge the gap? >> goals in the states have been forced to be as creative as possible. in some cases, making it easier to been -- be a special

educator. i don't think those are the best solutions. it tends to bring in people who are less qualified. that less quality of reparation kes them burnout faster and provide poor quality services to kids. there are cative solutions in terms of providing supports to career changers or people who work in schools already. some are called grow your own programs where they might take special education paraprofessionals and provide the education they need to be certified. these individuals have already been working with students with disabilities and have commitment to that school community. >> what can be done to resolve the problem? >> there are efforts in different states to increase pay for teachers to make the work worth the effort. there are also initiatives aimed at providing more professional development and supports to decrease caseloads.

i think the awareness of the problem and the creative solutions, the universities, school districts, and states are employing them, and hopefully they will pay off in the coming years. >> i believe you were a special educator and your daughter is a special educator. talk about why this role is so importt. why having special educators is so important. >> from my own perspective, it was a really impactful and meaningful career choice where i can see my efforts paying off in front of my eyes and investing in students who others have written off. my daughter decided to go into special education. she is an early career educator in her fourth year you'd she feels pressures and feels stretched thin. sometimes she leans on me for ideas and support. i wish more districts could divide more support to those early educators to prevent them from getting burnt out and

providing more support might be an opportunity for those veteran or experience educators to have additional impacts in their own buildings. >> i'm curious what advice you had for your daughter or any young person thking of getting into this? >> when i try to stress the most is were a member why you got into it. usuay we go into special education, a desire to invest in young people and try to help them achieve outcomes others may have decided they will not be able to achieve. and to be an advocate for families. >> kimber wilkinson, thanyou very much. aryna sabalenka of belarus winning her second straight women's singles championship at

the australian open tennis tournament. the first grand slam event of the year is an example of the growing trend in women's professional sports reviewed eight players in the tournament had returned after pausing their careers to have children. it is a scenario playing out on the courts, fields, and tracks around the world. >> naomi osaka drew a spotlight on the issue of paid family and medical leave area she launched an ad campaign with an organic infant formula company that advocates for a national paid parental leave policy in the u.s. x i have the choice and financial support to return to work on my own terms. most parents in this country do not have that choice. >> the initial fear in the beginning of pregnancy is something i had to push past because i was worried people like sponsors would drop me. >> u.s. is one of only a handful of countries who doesn't offer paid parental leave for new mothers.

one in four women return to work two weeks after giving birth. she heads up and mother, a nonprofit focused on removing systemic barriers to allow mothers to succeed in sports. she's also an olympic medalist, six-time usa outdoor track champion, and mother of three. thank you for being with us. is it true in your experience and observation the perception that motherhood is a career killer is still true? >> from the work we have done, we have helped break down these barriers. what makes it true is the systemic barriers that exist and continue to exist that end up being the career killer. not the fact you are not able to continue careers. >> you have setting your experience the companies you are working with would treat pregnancy as an injury as opposed to a natural part of somebody's life. that seems true not just in sports, but many other industries.

how do you tackle that sort of systemic bias that still exists? >> it comes to education. when you understand pregnancy is a natural part of life for people, and it is not an injury. what becomes an injury is how we treat people who are pregnant and now postpartum after the fact where we don't support them from a physical and emotional standpoint, and they face things within their workplace that equate to financial loss. all of that ends up hurting and injuring the mother. >> those things are true not just for professional athletes, but anybody getting a paycheck andorking outside the home. in the introduction, we played lip talking about her concerns her sponsors might drop her following her pregnancy announcement. i know you went for something similar. you disclosed your pregnancy and like you said, we will pause your contract. you eventually left. nike ended up changing their

maternity policy after you and allison felix came out publicly to talk about all of this. after that, you continued with your career and founded and mother. have things in your line of work changed since you began this journey? >> the changes i have seen have been great due to the work we are doing. we implemented the gold standard for maternal contracts within sponsorships for athletes to see what the gold standard looks like. and not equate pregnancy to injury from a financial, emotional, expensive background. i had my daughter, and this story was blown off nine years ago. had we not taken off in a visible way, i wonder how this could have changed naomi's story. the big thing i want to raise issue two is ranked.

it is important when we see who gets to keep their wages that we don't just look at the most recognized or highest paid. whether it be ceos or highest-paid athletes, it needs to exist within our policies that support pregnant and postpartum people. >> right now in congress, a group of house lawmakers has come out with a proposal on some level of paid family leave. there are also efforts in the senate. why do you think the u.s. lags behind so much of the rest of the developed world and why hasn't more attention and focus been given to passing some sort of paid family leave policy? >> it has to do with leadership, who has been at the table. historically, we've had a lot of men at the table who have not taken issue with the issues women face across the board. when it comes to financial

inequities, health disparities, data and research. there has been a gap of how women have been part of the equation. now we are at a very amazing turning point where we have a huge opportunity from a media and social aspect with more opportunities for our voices to be heard. ultimately it cannot be denied what our needs are. and we see from an economic standpoint how important it is to expand the modern workforce. the modern workforce includes women. a vast majority of women are taking the helm of leadership to make the most changes. >> founder of and mother, olympic medalist, track champion, thank you for your time.

>> most 14-year-old boys spend their time playing video games or skateboarding. but he spent the last year developing a bar of soap that could treat skin cancer. winning entry at the annual 3m young scientists challenges, considered one of the top competitions for fifth through eighth graders. he's taking a break from his work to join us in the studio. tell us about this bar of soap. >> the skin cancer treating so is charged with difrent cancer fighting chemicals to treat different forms of skin cancer. it uses this drug and wraps it around this lipid-based particle. even though the suds will be washed away, there will be medicinal components. this is aovel approach to fighting skin cancer. >> how did you come up with the

idea of a bar of soap as the delivery product? >> my main goal was not only to fight against skin cancer, but find a more accessible approach to it. you really need to find a different way towards the traditional form of treating skin cancer, which is surgery, radiation therapy, or something like that. it led me to think of topical application, cream, bar of soap. they are more affordable and accessible. that really got me to the bar of soap as the final product. >> you wanted to be affordable and accessible. this is not just a one-off project. you want to develop this. >> i do. by 2028, i hope to turn it into a nonprofit organization so i can provide equitable and skin cancer treatment to as many people as possible. >> have you always been interested in science? >> since before i can remember, i've had a huge love for knowing wings about this world and being

curious and asking questions. i think that curiosity did the into my love for science and creating new things. i think that really started to slowly progress into this bar of soap as a passion project. >> are there particular fields of science more interesting to you than others? >> i love allergy. 10 was younger, i tried different experiences with -- experiments with household items. it is crazy using lab validated chemicals now. i allergy, chemistry, passionate about those. >> in this combination -- competition, a paired you with a project engineer named deborah isabel. was it your first time working at that level? >> it was my first time working with someone who had this much experience in something like project management, science. it was great to pick minds. she was great not only with helping me on the science point of it.

helping me with all of her wonderful connections. if i can speak with a biochemist or biologist, it is great that not only was she super helpful, but she had a wonderful connection with everyone. >> what is the best thing to learn from her? >> i was inspired either way she always looked at problems. the way she broke everything down to its raw components. if i asked a question she would not think of it of that one question, she would break it out to multiple questions. it is a great outlook on life and how to break things down. >> i know there was a $25,000 reward that went with this prize. what are you going to use it for? >> a lot of it will go towards the project itself. there are certifications, clinical trials, all of those. i will invest a portion of the money for that.

not just to help with my further education, whether it college or something like that, as well just to further my education. >> you are in high school now? >> i'm a freshman. >> do you find yourself in science class miles ahead of your classmates? >> it is hard to notice when you are passionate about what you are learning. i try to stay invested as much as i can. the possibilities with science are endless. it will always be interesting to learn as much as you can and that keeps me going. >> joking about4-year-olds playing video games and skateboarding, but what do you like to do for fun? >> this bar of soap is not just all about me. i like to play chess, i run track and field for my school. i am a part of u.n. science olympiad. a lot of things to do that i find fun. i run really short distance, 55 meter, 100 meter. >> think you very much.

>> thank you for having me. now on the newshour's instagram page, a science explain on what happens to plastic and how the sun plays a role breaking it down into smaller molecules. all that and more on our official newshour account on instagram. that is pbs news weekend. on sunday, on a law that threatens fines, life imprisonment, even death just for being gay. for all of my colleagues, thank you for joining us. see you tomorrow. >> major funding for pbs news weekend has been provided by. >> consumer cellular. how y i help you? >> this is a pocket dial.

somebody's pocket thought i would let you know with consumer cellular you get nationwide coverage with no contract area that is kind of our thing. have a nice day. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contribution to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

announcer: this program is made possible in part by: the california community foundation, building los angeles together; and the johnson family legacy scholarships, paying it forward since 2017. ♪♪♪ male: congress passes the most sweeping civil rights bill ever to be written into the law. and thus reaffirms the conception of equality for all men that began with lincoln in the civil war 100 years ago. the negro won his freedom then; he wins his dignity now. pablo miralles: on july 2, 1964, president lyndon baines johnson