Longitudinal data were used to track 2,695 special educators who were hired by the Michigan public schools between 1972 and 1981 and stopped teaching between 1973 and 1983, to determine their rate of reentry into Michigan public schools by 1985. An estimated 34 percent of the former educators reentered Michigan classrooms within 5 years of leaving, and an estimated 58 percent of those who did so then stayed for more than 7 years. The longer a former special educator had taught, the more likely he or she was to return. A teacher's sex or age was unrelated to the rate of reentry, though a race differential was found, with former educators who were black being more likely to return. The paper concludes that these patterns demonstrate that a return to teaching after a brief interruption may be a common career path and that the pool of former special educators is a viable and vital source of teacher supply. (Approximately 80 references) (JDD)