The paper addresses the issue of teacher stress and burnout in special education. Prevalence figures are cited to show the widespread nature of the condition and resulting high turnover rates. Sources of stress/burnout among regular educators as well as special educators are identified. It is explained that research has identified a number of factors as related to burnout: sex, marital status, teacher age and number of years teaching experience, level of education, grade level taught, teaching position (resource room versus special class), class size, type of exceptional child taught, and needs deficiencies cited by teachers. Possible links between burnout and job dissatisfaction are noted, and the need for comparative research with other fields is emphasized. (CL)