Recruiting and retaining special educators has been a major concern for the department of education, school administration, and parents across the United States. Attrition, defined as the exit of teachers from their positions, has been a contributing factor to the shortage of teachers. The theoretical foundation for this study was based on the conceptual model of attrition proposed by Billingsley, Brownell, and Smith, who explored teacher characteristics and personal factors, teacher qualifications, work environment factors, and affective reactions to work. The purpose of this study was to better understand the factors that contribute to the attrition rate of special educators. The research questions that guided this study investigated the influence of factors such as motivation, support, and job design on the attrition of special educators. A correlational research design was used to analyze the data from a convenience sample of 97 special education teachers who work with students with emotional behavior disorders. Descriptive statistics were reported to show the central tendencies and variation of survey responses. Correlations were calculated to explore the relationship between attrition and perceived influential factors. Positive relationships were found to exist between attrition and working conditions, compensation, paperwork, administrative support, and time to perform job tasks, suggesting that special educators will be more inclined to remain in their positions when these factors are favorable. Based on these results, it is recommended that school administrators implement policies to enhance the school climate and increase the level of administrative support. Employing these policies can provide a long-term positive social change by increasing special educator retention rates and promoting improved academic and social outcomes for students, schools, and communities. [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.]