The project aims to serve the national need of building capacity for a potential Noyce Track 4 research project focusing on how middle and high school general and special education teachers collaborate to identify components of effective secondary mathematics education to support teaching and learning. Middle and high schools often have difficulty hiring and retaining special education teachers and mathematics teachers. When teachers experience a lack of support, they are more likely to leave their positions. This negatively impacts students. Students with special needs, who are often in general or regular education environments for mathematics instruction, are especially impacted because they may have a lower likelihood of meeting graduation requirements or later accessing college courses in STEM fields. This project aims to understand how school districts in Utah conceptualize effective mathematics instruction. The project also aims to refine the process through which pairs of general and special education teachers of mathematics at the same school collaborate and participate in the project related research activities. This project at Utah State University includes partnerships with specialists in and teachers of secondary mathematics instruction in both general and special education at the Utah State Board of Education and Cache County School District. Project goals include (a) strengthening collaboration between faculty in the Mathematics and Statistics Department and