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Career overview · SOC 25-2058

Special Education Teachers, Secondary School

Teach academic, social, and life skills to secondary school students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities. Includes teachers who specialize and work with students who are blind or have visual impairments; students who are deaf or have hearing impairments; and students with intellectual disabilities.

Also called: Education Specialist · Emotional Disability Special Education Teacher (ED SPED Teacher) · Exceptional Student Education Teacher (ESE Teacher) · Handicapped Teacher · HS SPED Teacher (High School Special Education Teacher) · Learning Disabilities Special Education Teacher (LD Special Education Teacher)

Median pay (national)
$69,590
$47,930–$106,050 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
162,780
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
-1.6%
~11,100 openings/yr
Typical entry
Bachelor's degree

What the numbers say

Refit analysis ·Pay for special education teachers, secondary school shows a broad range: the top 10% earn $106,050 versus $47,930 at the bottom 10% — 2.2x. The median of $69,590 leaves roughly 52% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change -1.6% from 2024 to 2034 — a projected decline, against +3% across all occupations. Even so, BLS projects about 11,100 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 52 states with released data, California pays the most for this role (median $101,250, +45% vs the national median), while Idaho sits lowest at $47,950 — a 111% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Learning Strategies, Reading Comprehension, Speaking as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list. On the tools side, O*NET flags Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook as in-demand technologies for this role.

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Top skills employers ask for

Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.

  • Learning Strategies
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Speaking
  • Active Listening
  • Writing
  • Monitoring
  • Critical Thinking
  • Active Learning
  • Mathematics
  • Science

What they actually do

Core O*NET tasks for this role.

  • Establish and enforce rules for behavior and policies and procedures to maintain order among students.
  • Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, or other professionals to develop individual educational plans (IEPs) for students' educational, physical, and social development.
  • Employ special educational strategies and techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, and memory.
  • Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students.
  • Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
  • Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.
  • Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
  • Guide and counsel students with adjustments, academic problems, or special academic interests.
  • Monitor teachers and teacher assistants to ensure that they adhere to inclusive special education program requirements.
  • Collaborate with other teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of secondary school programs.

Tools & technology

  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe InDesign
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Facebook
  • Hand held spell checkers
  • Screen magnification software
  • Screen reader software
  • Text to speech software
  • Video editing software
  • Voice activated software
  • Web browser software
  • Adobe Acrobat
  • Email software
  • Microsoft Access

Knowledge areas

  • Education and Training
  • English Language
  • Psychology
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Therapy and Counseling
  • Administrative
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Mathematics