Special Education Teachers, Secondary School: Career Profile
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.
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What Do Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Do?
Typical responsibilities of special education teachers, secondary school include:
- Establish and enforce rules for behavior and policies and procedures to maintain order among students.
- Maintain accurate and complete student records, and prepare reports on children and activities, as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
- 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.
- Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
- Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification and positive reinforcement.
- Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
What Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Need to Know
Successful special education teachers, secondary school rely on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Most Important Skills
The competencies most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Core Knowledge
Other Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Job Titles
People in this occupation may also be known by titles such as:
- Blind Teacher
- Braille Teacher
- Cross-Categorical SPED Teacher (Cross-Categorical Special Education Teacher)
- Deaf Teacher
- Education Specialist
- Emotional Disability Special Education Teacher (ED SPED Teacher)
- Emotionally Impaired Teacher
- Exceptional Children's Teacher (EC Teacher)
Job Outlook
There are roughly 523,995 special education teachers, secondary school working in the United States today. Employment is projected to grow by +8.8% over the projection horizon.
Salary for Special Education Teachers, Secondary School
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $79,680 |
| Hourly median | $38.31 |
| 10th percentile | $44,915 |
| 25th percentile | $62,297 |
| 75th percentile | $97,062 |
| 90th percentile | $114,444 |
Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.
How Much Do Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Make in Different U.S. States?
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| California | $101,250 |
| Washington | $97,820 |
| District of Columbia | $96,880 |
| New York | $91,830 |
| Rhode Island | $89,460 |
| Massachusetts | $82,580 |
| New Jersey | $80,360 |
| Maryland | $79,370 |
| Oregon | $78,980 |
| Alaska | $78,850 |
| Connecticut | $77,430 |
| Illinois | $76,960 |
| Delaware | $75,550 |
| Pennsylvania | $75,330 |
| Ohio | $74,420 |
| New Mexico | $71,960 |
| Vermont | $71,620 |
| Michigan | $71,260 |
| Minnesota | $71,110 |
| Georgia | $71,050 |
| Virginia | $64,640 |
| Colorado | $64,530 |
| Nevada | $64,060 |
| New Hampshire | $62,860 |
| Texas | $62,710 |
| Nebraska | $62,610 |
| Wyoming | $62,500 |
| Arizona | $61,890 |
| South Carolina | $61,600 |
| North Dakota | $61,550 |
| Wisconsin | $61,500 |
| Montana | $61,410 |
| Florida | $60,570 |
| Maine | $60,470 |
| Alabama | $60,100 |
| Utah | $60,080 |
| Indiana | $59,990 |
| Kansas | $59,640 |
| Iowa | $58,780 |
| Hawaii | $58,660 |
| Tennessee | $58,580 |
| Kentucky | $58,400 |
| Louisiana | $58,180 |
| Puerto Rico | $55,850 |
| West Virginia | $55,600 |
| North Carolina | $55,000 |
| Arkansas | $53,350 |
| Missouri | $51,370 |
| Oklahoma | $50,150 |
| Mississippi | $50,030 |
| South Dakota | $49,990 |
| Idaho | $47,950 |
Where Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Earn the Most
Earnings for special education teachers, secondary school shift depending on where you work. The following regions pay the most:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Far Western US | $96,058 | 10.5% | 0.68 |
| Middle Atlantic | $84,066 | 23.6% | 1.62 |
| New England | $76,792 | 5.8% | 1.30 |
| Great Lakes | $72,263 | 16.5% | 1.37 |
| Southwest | $62,297 | 9.7% | 0.84 |
| Plains States | $62,268 | 7.8% | 1.22 |
| Rocky Mountains | $61,906 | 3.0% | 0.81 |
| Southeast | $60,567 | 21.9% | 0.99 |
Where the Jobs Cluster
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | CA | $108,790 | 1,470 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | CA | $103,800 | 1,680 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | CA | $103,150 | 4,070 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $102,250 | 1,320 |
| Modesto, CA | CA | $102,240 | 170 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | CA | $100,640 | 780 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | NY | $99,410 | 16,090 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $98,890 | 1,240 |
Top Industries Employing Special Education Teachers, Secondary School
The bulk of special education teachers, secondary school are concentrated in the following sectors:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Educational Services | 159,940 | n/a |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 1,310 | n/a |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 180 | n/a |
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School work in the following industries:
Tools and Technology
- Document management software: Adobe Acrobat (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Illustrator (hot technology)
- Desktop publishing software: Adobe InDesign (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Photoshop (hot technology)
- Web page creation and editing software: Facebook (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Microsoft Access (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
- Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
- Document management software: Microsoft SharePoint (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
What the Workplace Is Like
Daily working conditions for special education teachers, secondary school reflects the following characteristics:
- Contact With Others
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
- Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities
How to Become Special Education Teachers, Secondary School
Most special education teachers, secondary school positions require a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry-level education. This career aligns with Considerable Preparation Needed (Job Zone 4), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.
Similar Occupations
Similar Occupations
- Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary (Supplemental)
- Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors (Supplemental)
- Education Teachers, Postsecondary (Supplemental)
- Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education (Supplemental)
- Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education (Primary-Long)
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education (Primary-Long)
- Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education (Supplemental)
- Career/Technical Education Teachers, Middle School (Supplemental)
Degree Programs
Aspiring special education teachers, secondary school typically earn programs in:
Education
13 programs across 1 majors
References
This profile draws on the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 25-2058.00 (Special Education Teachers, Secondary School).
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