Special Education Teachers, Secondary School

Education and TrainingO*NET 25-2058.00United States

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.

COMING SOON See related ASU learning

Median annual earnings: $74,131
Projected change: +2.1%
Typical education: Bachelor's degree
Employment: 160.6K jobs

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Build the skills

ASU learning related to this career

These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.

The work

What special education teachers, secondary school do

Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.

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.
Teach personal development skills, such as goal setting, independence, and self-advocacy.
Develop and implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of handicapping conditions.
Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
Modify the general education curriculum for students with disabilities, based upon a variety of instructional techniques and technologies.
Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress.
Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.
Guide and counsel students with adjustments, academic problems, or special academic interests.
Coordinate placement of students with special needs into mainstream classes.
Monitor teachers and teacher assistants to ensure that they adhere to inclusive special education program requirements.
Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.
Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and to determine priorities for their children and their resource needs.
Provide assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects, such as English, mathematics, or social studies.
Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress.
Collaborate with other teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of secondary school programs.
Instruct students in daily living skills required for independent maintenance and self-sufficiency, such as hygiene, safety, and food preparation.
Administer standardized ability and achievement tests, and interpret results to determine students' strengths and needs.
Prepare for assigned classes, and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.
Meet with parents and guardians to provide guidance in using community resources and to teach skills for dealing with students' impairments.
Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence.
Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers, or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities.

Pay and outlook

What the job pays and where it is heading

Annual earnings range

Reported earnings by percentile, United States

10th percentile: $49,611
25th percentile: $59,982
50th percentile: $74,131
75th percentile: $93,751
90th percentile: $109,499

The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $74,131 and half earn less.

Employment outlook

2025 to 2035 projection

+2.1%average or slower

2025160,595 jobs

2035 projected164,038 jobs

3,443 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.

Preparation

Education levels

What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.

Bachelor's degree: 57.3%
Master's or Professional degree: 42.4%
Associate degree: 0.2%

Skills

Skills employers ask for

Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.

Special Education
Individualized Education Programs (IEP)
Lesson Planning
Classroom Management
Disabilities
Instructional Strategies
Curriculum Development
Differentiated Instruction
Learning Styles
Behavior Management
Student Engagement
Educational Assessment
Progress Monitoring
Parent Communication
Data Collection
Effective Communication
Student Services
Individualized Instruction
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Small Group Instruction

How the work gets done

Core competencies

Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.

Learning Strategies: Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Instructing: Teaching others how to do something.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Time Management: Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Negotiation: Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Systems Evaluation: Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Systems Analysis: Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Persuasion: Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Management of Personnel Resources: Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.

In the market

Job titles and employers

Recent job postings in United States

Common job titles

01High School Special Education Teachers1,224 postings
02High School Teachers376 postings
03Middle/High School Teachers93 postings
04High School Art Teachers64 postings
05Special Education Life Skills Teachers39 postings
06Long Term Substitute Special Education Teachers29 postings
07Special Education Teachers29 postings
08Middle School Special Education Teachers24 postings
09High School Substitute Teachers21 postings
10Self-Contained Special Education Teachers19 postings
11High School English Teachers15 postings
12Secondary Teachers15 postings
13High School Advisors14 postings
14Mild/Moderate Special Education Teachers13 postings
15High School Mathematics Teachers11 postings
16Secondary Special Education Teachers11 postings
17Preschool Special Needs Teachers10 postings
18High School Science Teachers9 postings
19Learning Behavior Specialists8 postings
20Classroom Teachers7 postings

Top employers

01Soliant Health127 postings
02Edjoin.Org99 postings
03Jefferson County Public Schools31 postings
04ProCare Therapy31 postings
05Uncommon Schools29 postings
06High School26 postings
07Amergis20 postings
08Stride K1220 postings
09Lifelong Learning Administration Corporation17 postings
10Springfield Public Schools, MA13 postings
11Leander Independent School District12 postings
12Blazerjobs11 postings
13Cross Country Education11 postings
14Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District11 postings
15Connections Education10 postings
16Specialized Education Services, Inc. (Sesi)10 postings
17Achievement First9 postings
18Michigan Association Of School Boards9 postings
19Poudre School District9 postings
20St Augustine Preparatory Academy9 postings

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