Special Education Teachers, Secondary School

Career Overview

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 Known As

• HS SPED Teacher (High School Special Education Teacher)
• Learning Support Teacher
• SPED Resource Teacher (Special Education Resource Teacher)
• SPED Teacher (Special Education Teacher)

Alternate Job Titles

• 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)
• Exceptional Student Education Teacher (ESE Teacher)
• Handicapped Teacher
• Hearing Impaired Teacher
• High School Learning Support Teacher
• HS SPED Teacher (High School Special Education Teacher)
• Inclusion Coordinator
• Inclusion Special Educator

What You'll Do

In this role, your typical responsibilities 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.

Emerging Responsibilities

As this field evolves, you may also:

• Monitor students using personal electronics or school-issued technology.

Knowledge You'll Use

You'll need solid knowledge in these areas:

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

Essential Skills

Success in this career requires strong skills in:

1. Learning Strategies
2. Instructing
3. Reading Comprehension
4. Speaking
5. Active Listening
6. Writing
7. Monitoring
8. Social Perceptiveness
9. Coordination
10. Service Orientation

Key Abilities

This career requires key abilities in:

• Speech Clarity
• Oral Expression
• Problem Sensitivity
• Deductive Reasoning
• Speech Recognition
• Written Comprehension
• Inductive Reasoning
• Oral Comprehension
• Written Expression
• Near Vision

Work Style

People who excel in this career typically demonstrate:

• Empathy
• Cooperation
• Dependability
• Optimism
• Self-Control

What Matters in This Career

This career tends to satisfy these work values:

• Relationships
• Achievement
• Independence
• Working Conditions
• Recognition

Education & Preparation

Typical Education: Bachelor's Degree

Related Work Experience Needed: Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year

On-the-Job Training: Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month

Education Details: Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Experience Required: A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Technology You'll Use

Popular Technologies & Software

• Adobe Acrobat
• Adobe Illustrator
• Adobe InDesign
• Adobe Photoshop
• Facebook
• Microsoft Access
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Office software
• Microsoft Outlook
• Microsoft PowerPoint

Tools & Equipment

• Alternative computer keyboards
• Assistive amplification systems
• Audio tape recorders or players
• Braille slates
• Braille styluses
• Bunsen burners
• Communication boards
• Computer laser printers
• Desktop computers
• Digital video cameras
• Dissection scalpels
• Document cameras
• Emergency first aid kits
• Enteral feeding equipment
• Eye controlled computer mouse equipment

Work Environment

• Contact With Others
• E-Mail
• 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

Salary & Job Market

Salary Percentile	Annual Wage
Entry-Level (10th percentile)	$47,930
Median	$69,590
Top Earners (90th percentile)	$106,050

Workers Employed Nationally: 162,780

Related Careers

If you're interested in this career, you might also consider:

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Occupational data sourced from the O*NET OnLine database, developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), 2024.