Special Education Teachers, Secondary School: Salary, Job Outlook & How to Become One (2026 Parent Guide)
Education, Training, and Library · SOC 25-2058 · O*NET 25-2058.00
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.
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School fall under the Education, Training, and Library category in the U.S. occupational classification. Special Education Teachers, Secondary School earn a median salary of $74,260 per year, ranking in the top 35% of all U.S. occupations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects -0.2% job growth through 2035, projected to lose jobs through 2035. Entry into this field typically requires a bachelor's degree, with specific licensing or certification depending on the state and employer. For parents whose teenager is exploring this path, the most actionable step is mapping the education requirements to specific colleges and majors before junior year — not waiting until application season.
What do special education teachers, secondary school earn?
The median annual wage for special education teachers, secondary school is $74,260. That puts special education teachers, secondary school at #288 on the BLS ranked list of all U.S. occupations by median pay. This salary is above the U.S. median for individual workers and reflects a stable, credentialed occupation. Actual pay varies meaningfully by state, employer type, and years of experience — entry-level salaries are typically 30–40% below the median, while top-decile earners often exceed it by 50% or more.
| 10th percentile (entry-level) | $49,800 |
| 25th percentile | $60,180 |
| 50th percentile (median) | $74,260 |
| 75th percentile | $93,730 |
| 90th percentile (top earners) | $109,100 |
Is special education teachers, secondary school a growing career?
The 10-year outlook for special education teachers, secondary school is -0.2%, projected to lose jobs through 2035. Employment is projected to move from approximately 164K positions in 2024 to 164K in 2034, a net change of <1K. A declining outlook does not mean the field is disappearing; it means automation, demographics, or substitution effects are shrinking the pool of openings. Students entering a declining field should plan for adjacent skills that transfer to growing roles.
What do special education teachers, secondary school do every day?
According to O*NET task surveys of working special education teachers, secondary school, these are the core responsibilities most professionals perform. This is what your teen would actually be doing in this role.
- 1.Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification and positive reinforcement.
- 2.Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
- 3.Develop and implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of handicapping conditions.
- 4.Administer standardized ability and achievement tests, and interpret results to determine students' strengths and needs.
- 5.Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and to determine priorities for their children and their resource needs.
- 6.Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
- 7.Modify the general education curriculum for students with disabilities, based upon a variety of instructional techniques and technologies.
- 8.Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.
Top skills for special education teachers, secondary school
O*NET ranks these as the most important skills for this occupation, on a 1–5 importance scale derived from worker surveys.
What education does my child need to become special education teachers, secondary school?
The standard path into special education teachers, secondary school begins with a bachelor's degree in a related field, followed by entry-level experience or internships during college. For parents helping a teen prepare, the highest-leverage step before junior year is identifying colleges and programs that feed reliably into this occupation — Solyo's college search lets parents filter by major and admissions data side by side.
Based on O*NET surveys of incumbents: what people in this job actually have, not what employers list as required.
How to become special education teachers, secondary school: step by step
The typical education and licensing pathway from high school into this profession. Total time to entry is about 4-6 years. Steps marked optional are common for advancement but not required to start.
- 1
Bachelor's Degree in Education or Subject Area
~4 yearsComplete a bachelor's degree in Education or in your subject area (Math, English, Science, etc.) with education certification program. Includes supervised student teaching experience.
- •Education coursework (child development, pedagogy, classroom management)
- •Content area specialization (Elementary Education or subject-specific)
- •Student teaching practicum (semester-long)
- •Pass required content area exams
- •Maintain GPA requirements (typically 2.75+)
- 2
Teacher Certification/Licensing
Obtain state teaching license by passing required exams and meeting state-specific requirements. Each state has different certification requirements.
- •Pass state-specific teaching exam
- •Pass subject area content exam
- •Background check and fingerprinting
- •TB test
- •First Aid/CPR certification
State teaching certification exam (e.g., Praxis, CSET, TExES)Subject-specific content exams - 3
Alternative Certification Pathway
~1 yearFor career changers who already have a bachelor's degree. Complete an alternative certification program (1-2 years) while teaching under provisional license.
- •Already hold bachelor's degree in any subject
- •Complete alternative certification program
- •Student teaching or residency
- •Pass state certification exams
- 4
Optional Master's in Education
Optional~2 yearsOptional Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) or Master of Education (M.Ed.). Many states require or incentivize master's degrees for permanent certification or salary increases.
Related careers your child might also consider
- Social Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary, All Other$72,990 median
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$72,040 median
- Librarians and Media Collections Specialists$68,270 median
- Special Education Teachers, Middle School$66,810 median
- Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School$66,270 median
- Teachers and Instructors, All Other$66,140 median
How parents help teens explore careers like this
Solyo helps parents map a teen's interests to specific careers, then back to the colleges and majors that lead there. Salary, outlook, and education data come from BLS and O*NET — the same sources high school counselors use — but presented for the parent's planning lens, not the student's exploration view.
Common questions parents ask about special education teachers, secondary school
What is the median salary for special education teachers, secondary school?
The median annual salary for special education teachers, secondary school is $74,260 according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Is special education teachers, secondary school a growing career?
BLS projects -0.2% growth for special education teachers, secondary school from 2025 through 2035, which is declining growth projected to lose jobs through 2035.
What education does my child need to become special education teachers, secondary school?
The typical entry path requires a bachelor's degree, plus any state licensure or certification specific to the role. Programs that align well with this career can be filtered inside Solyo's college search.
What careers are similar to special education teachers, secondary school?
Related occupations within the Education, Training, and Library category share education paths and skill profiles, so they're a useful starting set when a teen is uncertain. The "Related careers" section below lists nearby options.
Salary data sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics program. Skills, tasks, and education distribution from the O*NET database. Job outlook from the BLS Employment Projections 2025–2035 release.