# Special Education Teachers, Elementary School

> Teach academic, social, and life skills to elementary 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.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/special-education-teachers-elementary-school
- SOC code: 25-2056.00
- Career family: Education
- Median annual pay: $65,120 (10th percentile $49,350, 90th percentile $103,010)
- Projected growth: Little or no change, -0.4%
- Openings a year: 16,400
- Typical entry education: Bachelor's degree
- Bright outlook: no
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections
- Pay and outlook are for the broader BLS group "Special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school".

## Interest profile (code SIA)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 21 |
| Investigative (I) | 49 |
| Artistic (A) | 44 |
| Social (S) | 100 |
| Enterprising (E) | 13 |
| Conventional (C) | 41 |

## What you'd do

- Getting Information (importance 94/100)
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships (importance 93/100)
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work (importance 89/100)
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates (importance 81/100)
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge (importance 79/100)
- Analyzing Data or Information (importance 76/100)
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards (importance 73/100)
- Processing Information (importance 71/100)
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events (importance 71/100)
- Developing Objectives and Strategies (importance 71/100)

## Skills

Active Listening, Instructing, Speaking, Learning Strategies, Reading Comprehension, Social Perceptiveness, Critical Thinking, Writing, Judgment and Decision Making, Monitoring

## Knowledge

Education and Training, English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Computers and Electronics, Mathematics, Administration and Management, Psychology, Public Safety and Security, Administrative, Therapy and Counseling

## Also called

Academic Interventionist, APE Teacher (Adapted Physical Education Teacher), Behavior Interventionist, Behavior Specialist, Blind Teacher, Braille Teacher, Cross-Categorical SPED Teacher (Cross-Categorical Special Education Teacher), Deaf and Hard of Hearing Teacher (DHH Teacher), Developmentally Delayed Special Education Teacher (DD Special Education Teacher), Early Childhood Special Educator

## Majors that lead here (NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk, 4-digit CIP)

- [Special Education and Teaching](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1310) (CIP 1310, 1,003 colleges)

## Colleges with strong outcomes (College Scorecard, 2025)

| College | Program | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yrs | Median debt |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| [Manhattan College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/manhattan-college-1583) | Special Education and Teaching | not reported | $83,932 | not reported |
| [Utah State University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/utah-state-university-3102) | Special Education and Teaching | $58,712 | $74,535 | $17,379 |
| [SUNY Cortland](https://www.collegesref.com/college/suny-cortland-2653) | Special Education and Teaching | not reported | $74,079 | $24,250 |
| [Seton Hall University-New Jersey](https://www.collegesref.com/college/seton-hall-university-new-jersey-2399) | Special Education and Teaching | not reported | $72,067 | not reported |
| [Molloy College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/molloy-college-1749) | Special Education and Teaching | $49,948 | $71,781 | $27,000 |
| [The College of New Jersey](https://www.collegesref.com/college/the-college-of-new-jersey-2736) | Special Education and Teaching | not reported | $66,767 | $26,000 |
| [CUNY Medgar Evers College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/cuny-medgar-evers-college-744) | Special Education and Teaching | $58,611 | $66,377 | not reported |
| [Saint Joseph's University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/saint-joseph-s-university-2308) | Special Education and Teaching | $54,709 | $64,827 | $26,261 |

## Related careers

- [Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/special-education-teachers-kindergarten): $65,120 median pay
- [Special Education Teachers, Secondary School](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/special-education-teachers-secondary-school): $74,260 median pay
- [Special Education Teachers, Middle School](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/special-education-teachers-middle-school): $66,810 median pay
- [Special Education Teachers, Preschool](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/special-education-teachers-preschool): $64,830 median pay
- [Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/elementary-school-teachers-except-special-education): $63,970 median pay
- [Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/adult-basic-education-adult-secondary-education-and-english-as-a-second-language): $61,540 median pay

## Sources

- [O*NET Database](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), version 31.0 (CC BY 4.0)
- [BLS Employment Projections](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm), version 2025-35, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), version 2025, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/resources.aspx?y=56), version 2020, data year 2020 (Public domain (U.S. government work))

O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.