SOC 25-2058.00

    Special Education Teachers, Secondary School

    Teach academic, social, and life skills to secondary school students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities.

    Median pay
    $74,260
    Growth
    -0.2%
    Little or no change
    Openings a year
    10,400
    Typical education
    Bachelor's degree

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

    See the pathway

    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $49,800
    Median
    $74,260
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $109,100
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    163,930 people work in this occupation.

    In short

    Secondary school special education teachers instruct high school students with physical, emotional, or learning disabilities. This career employs 163,930 people and offers a median annual pay of $74,260, with opportunities to teach academic, social, and practical life skills.

    Written with AI from the BLS, O*NET and CareerOneStop data on this page. Every figure is checked against that data before it is published.

    What special education teachers, secondary school do

    Job Zone 4: Considerable preparation

    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.

    Most need a bachelor's degree and several years of related experience.

    What the work is like

    These educators teach academic lessons and essential life skills to students with various disabilities, including those with intellectual, visual, or hearing impairments. Daily activities center heavily on instructing, training, and communicating with supervisors, colleagues, and parents. Teachers must monitor student progress, document educational information, and use computers to plan and organize their lessons.

    Success in this role requires strong skills in active listening, speaking, reading comprehension, and social perceptiveness. Instructors must understand education, training, psychology, and therapy to support their students effectively. Because this is a social career, teachers rely on work styles like empathy, cooperation, self-control, and adaptability to handle daily classroom challenges and solve problems creatively.

    How to get there

    Entering this field typically requires a bachelor's degree. Most professionals need several years of experience in a related educational setting before taking on a lead classroom role. College students preparing for this career generally major in special education and teaching.

    Depending on where they plan to work, teachers may need to obtain specific credentials. Some states list a license for this work, and candidates can also pursue a DoDEA Certification through the Department of Defense Education Activity. This career path is closely related to other special education roles at the preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school levels.

    Pay and outlook explained

    The median annual pay for these secondary school teachers is $74,260. Earnings can vary based on experience and location, with the lowest 10% earning less than $49,800 and the highest 10% earning more than $109,100.

    Between the years 2025 and 2035, employment is projected to experience little or no change, with a slight decline of -0.2%. Despite this flat growth, school districts are expected to fill 10,400 job openings each year.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R)
    23 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    47 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    46 / 100
    Social (S) · strongest
    100 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    16 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    42 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code SIA. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    92
    Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    89
    Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
    89
    Working with Computers
    87
    Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
    87
    Documenting/Recording Information
    85
    Getting Information
    83
    Training and Teaching Others
    80
    Thinking Creatively
    80
    Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    79
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Instructing
    • Learning Strategies
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Speaking
    • Active Listening
    • Coordination
    • Monitoring
    • Service Orientation
    • Social Perceptiveness
    • Writing

    Knowledge

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

    Abilities

    • Oral Expression
    • Problem Sensitivity
    • Speech Clarity
    • Deductive Reasoning
    • Inductive Reasoning
    • Oral Comprehension
    • Speech Recognition
    • Written Comprehension
    • Written Expression
    • Information Ordering

    Work styles

    • Empathy
    • Cooperation
    • Dependability
    • Optimism
    • Self-Control
    • Social Orientation
    • Sincerity
    • Integrity
    • Adaptability
    • Stress Tolerance

    Also called

    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

    Career pathway

    From your interests to special education teachers, secondary school

    Interests that fit the work, the career, majors that lead there and colleges whose graduates in those majors earn the most. Hover or focus a step to follow one path.

    1. Interests

    2. This career

      • Special Education Teachers, Secondary School$74,260 median pay

    3. Majors

    4. Colleges

    College Scorecard program outcomes

    Colleges with strong outcomes

    Programs that lead to this career, ranked by what their graduates earn four years after finishing. Earnings are for graduates who received federal aid.

    1. 1
      Manhattan College

      Riverdale, NY · Special Education and Teaching · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      Not reported
      4 yrs after
      $83,932
      Median debt
      Not reported
    2. 2Utah State University logo
      Utah State University

      Logan, UT · Special Education and Teaching · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $58,712
      4 yrs after
      $74,535
      Median debt
      $17,379
    3. 3SUNY Cortland logo
      SUNY Cortland

      Cortland, NY · Special Education and Teaching · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      Not reported
      4 yrs after
      $74,079
      Median debt
      $24,250
    4. 4Seton Hall University-New Jersey logo
      Seton Hall University-New Jersey

      South Orange, NJ · Special Education and Teaching · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      Not reported
      4 yrs after
      $72,067
      Median debt
      Not reported
    5. 5Molloy College logo
      Molloy College

      Rockville Centre, NY · Special Education and Teaching · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $49,948
      4 yrs after
      $71,781
      Median debt
      $27,000
    6. 6The College of New Jersey logo
      The College of New Jersey

      Ewing, NJ · Special Education and Teaching · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      Not reported
      4 yrs after
      $66,767
      Median debt
      $26,000
    7. 7
      CUNY Medgar Evers College

      Brooklyn, NY · Special Education and Teaching · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $58,611
      4 yrs after
      $66,377
      Median debt
      Not reported
    8. 8Saint Joseph's University logo
      Saint Joseph's University

      Philadelphia, PA · Special Education and Teaching · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $54,709
      4 yrs after
      $64,827
      Median debt
      $26,261

    Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data, 2025. Programs with few graduates are not listed.

    NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk

    Majors that lead here

    Related programs by four-digit CIP code. They are common routes in, not the only ones.

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What special education teachers, secondary school may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Certifications

    Core certifications employers recognise for this work.

    Search all certifications on CareerOneStop

    Training

    Programs of study that prepare people for this work. Showing 12 of 13.

    • Education/Teaching of Individuals in Secondary Special Education Programs
    • Education/Teaching of Individuals Who are Developmentally Delayed
    • Education/Teaching of Individuals with Autism
    • Education/Teaching of Individuals with Emotional Disturbances
    • Education/Teaching of Individuals with Hearing Impairments Including Deafness
    • Education/Teaching of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities
    • Education/Teaching of Individuals with Multiple Disabilities
    • Education/Teaching of Individuals with Orthopedic and Other Physical Health Impairments
    • Education/Teaching of Individuals with Specific Learning Disabilities
    • Education/Teaching of Individuals with Speech or Language Impairments
    • Education/Teaching of Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injuries
    • Education/Teaching of Individuals with Vision Impairments Including Blindness

    Find training near you on CareerOneStop

    Licenses by state

    50 states list a license for this work. Open your state for the license and the agency that issues it.

    Check license requirements on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 6, 2026.

    Your plan

    Build my pathway plan

    Courses, majors, colleges, scholarships and a timeline for this career, built from your profile.

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

    All careers

    Questions about special education teachers, secondary school

    Written with AI from the BLS, O*NET and CareerOneStop data on this page. Every figure is checked against that data before it is published.

    What are some alternative job titles for this career?

    Professionals in this field are known by many names, including Exceptional Student Education Teachers, Cross-Categorical Special Education Teachers, and Education Specialists. They may also be called Deaf Teachers, Braille Teachers, or Blind Teachers depending on their specific area of focus.

    What is the job outlook and annual opening count for this field?

    The field is projected to see a minor change of -0.2% in employment from 2025 to 2035. However, schools will still need to hire new staff regularly, resulting in an estimated 10,400 openings each year.

    What college majors and certifications are relevant to this work?

    Students typically major in special education and teaching to prepare for this career. For credentials, some states list a license for this work, and teachers can also earn a DoDEA Certification.

    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    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.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 6, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.