Education and libraries
Special education teacher (K–5)
Teach academic, social, and life skills to kindergarten 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.
Median pay
$65,120
Growth to 2035
0%
little or no change
Openings a year
16,400
Time to qualify*
Minimal
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Special education teacher (K–5)
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- None
- Prior experience
- None
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Outdoors in all weather
Exposure to disease
Special education teacher (K–5): 45% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Instruct students with disabilities in academic subjects, using a variety of techniques, such as phonetics, multisensory learning, or repetition to reinforce learning and meet students' varying needs.
- Prepare objectives, outlines, or other materials for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or school or state requirements.
- Develop or implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of disabilities.
- Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, or administrative regulations.
- Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.
- Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
- Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
- Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, or other professionals to develop individual educational plans (IEPs) for students' educational, physical, or social development.
Also called: Deaf Teacher · Emotional Disabilities Teacher · Hearing Impaired Itinerant Teacher (HI Itinerant Teacher) · K-1 SPED Teacher (Kindergarten through First Grade Special Education Teacher) · Kindergarten SPED Teacher (Kindergarten Special Education Teacher) · Life Skills Teacher · Special Education Inclusion Teacher · Special Education Kindergarten Teacher
Outlook and AI
Special education teachers (K–5) held 259,100 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 258,100 by 2035 (0%, little or no change; all jobs: +3.5%).
Compare with
- Special education teacher (K–5) vs. Special education teachers, middle school
- Special education teacher (K–5) vs. Special education teachers, preschool
- Special education teacher (K–5) vs. Special education teachers, secondary school
- Special education teacher (K–5) vs. Adult basic education, adult secondary education, and english as a second language instructors
- Special education teacher (K–5) vs. Special education teachers, all other
- Special education teacher (K–5) vs. Kindergarten teachers, except special education
- Special education teacher (K–5) vs. Elementary school teacher
- Special education teacher (K–5) vs. Tutor