Education and libraries
Special education teachers, middle school
Teach academic, social, and life skills to middle 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.
Median pay
$66,810
Growth to 2035
0%
little or no change
Openings a year
6,000
Time to qualify*
Minimal
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Special education teachers, middle school
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- None
- Prior experience
- None
Calculate your switch to special education teachers, middle school
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 teachers, middle school: 63% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Develop or write Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students.
- Establish and enforce rules for behavior and policies and procedures to maintain order among students.
- Develop and implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of handicapping conditions.
- Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
- Instruct students in daily living skills required for independent maintenance and self-sufficiency, such as hygiene, safety, and food preparation.
- Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification and positive reinforcement.
- Modify the general education curriculum for students with disabilities, based upon a variety of instructional techniques and instructional technology.
- Employ special educational strategies and techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, and memory.
Also called: ED SPED Teacher (Emotional Disabilities Special Education Teacher) · Interrelated SPED Teacher (Interrelated Special Education Teacher) · Learning Disabilities Teacher (LD Teacher) · Learning Support Teacher · Middle School Resource Teacher · MS SPED Teacher (Middle School Special Education Teacher) · Self-Contained SPED Teacher (Self-Contained Special Education Teacher) · SLD Teacher (Specific Learning Disability Teacher)
Outlook and AI
Special education teachers, middle school held 94,800 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 94,400 by 2035 (0%, little or no change; all jobs: +3.5%).
Compare with
- Special education teachers, middle school vs. Special education teachers, secondary school
- Special education teachers, middle school vs. Special education teachers, preschool
- Special education teachers, middle school vs. Adult basic education, adult secondary education, and english as a second language instructors
- Special education teachers, middle school vs. Elementary school teacher
- Special education teachers, middle school vs. Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Special education teachers, middle school vs. High school teacher
- Special education teachers, middle school vs. Kindergarten teachers, except special education