Education and libraries
Special education teachers, preschool
Teach academic, social, and life skills to preschool-aged 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
$64,830
Growth to 2035
+2%
about as fast as average
Openings a year
2,000
Time to qualify*
Minimal
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Special education teachers, preschool
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- None
- Prior experience
- None
Calculate your switch to special education teachers, preschool
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, preschool: 31% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Develop or implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of disabilities.
- Communicate nonverbally with children to provide them with comfort, encouragement, or positive reinforcement.
- 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.
- Attend to children's basic needs by feeding them, dressing them, or changing their diapers.
- Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, or social skills, to preschool students with special needs.
- Develop individual educational plans (IEPs) designed to promote students' educational, physical, or social development.
- Prepare classrooms with a variety of materials or resources for children to explore, manipulate, or use in learning activities or imaginative play.
Also called: Early Childhood Special Education Teacher (ECSE Teacher) · Early Intervention Teacher · Exceptional Student Education Teacher (ESE Teacher) · Preschool SPED Teacher (Preschool Special Education Teacher) · Profound Mental Handicaps SPED Teacher (Profound Mental Handicaps Special Education Teacher) · Severe Mental Handicaps SPED Teacher (Severe Mental Handicaps Special Education Teacher) · Special Education Resource Teacher · Special Education Teacher
Outlook and AI
Special education teachers, preschool held 30,500 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 31,300 by 2035 (+2%, about as fast as average; all jobs: +3.5%).
Compare with
- Special education teachers, preschool vs. Special education teachers, middle school
- Special education teachers, preschool vs. Special education teachers, secondary school
- Special education teachers, preschool vs. Kindergarten teachers, except special education
- Special education teachers, preschool vs. Elementary school teacher
- Special education teachers, preschool vs. Preschool teachers, except special education
- Special education teachers, preschool vs. Adult basic education, adult secondary education, and english as a second language instructors
- Special education teachers, preschool vs. Special education teachers, all other