Special Education Teachers, Elementary School
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)
Teach academic, social, and life skills to elementary school students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities.
What special education teachers, elementary school do
Typical 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.
- Develop or implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of disabilities.
- Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.
- Modify the general elementary education curriculum for students with disabilities.
- Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, or administrative regulations.
- Prepare classrooms with a variety of materials or resources for children to explore, manipulate, or use in learning activities or imaginative play.
- Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
- Provide assistive devices, supportive technology, or assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
- Coordinate placement of students with special needs into mainstream classes.
- Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
- Encourage students to explore learning opportunities or persevere with challenging tasks to prepare them for later grades.
- Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, or other professionals to develop individual educational plans (IEPs) for students' educational, physical, or social development.
Special Education Teachers, Elementary School salary
No pay statistics are available for this occupation yet.
Projected pay for Special Education Teachers, Elementary School (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
No projection yet because pay statistics are missing.
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Special Education Teachers, Elementary School
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Special Education Teachers, Elementary School? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Special Education Teachers, Elementary School
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (10-year). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
Skills, education and requirements for Special Education Teachers, Elementary School
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Education of workers
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 4 — considerable preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★★★☆☆ Moderate (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become special education teachers, elementary school
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as special education teachers, elementary school
Career-path guidance is being prepared.