Educational Instruction and Library
Special Education Teachers, Elementary School
Teach academic, social, and life skills to elementary 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.
MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
Source wage group: Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Special Education Teachers, Elementary School. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Median annual wage$65,120USD per year · Published 50th percentile
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $49,350 | Not published |
| 25th | $59,710 | Not published |
| 50th · Median | $65,120 | Not published |
| 75th | $80,280 | Not published |
| 90th | $103,010 | Not published |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE
What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Academic InterventionistAPE Teacher (Adapted Physical Education Teacher)Behavior InterventionistBehavior SpecialistBlind TeacherBraille TeacherCross-Categorical SPED Teacher (Cross-Categorical Special Education Teacher)Deaf and Hard of Hearing Teacher (DHH Teacher)Developmentally Delayed Special Education Teacher (DD Special Education Teacher)Early Childhood Special EducatorEarly InterventionistElementary Classroom Instructor
Expand more title examples (48)
Elementary Classroom TeacherElementary School SPED Teacher (Elementary School Special Education Teacher)Elementary SPED Teacher (Elementary Special Education Teacher)Elementary TeacherEmotional Disabilities TeacherEmotional Support TeacherExceptional Needs TeacherHearing Impaired Itinerant Teacher (HI Itinerant Teacher)Hearing Impaired TeacherHome Therapy TeacherInclusion Special Education TeacherInclusion TeacherIntegrated Program TeacherInterventionistLBD Teacher (Learning and Behavioral Disabilities Teacher)Learning Disabilities TeacherLearning Disabled TeacherLearning SpecialistLearning Support TeacherLip Reading TeacherLong Term Sub SPED Teacher (Long Term Substitute Special Education Teacher)Long Term Substitute Elementary Teacher (Long Term Sub Elementary Teacher)Math Interventionist (Mathematics Interventionist)Mildly Disabled Student Special Education Teacher (Mildly Disabled Student SPED Teacher)Multi-Handicapped Students Special Education Teacher (Multi-Handicapped Student SPED Teacher)Physically Impaired TeacherPrimary Special EducatorPrimary SPED Teacher (Primary Special Education Teacher)Profound Mental Handicaps SPED Teacher (Profound Mental Handicaps Special Education Teacher)Public School TeacherReading SpecialistResource Program TeacherResource Room SPED Teacher (Resource Room Special Education Teacher)Resource SpecialistSelf-Contained Special Education Teacher (Self-Contained SPED Teacher)Severe EBD Teacher (Severe Emotional Behavioral Disorders Teacher)Severe Emotional Disorders Elementary Teacher (SED Elementary Teacher)Severe Mental Handicaps SPED Teacher (Severe Mental Handicaps Special Education Teacher)Sign Language TeacherSpecial EducatorSpecial Needs TeacherSPED Associate (Special Education Associate)SPED Clerk (Special Education Clerk)SPED Inclusion Teacher (Special Education Inclusion Teacher)SPED Instructor (Special Education Instructor)SPED Life Skills Teacher (Special Education Life Skills Teacher)SPED Resource Teacher (Special Education Resource Teacher)SPED Specialist (Special Education Specialist)
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.
Expand more tasks (24)
- 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.
- Meet with parents or guardians to discuss their children's progress, advise them on using community resources, or teach skills for dealing with students' impairments.
- Monitor teachers or teacher assistants to ensure adherence to special education program requirements.
- Teach students personal development skills, such as goal setting, independence, or self-advocacy.
- Establish and communicate clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects to students.
- Guide or counsel students with adjustment problems, academic problems, or special academic interests.
- Plan or conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
- Prepare objectives, outlines, or other materials for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or school or state requirements.
- Instruct students in daily living skills required for independent maintenance and self-sufficiency, such as hygiene, safety, or food preparation.
- Collaborate with other teachers or administrators to develop, evaluate, or revise elementary school programs.
- Confer with other staff members to plan or schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.
- Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment or materials to prevent injuries and damage.
- Prepare, administer, or grade tests or assignments to evaluate students' progress.
- Organize and display students' work in a manner appropriate for their perceptual skills.
- Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, or teacher training workshops to maintain or improve professional competence.
- Interpret the results of standardized tests to determine students' strengths and areas of need.
- Organize and supervise games or other recreational activities to promote physical, mental, or social development.
- Administer standardized ability and achievement tests to elementary students with special needs.
- Plan or supervise experiential learning activities, such as class projects, field trips, demonstrations, or visits by guest speakers.
Skills used in this work
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Expand more skills (29)
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
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