Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Career, Salary and Skills
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $74,260 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 163,930. Wage data is published for 366 locations.
Occupation description
Teach academic, social, and life skills to secondary 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.
O*NET code
25-2058.00
Job zone
4
Typical education
Bachelor's Degree
Experience
Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year
National salary and employment
Median annual
$74,260
Hourly median
Not published
Employment
163,930
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Learning Strategies | 4.12 | 4.75 |
| Instructing | 4.12 | 4.00 |
| Reading Comprehension | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Speaking | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Writing | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Monitoring | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Active Listening | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Coordination | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Service Orientation | 3.88 | 3.88 |
Typical tasks
- Maintain accurate and complete student records, and prepare reports on children and activities, as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
- Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, or other professionals to develop individual educational plans (IEPs) for students' educational, physical, and social development.
- Employ special educational strategies and techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, and memory.
- Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students.
- Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
- Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification and positive reinforcement.
- Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
- Establish and enforce rules for behavior and policies and procedures to maintain order among students.
Technology
- Adobe Acrobat
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Photoshop
- Email software
- Hand held spell checkers
- Microsoft Access
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft SharePoint
- Microsoft Word
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Salary in NYMedian $89,310 · Employment 15,250
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Salary in New York, NYMedian $100,430 · Employment 14,700
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Salary in CAMedian $101,060 · Employment 12,100
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Salary in PAMedian $77,000 · Employment 11,040
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Salary in OHMedian $76,180 · Employment 10,580
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Salary in TXMedian $64,830 · Employment 10,200
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Salary in ILMedian $79,890 · Employment 9,490
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Salary in FLMedian $61,510 · Employment 7,940
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Salary in NJMedian $83,770 · Employment 7,520
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Salary in Chicago, ILMedian $82,350 · Employment 7,360
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Salary in VAMedian $68,400 · Employment 6,380
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Salary in Philadelphia, PAMedian $79,760 · Employment 5,790
Related careers
- Self-Enrichment TeachersNational median $46,800
- Preschool Teachers, Except Special EducationNational median $38,140
- Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and AdvisorsNational median $64,330
- Adapted Physical Education SpecialistsNational median $76,580
- Education Teachers, PostsecondaryNational median $75,350
- Education Administrators, Kindergarten through SecondaryNational median $105,870
- Instructional CoordinatorsNational median $77,440
- Teaching Assistants, Preschool, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary School, Except Special EducationNational median not published
Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.