Headline risk
27%
Moderate RiskSpecial education teachers, secondary school
United States AI Work Index tracks this occupation on the shared structural baseline and then layers on local demand resilience, wages, and confidence.
Why This Score
Share of job tasks that overlap with current AI capabilities
Median annual wage
Projected employment change over 10 years
Typical preparation needed for this occupation
Occupation profile
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.
Task evidence
97% weighted task match · 18% effective coverage
Scores combine AI task overlap, human advantages, and local demand. How it works
United States Now
Median Wage
USD 69,590
Employment 2024
164.2K
Projected Change (2024–34)
-1.6%
Openings (2024–34)
11.1K
Wage distribution
Demand outlook
Overall employment of special education teachers is projected to grow 1 percent from 2024 to 2034, decline.
Role Profile
Tasks
- 1. Maintain accurate and complete student records, and prepare reports on children and activities, as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations. AI use: 0%
- 2. Establish and enforce rules for behavior and policies and procedures to maintain order among students. AI use: 0%
- 3. Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students. AI use: 0%
- 4. Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities. AI use: 0%
- 5. Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification and positive reinforcement. AI use: 0%
- 6. Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems. AI use: 0%
Technologies
Requirements
Work context
Worker profile
Median age 43.4 · 790K employed
Under 25: 4% · 25–54: 75% · 55+: 22%
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Source coverage
11/11 source families · O*NET 30.2 / OEWS 2024 / ORS 2025 / OOH 2025-08-28 / Projections 2024-34 / CPS 2025 / Anthropic task penetration
Mapping quality
major_group_fallback · employment series present
Narrative & sources
Special education teachers work with students who have a wide range of learning, mental, emotional, and physical disabilities.
Most special education teachers work in public schools, teaching students from preschool to high school. Many work the traditional 10-month school year, but some work year round.
Special education teachers in public schools are required to have a bachelor’s degree and a state-issued certification or license. Teachers in private schools typically need a bachelor’s degree but may not be required to have a state license or certification.
The median annual wage for special education teachers was $64,270 in May 2024.
Overall employment of special education teachers is projected to grow 1 percent from 2024 to 2034, decline.
Published limitations
This page shows the local country layer, not realised individual job outcomes. The global structural baseline is shared across countries; only the local demand and wage layer changes here.
Built from O*NET occupation descriptions, task statements, technology skills, work context, Job Zones, Anthropic task penetration, BLS OEWS wages, BLS projection tables, BLS ORS requirements, BLS OOH narrative content, BLS skills data, and BLS CPS occupation age tables.