Special Education Teachers, Elementary School

Salary Overview

Key Skills

Knowledge Areas

What They Do

• 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.
• 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.

Tools & Technology

★ = Hot Technology (in-demand)

Education Requirements

Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's Degree

Related Careers

Careers with the highest skill compatibility from Special Education Teachers, Elementary School.

A Day in the Life

An elementary special education teacher's morning typically begins before students arrive with a review of the day's schedule, checking IEP service minutes, and preparing adapted materials for small-group or individual pull-out sessions. The instructional day is divided between co-teaching in general education classrooms — where the special educator supports identified students alongside the classroom teacher — and smaller, more intensive pull-out instruction groups focused on foundational reading, writing, and mathematics skills. Communication with paraprofessional aides who support students in both the special education setting and general education classrooms is continuous throughout the day. Documentation work — recording progress toward IEP goals, logging behavioral data, and updating service logs — occurs between instructional periods and during preparation time. IEP meetings, multi-disciplinary team evaluations, and parent consultations are regularly scheduled events that extend the workday and require thorough preparation.

Work Environment

Elementary special education teachers work within standard school buildings following the academic calendar, typically on traditional Monday-through-Friday, school-hours schedules aligned with general education. Classroom environments range from pull-out resource rooms designed for small-group intensive instruction to self-contained classrooms serving students with more intensive support needs. Physical demands vary significantly by student population — teachers supporting students with physical or multiple disabilities may need to assist with positioning, feeding, or mobility, while EBD classrooms may occasionally require crisis intervention for safety. The emotional environment is both highly rewarding and occasionally stressful, as advocating for students with disabilities can involve difficult family conversations and bureaucratic challenges. Collaboration with general education colleagues, special services staff, and administrators is embedded throughout the workday.

Career Path & Advancement

Entry into special education at the elementary level requires a bachelor's degree in special education and state licensure, which often includes specific endorsements in areas like learning disabilities, emotional behavior disorders, or autism spectrum disorder. New teachers benefit from strong mentor relationships and are often assigned more structured co-teaching roles in their first year or two while developing their IEP writing proficiency and classroom management in specialized settings. After three to five years, teachers typically develop specialized expertise in assessment, behavioral intervention, or assistive technology that distinguishes their practice. Lead teacher, mentor teacher, or department head roles emerge for experienced practitioners, and some pursue National Board Certification in Exceptional Needs Specialist as a career landmark. Master's degrees and doctoral programs in special education open paths to district-level special education coordinator, program director, or university training roles.

Specializations

Learning disabilities specialists focus on students with dyslexia, dyscalculia, and language processing disorders, specializing in evidence-based structured literacy and numeracy interventions like Orton-Gillingham or Wilson Reading System. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) specialists at the elementary level design and implement behavior support plans and social communication curricula tailored to the unique learning profiles of students with autism. Emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) teachers work in self-contained or resource settings with students whose emotional dysregulation or behavioral challenges require intensive support structures including check-in/check-out systems, de-escalation protocols, and trauma-informed practices. Mild to moderate disabilities teachers serve students with a range of lower-support-level disabilities in resource rooms and inclusion settings, providing differentiated instruction and accommodations. Severe disabilities teachers work with the smallest subset of elementary students who require intensive, highly individualized support across all areas of functioning including communication, self-care, and mobility.

Pros & Cons

Industry Insight

The United States is experiencing a severe special education teacher shortage, with shortfalls documented in every state and particularly acute in urban districts and for specific disability categories, creating strong job security and signing bonuses in many markets. The shift toward inclusive education models — where students with disabilities receive services in general education classrooms alongside typical peers — is changing the role of elementary special educators toward more collaborative, co-teaching orientations. Universal screening for reading and learning challenges in early elementary grades through Response to Intervention (RTI) and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) frameworks is increasing the number of students identified for special education services earlier and more accurately. Social-emotional learning integration and trauma-informed instructional practices are becoming core competencies for all special education teachers given the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences among students with disabilities. Compensation is gradually improving in recognition of the shortage, with many states and districts offering targeted special education salary supplements.