Special Education Teachers, Secondary School

Salary Overview

Job Outlook (2024–2034)

Key Skills

Knowledge Areas

What They Do

• Establish and enforce rules for behavior and policies and procedures to maintain order among students.
• 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.
• Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
• Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.
• Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
• Guide and counsel students with adjustments, academic problems, or special academic interests.

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, Secondary School.

A Day in the Life

A secondary special education teacher's day might begin with reviewing college application accommodation letters for seniors with IEPs transitioning to higher education, then shifting to a co-taught AP Literature class where the special educator provides scaffolded graphic organizers and alternative assessments aligned to course content. Resource room periods offer intensive support for students with significant reading deficits using structured literacy approaches, or strategy instruction in executive function, note-taking, and test preparation. Afternoon transition planning meetings with students, families, vocational rehabilitation counselors, and community agency representatives are a regular feature of the week for teachers who carry a large caseload of transition-age students. Documentation of IEP progress, annual goal revisions, and compliance with IDEA's transition mandate requirements fill available planning periods. Career exploration conversations, college visit coordination, and connecting students with internship or job shadow opportunities are uniquely meaningful additionalities of the secondary special education role.

Work Environment

Secondary special education teachers work within high school buildings on the standard academic calendar, co-teaching in content-area classrooms, supervising resource rooms, and leading self-contained programs depending on the needs of their caseload. The environment involves the social energy of high school students — including peer dynamics, mental health challenges, and rapidly evolving identities — which demands both high relational competence and emotional resilience. Co-teaching models place special educators in rotating classrooms with multiple content-area partners throughout the week, requiring organizational flexibility and strong collegial relationships. Transition coordination responsibilities extend the work environment beyond the school building into community sites, employer locations, and post-secondary campuses where students may participate in transition programs. Standard school-year hours apply, though IEP meetings, parent conferences, and post-secondary transition events occasionally occur in afternoons or evenings.

Career Path & Advancement

Secondary special education teachers complete bachelor's or master's degrees in special education with a secondary or high school level licensure endorsement, often paired with content-area competency verification in English, math, or another core subject. The first years of practice focus on navigating the complex academic content of high school courses while developing IEP writing skills that incorporate meaningful, measurable transition goals aligned to each student's post-secondary aspirations. After three to five years, teachers frequently specialize in transition services, behavioral support, or a specific disability category that characterizes the majority of their caseload. Senior practitioners may serve as lead special education teachers, department chairs, or transition coordinators with expanded caseload management and interagency coordination responsibilities. Doctoral degrees and administrative credentials open paths to district special education director, state educational agency roles, or university special education program faculty positions.

Specializations

Transition specialists at the secondary level focus exclusively on post-secondary planning, coordinating job training, vocational rehabilitation referrals, college access support, and community agency connections for students approaching graduation. College and career readiness coaches for students with disabilities help students identify appropriate post-secondary programs, navigate accommodation disclosure processes, and develop self-advocacy skills for independent access in adult settings. Emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) specialists at the high school level work with students whose mental health challenges are often at their most acute in adolescence, requiring sophisticated crisis-informed support and connections to outside mental health resources. Learning Disabilities specialists at the secondary level focus on supporting students with dyslexia and reading challenges as they face increasingly demanding academic texts, while building the study and self-advocacy skills needed for college success. Intellectual disabilities and supported employment specialists focus on a distinct population by preparing students for community-based employment and supported adult living, often operating instructional programs that extend into community and workplace settings.

Pros & Cons

Industry Insight

Post-secondary outcomes for students with disabilities — including college graduation rates, employment rates, and independent living rates — remain significantly below those of the general population, creating ongoing policy and advocacy pressure to improve secondary special education transition services. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and IDEA together create accountability for post-school outcomes, meaning districts are increasingly tracking and reporting where their graduates with IEPs end up after high school. Dual enrollment programs that allow high school students with disabilities to simultaneously earn college credits are expanding rapidly, driven by research showing their positive effects on post-secondary attainment. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted transition service continuity for many students, creating lasting gaps in work experience and community connection skills that secondary teachers are still addressing. Technology tools including AAC apps, text-to-speech platforms, AI writing assistants, and digital executive function supports are increasingly embedded in high school environments, requiring special educators to develop fluency across a growing toolkit of assistive technologies.