Educational Instruction and Library Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Peer-group outlier SOC 25-2058

Special Education Teachers, Secondary School

Median pay sits 25% below the mid peer in Educational Instruction and Library Occupations (neighbors include Law Teachers, Postsecondary, Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary, Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary, Economics Teachers, Postsecondary).

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Special Education Teachers, Secondary School: Law Teachers, Postsecondary ($129K) , Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary ($98K) , Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary ($103K) , Economics Teachers, Postsecondary ($124K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Special Education Teachers, Secondary School publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 25-2058 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Establish and enforce rules for behavior and policies and procedures to maintain order among students
  2. 2. Maintain accurate and complete student records, and prepare reports on children and activities, as required by laws, district policies, a…
  3. 3. Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, or other professionals to develop individual educational plans…
  4. 4. Employ special educational strategies and techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skill…
  5. 5. Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students
  6. 6. Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities
  7. 7. Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification and positive reinforcement
  8. 8. Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems
  9. 9. Develop and implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of handicapping conditions
  10. 10. Teach personal development skills, such as goal setting, independence, and self-advocacy
  11. 11. Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks
  12. 12. Modify the general education curriculum for students with disabilities, based upon a variety of instructional techniques and technologies

Special Education Teachers, Secondary School: O*NET ranks Learning Strategies first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 25-2058 - lead skill Learning Strategies at 4.1 ; lead knowledge Education and Training. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Learning Strategies 4.1
  2. 2. Instructing 4.1
  3. 3. Reading Comprehension 4.0
  4. 4. Speaking 4.0
  5. 5. Active Listening 3.9
  6. 6. Writing 3.9
  7. 7. Monitoring 3.9
  8. 8. Social Perceptiveness 3.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Education and Training 4.8
  2. 2. English Language 4.6
  3. 3. Psychology 4.2
  4. 4. Customer and Personal Service 3.9
  5. 5. Therapy and Counseling 3.6
  6. 6. Administrative 3.5
Pay vs Educational Instruction and Library Occupations peers
-25%
vs mid peer median $99,650
This role $74,260/yr
$74K
National median
↓ -2%
Growth 2024-2034
11,100
Annual openings
163,930
Estimated US jobs
Law Teachers, Postsecondary
Highest-pay peer · $129K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree

Top Paying States for Special Education Teachers, Secondary School

1. Connecticut $81,710
2. Maryland $93,530
3. Rhode Island $92,990
4. California $101,060
5. Washington $101,120
6. District of Columbia $99,670
7. New Jersey $83,770
8. Massachusetts $83,890
9. New York $89,310
10. Alaska $80,580

Other Educational Instruction and Library Occupations titles

  1. 1. Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary $103,170
  2. 2. Law Teachers, Postsecondary $128,500
  3. 3. Economics Teachers, Postsecondary $123,920
  4. 4. Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary $99,650
  5. 5. Business Teachers, Postsecondary $99,080
  6. 6. Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary $98,070

Among Educational Instruction and Library Occupations peers on this card, Special Education Teachers, Secondary School sits 25% below the mid peer median ($99,650). Its own median is $74,260.

Employment Projections expect -2% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 11,100 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Connecticut at $81,710. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Law Teachers, Postsecondary at $128,500. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Special Education Teachers, Secondary School pay-rank #38 in Educational Instruction and Library Occupations

Special Education Teachers, Secondary School sits at pay-rank #38 of 64 detailed Educational Instruction and Library Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 25-2058 · national median $74,260 · middle third of Educational Instruction and Library Occupations (#38/64). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Special Education Teachers, Secondary School salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 25-2058

Connecticut · top state for Special Education Teachers, Secondary School

$82K published median

Maryland · #2 state pay

$94K · behind Connecticut

Law Teachers, Postsecondary

Highest-pay peer vs Special Education Teachers, Secondary School · $129K

Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary

Lower-pay peer beside Special Education Teachers, Secondary School · $98K

Compare Special Education Teachers, Secondary School

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Special Education Teachers, Secondary School with another occupation →

Peer-comparison next reads

Compare Special Education Teachers, Secondary School

Against another occupation

Law Teachers, Postsecondary card

Top peer in this major group

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Special Education Teachers, Secondary School mid-table among Educational Instruction and Library Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #38 of 64 detailed Educational Instruction and Library Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Education Teachers, Postsecondary ($75K), Social Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary, All Other ($73K), Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary ($76K), Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education ($72K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do special education teachers, secondary school do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Special Education Teachers, Secondary School. Leading ones include: Establish and enforce rules for behavior and policies and procedures to maintain order among students; Maintain accurate and complete student records, and prepare reports on children and activities, as required by laws, district policies, a…; Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, or other professionals to develop individual educational plans…; Employ special educational strategies and techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skill…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for special education teachers, secondary school? ▼
For SOC 25-2058, O*NET importance scores lead with Learning Strategies (4.1), Instructing (4.1), Reading Comprehension (4.0), Speaking (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Education and Training, English Language, Psychology. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Special Education Teachers, Secondary School? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $74,260 as the national median for Special Education Teachers, Secondary School. The published 10th-90th range is $49,800 to $109,100. Beside Law Teachers, Postsecondary ($128,500), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Special Education Teachers, Secondary School? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Special Education Teachers, Secondary School is -2%. Projected annual openings: about 11,100. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Special Education Teachers, Secondary School? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Special Education Teachers, Secondary School. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Special Education Teachers, Secondary School? ▼
Connecticut ($81,710), Maryland ($93,530), Rhode Island ($92,990) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Special Education Teachers, Secondary School card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 25-2058. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Special Education Teachers, Secondary School. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics