Special Education Teacher

Special education teachers, like you, work with students who have a wide range of disabilities and special needs. Special education teacher jobs require a highly-trained educator with experience designing curriculum and implementing activities that meet the needs of their students. That’s why it’s so important for us to help you find a job where your needs are met so you can most effectively serve your students.

Traveling teacher jobs are a great way to get experience, travel the county, and offer your skills to students and schools that need you the most. If this is something you’re interested in, reach out to Blazer Jobs to learn more about the travel opportunities we offer.

Responsibilities for Special Education Teacher

Special education teachers work in a variety of settings. Some have separate classrooms where they teach only special education students while others act as a resource for special education students in a general education classroom.

A large part of special education teacher jobs involves working with other staff members and parents to develop an Individualized Education Program or IEP for each student. These plans set individualized goals for these students and ensure that they are progressing accordingly.

Regardless of where they work, most special education teacher duties are the same. Special education teacher job descriptions include the following:

• Advocating for their students
• Creating IEPs to ensure each student gets a quality and appropriate education
• Planning appropriate instructional materials
• Evaluating student performance and adjusting goals and instructional methods as required
• Using special tools and educational equipment to teach students with disabilities, like Braille, lip-reading, or sign language
• Updating parents about their child’s progress and creating a collaborative plan to support student learning

Special Education Teacher Job Requirements

The first step to becoming a special education teacher is to obtain a bachelor’s degree in special education. In addition to coursework concerning special needs learners and health issues of special needs students, undergraduate programs also have a student teaching component where you work alongside a teacher in a special education classroom to gain real-life experience. Some schools have higher educational qualifications and may require a master’s degree.

After completing a degree program, aspiring special ed teachers must pass a certification exam before applying for a state license.

If you’re interested in travel teaching jobs, understand that there is no national teacher certification in the U.S. You have to apply for certification in whatever state you plan to work in.

That said, most states do have an agreement of reciprocity. One’s state licensing board may consider the licensing credentials of another state, though this isn’t always straightforward as each state sets its own standards, and some are much stricter than others. The state where you wish to practice may accept credentials you already have, or you may have to meet additional requirements.

There are also many sub-specialties in special education, including early childhood special education, mild and moderate disabilities, moderate and severe disabilities, deaf and hard of hearing, and visual impairment.

Check out all of our jobs to learn more about our Special Education Teacher roles that we have available and apply today!

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