# Special Education Teachers, Middle School

US SOC code 25-2057. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/25-2057

Also called: Special education teacher middle school, SPED middle school teacher, Middle school special ed teacher, Resource teacher middle school, IEP teacher middle school.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **95,200** US middle school special education teachers, with median pay of **$66,810** a year. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_204.30.asp) of **75,000** from 1960, not measured the same way as today's count. The current technology era for middle school special education teachers: Magic School AI + Goalbook IEP tools + Microsoft Reading Coach, since 2022.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects little or no change in employment from 2025 to 2035 (-0.4%). Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=25-2057&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **30.5%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)
- **0.016** estimated probability that the whole occupation could be computerised, over an unspecified number of years. Not a forecast of job losses. [Frey and Osborne, 2013](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35.

## Special Education Teachers, Middle School employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1817
- Latest US employment: 95,200 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $66,810 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [9]
- Outlook: -0.4% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [21]

### All 12 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1960 | 75,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NCES [1] |
| 1976 | 200,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., IDEA [2] |
| 1980 | n/a | $14,500 (estimate) | Est., NCES Digest Table [6] |
| 2000 | 87,790 | $41,000 (estimate) | BLS OEWS 2000 (employment) [3]; Est., BLS OOH 2000-01 (pay) [7] |
| 2010 | 100,510 | $53,440 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [4] |
| 2019 | 85,840 | $61,440 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 80,110 | $61,820 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 79,070 | $61,820 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 82,970 | $62,990 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 88,850 | $66,600 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 95,330 | $64,880 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 95,200 | $66,810 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (61)

### Employment series

1. [NCES — "History of Special Education" background; NCES Digest historical enrollment data; Council for Exceptional Children historical context](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_204.30.asp), National Center for Education Statistics
2. [IDEA — Public Law 94-142, Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975): implementation context; NCES OSEP Annual Report to Congress data](https://sites.ed.gov/idea/IDEA-History), US Department of Education / IDEA
3. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
4. [BLS OEWS May 2010, national cross-industry estimates (flat file; SOC 2010 code 25-2053, Special Education Teachers, Middle School)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

6. [NCES Digest Table — estimated average annual salary of public teachers 1979-80 (~$15,970 all teachers); special education teachers earned at or slightly above general teacher average due to specialty certification requirements in many states following P.L. 94-142 (1975). Estimate uses the general teacher salary as the baseline with a 0-5% premium where documented.](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d09/tables/dt09_078.asp), National Center for Education Statistics
7. [BLS OOH 2000-01 — Special Education Teachers: median annual salary approximately $41,000 for teachers of elementary and middle school students with disabilities. NCES reports average teacher salary ~$41,807 in 1999-2000; special education teachers at or just above the general average in states requiring additional certification.](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/special-education-teachers.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
8. [BLS OEWS May 2010, national cross-industry estimates (flat file; SOC 2010 code 25-2053, Special Education Teachers, Middle School, annual median wage)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
9. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

10. [American School for the Deaf — "History & Cogswell Heritage House" (founded 1817, Gallaudet and Clerc, first US school for the deaf)](https://www.asd-1817.org/about/history--cogswell-heritage-house), American School for the Deaf
11. [Gallaudet University — "Laurent Clerc: A Profile" (Clerc as first Deaf teacher of the Deaf in America)](https://www.gallaudet.edu/about/history-and-traditions/deaf-history), Gallaudet University
12. [Council for Exceptional Children — "100 Happenings from CEC's First 100 Years" (founded 1922 by Elizabeth Farrell at Columbia University)](https://exceptionalchildren.org/100/history), Council for Exceptional Children
13. [Wikipedia — "Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scales" (Lewis Terman adaptation of Binet-Simon, 1916)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford%E2%80%93Binet_Intelligence_Scales), Wikipedia
14. [US Department of Education — "History of IDEA: The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 94-142), 1975"](https://sites.ed.gov/idea/IDEA-History), US Department of Education / IDEA
15. [Frontline Education — "Special Programs Management" (Frontline product line, successor to EXCENT and Encore platforms; IEP, 504, and related-services compliance software for K-12)](https://www.frontlineeducation.com/special-programs/special-ed-software/), Frontline Education
16. [CDC — "Autism Spectrum Disorder: Data & Statistics" (prevalence 1:150 in 2000, 1:54 by 2016, 1:36 by 2020)](https://www.cdc.gov/autism/data-research/), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
17. [Wikipedia: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education (shift to remote instruction and its disproportionate effect on students with disabilities)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_on_education), Wikipedia
18. [Magic School AI — "About Us" (founded 2023; AI tools for educators including IEP goal generator among core features)](https://www.magicschool.ai/about-us), Magic School AI
19. [Goalbook — "Goalbook Toolkit: IEP Goals and Instructional Strategies" (IEP scaffolding platform, AI features 2023)](https://goalbook.com/), Goalbook
20. [Microsoft Learn — "Build Reading Fluency with Reading Coach" (Reading Coach: AI-powered reading fluency tool in Microsoft 365 Education)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/modules/build-reading-fluency-reading-coach/), Microsoft

### Forecasts and exposure studies

21. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 25-2057 Special education teachers, middle school (2025: 94.8 thousand; 2035: 94.4 thousand; -0.4%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=25-2057&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
22. [Frey & Osborne (2013), "The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?", Appendix (SOC 25-2053 Special Education Teachers, Middle School: probability 0.016, rank 76 of 702)](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf), Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford
23. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 25-2057.00, human-rated β 0.305)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

24. [American School for the Deaf — "History & Cogswell Heritage House" (founded April 15, 1817, Gallaudet and Clerc)](https://www.asd-1817.org/about/history--cogswell-heritage-house), American School for the Deaf
25. [Massachusetts Legislature — Massachusetts School Suffrage Act / early special education legislation history (1869 mandate for blind and deaf students)](https://sites.ed.gov/idea/IDEA-History), US Department of Education / IDEA background history
26. [Council for Exceptional Children — "100 Happenings from CEC's First 100 Years" (founded 1922 by Elizabeth Farrell; first professional organization for special educators)](https://exceptionalchildren.org/100/history), Council for Exceptional Children
27. [US Supreme Court — Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954); PARC v. Pennsylvania (1972); Mills v. Board of Education (1972)](https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/347us483), US Supreme Court / Oyez
28. [Wikipedia — "No Child Left Behind Act" (signed January 8, 2002; highly qualified teacher requirement, disability assessment mandates)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Child_Left_Behind_Act), Wikipedia

### Predecessors & successors

29. [American School for the Deaf — "History & Cogswell Heritage House" (residential institution model, precursor to public-school SPED)](https://www.asd-1817.org/about/history--cogswell-heritage-house), American School for the Deaf
30. [US Department of Education — "IDEA History" (P.L. 94-142 1975 created the legal mandate and the funded special education teacher positions)](https://sites.ed.gov/idea/IDEA-History), US Department of Education / IDEA
31. [O\*NET 11-9032.00 — Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9032.00), O\*NET / BLS
32. [O\*NET 25-9031.00 — Instructional Coordinators](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-9031.00), O\*NET / BLS

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Special Education Teachers, Middle School (25-2057.00): tasks, work activities, technology skills, knowledge domains; median wage $64,880; 94,800 positions; 67% deal with conflict daily](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-2057.00), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS OOH 2024-2034 — Special Education Teachers: ~460,000 employed; +5% growth 2024-2034; ~37,600 annual openings; median annual wage $63,780](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/special-education-teachers.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [IDEA 34 CFR § 300.321 — IEP team composition: licensed special education teacher is a mandated IEP team member under federal law; services must be delivered by or under direct supervision of licensed special education teacher](https://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/,root,regs,300,D,300%252E321,), accessed 2026-05-24
- [IDEA 34 CFR § 300.43 — Transition services: IEP must include coordinated postsecondary education, employment, and independent living goals by age 16 (many states age 13-14); middle school SPED teachers are the first professionals to begin this legally mandated transition process](https://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/,root,regs,300,A,300%252E43,), accessed 2026-05-24
- [CDT Survey 2024-25 (cited in EdWeek Oct 2025 and NPR May 2026): 57% of special education teachers used AI for IEPs/504 plans in 2024-25, up from 39% in 2023-24; CDT warns of privacy, legal, and ethical risks](https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/teachers-are-using-ai-to-help-write-ieps-advocates-have-concerns/2025/10), accessed 2026-05-24
- [NPR / KPBS — "Overworked and understaffed: Special ed teachers turn to AI for help" (2026-05-20): AI giving SPED teachers more time for direct instruction; UCF researcher Olivia Coleman: "The more face time a student with a disability has with a teacher, that often yields better outcomes"](https://www.npr.org/2026/05/20/nx-s1-5810192/special-education-teachers-ai-ieps), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) — AI in Special Education position (2025): AI cannot replace licensed SPED teacher judgment, IDEA compliance responsibility, family partnership, or advocacy role; teachers must retain accountability for all IEP content](https://exceptionalchildren.org/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [MagicSchool AI — IEP Generator and 60+ educator tools: AI drafts SMART IEP goals from disability category, grade, and present levels; accommodation generator; BIP scaffolding; used by 3M+ teachers including special educators (2025)](https://www.magicschool.ai/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Playground IEP — AI caseload management and IEP writing platform: IEP Copilot suite generates standards-based goals, drafts PLOP, builds BIPs, provides PLAAFP feedback; Text Leveler modifies content to grade level; 12,000+ teachers; free Starter tier (2025)](https://www.playgroundiep.com/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Goalbook Toolkit — 7,000+ research-based IEP goals across grade bands including middle school; AI goal-matching to present levels; used by 200,000+ special educators in 2,200+ districts (2025)](https://goalbook.com/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [n2y Unique Learning System (Everway) — comprehensive modified-core curriculum for students with moderate-to-severe disabilities PreK through transition; age-appropriate ELA, math, science, social studies, life skills; Classics feature for middle school literature access; automated differentiation (2025)](https://www.everway.com/products/unique-learning-system/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science): occupational LLM exposure framework; Special Education Teachers show low-to-moderate direct LLM exposure due to embodied, relational, legally-structured practice core; higher exposure in documentation tasks](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Learning Policy Institute 2025 (cited in eSchool News Dec 2025): 411,000+ teaching positions unfilled or filled by uncertified teachers; special education hardest-hit area in 45 states; administrative burden cited as primary burnout driver; AI tools that reduce paperwork are a retention tool](https://www.eschoolnews.com/innovative-teaching/2025/12/09/modernizing-the-special-education-workforce-is-a-national-imperative/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [IDEA 34 CFR § 300.320 — IEP content requirements: present levels, measurable annual goals, specially designed instruction, accommodations, related services; all goals must be individually tailored to the specific student](https://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/,root,regs,300,D,300%252E320,), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Google Read&Write (Texthelp/Everway) — AI text-to-speech, word prediction, and vocabulary support; free Chrome extension; widely used as IEP-mandated AT for students with dyslexia, LD, and ELL in middle school SPED (2025)](https://www.everway.com/products/read-and-write-education/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Microsoft Immersive Reader — AI text decoding embedded free in Word, OneNote, Teams for Education; syllable spacing, picture dictionary, translation; designed for students with dyslexia, ADHD, and language processing disabilities (2025)](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/products/immersive-reader), accessed 2026-05-24
- [IDEA 34 CFR § 300.324(a)(2)(v) — IEP team must consider whether the student needs assistive technology devices and services; AT consideration is a required element of IEP development for every student with a disability](https://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/,root,regs,300,D,300%252E324,), accessed 2026-05-24

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.