Education

Special Education Teachers (Secondary School)

Official O*NET title: Special Education Teachers, Secondary School (25-2058.00)

Also called: education specialist, emotional disability special education teacher, exceptional student education teacher, handicapped teacher, hs sped teacher

✓Your job
2What you do
3Your result
4Your plan

Do you do this at work?

Answer each card — it takes about a minute.

1 of 40
33 yes
Not meYesMAIN TASK

Do you do this at work?

Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress

Swipe right for yes, left for not me. On a keyboard: → yes, ← not me, Z undo. +2 XP per answer.

How AI is changing special education teachers (secondary school) work

18 of 30 measurable main tasks for this job show up in real AI-use data, so we rate it Red (lots of AI use) — 60%. 3 newer tasks are not in the data yet and left out.

This shows where people already use AI, not whether the job will disappear. How we measure this.

Tasks in this job and recorded AI use

Tasks: O*NET 31.0. AI use: Anthropic Economic Index (exact or close text match).

Your first steps (guidance)

  1. Week 1: Open a free AI assistant and say hello. Follow our “Getting started with AI” guide. Ask it one simple question about your work.
  2. Week 2: Use AI on one task you do often. Try the prompt for: “Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects”. Try the prompt for: “Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations”.

Tick your own tasks above to get a plan based on what you really do. The first 2 weeks are free; Premium (coming soon) adds weeks 3–12. New to AI? Read our beginner’s guide.

Questions about AI and special education teachers (secondary school)

Will AI replace special education teachers (secondary school)?

Our data can’t predict job losses, and we don’t try to. What it does show: 18 of the 33 main tasks for this job match tasks people already use AI for (Anthropic Economic Index), giving a Red rating (lots of AI use). Using AI on a task is not the same as AI doing the whole job, and 17 of the 40 listed tasks show no recorded AI use yet.

Which special education teacher tasks is AI used for most?

In the data, the most AI use among this job’s tasks is for: prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress; instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects; use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.

Which special education teacher tasks show little or no AI use?

For example: 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, and administrative regulations; employ special educational strategies and techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, and memory. These are good places to keep building your own skills.

How does this job compare to others?

In Microsoft Research’s “Working with AI” study, this job’s AI applicability score is equal to or higher than 68% of the occupations they scored. That measures overlap with AI chat use, not risk of job loss.

How can a special education teacher start learning AI?

Start small: open a free AI assistant, try it on one task you do often, and always check facts and numbers yourself. The plan on this page is guidance, not professional advice.

See how this job ranks

Special Education Teachers (Secondary School) ranks #87 of 572 jobs for the share of main tasks with AI use (#1 = most), and #43 of 63 in Education.

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