Special Education Teachers, Elementary School
Teach academic, social, and life skills to elementary school students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities. Includes teachers who specialize and work with students who are blind or have visual impairments; students who are deaf or have hearing impairments; and students with intellectual disabilities.
$65,120 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).
of the working time. Estimate.
- 36%
- 8%
- 57%
Anthropic's data does not cover this job.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 21%. Today's estimate: 27%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 30 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modify the general elementary education curriculum for students with disabilities.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 16% | 2.1 h50 min to 5 h | 65%Half by now | |
| Develop or implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of disabilities.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 10% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Instruct students with disabilities in academic subjects, using a variety of techniques, such as phonetics, multisensory learning, or repetition to reinforce learning and meet students' varying needs.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 10% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Plan or conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 6% | 1.3 h38 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Prepare objectives, outlines, or other materials for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or school or state requirements.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 5% | 1.7 h50 min to 4.2 h | 82%Half by now | |
| Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Prepare classrooms with a variety of materials or resources for children to explore, manipulate, or use in learning activities or imaginative play.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Monitor teachers or teacher assistants to ensure adherence to special education program requirements.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Guide or counsel students with adjustment problems, academic problems, or special academic interests.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 3% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Coordinate placement of students with special needs into mainstream classes.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | 90%Half by now | |
| Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Prepare, administer, or grade tests or assignments to evaluate students' progress.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 3% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.5 h | 91%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten19% now, 23% by 2028
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School22% now, 31% by 2028
- Special Education Teachers, Middle School20% now, 32% by 2028
- Special Education Teachers, Preschool15% now, 26% by 2028
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education29% now, 35% by 2028
- Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors57% now, 66% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.