A special ed teacher gets paid just like every other teacher—
by his/her education status and years experience.
My friends are correct in saying there is no additional compensation for special education teachers through the public school pay scales. All schools increase compensation for additional degrees (only some for Ph.D.s), for years of service, for entering the administrative ranks, and sometimes for taking on additional responsibilities that exceed your contract. Some schools provide increased compensation or a signing bonus for National Board certification.
This is a topic of debate in higher education and I encourage you to pursue it in your research and writing. As you probably noticed, special education teachers are expected to know everything a general education knows and then possess additional, specialized knowledge and skills. In a capitalist economy, it would follow that SpEd teachers would earn more.
Pay from school district to school district varies, and is largely based on the property assessments for the locale. If you look at area school systems, the schools that pay the most will generally have the most resources, and you may find the work easier.
Additionally, I have found that special education teachers have more opportunities to work in private special education schools, where pay can be higher and/or the work year-round, and the administration more informed and supportive.
I work in a public school and I earn about $1800 more a year than a general education teacher with the same level of education. We go up the pay scale at the same rate, but obviously, I will continue to be higher. Education and classes taken towards a master’s degree also increase pay.
I dont know if you will make any more money, but I will tell you the way the trend is going, more and more children with special needs are being integrated into gen ed classes so your education in this area will be helpful but you will not be compensated for it greatly if I had to guess….
Also, If you are strictly teaching special needs, as I am a parent of a special needs student, I totally respect my Good special ed teachers as they are being asked to put up with alot of C H A L L E N G I N G behaviors… hit, bit, spit, and these are not vocab words… these are just a few of what my son do in a day in the educational setting… not at home.. but at school, he is being asked to do something–like learn…
Good Luck…If you are looking at it from an investment point of view… Id guess it wont pay you back, but I could be wrong…
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I’m a Sped teacher and I don’t get paid any more than any other teacher. If you have additional degrees…you should be in a higher pay scale.