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Education & Training · Updated Aug 2026

Special Education Teachers, Middle School

Teach academic, social, and life skills to middle 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.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
AI Exposure
65/100
High

How much of this occupation’s work can be materially affected by current AI systems.

Replacement Risk
59/100
Moderate

How likely exposure is to translate into reduced human demand.

Includes provisional estimates for AI adoption pressure and labour-market resilience. How this is measured

Evidence quality
Confidence82/100
Task coverage86%

Confidence reflects task coverage, mapping and capability-evidence quality, and how much of the score rests on provisional inputs.

Task-level evidence

What is driving the score?

Occupation scores are built from the task mix—not a single prediction about a job title.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
TaskImportanceAI impactExposure
Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects, such as English, mathematics, or social studies.High
76
Develop and implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of handicapping conditions.High
69
Establish and enforce rules for behavior and policies and procedures to maintain order among students.High
61
Employ special educational strategies and techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, and memory.High
74
Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students.High
70
Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification and positive reinforcement.High
62
Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.Medium
74
Maintain accurate and complete student records, and prepare reports on children and activities, as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.High
71
Teach students personal development skills, such as goal setting, independence, and self-advocacy.High
62
Modify the general education curriculum for students with disabilities, based upon a variety of instructional techniques and instructional technology.High
61
Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.Medium
76
Develop or write Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students.High
76
Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, and professionals to develop individual educational plans (IEPs) for students' educational, physical, and social development.High
72
Prepare for assigned classes, and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.Medium
76
Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.High
58
Instruct students in daily living skills required for independent maintenance and self-sufficiency, such as hygiene, safety, and food preparation.High
61
Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.High
61
Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress.Medium
74
Guide and counsel students with adjustments, academic problems, or special academic interests.High
53
Provide assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.Medium
76
Monitor teachers and teacher assistants to ensure that they adhere to inclusive special education program requirements.High
54
Coordinate placement of students with special needs into mainstream classes.High
70
Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injuries and damage.High
53
Collaborate with other teachers that provide instruction to special education students to ensure that the students receive appropriate support.High
52
Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.High
66
Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.High
49
Organize and supervise games and other recreational activities to promote physical, mental, and social development.Medium
73
Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and to determine priorities for their children and their resource needs.High
74
Administer standardized ability and achievement tests, and interpret results to determine students' strengths and needs.Medium
73
Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers, or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities.Medium
68
Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.Medium
74
Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence.Medium
61
Perform administrative duties, such as school library assistance, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading.Medium
33
Most exposed

Where AI can do more

Routine, digitized, and highly repeatable tasks face the greatest pressure.

  1. Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects, such as English, mathematics, or social studies.76
  2. Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.76
  3. Develop or write Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students.76
  4. Prepare for assigned classes, and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.76
Hardest to automate

Where people still matter

These tasks score lowest on automation feasibility—physical presence, judgement, accountability and real-world variability all resist end-to-end automation.

  1. Perform administrative duties, such as school library assistance, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading.01
  2. Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.02
  3. Collaborate with other teachers that provide instruction to special education students to ensure that the students receive appropriate support.03
  4. Guide and counsel students with adjustments, academic problems, or special academic interests.04
  5. Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injuries and damage.05
Where else this work leads

Related occupations

Occupations O*NET links to this one. Relatedness reflects shared work, not a claim that these roles are safer.

See all rankings →
AI risk 61

Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors

Closely related work

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Beyond AI capability

Adoption and labour-market outlook

Structural factors are kept separate from raw capability so you can see what actually resists automation. Adoption pressure and labour-market resilience are still provisional models—25% of this occupation’s replacement-risk weight rests on them.

Human dependency51
Physical dependency38
Adoption pressure41
Labour-market resilience57
Methodology & sources

O*NET 30.3 occupational data interpreted through the JobsVsAI capability, automation and structural-constraint models.

Confidence82/100
CalculatedAug 21, 2026
Read methodology →