Best Special Education Teacher, Secondary School programs in Kentucky, ranked by enrollment
Teach academic, social, and life skills to secondary school students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities.
15 schools in Kentucky run programs that feed this job, graduating 692 people a year. The job pays a median of $60,730 in Kentucky across about 2,680 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Kentucky that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in Kentucky that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Kentucky (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Kentucky page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 13.1001In Kentucky → | 653 | 94.4% | 15 | $44,139 | $26,675 |
| 2 | CIP 13.1009In Kentucky → | 29 | 4.2% | 1 | $44,139 | $26,675 |
| 3 | CIP 13.1014In Kentucky → | 5 | 0.7% | 1 | $44,139 | $26,675 |
| 4 | CIP 13.1003In Kentucky → | 4 | 0.6% | 1 | $44,139 | $26,675 |
| 5 | CIP 13.1013In Kentucky → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $44,139 | $26,675 |
Top 15 schools in Kentucky
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 6 of the 15 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of the Cumberlands Williamsburg, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 309 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 50% | $11,672 | 99% |
| 2 | Georgetown College Georgetown, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 89 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 49% | $12,666 | 91% |
| 3 | Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 73 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $38,807 | 56% | — | 94% |
| 4 | University of Kentucky Lexington, KY Public · 4 feeder programs | 56 | Education/Teaching of Individuals with Vision Impairments Including Blindness | $41,217 | 71% | — | 93% |
| 5 | Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 32 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $38,485 | 50% | — | 78% |
| 6 | Murray State University Murray, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 32 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $36,197 | 61% | — | 86% |
| 7 | University of Louisville Louisville, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 32 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 61% | — | 79% |
| 8 | Campbellsville University Campbellsville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 30 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 42% | $18,824 | 80% |
| 9 | Morehead State University Morehead, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $36,999 | 52% | — | 77% |
| 10 | Spalding University Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 52% | $23,661 | 99% |
| 11 | Asbury University Wilmore, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 65% | $19,816 | 63% |
| 12 | Kentucky State University Frankfort, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 32% | — | 96% |
| 13 | Northern Kentucky University Highland Heights, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $40,333 | 52% | — | 68% |
| 14 | Brescia University Owensboro, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 54% | $14,604 | 35% |
| 15 | Union Commonwealth University Barbourville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 32% | $28,386 | 63% |
All 15 schools in Kentucky
Every school in Kentucky with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of the Cumberlands | Williamsburg | Private not-for-profit | 309 | 1 |
| Georgetown College | Georgetown | Private not-for-profit | 89 | 1 |
| Western Kentucky University | Bowling Green | Public | 73 | 1 |
| University of Kentucky | Lexington | Public | 56 | 4 |
| Eastern Kentucky University | Richmond | Public | 32 | 2 |
| Murray State University | Murray | Public | 32 | 1 |
| University of Louisville | Louisville | Public | 32 | 1 |
| Campbellsville University | Campbellsville | Private not-for-profit | 30 | 1 |
| Morehead State University | Morehead | Public | 22 | 1 |
| Spalding University | Louisville | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 1 |
| Asbury University | Wilmore | Private not-for-profit | 4 | 1 |
| Kentucky State University | Frankfort | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Northern Kentucky University | Highland Heights | Public | 2 | 1 |
| Brescia University | Owensboro | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
| Union Commonwealth University | Barbourville | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
What special education teachers, secondary school earn in Kentucky
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $74,260. Kentucky pays below the national figure.
Concentrated here: Kentucky employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Kentucky
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Special Education Teachers, Secondary School page.
How to become a Special Education Teacher, Secondary School
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Kentucky
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 13 majors mapped to Special Education Teachers, Secondary School13 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 13.1001Special Education and Teaching, General
- 13.1003Education/Teaching of Individuals with Hearing Impairments Including Deafness
- 13.1005Education/Teaching of Individuals with Emotional Disturbances
- 13.1006Education/Teaching of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities
- 13.1007Education/Teaching of Individuals with Multiple Disabilities
- 13.1008Education/Teaching of Individuals with Orthopedic and Other Physical Health Impairments
- 13.1009Education/Teaching of Individuals with Vision Impairments Including Blindness
- 13.1011Education/Teaching of Individuals with Specific Learning Disabilities
- 13.1012Education/Teaching of Individuals with Speech or Language Impairments
- 13.1013Education/Teaching of Individuals with Autism
- 13.1014Education/Teaching of Individuals Who are Developmentally Delayed
- 13.1016Education/Teaching of Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injuries
- 13.1019Education/Teaching of Individuals in Secondary Special Education Programs
Common questions
Answers for people weighing special education teachers, secondary school programs in Kentucky.
What degree do you need to become a Special Education Teacher, Secondary School?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Special Education and Teaching, General, which awarded 653 degrees in Kentucky in 2024-25, 94.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Special Education Teacher, Secondary School?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Special Education and Teaching. Together they graduate about 692 people a year in Kentucky.
How much do special education teachers, secondary school earn in Kentucky?+
The median is $60,730 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 18.2% below the U.S. median of $74,260. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for special education teachers, secondary school growing?+
BLS projects a -1.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 11,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Kentucky?+
15 institutions in Kentucky reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do special education teachers, secondary school work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Learning Support Teacher, SPED Teacher (Special Education Teacher), HS SPED Teacher (High School Special Education Teacher), SPED Resource Teacher (Special Education Resource Teacher) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-2058.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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