A show of support: How more districts are incentivizing teaching special education

Special education teachers shoulder unique responsibilities. They are tasked with developing individualized education programs (IEPs) for students with disabilities, adapting instruction for diverse learners, leading multidisciplinary meetings, monitoring legal requirements, and regularly communicating with families. More than one in seven public school students receive special education services, yet special education teachers have been the most commonly cited shortage area, dating back to the 1990s. In other words, special education teachers are too frequently asked to carry excessive workloads, and it should come as no surprise that, when compared to elementary and secondary teachers, they are more likely to either transfer schools or leave the profession altogether.

To explore what districts are doing to attract, support, and retain special education teachers, this District Trendline looks first at how compensation policies have changed over the last few years for special education teachers in 148 of the largest school districts across the country, then it digs deeper into 25 districts¹ to explore other policies they have implemented to support special education teachers.

How many large districts incentivize teaching special education?

When we last looked at district policy on special education teachers in 2022, we found a majority offered some form of financial incentive to attract and retain special education teachers. Notably, many districts with incentives did not specifically name special education teachers, but rather stated that the added benefits were extended to “hard-to-staff” positions. The 2022 findings also revealed that a third of districts did not offer any additional compensation or benefits to special education teachers.

Looking at the same set of districts in 2025, not only are more districts incentivizing special education positions, but a greater number are clearly articulating that benefits extend to special education teachers instead of using “hard-to-staff” terminology. Under the assumption that hard-to-staff areas include special education teachers, nearly 7 in 10 large districts have policies aimed at attracting and retaining special education teachers—almost a 20% increase from three years ago.

Among the districts that were not previously found to offer incentives, the most recent data available in NCTQ’s Teacher Contract Database (TCD), which in some cases dates back to 2023–24, finds Atlanta Public Schools (GA) and Charleston County School District (SC) each provide special education teachers an annual stipend of $3,000. Also stepping up, Pasadena Independent School District (TX) offers an annual stipend ranging from $650 to $3,120; Sacramento City Unified School District (CA) now pays special education teachers under a separate, elevated salary schedule; and Jackson Public Schools (MS) provides special education teachers $5,000 over a three-year period.

As an example of language that was updated in the past three years to specify special education teachers, the current contract for San Francisco Unified School District (CA) states that special education teachers are one of three “hard-to-fill” positions entitled to an annual $1,000 stipend. While the same stipend existed in the previous contract, the hard-to-fill positions were not named. What’s more, the current San Francisco contract names the academic years for which the stipend will be granted, providing clarity around both who qualifies and the applicable period.

What forms of financial compensation do districts offer?

Additional pay

Most districts with incentives provide special education teachers additional compensation in the form of salary increases, bonuses, or stipends. Nearly two in three large districts now take this approach, representing a 23% increase over our 2022 findings.

While there is clear growth in providing additional pay to attract and retain special education teachers, not all incentives are created equal. The Hawaii Department of Education, a single district serving the entire state, offers the largest direct financial incentive. Recent analysis of Hawaii’s $10,000 annual incentive suggests the policy encouraged more general education teachers to move into special education roles, which reduced the proportion of open special education positions relative to those of general classroom teachers by 32% while decreasing the number of open special education positions filled by unlicensed teachers by 35%.²

The 2025 findings indicate that more districts appear to be pursuing sound policy by adding financial incentives for special education teachers; however, research around bonuses suggests that for additional pay to function as a retention tool, the added compensation must be at least $5,000 (based on the average teacher salary).³ In addition to Hawaii, three other districts in our sample provide special education teachers with at least $5,000 annually: Aurora Public Schools (CO), Clark County School District (NV), and Detroit Public Schools Community District (MI). This means that while many districts are providing additional compensation, they may not be offering enough to make a difference.

Tuition reimbursement

Financial incentives also come in other forms, such as tuition reimbursement. Anchorage School District (AK), which offers a signing bonus and money toward relocation, also provides tuition reimbursement for general education teachers working to obtain a special education endorsement. Similarly, Wichita Public Schools (KS) provides financial assistance in the form of forgivable loans to current staff members who matriculate through the district’s Grow Your Own Teacher Program, pursuing hard-to-fill positions, including special education.

In total, nine districts (6% of the TCD sample) offer some form of tuition reimbursement, up from the six we found in 2022. In addition to the two named above, the other districts offering financial assistance with tuition for special education teachers include Anne Arundel County Public Schools (MD), Brevard Public Schools (FL), Buffalo School District (NY), Cleveland Metropolitan School District (OH), Memphis-Shelby County Schools (TN), Minneapolis Public Schools (MN), and Richmond Public Schools (VA).

Hourly compensation

We discovered the provision of additional hourly pay for special education teachers when looking at Anoka-Hennepin School District (MN). Specifically, Anoka-Hennepin pays up to 12 hours each trimester for time spent completing due process paperwork outside of working hours. To explore how many districts have a similar policy, we looked closely at the largest district in 25 states and found at least five others that recognize that special education teachers’ workload may be too great to realistically complete during school hours:

• Chicago Public Schools: Employees who are required to attend IEP meetings before or after the school day are compensated at their regular instructional hourly rate of pay.
• Clark County School District (NV): To provide compensation for time outside the contractual workday, special education teachers receive one contract unit (up to 30) for each IEP or multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting. Contract units help teachers advance to a new column in the salary schedule.
• Denver Public Schools: Special education teachers working beyond the 40-hour work week are paid at their hourly rate for additional time.
• Jefferson County Public Schools (KY): When the duties of resource teachers exceed 7.5 hours, the additional time is compensated at the hourly rate of pay.
• New York City Department of Education: Special education teachers may participate in IEPs (and other special education meetings) via teleconferencing. If the call occurs during a preparation or administrative period, compensation will be paid at the coverage rate. If the call occurs outside of school hours, the special education teacher will be compensated at the applicable per-session rate.

How else are districts supporting special education teachers?

While additional compensation can help attract and retain special education teachers, research suggests that districts also need to address workload concerns.⁴ To that end, Prince George’s County Public Schools (MD) releases special education teachers from teaching and other duties for at least five days each year to complete paperwork, which comes on top of an annual stipend ranging from $1,725 to $3,036. A scan of the 25-district sample finds that at least 10 carve out unique time for special education teachers to tackle their additional responsibilities. The following are some examples:

• Chicago Public Schools (IL): The district permits principals to use either substitutes or release time to allow special education teachers to complete IEPs during the work day. It also provides special education teachers one full day or two half-day in-service meetings per year on professional development days.
• Denver Public Schools (CO): The district specifies that special education teachers are exempt from non-teaching duties typically assigned to all teachers. The district also gives special education teachers up to four days per semester of release time to work on mandated documentation.
• Hawaii Department of Education: To provide special educators with time to participate in the IEP process, the district allows teachers to use up to 10 early release days.
• Miami-Dade County Public Schools (FL): In the absence of a special education program specialist, special education teachers with full-time student contacts are granted four release days per school year to plan and prepare IEPs.
• Montgomery County Public Schools (MD): Beyond their daily planning time, elementary special education teachers with a classroom are provided sufficient weekly preparation time during the school day for caseload management .
• Omaha Public Schools (NE): Early childhood special education teachers are granted one release day per month (nine per year). Full-time special education staff receive one release day per quarter to maintain student records.

Schools across the country urgently need special education teachers. The data suggests districts are increasingly looking to a range of incentives to remain competitive in recruiting new special education teachers and retaining the ones they already have. While additional benefits may not fully offset the expanded workload that special education teachers take on, at the very least, they can serve as a meaningful gesture that has the potential to improve job satisfaction and reduce turnover.