AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 25-2056.00

Will AI replace Special Education Teachers, Elementary School?

Special Education Teachers, Elementary School: AI can already handle 5 of 30 tasks; the work mostly needs a standard-tier model.

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Every task, scored

The 30 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Special Education Teachers, Elementary School, from most to least exposed. 5 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.

Task AI exposure Evidence Model tier Importance
Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health. 65 Estimated Standard 4.5
Collaborate with other teachers or administrators to develop, evaluate, or revise elementary school programs. 65 Estimated Standard 4.2
Interpret the results of standardized tests to determine students' strengths and areas of need. 65 Estimated Frontier 3.9
Prepare, administer, or grade tests or assignments to evaluate students' progress. 65 Observed Standard 4.1
Meet with parents or guardians to discuss their children's progress, advise them on using community resources, or teach skills for dealing with students' impairments. 60 Estimated Frontier 4.5
Develop or implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of disabilities. 50 Estimated Frontier 4.8
Coordinate placement of students with special needs into mainstream classes. 50 Estimated Frontier 4.6
Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, or other professionals to develop individual educational plans (IEPs) for students' educational, physical, or social development. 50 Estimated Standard 4.5
Teach students personal development skills, such as goal setting, independence, or self-advocacy. 50 Estimated Standard 4.5
Confer with other staff members to plan or schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula. 50 Estimated Standard 4.1
Organize and supervise games or other recreational activities to promote physical, mental, or social development. 50 Estimated Frontier 3.9
Plan or supervise experiential learning activities, such as class projects, field trips, demonstrations, or visits by guest speakers. 50 Estimated Frontier 3.4
Plan or conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate. 40 Observed Standard 4.3
Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement. 35 Estimated Efficient 4.7
Monitor teachers or teacher assistants to ensure adherence to special education program requirements. 35 Estimated Standard 4.5
Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, or teacher training workshops to maintain or improve professional competence. 35 Estimated Efficient 4.0
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. 30 Estimated Standard 4.9
Modify the general elementary education curriculum for students with disabilities. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.7
Prepare classrooms with a variety of materials or resources for children to explore, manipulate, or use in learning activities or imaginative play. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.7
Provide assistive devices, supportive technology, or assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.7
Encourage students to explore learning opportunities or persevere with challenging tasks to prepare them for later grades. 30 Estimated Standard 4.5
Establish and communicate clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects to students. 30 Estimated Standard 4.5
Guide or counsel students with adjustment problems, academic problems, or special academic interests. 30 Estimated Standard 4.5
Prepare objectives, outlines, or other materials for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or school or state requirements. 30 Estimated Standard 4.3
Instruct students in daily living skills required for independent maintenance and self-sufficiency, such as hygiene, safety, or food preparation. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.2
Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment or materials to prevent injuries and damage. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.1
Organize and display students' work in a manner appropriate for their perceptual skills. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.0
Administer standardized ability and achievement tests to elementary students with special needs. 30 Estimated Efficient 3.6
Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, or administrative regulations. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.7
Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students. 20 Estimated Standard 4.7

Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 2 of 30 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 28 of 30. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.

The model tier this role needs

A standard-tier model or lower covers 81% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 100% of the work is something AI can address at some tier.

Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.

Wages, employment and outlook

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025) publishes no national employment or wage figure for this O*NET occupation.

Adjacent roles

The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.

Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.

Questions about Special Education Teachers, Elementary School and AI

Will AI replace Special Education Teachers, Elementary School?

AI already handles 5 of the 30 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 40 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears.

What is the AI exposure of Special Education Teachers, Elementary School?

40 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 2 of the 30 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 28 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.

Which Special Education Teachers, Elementary School tasks can AI already do?

The tasks with the highest exposure are: Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health; Collaborate with other teachers or administrators to develop, evaluate, or revise elementary school programs; Interpret the results of standardized tests to determine students' strengths and areas of need. They are three of the 5 tasks that reach 60 or more.

What AI model tier does this role need?

A standard-tier model or lower covers 81% of the role's importance-weighted task work. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.

How to cite

Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.

JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Special Education Teachers, Elementary School. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/special-education-teachers-elementary-school

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