Director of Special Education
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Director of Special Education is responsible for the planning, development, coordination, and management of all special education programs, services, budgets and personnel. Ensures compliance with state and federal regulations governing the delivery of services to students with disabilities.
Job Outlook
There were 29 Director of Special Education job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 2951 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Elementary and Secondary School Administrator industry, which includes the Director of Special Education career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:
Salary
Many new Director of Special Education jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $124,842.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $124,842.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Director of Special Education postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $110,616.
Education and Experience
Posted Director of Special Education jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 18.23% |
| Master's Degree | 60.66% |
| Doctoral Degree | 8.07% |
| Other | 4.17% |
Posted Director of Special Education jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 9.41% |
| 3 to 5 years | 81% |
| 6 to 8 years | 5.85% |
| 9+ years | 3.74% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Director of Special Education positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Leadership (52.46%)
- Communication (47.81%)
- Teaching (44.7%)
- Planning (28.67%)
- Coordinating (25.48%)
- Management (25.45%)
- Writing (18.5%)
- Interpersonal Communications (16.77%)
- Research (16.54%)
- Operations (15.38%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Special Education Law (21.34%)
- Student Services (27.15%)
- Special Education (98.12%)
- Individualized Education Programs (IEP) (57.53%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- State Regulations (8.51%)
- Mediation (6.84%)
- Psychology (12.55%)
- Disabilities (16.8%)
- Curriculum Development (9.18%)
- Data Collection (9.61%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (7.73%)
- Autism Spectrum Disorders (5.18%)
- Mental Health (3.54%)
- Data Analysis (9.22%)
- Auditing (7.87%)
- Program Development (7.87%)
- Instructional Strategies (7.59%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Special Education Administration (6.27%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Special Education Administration (100%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Director of Special Education skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Special Education Supervisor
- National Education Director
- Director of Student Services
- Director of Special Services
- Chairperson
- Director of Special Programs
- Special Education Administrator
- Special Education Facilitator
- Director of Student Support Services
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Special Education Teacher
- Curriculum Specialist
- Assistant School Principal
- School Principal
- Dean of Students
- Higher Education Program Coordinator
- Elementary and Secondary School Administrator (General)
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Director of Special Education jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Stride K12 (30)
- Michigan Association Of School Boards (27)
- Loudoun County Public Schools (23)
- Yes Prep Public Schools (20)
- Kenmore-town Of Tonawanda Ufsd Admin BLDG (16)
- Boston Public Schools (15)
- Soliant Health (13)
- IDEA Public Schools (13)
- Clark County School District (13)
- Ulster Boces (12)
North Carolina
- State of North Carolina (2)
- Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (2)
- Alamance/Burlington Schools (2)
- Johnston County Public Schools (1)
- Stride K12 (1)
- All's Well Health Care (1)
- Wake County Public Schools (1)
- Durham Public Schools (1)
- Asheboro City Schools (1)
- Pitt County Schools (1)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- Educational Leadership Doctoral Degrees
- School Administration Master's Degrees
- Special Education Master's Degrees
- Special Education for Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) Graduate Certificates
- Teaching and Learning Statistics and Data Science Graduate Certificates
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.