Teacher (Special Education Teacher)

How Do I Qualify for this Position?

To be considered for the position, you must meet the following basic qualification requirements:

Basic Requirements:

Bachelor's degree from an accredited or pre-accredited institution that included or was supplemented by supervised student teaching, and at least one course in each of the following areas: general psychology, human development, history and/or philosophy of education, and teaching methods at the learning level of the position to be filled, i.e., elementary or secondary learning level. For secondary school teaching positions, applicants must also have had at least 24 semester hours (or equivalent) of course work in each of the principal fields of instruction.

AND

Applicants must meet the degree and course requirements shown above, and, in addition, applicants must have had at least 24 semester hours (or the equivalent) of course work in special education that included at least one course covering the teaching of exceptional students and courses in the appropriate field (s) of specialization.

AND

In addition to having the above Basic Requirements, applicants must also meet the following:

Education:

GL-07: One year of graduate level education OR Superior Academic Achievement.

GL-09: Two years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree OR master's or equivalent graduate degree.

OR

Experience:

GL-07 and GS-09: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade level in federal service. To be creditable, this experience must have equipped the applicant with the particular qualifications to perform successfully the duties of the position and must typically be in or related to the position to be filled.

Some examples of this qualifying experience could be:

GL-07:

• Experience in teaching with full and primary responsibility for the instruction assigned students, including remedial subjects to meet special needs, throughout the learning period.
• Experience in the preparation and presentation of lessons for special needs students, including evaluation of progress.
• Experience in maintaining student records and ensuring special learning needs are being addressed.
• Experience in following standardized curricula and lesson plans for students with special needs.

GL-09:

• Experience teaching special learning needs students in core subjects (i.e., literacy, GED and ESL programs), including adapting instructional materials and methods.
• Experience in developing individualized lesson plans and modifying existing academic curricula for prescriptive programs to meet special learning needs.
• Experience in developing a record-keeping system to evaluate special learning needs students and recommending adaptations to encourage successful progress through the identified course work.
• Experience selecting, administering and interpreting various formal and informal academic tests and other diagnostic measures.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience:

GL-07 and GS-09: Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience may be used to meet total experience requirements. Only graduate level education in excess of the amount required for next lower grade may be combined with experience. This experience must have equipped you with the particular qualifications to perform the major duties of this position as described above.

If applicable, credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience. To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities.

**Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application. **