Colorado Special Education Teacher Guide
Everything you need to know about becoming a special ed teacher in Colorado: licensing requirements, continuing education, salary data, and key resources. Whether you’re just starting out or renewing your license, this is your complete Colorado guide.
How to Become a Special Education Teacher in Colorado
The National Association of Special Education Teachers exists to support educators at every stage of this path, starting with certification itself. Colorado employs roughly 4,800 special ed teachers across 179 districts, and candidates need a bachelor’s degree, completion of a state-approved teacher preparation program (or 24 semester hours of condoned coursework), and passing scores on the Special Ed Generalist Praxis exam.
New teachers receive an Initial License, then move to a five-year Professional License after completing a state-approved induction program and submitting a five-year employment history. Colorado also offers additional endorsements in SPED Specialist, SPED Specialist: Visually Impaired, and SPED Specialist: Deaf/Hard of Hearing for teachers who want to specialize further. You can review the full scope of NASET’s certification pathways directly to see which credential fits your career stage, alongside district requirements as they come up.
Become a NASET Member today for instant access to nearly 80 professional development courses you can submit to your district for renewal consideration!
Continuing Education & License Renewal in Colorado
Colorado’s Professional License renews every five years and requires six semester hours of condoned credit from a regionally accredited university. Starting in June 2025, teachers must also complete at least 10 contact hours of professional learning per renewal period, including at least one hour on behavioral health and one hour specifically on educating students with disabilities.
Colorado doesn’t operate a state-level approval list for outside providers, so NASET course completion certificates are best submitted directly to your district for review against these contact-hour requirements. As the National Association of Special Education Teachers, NASET’s course library is built specifically around the disability-focused content Colorado now requires as part of every renewal cycle.
Become a NASET Member today and save 15% on your BCSE certification — the gold standard credential for SPED teachers nationwide!
Special Education Teacher Salary in Colorado
The earning potential for Colorado SPED teachers varies by experience, location, and credentials:
- Average salary: $63,000–$67,000 per year
- Entry-level (0–3 years): around $55,000
- Experienced (8+ years): up to $80,000 or higher with advanced credentials
- Key factors: metro Denver vs. rural districts, advanced degrees, district funding
Denver’s public schools alone employ more than 1,200 special ed teachers, and pursuing board certification remains one of the more reliable ways to strengthen your case for career advancement.
IEPs in Colorado
10% of Colorado’s students have been identified with disabilities, below the national average of 13%, and the Colorado Department of Education’s Exceptional Student Services Unit, through its Office of Special Education, oversees IEP compliance statewide. Reviewing strong IEP models alongside determining measurable annual goals in an IEP can help teachers write IEPs that hold up to review, particularly given how much local variation exists across Colorado’s 179 districts.
Become a NASET Member today for full access to our IEP toolkit, sample IEPs, and progress-monitoring resources!
Key Resources for Colorado Special Education Teachers
State Resources:
- CDE — Office of Special Education — state IEP guidance, endorsement requirements, and compliance resources
- PEAK Parent Center — Colorado’s Parent Training and Information Center, offering workshops and advocacy resources for families and educators
- CDE — Educator Licensing — certification pathways, endorsements, and renewal information
- About NASET — learn more about the National Association of Special Education Teachers and its mission
- Complete State-by-State Special Education Teacher Guide
PEAK’s annual Conference on Inclusive Education reaches families, self-advocates, and educators statewide, giving Colorado teachers a strong complement to the National Association of Special Education Teachers’ own certification-focused coursework. NASET’s Special Educator e-Journal is another useful way to stay current between conference cycles.
Advance Your Career With NASET
Wherever you are in your Colorado SPED career, the National Association of Special Education Teachers offers structured ways to keep growing. The Membership gives you year-round access to courses, downloadable classroom tools, and a community of practitioners navigating the same licensure and renewal requirements you are.
For those ready to formalize their expertise, The Board Certified Special Educator (BCSE) credential signals advanced mastery to administrators and districts alike, and it’s a meaningful differentiator when pursuing leadership roles or negotiating career advancement in competitive metro Denver districts.
Both paths lead back to the same goal: helping Colorado’s students with disabilities get the individualized support they’re entitled to, from educators equipped to provide it.
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