Travel Special Education Teacher - Travel & Local | Colorado | 2026-2027 SY
Travel Pay Packages: $1,800 - $2,200 gross weekly. Each package is a taxable hourly wage plus non-taxable housing and meal stipends. On our standard structure that nets out comparable to a fully taxed role paying roughly $58 to $80 per hour, or a salaried position paying about $83,000 to $115,000 for the school year. Stipend eligibility depends on maintaining a qualifying tax home under IRS rules, and we confirm your eligibility in writing before you sign.
Local Pay Packages: $45 - $60 per hour, for teachers living within 50 miles of the assignment. Fully taxed, no stipend, no duplicate housing to maintain.
Sevn Workforce Solutions is hiring in-person Special Education Teachers for Colorado school districts, BOCES, and Administrative Units for the 2026-2027 school year. Colorado is one of the few states that publishes exactly how it fills the roles it cannot staff, and special education sits at the top of that list. That is your leverage. We help you use it.
The Role
We staff the full range of special education assignments and match you to the setting you actually want to work in.
- Resource room and pull-out service delivery
- Co-taught and inclusion models in general education classrooms
- Self-contained programs, including life skills, structured learning, and low-incidence classrooms
- Caseload management, IEP writing, progress monitoring, and participation in eligibility and annual review meetings
- Collaboration with general education teachers, paraprofessionals, related service providers, and families
Age span, disability categories, caseload size, and how many buildings you would cover are all confirmed with you before you accept anything. You will know what you are walking into.
Why Special Education Teachers Are Choosing Travel Contracts
- More of your package reaches you. Non-taxable housing and meal stipends lower your taxable income and raise your net pay. The math is spelled out above rather than hidden behind a "competitive pay" line.
- Colorado, for a school year. The mountains, the Front Range, the Western Slope. Test drive a place for nine months before you ever commit to moving there.
- Students who truly need you. Many of these classrooms have been covered by long-term substitutes or staff working on temporary authorizations for months. Your impact is immediate and visible.
- A stronger resume. New districts, disability categories, service delivery models, and program types add real range to your practice.
- A clean exit. Nine months, defined scope, no politics you inherited and none you have to stay for. If you love it, districts often ask travelers to stay.
- Real balance. Monday-Friday schedule, school holidays, summers off, and time between assignments to recharge.
How Special Education Actually Works in Colorado (Worth Reading If You Are From Out of State)
Colorado does not organize special education by school district the way most states do. It organizes it by Administrative Unit. An Administrative Unit can be a single large district, a group of districts operating through a BOCES, a charter school network, or the State Charter School Institute, and the Administrative Unit is the entity legally responsible for child find, the special education plan, and employing and assigning special education staff.
- In the metro areas, big districts like Denver, Jeffco, and Cherry Creek are their own Administrative Units, so an assignment there looks like a normal district job.
- In rural and mountain Colorado, small districts band together through a BOCES that serves as the Administrative Unit for all of them. That often means you are employed by the BOCES and serve several member districts, sometimes itinerantly across a wide geography.
That is a real, material difference in what the job feels like day to day, and it is the kind of thing that should be said in the posting rather than discovered in week two. We will tell you exactly which structure an assignment sits in and how much driving it involves before you say yes.
Colorado Licensure - Straight Answers
- What you need: a Colorado Initial or Professional Teacher License with the Special Education Generalist (ages 5-21) endorsement, issued by the Colorado Department of Education. A bachelor's degree is sufficient. No master's is required for the generalist endorsement. Note that Colorado writes its special education endorsements in age spans rather than grade bands.
- Be aware of the naming: the older "Special Education Specialist (ages 5-21)" endorsement was discontinued in May 2024. The current generalist credential is the one above. Master's degrees are required only for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the Visual Impairment specialist endorsements.
- On reciprocity, honestly: Colorado does not have true reciprocity. CDE states plainly that licenses never directly transfer from another state. What Colorado does have is a fast evaluation with a strong experience lane.
- The experience lane: if you hold a valid standard license from another state with the endorsement you are requesting, plus three or more years of full-time, fully licensed teaching experience in that area within the past seven years, you can be issued the Professional License, which runs seven years. Time served as a substitute or on emergency, temporary, provisional, or probationary credentials does not count toward those three years.
- On exams: CDE determines any testing requirement when it reviews your completed application. Content knowledge can be documented by exam score, by an endorsement worksheet, or through Colorado's Multiple Measures of Content Competency process. We will not promise you that no exam is required, because that is CDE's call, not ours. We will tell you what your file looks like before you commit.
- If something is still outstanding: Colorado issues an Interim Authorization for one year, renewable once, while you finish remaining requirements.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution
- Colorado Initial or Professional Teacher License with the Special Education Generalist (ages 5-21) endorsement, or eligibility for one. We assist with the application and cover fees.
- Prior special education classroom experience required
- Experience writing and implementing IEPs
- Fingerprint background clearance
- In-person service delivery required
The 50-Mile Rule (You May Already Qualify)
You do not have to cross state lines to earn travel pay. If an assignment is more than 50 miles from your permanent residence, you may qualify as a traveler and become eligible for the non-taxable stipends that make these packages work. In a state as large as Colorado that is very often satisfied in-state. A Front Range teacher taking a Western Slope or San Luis Valley assignment usually qualifies, and plenty of our teachers come home on weekends.
Within 50 miles of the assignment? You would work it as a local contract at a strong hourly rate instead. We will walk you through which path fits you and confirm your stipend eligibility in writing before you sign anything.
Do Not See Your Ideal District? We Build It.
Most agencies only offer what is already posted. Through our Reverse Marketing Program we work as your personal agent at no cost to you, contacting districts, BOCES, and Administrative Units in your preferred part of Colorado to build an opportunity around you.
- You are the only teacher presented. No competing against a stack of resumes.
- Interviews turn into offers fast. These Administrative Units need someone now.
- Pay is often higher than standard postings because the need is urgent.
Benefits and Other Compensation
- Weekly direct deposit
- 40+ Medical insurance options to choose from
- Non-taxable housing and meal stipends when eligible
- Paid sick leave in accordance with Colorado law
- Licensure assistance, including CDE application and any testing fees
- Referral bonuses and assignment completion bonuses on select contracts
- 9-month school year contracts
- Dedicated recruiter from your first call through your last day
- Contract continuity planning so your next assignment is lined up before this one ends
How to Apply
Apply through Indeed with your resume. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis as assignments open across Colorado for the 2026-2027 school year.
A recruiter will walk you through the assignments currently open, what your package would actually net in Colorado, and exactly what your CDE licensure timeline looks like. Questions before you apply are welcome at [email protected].
Special education is the hardest job in the building and the one Colorado is least able to fill. That is not a reason to burn out in place. It is leverage, and it is worth being paid for.
Sevn Workforce Solutions | 20+ years of education and therapy staffing | Direct district and BOCES partnerships, no vendor layers | Transparent pay packages
#IND1
Job Types: Full-time, Contract
Pay: $1,800.00 - $2,200.00 per week
Benefits:
Work Location: On the road
