Education & TrainingO*NET: 25-9043.00
Will AI Replace Teaching Assistants, Special Education?
Assist a preschool, elementary, middle, or secondary school teacher to provide academic, social, or life skills to students who have learning, emotional, or physical disabilities. Serve in a position for which a teacher has primary responsibility for the design and implementation of educational programs and services.
65out of 100
High Risk
AI Risk Score
65/100
Risk Level
High
Job Zone
3/5
Medium
Total Tasks Analyzed
20
🤖 What AI Can Do
- â–¸Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
- â–¸Observe students' performance, and record relevant data to assess progress.
- â–¸Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injuries and damage.
- â–¸Organize and label materials and display students' work in a manner appropriate for their eye levels and perceptual skills.
👤 What Requires Humans
- â–¸Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.
- â–¸Supervise students in classrooms, halls, cafeterias, school yards, and gymnasiums, or on field trips.
- â–¸Carry out therapeutic regimens, such as behavior modification and personal development programs, under the supervision of special education instructors, psychologists, or speech-language pathologists.
- â–¸Tutor and assist children individually or in small groups to help them master assignments and to reinforce learning concepts presented by teachers.
- â–¸Present subject matter to students under the direction and guidance of teachers, using lectures, discussions, supervised role-playing methods, or by reading aloud.
- â–¸Discuss assigned duties with classroom teachers to coordinate instructional efforts.
Task Breakdown
🤖AI Can Automate (4)
- Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
- Observe students' performance, and record relevant data to assess progress.
- Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injuries and damage.
- Organize and label materials and display students' work in a manner appropriate for their eye levels and perceptual skills.
👤Requires Humans (8)
- Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.
- Supervise students in classrooms, halls, cafeterias, school yards, and gymnasiums, or on field trips.
- Carry out therapeutic regimens, such as behavior modification and personal development programs, under the supervision of special education instructors, psychologists, or speech-language pathologists.
- Tutor and assist children individually or in small groups to help them master assignments and to reinforce learning concepts presented by teachers.
- Present subject matter to students under the direction and guidance of teachers, using lectures, discussions, supervised role-playing methods, or by reading aloud.
- Discuss assigned duties with classroom teachers to coordinate instructional efforts.
- Distribute teaching materials, such as textbooks, workbooks, papers, and pencils, to students.
- Organize and supervise games and other recreational activities to promote physical, mental, and social development.
âš¡AI-Assisted (8)
- Provide assistance to students with special needs.
- Employ special educational strategies or techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, or memory.
- Enforce administration policies and rules governing students.
- Instruct students in daily living skills required for independent maintenance and self-sufficiency, such as hygiene, safety, or food preparation.
- Prepare classrooms with a variety of materials or resources for children to explore, manipulate, or use in learning activities or imaginative play.
- Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.
- Clean classrooms.
- Prepare lesson materials, bulletin board displays, exhibits, equipment, and demonstrations.
Key Skills Analysis
Active Listening
Importance: 3.88/5.00
Speaking
Importance: 3.75/5.00
Social PerceptivenessAI-Resistant
Importance: 3.75/5.00
Reading ComprehensionAI-Vulnerable
Importance: 3.62/5.00
Learning Strategies
Importance: 3.62/5.00
Monitoring
Importance: 3.62/5.00
Service OrientationAI-Resistant
Importance: 3.62/5.00
InstructingAI-Resistant
Importance: 3.50/5.00
Critical ThinkingAI-Resistant
Importance: 3.38/5.00
WritingAI-Vulnerable
Importance: 3.12/5.00
CoordinationAI-Resistant
Importance: 3.12/5.00
PersuasionAI-Resistant
Importance: 3.12/5.00
Active LearningAI-Resistant
Importance: 3.00/5.00
Complex Problem SolvingAI-Resistant
Importance: 3.00/5.00
NegotiationAI-Resistant
Importance: 2.88/5.00
Related Occupations
Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten
4/100 — Very Low Risk
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School
31/100 — Low Risk
Special Education Teachers, Elementary School
32/100 — Low Risk
Teaching Assistants, Preschool, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary School, Except Special Education
52/100 — Medium Risk
Special Education Teachers, Middle School
27/100 — Low Risk
Future-Proof Your Career
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Frequently Asked Questions
Based on our analysis, Teaching Assistants, Special Education have a high risk of AI replacement with a score of 65/100. Many routine tasks in this role can be automated, but human oversight remains important.
Last updated: 2026-03-28· Data from O*NET 30.2 & Frey/Osborne automation research