Special education (EC) tutor job FAQ for North Carolina teachers

A part-time, remote W-2 job with SpecialEdResource: live, one-on-one online tutoring for students with IEPs, 504 plans and learning differences, one student at a time. See the full job

All subjects, from pre-K through 12th grade, plus adult learners. SpecialEdResource hires special education teachers of any subject and grade level.

Students with IEPs, 504 plans and learning differences. Our students attend public, charter and private schools or learn at home. Some students are nonspeaking and communicate with AAC or other supports, and some have multiple or more significant disabilities.

You have subscribed online resources and SpecialEdResource-created resources to work with, plus a full team that supports teachers and families. You also have a real person you can text or email when something comes up. We are truly a family that works hard to support one another.

SpecialEdResource handles info gathering. You handle your own scheduling, which is flexible. Available hours depend on student demand and schedule fit. You also handle most of the communication with families, by email. Planning is your part too: you choose and adapt materials for each student, because every child differs.

Yes. You decide which students you want to work with. Before a match, you see the student’s age, grade, disability category, recent work and the family’s goals, plus the student’s availability and deep details of their interests. If a match doesn’t work, SpecialEdResource rematches.

How many students you start with is very flexible and mainly up to you. Available hours depend on student demand and schedule fit.

No. You don’t write IEPs or attend IEP meetings.

Only if requested.

Zoom. You provide:

• a laptop or desktop with a webcam and microphone (your own; SpecialEdResource does not provide one);
• internet of at least 25 Mbps download;
• a quiet room; and
• a USB headset, which SpecialEdResource strongly recommends.

This is tutoring, not classroom teaching: you work with one student at a time, in live online sessions that usually last 30 minutes, 45 minutes or 1 hour, as a part-time W-2 employee of SpecialEdResource. Training is paid, and licenses and special education certification from any US state are welcome.

Starting pay: $23/hour, W-2. All tutors can earn a 10% performance bonus in any pay period when they tutor at least 10 hours and turn in session notes on time. Notes count as on time when they're turned in within 48 hours after each session. Pay and schedule

Twice a month, on the 5th and 20th, by direct deposit.

W-2. You're an employee: SpecialEdResource withholds federal income tax, North Carolina state income tax and your share of Social Security and Medicare, pays the employer’s half (7.65% of your pay) and carries workers’ comp. You get a W-2 each January and don’t file quarterly estimated taxes for this job.

You're paid for tutoring time. Prep and notes are not paid separately; the session rate covers them. For the notes, SpecialEdResource provides AI summary tools that make note-writing mostly copy and paste.

Yes. No-shows are always paid.

Yes. Training and onboarding are both paid. Platform training takes about an hour.

Raises above the starting rate are based on performance, going above and beyond, and results with your students.

No. Health insurance isn't provided for part-time roles at these hours.

Our greatest need is weekdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern, which is your local time in North Carolina. Evening and weekend tutors are welcome too: tell us when you can teach. You don’t need to cover every grade, subject or time. Available hours depend on student demand and schedule fit.

At least 5 hours of weekly availability. Tutors with us work 5 to 25 hours a week. Available hours depend on student demand and schedule fit.

No. Available hours depend on student demand and schedule fit.

Sessions usually last 30 minutes, 45 minutes or 1 hour. On average, a student meets with their tutor 2 to 3 times a week.

Most students keep meeting through summer and school breaks.

Yes. Tell us as far ahead as you can (usually a week is plenty). Occasional time off carries no penalty.

Four things. You need to:

• hold a special education certification;
• hold a current teaching license from a US state, or one you'll renew before you start;
• live in one of the states where we can currently employ tutors (North Carolina is one; the full list is below); and
• be comfortable with the role’s $23/hour W-2 pay terms.

No. The requirement is special education certification and a current teaching license, both from any U.S. state. Your license doesn’t need to be from the state where the student lives. We check licenses before the first interview.

EC stands for Exceptional Children, North Carolina's name for special education. Of its Exceptional Children (K-12) license category, DPI says: “In other states, this category may also be called Special Education.” NC EC license guide

Yes, if you'll renew it before you start. The application's license question says:

Answer Yes if your license is current, or if it has expired or is inactive and you’ll renew it before you start. We check licenses before the first interview.

For a North Carolina license, DPI says: “If your license expired in previous years, the renewal request can be submitted at any time.” DPI also says “8 units of renewal credit are required to renew both a current and expired CPL” (a CPL is a continuing professional license). Renewing an NC license

Not for this job. Licenses and special education certification from any US state are welcome. If you want a North Carolina license as well, DPI answers “How do I transfer my license from another state to North Carolina?” on its Forms and FAQs page.

Yes from South Carolina, Virginia or Georgia; not from Tennessee. We can currently employ tutors who live in 14 states: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. Where you live is what counts, not which state issued your license. This site's listing is for North Carolina; teachers in the other 13 states use the same application.

NC Retirement Systems (RSD) states its rule for private employers on its return-to-work page:

“Return-to-work” laws do not apply if you are employed with a private-sector employer and you perform no work for a system employer.

SpecialEdResource is a private company with no contracts or paid work with North Carolina public school districts or charter schools. RSD adds: “However, work performed for a system employer can include contractor work on the system employer’s behalf.” Confirm your own situation with NC Retirement Systems before you start. Our TSERS guide

RSD's six-month wait is for work for a system employer. Its page says retirees wait “six (6) months for TSERS, before performing any work for a system employer”, and that “a ‘system employer’ includes all North Carolina public school units, State agencies, community colleges, and UNC institutions, among others.” Ask NC Retirement Systems how the wait applies to your plans before you start.

Yes. RSD says: “If you accept public or private employment while you are receiving long-term benefits, there are limits to the amount you may earn each month”. Check the limit that applies to you with NC Retirement Systems before you start.

North Carolina law says: “A CPL shall remain in effect for five years after retirement.” (G.S. 115C-270.20(a)(1); a CPL is a continuing professional license). A lifetime license, in the statute's words, “shall require no renewal” (G.S. 115C-270.20(d)). The application's license rule is the same for everyone:

Answer Yes if your license is current, or if it has expired or is inactive and you’ll renew it before you start. We check licenses before the first interview.

After you retire: your NC license

If you are under full retirement age for all of 2026, SSA's limit is $24,480 for the year. Above it, SSA withholds $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn over the limit. If 2026 is the year you reach full retirement age, a higher limit applies: $65,160, counting only earnings in the months before you reach full retirement age, and SSA withholds $1 for every $3 above it. Either limit counts your wages from every job, not only this one. At $23 an hour, $24,480 is about 1,064 hours of tutoring in a year; at $25.30 an hour, the rate in a pay period when you earn the bonus, it is about 968 hours. The $25.30 figure holds only if every pay period earns the bonus; in a pay period that does not, every hour is paid at $23, so the real figure falls between the two. Available hours depend on student demand and schedule fit. Check your own case with SSA. Social Security for NC teachers

On SpecialEdResource's hiring site, hiring.specialedresource.com, where every Apply button on this site leads. The application takes about two minutes, and a resume is required (PDF or Word, up to 10 MB). Apply now

If your answers meet every requirement, your next step is a short phone call with our AI assistant. You get a phone number and a personal code right after you apply, on screen and by email, and the call takes about 10 minutes. Prefer to talk with a person? Press 0 when the call starts. The call is recorded, and a person on our hiring team reviews it and makes every decision. The steps after that: team review, two interviews, a short mock lesson and the hiring decision. Your first interview is with Erin Johnson, SER’s Senior Director of Tutoring Operations, who lives in North Carolina. The second interview is with Luke Dalien. How hiring works

Yes. Hiring includes a background check, paid by SpecialEdResource. License and background checks usually take 3 to 5 business days.

From hire to your first session could be a week or two.

studentsuccess@specialedresource.com