EC teachers in NC: what North Carolina calls special education (Exceptional Children)

1. What NC calls special education: Exceptional Children (EC)

North Carolina’s State Board of Education and its Department of Public Instruction (DPI) call their K–12 special education license category Exceptional Children.

DPI’s Areas of Licensure page says of the category: “In other states, this category may also be called Special Education.”

DPI uses the short form too: its 2024-25 State of the Teaching Profession report counts vacancies in “Exceptional Children (EC) positions.”

2. The EC license areas and grade spans

The State Board’s licensure rule, 16 NCAC 06C .0304(f) (readopted effective July 1, 2026), lists the license areas. Its “Exceptional Children (Kindergarten – Grade 12)” category includes the K–12 areas below, and its Elementary category includes two K–6 special education areas. DPI’s Areas of Licensure page lists the same areas but names some of them differently, and the two sources swap the General Curriculum and Adapted Curriculum names between the K–12 and K–6 levels.

The names in this table are the ones each source prints. This guide does not pick one, because the State Board’s rule, DPI’s page and the State Board’s testing policy (below) use different combinations.

3. The exams for each EC license area

The State Board’s testing policy, LICN-003 (“Licensing Testing Requirements”, effective September 1, 2026), lists the required tests and scores. These are the tests LICN-003 lists for each Exceptional Children (K-12) area, with the names and licensure codes as the policy prints them. The policy’s tests column carries the note “(Note: Praxis Test Code unless otherwise indicated)”.

For any Exceptional Children area not shown in this table, ask DPI Licensure about its testing requirement.

The law behind the General Curriculum row: “special education general curriculum teachers shall also achieve a prescribed minimum score on subtests or standard examinations specific to teaching reading and mathematics” (G.S. 115C-270.15(a)).

When the exams are due. The State Board’s rule sets the deadline: “June 30 of the third year of the license” (16 NCAC 06C .0353).

What changed in 2026. Session Law 2026-41, section 7.10(b), approved July 7, 2026, removed from G.S. 115C-270.15(c) the statute’s condition that the exam be attempted in the first year of licensure. Except where it says otherwise, the act “becomes effective July 1, 2026” (section 45.8).

As read on October 10 and 11, 2026, LICN-003, the State Board’s rules .0337(a)(2) and .0344(b)(2), and DPI’s licensure FAQ still describe a first-year attempt. They have not yet been updated to match the statute. If first-year timing matters for your license, ask DPI Licensure how it applies the change.

4. Adding a license area: where DPI explains it

If you hold an NC license and want to add an Exceptional Children area, DPI’s licensure FAQ (Forms and FAQs) covers how to add an area to a license, and DPI Licensure can answer for your own case. Applications go through the NCDPI Online Licensure System. Fees are in our NC teaching license guide.

5. EC vacancies and the federal shortage listing (DPI, 2025-26; U.S. Department of Education, 2026-27)

The U.S. Department of Education’s Teacher Shortage Areas listing shows North Carolina special education (Exceptional Children) as a federally listed teacher shortage area for 2026-27, in grades K–5, 6–8 and 9–12. The listing has a stated limit: “States are not required to report all teacher shortage areas.”

DPI’s 2024-25 State of the Teaching Profession report counted teacher vacancies on the 40th school day of 2025-26. DPI’s finding: “In middle schools (6-8) and in high schools (9-12) LEAs have the highest vacancies in Exceptional Children (EC) positions.” The report’s three Exceptional Children rows were 735.6 full-time-equivalent vacancies in grades K–5, 406.4 in grades 6–8 and 393.6 in grades 9–12.

DPI’s word “vacancy” includes positions that have someone in them: “Instructional positions that are filled with long-term substitutes, retired teachers, or temporary or provisionally licensed teachers would be counted as vacant by the LEA.”

On licensure, DPI writes that “there is a dearth of teachers licensed in the areas of mathematics and elementary education” and that “Finding teachers who are licensed in Exceptional Children also continues to be a challenge for the state’s LEAs.”

About 220,000 North Carolina students ages 3 to 21 receive special education services (December 1, 2025 count).

6. SpecialEdResource’s requirement, in its own words

SpecialEdResource’s hiring site states the requirement this way: “Special education certification and a current teaching license from any US state.” Its phone script adds: “Licenses and special education certification from any US state are welcome.”

If your license has expired or is inactive, 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.” It adds: “We check licenses before the first interview.” Renewal steps are in our NC teaching license guide.

The hiring site also describes the students: “Some students are nonspeaking and communicate with AAC or other supports, and some have multiple or more significant disabilities.”

The job’s other requirements, including where tutors must live, are on the job page.