Project SEARCH Special Education Teacher (26-27)

NORTHWEST INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

Job Title: Project SEARCH Special Education Teacher 

Reports To: Director of Special Education       

Dept. /School: Special Education                                        

Duty Days: 187

Wage/Hour Status: Exempt

Pay Grade: A15

Date Revised: 11/2025

Primary Purpose:

Coordinate grade 12+ transition planning and services from secondary education to competitive employment. Under the direction of the administrator and in accordance with established policies and procedures, the Project SEARCH teacher will help develop and coordinate the Project SEARCH program and provide instruction for students enrolled. The Project SEARCH teacher delivers the employability skills curriculum and works with each intern’s team to reach the goal of competitive employment.

Qualifications:   

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree.  
• Valid state teaching certificate with special education certification
• Minimum of two years successful, recent, and relevant experience as a classroom teacher for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities at the secondary level.  
• Thorough understanding of IDEA and transition planning for students with disabilities
• Knowledge of community-based programs, school-to-work programs and agency linkages
• Knowledge of secondary evaluations and the summary of performance
• Knowledge of research, trends, and best practices in special education
• Knowledge of state and federal laws, rules and regulations, and policies applicable to special education
• Ability to maintain a positive relationship with school personnel, parents, job sites, Project Search and the community
• Organizational ability, self-directedness, and initiative when given a variety of responsibilities and assigned tasks.
• Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing
• Knowledge of special education assessment and eligibility practices
• Ability to make decisions and problem-solve within a team of service providers

Major Responsibilities and Duties:

1. Recruit appropriate students with disabilities for Project SEARCH program.
2. Attend ARD meetings for possible student recruits.
3. Connect students to appropriate community services such as State Rehabilitation Services or local Developmental Disabilities agencies through referral and eligibility processes.
4. Identify internship sites within the host business to identify internships that build a repertoire of marketable skills that lead to competitive, integrated employment.
5. Ensure that internships include measurable skills gain that is assessed according to productivity, quality, and safety benchmarks.  
6. Facilitate regular Employment Planning Meetings with interns, families, and agency personnel to determine career interests, specific job preferences, skills, and abilities to design an individualized approach to job development.
7. Identify and problem solve solutions for challenges that interfere with completion of Project SEARCH and gaining and maintaining employment.
8. Use universal design concepts to design and  implement accommodations and adaptations needed at the internship sites.
9. Use VocFit and other assessment tools to evaluate intern progress, communicate with the team, and identify additional skill/task development.
10. Assess intern progress frequently, communicate that progress regularly to the intern’s team and make instructional and training adjustments and provide interventions for interns who are not making progress.
11. Develop resumes/portfolios for each intern that document measurable skills gain, internship experiences, any certifications gained, recommendations, etc. 
12. Provide Project SEARCH employability skills curriculum in the classroom and reinforce in the internships to develop skills, knowledge and work habits leading to successful employment. 
13. Continuously update the Member Portal to maintain records of staff changes, interns’ internship experiences and employment outcomes including jobs gained, wages, hours worked per week, benefits taken, etc. 
14. Actively participate in Project SEARCH Steering Committee and onsite team meetings. 
15. Coordinate and schedule onsite skills trainers to meet the support needs of the interns. 
16. Work with the business liaison, onsite team, and job developer (external) to secure competitive, integrated employment at the host business or in the community.
17. Coordinate travel training (when appropriate) through public transportation or other available transit methods. 
18. Other duties as assigned.

SHARS/ MAC / RMTS:

Northwest ISD participates in the School Health and Related Services (SHARS)  and MAC programs which allows our district to request Medicaid reimbursement for certain health-related services. The Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) committee determines SHARS services. 

As a special education staff member, you will be required to train and bill for SHARS reimbursements for students on your caseload.  Training will be provided for SHARS, for RMTS (Random Moment in Time Studies), where staff are chosen randomly to answer a few questions, and for MAC (Diagnosticians and non-Personal Care Providers only).  Training will be provided at the beginning of each school year as well as on an “as needed” basis for new hires.

Supervisory Duties: N/A

Equipment Used: Personal computer, printer, copier, calculator, and fax machine

Working Conditions:

This position requires occasional prolonged and irregular hours, frequent interruptions, and occasional stressful conditions. The position requires repetitive hand motions and prolonged use of computers. The position requires frequent bending, stooping, twisting, pulling, overhead reaching, prolonged sitting, and keyboarding. Position requires the ability to lift 25 pounds to waist high. The Job Site is intended to have pleasant environmental conditions.  The nature of the interns being taught requires sound judgment to maintain a safe educational environment.  This program will be housed off-site at a host business and may require travel.

The preceding data is intended to convey information about the job and its responsibilities, and is not an exhaustive list of skills, efforts, duties, responsibilities, and working conditions associated with it.

This document describes the general purpose and responsibilities assigned to this job and is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties that may be assigned or skills that may be required.