Special education tutor job FAQ for Kansas 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

Yes. Kansas is one of the 15 states where SpecialEdResource can currently employ tutors: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, 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 Kansas; teachers in the other 14 states use the same application. What you need to apply · Apply on the hiring site

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. Once you take on a student, sessions recur at the same times each week. 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 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.

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: that is 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Central in most of Kansas, and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mountain in Sherman, Wallace, Greeley and Hamilton counties. Evening and weekend tutors are welcome too: tell us when you can teach. You don’t need to cover every grade, subject or time. Once you take on a student, sessions recur at the same times each week. 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 (Kansas is one; the full list is above); and
• be comfortable with the role’s $23/hour W-2 pay terms.

Use KSDE’s public Educator License Lookup; the search form itself is at appspublic.ksde.gov. KSDE says: “Enter only your first and last name to find your license.” “The license listed at the top of your search results is your current license.” “If you renewed your license recently, you may need to scroll down to see the updated license.” “You can view and download a PDF copy of your license only if it is active.” It also says: “KSDE does not keep copies of expired licenses.” “If you need proof of an expired license, please email the Teacher Licensure team for assistance.” Questions: KSDE’s Teacher Licensure team at (785) 296-2288 or TLALicense@ksde.gov. Looking up a Kansas teaching license

You renew a professional license online in the Kansas Licensure Applications System (KLAS), as early as six months before it expires, with one option met during the license term: 120 professional development points under an approved Individual Development Plan if you hold an advanced degree, 160 (at least 80 of them from college credit) if you don’t, 8 credit hours in an approved program (or finishing one), 3 years of recent accredited experience with an advanced degree (two renewals at most), or the National Board option (all assessment components completed, or certification earned).

For a professional license, the 2021 text of Kansas’s licensure regulation (the newest official text that could be read) says: “Each license shall expire on the license holder’s fifth birthdate following issuance of the license.” and “Any license may be renewed up to six months before its expiration date.” KSDE’s license page, which covers renewing a Professional (5 year) License, says: “You will need to register for/login to KLAS.” and “Application processing fees are non-refundable.”

KSDE’s page lists the renewal routes, among them:

• With an advanced degree: “Earn 120 points under an approved Individual Development Plan (IDP) filed with your local Professional Development Council.”
• Without an advanced degree: “Earn 160 points, including at least 80 points from college credit, under an approved IDP” (the regulation: “including at least 80 points for college credit, if the applicant does not hold an advanced degree”)
• “Complete 8 credit hours in an approved program OR finish an approved program.”
• With an advanced degree: “Provide proof of 3 years of recent accredited experience during your current license term.” “This option is limited to two renewals.”
• National Board Certification: “Completed all components of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards assessment” or “Earned National Board Certification.”

KSDE adds: “All professional development plans must be approved by your local Professional Development Council.” “Keep documentation of your points, coursework, or experience for verification.” Its professional development page says “one semester hour of college credit equals 20 professional development points”. On who may file a plan, the regulation says: “Each person who is employed by or who works or resides within any Kansas unified school district shall be eligible to file a professional development plan with that district’s local professional development council”. Ask that district’s council about its plan.

For teachers in a retirement system, KSDE’s page says: “If you are in a Kansas or other state educational retirement system:” “Complete half the professional development points required in Option B.” The regulation (K.A.R. 91-1-205) gives that option “if the person is participating in an educational retirement system in Kansas or another state, has completed half of the professional development points”. KSDE’s renewal questions and answers (“Teacher Licensure updated as of 9/12/24”), as reprinted in the five district professional development plans the State Board approved in February 2026, read: “If an educator is taking part in an educational retirement system in any state, s/he can renew by completing half of the professional development points specified in the regulations.” “For someone holding a bachelor’s degree, 80 points must be earned, 40 of which must be college credit (2 semester credit hours).” “A retired educator holding a graduate degree must earn 60 points.” They add that “any points awarded for activities OR for semester credit hours must have been earned during the five-year current professional license period.” Neither KSDE’s page nor the regulation says whether a retired teacher drawing a pension counts as being in a retirement system, so ask KSDE’s Teacher Licensure team at (785) 296-2288 or TLALicense@ksde.gov how this applies to you. Renewing a Kansas teaching license

For this job, the license rule is the same for everyone: if your license has expired or is inactive, you can still apply, as long as 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.

In Kansas, the licensure regulation (K.A.R. 91-1-205) says: “Any person who fails to renew the professional license may apply for a subsequent professional license by meeting the following requirements:” As we read it, those are the renewal requirements above, or out-of-state accredited experience as the regulation sets it out. KSDE’s fingerprint page lists “Renewal of an expired Kansas certificate or license.” among the cases that need fingerprints, and says: “Effective July 1, 2024, the fingerprint background check processing fee has increased to $57.”

If you want to teach in a Kansas school while you finish, KSDE’s Transitional License is for this case: “Your license has been expired for at least six months”. KSDE says: “Allows you to accept a teaching position while completing renewal requirements for your expired initial or professional license.” “A nonrenewable license valid for the school year in which you apply.” Its page says it is recommended that you “do not apply for this license unless you are employed or have been offered employment in a Kansas school district”. For your own case, contact KSDE’s Teacher Licensure team at (785) 296-2288 or TLALicense@ksde.gov. Renewing an expired Kansas license

KSDE says: “You cannot teach in Kansas based on an out-of-state license or certificate.” To get a Kansas license, its page asks for: “A copy of your current, standard out-of-state teaching license.” It also says: “The Kansas license you are applying for must match the endorsement(s) listed on your out-of-state license.” “You must provide proof of at least one year of teaching experience within the past two years before the date of your application.” The 2021 text of Kansas’s licensure regulation (K.A.R. 91-1-204) asks instead for “verification of at least one year of recent accredited experience or at least eight semester hours of recent credit”, and in that text recent means within the six years before the application. KSDE’s page and the regulation differ here (the regulation also accepts recent college credit), so ask KSDE which applies to you. KSDE adds: “Your out-of-state teaching license must be in good standing and not under any disciplinary action to qualify for Kansas licensure.” Its summary of the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact says: “The receiving state has the sole discretion of determining which license, if any, the teacher is eligible to hold.” Questions: KSDE’s Teacher Licensure team at (785) 296-2288 or TLALicense@ksde.gov.

For this job: Licenses and special education certification from any US state are welcome. Licenses from other states

KSDE’s special education endorsements are High Incidence (formerly adaptive), Low Incidence (formerly functional), Gifted, Deaf or Hard of Hearing and Visually Impaired, listed at the PRK-12 level in its 2026-2027 Licensed Personnel Guide. Early Childhood Unified (ECU) is a separate early childhood endorsement: the guide lists it for Birth – Grade 3, and KSDE’s Approved Educator Preparation Programs by Content Area page also lists Birth – Kindergarten programs for it. For Gifted, High Incidence and Low Incidence, that page says: “Grade level depends on program that is completed.” On adding an endorsement, KSDE says: “Educators that hold an active Kansas initial or professional teaching license may add most endorsements by passing the appropriate Praxis content exam.” It adds: “Endorsements that cannot be added by test only are:” and the special education endorsements and Early Childhood Unified are on that list. For those, KSDE’s steps begin “Once the program is completed and you have passed the appropriate Praxis content exam”.

Our application asks whether you hold a special education certification. We check licenses before the first interview. Kansas special education endorsement guide

Yes. Retired teachers anywhere in Kansas are welcome, on the same terms as everyone else (what you need to apply). If you draw a benefit from KPERS, the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, the answers below give KPERS’s own rules in its words; ask KPERS how they apply to you.

KPERS’s Membership Guide for KPERS 1 and KPERS 2 Members (Revised 2/26) says: “There are a few things you need to know if you go back to work for a KPERS employer, even if it’s different than the one you retired from.” It adds that “working for a third-party entity that contracts with a KPERS employer means these rules will apply to you, too.” and: “These rules don’t apply if you work for a non-KPERS employer.” That last sentence has conditions. Kansas law says a participating employer “means an eligible employer who has agreed to make contributions to the system on behalf of its employees;” (K.S.A. 74-4902(24)). The State of Kansas is one by law: “The state of Kansas in its capacity as an eligible employer, shall become, by operation of law, a participating employer” (K.S.A. 74-4910). So are Kansas school employers: “(1) Kansas public school districts; (2) Kansas technical colleges; (3) Kansas community junior colleges;” (K.S.A. 74-4931). Counties, cities and other local units can join: “An eligible employer may join the system on January 1 of any year.” Work through a company can count as work for such an employer: Kansas law writes its rules for a retiree hired by a participating employer “or an independent contractor or a third-party entity who contracts service to fill such covered position” (K.S.A. 74-4914(9)(a)). For work with a KPERS employer, KPERS says: “Kansas law requires a 60-day waiting period (180-day if retiring before age 62) for KPERS retirees who return to work for Retirement System employers.” “This also includes returning to a position covered by the Kansas Board of Regents Mandatory Retirement Plan.” “Your waiting period begins the day after your retirement date.” “Your retirement date is always the first day of a month.” Kansas law’s test is your age on your retirement date: it writes the rule for a retiree “retired more than 60 days, if such retirant’s age on the date of retirement is 62 or older,” “or is retired more than 180 days, if such retirant’s age on the date of retirement is less than 62,” (K.S.A. 74-4914(9)). KPERS also says: “Before retirement and during your waiting period, you can’t have a prearranged agreement to return to work.” and, in its 2024 memo to the Legislature, “Before retirement and during the waiting period, retirees and employers cannot communicate in any way about returning to work.” “If you are found to have a prearrangement to return to work, your retirement benefit will be suspended.” “This would start the month you return to work and end 6 months after you quit working.” Kansas law adds: “The retirant shall repay to the retirement system all monthly retirement benefits paid to the retirant by the retirement system that the retirant received after such employment began.” Substitute teaching: Kansas law lists retirants “employed as substitute teachers without a contract” among those its earnings-limit and employer-contribution provisions do not apply to (K.S.A. 74-4914(6)(b)(v), (9)(d)), and KPERS’s employer manual puts “Sub teachers without a contract” under “Exceptions (Do Not Enroll)” that “Still must follow ‘no-prearrangement’ and waiting-period rules”. After the waiting period, for a retiree hired without a prearranged agreement (K.S.A. 74-4914(9)), KPERS says: “There is no earnings limit if you go back to work for a KPERS employer.” “But your employer will make working-after-retirement contributions to KPERS if you’re in a covered position.” Since July 1, 2024, Kansas law has the employer pay “the statutorily prescribed employer contribution rate on the first $40,000 of such retirant’s compensation in a calendar year” “and a 30% employer contribution on any compensation in excess of $40,000 in a calendar year during any such period of employment.” (K.S.A. 74-4914(9)(a)). KPERS told the Legislature: “Some employers may adjust the salary paid to a retiree to shift the cost of the contributions to the retiree,” “but statutorily the contribution is an employer contribution.” Kansas law also says: “No retirant shall make contributions to the system or receive service credit for any service after the date of retirement.” If you receive KPERS long-term disability benefits, your limits are different. KPERS’s Long-Term Disability Benefits Summary Plan Description says: “Disability benefits will be reduced by income the member receives or is eligible to receive from any of these sources:” among them “Earnings from any form of employment.” and “Earnings from eligible rehabilitative employment.” It says: “Benefit payments under this plan will terminate if the member:” among them “Is no longer disabled as defined in this plan.” and “Is not working to their maximum capacity if participating in rehabilitative employment.” Its definition of disability: “For the first 24 months for which benefits are paid, the member is unable to perform the material and substantial duties of their usual occupation due to sickness or injury.” “After benefits have been paid for 24 months, the member is unable to perform the material and substantial duties of any gainful occupation due to sickness or injury.” It adds: “Benefit payments under this plan will also be terminated if:” “During the first 24 months for which benefits are paid, earnings from any form of employment exceed 80% of the member’s rate of compensation at the time of disability.” “After the first 24 months for which benefits are paid, earnings from any form of employment exceed 60% of the member’s rate of compensation at the time of disability.” On rehabilitative employment it says: “Following a period of total disability, a member may qualify for disability benefits while engaging in rehabilitative employment.” “Monthly benefits will be reduced by 50% of the member’s disability earnings during the first 12 months of rehabilitative employment.” “Monthly benefits will be reduced by 75% of the member’s disability earnings during the second 12 months of rehabilitative employment.” “The maximum benefit period for rehabilitative employment benefits is 24 months.” The plan also says: “To be eligible for KPERS disability benefits, the member must apply for Social Security disability benefits,” and if you get Social Security disability benefits, SSA says: “If a disabled beneficiary performs any work activity, we look at that activity to determine whether the disability has ceased.” Kansas law ends KPERS long-term disability benefits at age 65 or at retirement, whichever comes first, for a member who becomes eligible for them before age 60, and after five years of benefits or at retirement for one who becomes eligible at 60 or older (K.S.A. 74-4927). Confirm your own situation with KPERS before you start: call 1-888-275-5737 (toll-free) or 785-296-6166 (in Topeka). KPERS’s contact page says: “InfoLine available weekdays: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.” (read November 1, 2026; the page names no time zone for these hours).

KPERS’s own pages and documents: its Working After Retirement page and contact page, and its Membership Guide for KPERS 1 and KPERS 2 Members (Revised 2/26), its Employer Manual: Working After Retirement (Revised: 12/25), its Long-Term Disability Benefits Summary Plan Description and its memo to a Kansas Senate committee (March 13, 2024). Our KPERS working after retirement guide

For work with a KPERS employer, KPERS says: “Kansas law requires a 60-day waiting period (180-day if retiring before age 62) for KPERS retirees who return to work for Retirement System employers.” “This also includes returning to a position covered by the Kansas Board of Regents Mandatory Retirement Plan.” “Your waiting period begins the day after your retirement date.” “Your retirement date is always the first day of a month.” Kansas law’s test is your age on your retirement date: it writes the rule for a retiree “retired more than 60 days, if such retirant’s age on the date of retirement is 62 or older,” “or is retired more than 180 days, if such retirant’s age on the date of retirement is less than 62,” (K.S.A. 74-4914(9)). KPERS also says: “Before retirement and during your waiting period, you can’t have a prearranged agreement to return to work.” and, in its 2024 memo to the Legislature, “Before retirement and during the waiting period, retirees and employers cannot communicate in any way about returning to work.” “If you are found to have a prearrangement to return to work, your retirement benefit will be suspended.” “This would start the month you return to work and end 6 months after you quit working.” Kansas law adds: “The retirant shall repay to the retirement system all monthly retirement benefits paid to the retirant by the retirement system that the retirant received after such employment began.”

Work for a KPERS employer through a company can count too: Kansas law writes these rules for a retiree hired by a participating employer “or an independent contractor or a third-party entity who contracts service to fill such covered position” (K.S.A. 74-4914(9)(a)), and KPERS’s membership guide says that “working for a third-party entity that contracts with a KPERS employer means these rules will apply to you, too.”

Confirm your own situation with KPERS (1-888-275-5737) before you start.

KPERS’s own pages and documents: its Working After Retirement page and contact page, and its Membership Guide for KPERS 1 and KPERS 2 Members (Revised 2/26) and its memo to a Kansas Senate committee (March 13, 2024). The waiting period, in our KPERS working after retirement guide

For work with a KPERS employer, KPERS says: “Kansas law requires a 60-day waiting period (180-day if retiring before age 62) for KPERS retirees who return to work for Retirement System employers.” “This also includes returning to a position covered by the Kansas Board of Regents Mandatory Retirement Plan.” The no-prearrangement rule and its penalty are in the waiting-period answer above.

After the waiting period, for a retiree hired without a prearranged agreement (K.S.A. 74-4914(9)), KPERS says: “There is no earnings limit if you go back to work for a KPERS employer.” “But your employer will make working-after-retirement contributions to KPERS if you’re in a covered position.” Since July 1, 2024, Kansas law has the employer pay “the statutorily prescribed employer contribution rate on the first $40,000 of such retirant’s compensation in a calendar year” “and a 30% employer contribution on any compensation in excess of $40,000 in a calendar year during any such period of employment.” (K.S.A. 74-4914(9)(a)). KPERS told the Legislature: “Some employers may adjust the salary paid to a retiree to shift the cost of the contributions to the retiree,” “but statutorily the contribution is an employer contribution.” Kansas law also says: “No retirant shall make contributions to the system or receive service credit for any service after the date of retirement.”

Substitute teaching: Kansas law lists retirants “employed as substitute teachers without a contract” among those its earnings-limit and employer-contribution provisions do not apply to (K.S.A. 74-4914(6)(b)(v), (9)(d)), and KPERS’s employer manual puts “Sub teachers without a contract” under “Exceptions (Do Not Enroll)” that “Still must follow ‘no-prearrangement’ and waiting-period rules”.

Confirm your own situation with KPERS (1-888-275-5737) before you start.

KPERS’s own pages and documents: its Working After Retirement page and contact page, and its Membership Guide for KPERS 1 and KPERS 2 Members (Revised 2/26), its Employer Manual: Working After Retirement (Revised: 12/25) and its memo to a Kansas Senate committee (March 13, 2024). Going back to a KPERS employer

Work for a KPERS employer through a company can count too: Kansas law writes these rules for a retiree hired by a participating employer “or an independent contractor or a third-party entity who contracts service to fill such covered position” (K.S.A. 74-4914(9)(a)), and KPERS’s membership guide says that “working for a third-party entity that contracts with a KPERS employer means these rules will apply to you, too.”

Kansas law also has a narrower relief for some contractors and employees of third parties: its subsection (9)(d) says the earnings-limit and employer-contribution provisions do not apply to them when three conditions in subsection (6)(d) all apply (section 3 of our KPERS working after retirement guide quotes them). As we read it, that relief speaks of the earnings limitation and employer contributions; the statute does not say it removes the waiting period or the no-prearrangement rule.

Confirm your own situation with KPERS (1-888-275-5737) before you start.

KPERS’s own pages: its Working After Retirement page and contact page, and its Membership Guide for KPERS 1 and KPERS 2 Members (Revised 2/26). Work through a contractor or third party

If you receive KPERS long-term disability benefits, your limits are different. KPERS’s Long-Term Disability Benefits Summary Plan Description says: “Disability benefits will be reduced by income the member receives or is eligible to receive from any of these sources:” among them “Earnings from any form of employment.” and “Earnings from eligible rehabilitative employment.” It says: “Benefit payments under this plan will terminate if the member:” among them “Is no longer disabled as defined in this plan.” and “Is not working to their maximum capacity if participating in rehabilitative employment.” Its definition of disability: “For the first 24 months for which benefits are paid, the member is unable to perform the material and substantial duties of their usual occupation due to sickness or injury.” “After benefits have been paid for 24 months, the member is unable to perform the material and substantial duties of any gainful occupation due to sickness or injury.” It adds: “Benefit payments under this plan will also be terminated if:” “During the first 24 months for which benefits are paid, earnings from any form of employment exceed 80% of the member’s rate of compensation at the time of disability.” “After the first 24 months for which benefits are paid, earnings from any form of employment exceed 60% of the member’s rate of compensation at the time of disability.” On rehabilitative employment it says: “Following a period of total disability, a member may qualify for disability benefits while engaging in rehabilitative employment.” “Monthly benefits will be reduced by 50% of the member’s disability earnings during the first 12 months of rehabilitative employment.” “Monthly benefits will be reduced by 75% of the member’s disability earnings during the second 12 months of rehabilitative employment.” “The maximum benefit period for rehabilitative employment benefits is 24 months.” The plan also says: “To be eligible for KPERS disability benefits, the member must apply for Social Security disability benefits,” and if you get Social Security disability benefits, SSA says: “If a disabled beneficiary performs any work activity, we look at that activity to determine whether the disability has ceased.” Kansas law ends KPERS long-term disability benefits at age 65 or at retirement, whichever comes first, for a member who becomes eligible for them before age 60, and after five years of benefits or at retirement for one who becomes eligible at 60 or older (K.S.A. 74-4927).

Confirm your own situation with KPERS (1-888-275-5737) before you start.

KPERS’s plan: Long-Term Disability Benefits Summary Plan Description. KPERS long-term disability, in our guide

Yes, in KPERS-covered school jobs. In Kansas, KPERS-covered school jobs are also covered by Social Security: Kansas’s retirement law and KPERS’s own rule require KPERS-covered employees to be covered by Social Security. In data the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) published in 2019, Kansas is a state that provides Social Security coverage to teachers. NCES’s notes add: “States may provide different social security coverage for part-time and substitute teachers” and “Teachers’ eligibility for social security coverage depends on what state and school district they work in.” (NCES story map and data table, published 2019)

The Social Security Fairness Act (Public Law 118-273, approved January 5, 2025) repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) for benefits payable for months after December 2023. SSA’s Social Security Fairness Act page (last updated July 21, 2025) says: “The Act ends the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).” It also says that “only people who receive a pension based on work not covered by Social Security may see benefit increases.” For your own record, ask SSA. Kansas teachers and Social Security

Tutoring with SpecialEdResource is W-2 work: SpecialEdResource withholds federal income tax and your share of Social Security and Medicare, pays the employer’s half (7.65% of your pay) and carries workers’ comp.

For 2026, SSA’s lower limit is $24,480 a year, for people under full retirement age all year; in the year you reach full retirement age, the 2026 limit is $65,160, counting only earnings in the months before you reach it. For 2027, the same two limits are $25,560 and $67,920 (FR Doc. 2026-21796, published October 26, 2026). SSA’s Exempt Amounts Under the Earnings Test page (read November 1, 2026) says: “The retirement earnings test applies only to people below normal retirement age (NRA).” “We withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 of earnings in excess of the lower exempt amount.” “We withhold $1 in benefits for every $3 of earnings in excess of the higher exempt amount.” “This higher exempt amount applies only to earnings made in months prior to the month of NRA attainment.”

Either limit counts your wages from every job, not only this one, plus any net earnings from self-employment, and SSA’s rule says: “Wages include the gross amount of your wages rather than the net amount paid after deductions by your employer”. In your first year of benefits, a monthly limit may apply instead (SSA decides). The earnings test applies only before full retirement age. If you get Social Security disability benefits, other rules apply: SSA says, “If a disabled beneficiary performs any work activity, we look at that activity to determine whether the disability has ceased.” Ask SSA before you take any job. SSA’s operating manual says: “Do not count bona fide pension payments.” As we read SSA’s rules, that covers a KPERS retirement benefit.

At $23 an hour, the 2026 limit of $24,480 is about 1,064 hours of tutoring in 2026, and the 2027 limit of $25,560 is about 1,111 hours in 2027. In a pay period when you earn the bonus, each hour pays more, so you reach the limit in fewer hours, and wages from any other job count against the same limit. Available hours depend on student demand and schedule fit. Check your own case with SSA. Kansas teachers and Social Security

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, and the second is with Luke Dalien, one of SpecialEdResource’s founders. 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