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Best Special Education Schools Near Valparaiso, IN (2026)
Updated September 6, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Valparaiso, Indiana has 5 accredited schools offering special education programs. Valparaiso has a population of about 35,065. In the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area, the top-earning special education-related role is Special Education Teacher, Secondary School at a median $82,350 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Special Education Schools to Valparaiso
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer special education programs near Valparaiso, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Valparaiso city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
Graduation rate 30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
Average net price (lower is better) 20%
Retention rate 15%
Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Valparaiso.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Valparaiso is part of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area (BLS area code 16980). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Indiana statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Special Education Teacher, Kindergarten and Elementary School
$79,690
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
$76,921
Special Education Teacher, Middle School
$77,840
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
$75,135
Special Education Teacher, Secondary School
$82,350
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
$79,488
Special Education Teacher, Preschool
$61,950
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
$59,797
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
Valparaiso at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
103.6 (above U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Valparaiso-Area Cities With Special Education Programs
How many accredited special education schools are near Valparaiso, IN?
Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering special education programs near Valparaiso. The closest is Chicago State University in Chicago, IL (33.3 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Roosevelt University (40.4 miles). 4 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying special education roles near Valparaiso?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying special education-related roles near Valparaiso are: Special Education Teacher, Secondary School ($82,350), Special Education Teacher, Kindergarten and Elementary School ($79,690), Special Education Teacher, Middle School ($77,840). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Indiana statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Portage instead of Valparaiso?
Portage, IN is 10.0 miles from Valparaiso and has its own set of local special education programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
How do I verify a program is accredited?
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Data verified: September 6, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-2035) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
