National Technical Assistance Center on Transition for Students and Youth with Disabilities (84.326E)

The Technical Assistance and Dissemination (TA&D) program is the Department's primary vehicle under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for providing educators, policymakers, other service providers, and the parents and families of children with disabilities with information on effective practices for meeting the needs of children with disabilities and their families. The program makes competitive awards to provide technical assistance, support model demonstration projects, disseminate useful information, and implement activities that are supported by scientific research. These awards are intended to improve services provided under the IDEA, including the practices of professionals and others involved in providing services that promote academic achievement and improve results for children with disabilities.

A majority of the grants currently funded under the TA&D program support technical assistance centers that focus on a particular topic, population, or age range, such as early intervening services, dispute resolution, early childhood, college- and career-readiness, and positive behavioral interventions and supports to improve results for children with disabilities. Most centers use a service model that provides three levels of technical assistance: intensive/sustained, targeted/specific, and general/universal. At the intensive/sustained level, a handful of states receive on-site, ongoing planned assistance designed to reach an outcome desired by the recipient. Through targeted/specific services, centers support activities based on the topical or technical needs common to multiple recipients and can be one-time or short-term events such as consultation services or presentations at conferences. The centers also provide general/universal technical assistance services that permit a broader audience to access information and services through presentations, newsletters, or research syntheses that are made available on center Web sites.

Most activities supported through this program are designed to address the needs of a variety of audiences. While these audiences vary, in general, they include teachers, related services personnel, early intervention personnel, administrators, parents, and individuals with disabilities. In addition to facilitating the adoption of model practices, TA&D activities promote the application of knowledge to improve practice by:

• determining areas where technical assistance and information are needed,
• preparing or ensuring that materials are prepared in formats that are appropriate for a wide variety of audiences,
• making technical assistance and information accessible to consumers, and
• promoting communication links among consumers.

The duration of awards varies with the award's purpose. Most individual awards are made for a period of 5 years

The purpose of the Demonstration and Training program is to provide competitive grants, including cooperative agreements, to, or enter into contracts with, eligible entities to expand and improve the provision of vocational rehabilitation (VR) and other services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by title IV of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) (Rehabilitation Act), or to further the purposes and policies in sections 2(b) and (c) of the Rehabilitation Act by supporting activities that increase the provision, extent, availability, scope, and quality of rehabilitation services under the Rehabilitation Act, including related research and evaluation activities.

$2,099,988 (OSEP Funds)
Plus $2,000,000 (RSA Funds)

Estimated Total Grant Funding: $4,099,988 

Eligible applicants include:

• institutions of higher education (IHEs),
• local education agencies (LEAs),
• nonprofit organizations,
• state education agencies (SEAs), and
• other organizations and/or agencies.

In addition to the categories above, public charter schools that are LEAs under state law, other public agencies, private nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations, outlying areas (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), freely associated states, and Indian tribes or tribal organizations.

Program Authority

20 U.S.C. 1463 and 1481. 29 U.S.C. 709(c) and 773(b). 

Applicable Regulations

1. The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 86, 97, 98, and 99.
2. The Education Department suspension and debarment regulations in 2 CFR part 3485.

The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants except federally recognized Indian tribes. The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to IHEs only.