The Personnel Development to Improve Services for Children with Disabilities (Personnel Preparation) program helps meet state-identified needs for adequate numbers of fully certified personnel to serve children with disabilities by supporting competitive awards to:
- Provide research-based training and professional development to prepare special education, related services, early intervention, and regular education personnel to work with children with disabilities
- Ensure that those personnel are fully qualified, and possess the skills and knowledge that are needed to serve children with disabilities.
The purpose of the National Center for Development and Dissemination of Digital Open Educational Resources grant is to fund a cooperative agreement to establish and operate a national center (Center) that will develop and disseminate digital, open educational resources (OER) that translate research to practice for use in building the capacity of special education personnel to use evidence-based practices (EBPs) with cultural and linguistic competence to improve results for students with disabilities. In addition, the Center will disseminate resources to:
- faculty who prepare special education personnel, including future faculty;
- State, local, and other professional development providers; and
- individuals independently seeking to use the Center's resources to design and deliver effective course and curriculum content needed to support the preparation and professional learning in use of EBPs with cultural and linguistic competence to deliver instruction, interventions, and services for students with disabilities and their families, including those from underserved populations.
