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 Improving Teacher and Leader Performance to Better Serve Children with Disabilities grant is to fund a cooperative agreement to establish and operate a National Center for Improving Teacher and Leader Professions to Better Serve Children with Disabilities. The Center must achieve, at a minimum, the following expected outcomes:
- Increased IHE capacity to offer high-quality instruction for their teacher and leader candidates (which may include virtual and hybrid models if needed due to temporary school closures).
- Increased IHE capacity to offer high quality field experiences for their teacher and leader candidates (which may include virtual and hybrid models if in-person instruction is needed due to temporary school closures).
- Increased IHE capacity to embed EBPs, and culturally and linguistically responsive practices that are aligned to State certification and licensure standards and program approval requirements into teacher and leader preparation programs.
- Improved capacity of SEAs, in collaboration with IHEs and LEAs, to track and evaluate the impact that changes to certification and licensure standards and program approval requirements have on their ability to attract, prepare, and retain teachers and leaders, especially those from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds and those with disabilities.
- Increased SEA, IHE, and LEA capacity to use multiple data sources to inform continuous improvement and alignment of their personnel preparation systems to attract, prepare, and retain teachers and leaders, especially those from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds and those with disabilities.
- Increased capacity of SEAs, IHEs, and LEAs to scale up and sustain implementation of existing plans that align teacher and leader preparation systems to improve outcomes for students with disabilities, especially those from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds.
Eligibility
Under section 1473, the term "eligible entity" has the meaning given the term in section 1461(b) of IDEA:
- State educational agency (SEA)
- Local education agency (LEA)
- Public charter school that is a local education agency under State law
- Institution of higher education (IHE)
- Public agency not described in subparagraphs (A) through (D)
- Private nonprofit organization
- Outlying area
- Indian Tribe or a Tribal organization (as defined under section 5304 of title 25)
- For-profit organization, if the Secretary finds it appropriate in light of the purposes of a particular competition for a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this part.
Note: The Secretary may limit which eligible entities described above are eligible for a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this part to 1 or more of the categories of eligible entities described in paragraph 1 of this section.
Applicant Information
FY 2022 Grantee
University of Florida & American Institutes for Research (AIR)
The Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR) Center
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 Improving Teacher and Leader Performance to Better Serve Children with Disabilities grant is to fund a cooperative agreement to establish and operate a National Center for Improving Teacher and Leader Professions to Better Serve Children with Disabilities. The Center must achieve, at a minimum, the following expected outcomes:
- Increased IHE capacity to offer high-quality instruction for their teacher and leader candidates (which may include virtual and hybrid models if needed due to temporary school closures).
- Increased IHE capacity to offer high quality field experiences for their teacher and leader candidates (which may include virtual and hybrid models if in-person instruction is needed due to temporary school closures).
- Increased IHE capacity to embed EBPs, and culturally and linguistically responsive practices that are aligned to State certification and licensure standards and program approval requirements into teacher and leader preparation programs.
- Improved capacity of SEAs, in collaboration with IHEs and LEAs, to track and evaluate the impact that changes to certification and licensure standards and program approval requirements have on their ability to attract, prepare, and retain teachers and leaders, especially those from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds and those with disabilities.
- Increased SEA, IHE, and LEA capacity to use multiple data sources to inform continuous improvement and alignment of their personnel preparation systems to attract, prepare, and retain teachers and leaders, especially those from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds and those with disabilities.
- Increased capacity of SEAs, IHEs, and LEAs to scale up and sustain implementation of existing plans that align teacher and leader preparation systems to improve outcomes for students with disabilities, especially those from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds.
Eligibility
Under section 1473, the term "eligible entity" has the meaning given the term in section 1461(b) of IDEA:
- State educational agency (SEA)
- Local education agency (LEA)
- Public charter school that is a local education agency under State law
- Institution of higher education (IHE)
- Public agency not described in subparagraphs (A) through (D)
- Private nonprofit organization
- Outlying area
- Indian Tribe or a Tribal organization (as defined under section 5304 of title 25)
- For-profit organization, if the Secretary finds it appropriate in light of the purposes of a particular competition for a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this part.
Note: The Secretary may limit which eligible entities described above are eligible for a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this part to 1 or more of the categories of eligible entities described in paragraph 1 of this section.
Applicant Information
FY 2022 Grantee
University of Florida & American Institutes for Research (AIR)
The Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR) Center