Personnel Preparation in Special Education, Early Intervention, and Related Services ( 84.325K )

1. Personnel Preparation in Special Education,Early Intervention, and Related Services(84.325K) Maryann McDermott, Competition Manager (maryann.mcdermott@ed.gov) Office of Special Education Programs U.S. Department of Education April 22, 2011

2. Key Points O S E P • Purpose of the 325K Priority • Eligibility • Priority Requirements • Five Focus Areas • Competitive Preference Priorities • Application Basics

3. Purpose of 325K Priority O S E P To improve the quality and to increase the number of personnel who are fully credentialed to serve children, including infants and toddlers, with disabilities – especially in areas of chronic personnel shortage – by supporting projects that prepare early intervention, special education, and related services personnel at the associates, baccalaureate, master’s, and specialist levels.

4. Eligibility O S E P Programs must support and prepare scholars to complete a degree, State certification, professional license, or State endorsement. • Programs preparing special education paraprofessionals, assistants in related services professions, or educational interpreters are also eligible. • Programs providing an alternate route to certification or supporting dual (regular and special education) certification for teachers are eligible as well.

5. Priority Requirements O S E P (a) Demonstrate under the narrative section of the application under “Quality of Project Services,” how: (1) Personnel preparation requirements and required coursework incorporate research-based practices that improve outcomes for children with disabilities.

6. Priority Requirements O S E P (a) Quality of Project Services (continued) (2) Integrated coursework with practicum opportunities that enhance competencies to • serve and instruct children with disabilities; • collaborate with regular education personnel; • incorporate UDL principles into curricula and instructional practices; • integrate instructional and assistive technologies into the delivery of services; • collect, analyze, and use data on early learning outcomes, student achievement, or student growth in order to improve instructional practices and interventions; and • support and work with parents and families of children with disabilities.

7. Priority Requirements O S E P (a) Quality of Project Services (continued) (3)The program prepares personnel to address the specialized needs of high-need children with disabilities by • Identifying needed competences, and • Preparing personnel to apply these competencies in • High-need LEAs, • High poverty schools, • Low-performing schools, or • Publically-funded preschool programs.

8. Priority Requirements O S E P (a) Quality of Project Services (continued) (4) The program is designed to provide extended clinical learning opportunities, field experiences, or supervised practica, and on-going high-quality mentoring and induction opportunities for scholars.

9. Priority Requirements O S E P (a) Quality of Project Services (continued) (5) The preparation program will • Enable scholars to be highly qualified in accordance with IDEA and the State(s) to be served by the applicant; and • Ensure that the scholars are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to assist children in meeting State academic achievement standards.

10. Priority Requirements O S E P (a) Quality of Project Services (continued) (6) The preparation program provides support to scholars through innovative strategies that are designed to enhance scholar retention and success in the program.

11. Priority Requirements O S E P (b) Include in the narrative section of the application under “Quality of Project Evaluation,” a clear, effective plan for evaluating project outcomes: (1) Collect and analyze data on scholars’ competencies; (2) Collect and analyze data on quality of services provided by the program graduates*, including data on student outcomes and growth; and (3) Use the results and findings from this evaluation for program improvement. *Note: Under this evaluation requirement, grantees are encouraged – but not required – to engage in data collection activities after the completion of the grant.

12. Priority Requirements O S E P (c) Application Appendix • Course syllabi, in their entirety; and • Logic model with • Goals, • Activities, • Outputs, and • Outcomes.

13. Priority Requirements O S E P (d) Ensure that course syllabi incorporate research-based curriculum and pedagogy. (e) Certify that all scholars will graduate by the end of the grant project period. (f) Certify that the institution will not require scholars recruited into the program to work as a condition of receiving a scholarship, unless the work is required to complete their preparation program.

14. Priority Requirements O S E P (g) Meet IDEA statutory requirements in section 662(e) through 662(h). (h) Ensure that at least 65% of total budget per year be used to support scholars. (i) Budget for attendance at 3-day Project Directors’ meeting in Washington, DC during each year of the project.

15. Priority Requirements O S E P (j) If the project maintains a Web site, include relevant information and documents in a form that meets government and industry-recognized standards of accessibility. (k) Submit annual data on each scholar who receives grant support.

16. Focus Area A: Preparing Personnel to Serve Infants, Toddlers, and Preschool-Age Children with Disabilities O S E P • 9 Awards • Programs preparing: • Early Intervention personnel: birth to 3 • Early Childhood personnel: 3 through 5 In States where the age range is other than ages 3 through 5, we will defer to the State’s certification for early childhood. • Combined Early Intervention and Early Childhood: birth through 5 • Interdisciplinary projects implement common core content and practicum experiences across disciplines for early intervention providers or early childhood special educators, and related services personnel to serve infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children with disabilities.

17. Focus Area B: Preparing Personnel to Serve School-Age Children with Low-Incidence Disabilities O S E P • 11 Awards • Prepare special education personnel, including paraprofessionals, to serve school-age children with low-incidence disabilities, including • Visual impairments • Hearing impairments • Simultaneous vision and hearing impairments • Significant intellectual disabilities • Orthopedic impairments • Autism • Traumatic brain injury • Programs that prepare educational interpreters are eligible • Programs preparing special education personnel to provide services to visually impaired or blind children must prepare those individuals to provide appropriate services in braille.

18. Focus Area C: Preparing Personnel to Provide Related Services to Children, Including Infants and Toddlers, with Disabilities O S E P • 9 Awards • Related service personnel serve children, including infants and toddlers. • For the purposes of this focus area, related services include, but are not limited to: • Psychological services, • Physical therapy, including DPT, • Adapted physical education, • Occupational therapy, • Therapeutic recreation, • Social work services, • Counseling services, • Audiology services, including DAud, and • Speech and language services.

19. Focus Area D: Preparing Personnel in Minority Institutions to Serve Children, Including Infants and Toddlers, with Disabilities O S E P • 10 Awards • Minority institutions include institutions with a minority enrollment of 25% or more, which may include: • Historically Black Colleges and Universities, • Tribal Colleges, and • Predominately Hispanic Serving Colleges and Universities. • Programs in minority institutions preparing personnel in Focus Areas A, B, C, and E are eligible within Focus Area D. • Programs that are preparing high-incidence special education personnel are not eligible under this priority. However, they are eligible under Absolute Priority 3 described elsewhere in this Notice.

20. Focus Area D: Preparing Personnel in Minority Institutions to Serve Children, Including Infants and Toddlers, with Disabilities O S E P Focus Area D: Continued • A project funded under Focus Area D may budget for less than 65% for scholar support – if sufficient justification is provided. • Justification would include support for activities such as program development, program expansion, or the addition of a new area of emphasis. • See the Priority Note, pp. A20-A21, for samples and details.

21. Focus Area E: Preparing Personnel to Provide Secondary Transition Services to School-Age Children with Disabilities O S E P • 9 Awards • Programs that offer a sequence of career, vocational, or secondary transition courses and that enable personnel to meet State requirements for a credential or endorsement in secondary transition services for children with disabilities • If the programs are offered by the institution, eligible applicants must establish partnerships with personnel in the institution’s • Vocational rehabilitation counseling program, or • Career and technical education program. • Funds may be used to support faculty from those programs for their involvement in the program activities. • Applicants must provide documentation of the partnership in the form of a letter from the Dean or Department Chair describing how faculty will be involved with the design and delivery of courses and the supervision of scholar practicum experiences.

22. Competitive Preference Priority 1 O S E P 5 Points • Relationship with one or more high-need LEAs or publically funded preschool programs; • Located within the geographical boundaries of a high-need LEA that will provide scholars with a high-quality practicum experience in a high-poverty school; and • Provide opportunities for research-based professional development on strategies to better serve high-need children with disabilities.

23. Competitive Preference Priority 2 O S E P 5 Points • In Focus Area D, applicants that document that they are institutions with minority enrollment of 50% or more.

24. Competitive Preference Priority 3 O S E P 5 Points • In Focus Areas A, B, C, and D, applicants that prepare personnel who work with children, including infants and toddlers, who are deaf or hard of hearing to teach them listening and spoken language skills.

25. Selection Criteria O S E P • Need for Project – 10 points • Quality of Project Services – 30 points • Quality of Project Personnel – 10 points • Quality of Management Plan – 20 points • Adequacy of Resources – 10 points • Quality of Project Evaluation – 20 points • Competitive Preference – 5 points

26. Project Basics O S E P • Project Period • Up to 60 months • Project Budget • $250,000/ year

27. Application Basics O S E P • Read the Application Package carefully. • This overview is intended to facilitate the webinar discussion. The published Priority and Application Package contain the official guidance. • Submission through http://www.grants.gov • Closing: 4:30:00 p.m. (Washington, DC Time) on May 31, 2011

28. For More Information O S E P This webinar is archived at www.tadnet.org/news • Focus Area A: Maryann McDermott 202-245-7439 maryann.mcdermott@ed.gov • Focus Area B: Maryann McDermott 202-245-7439 maryann.mcdermott@ed.gov • Focus Area C: Sarah Allen 202-245-7875 sarah.allen@ed.gov • Focus Area D: Ernest Hairston ernest.hairston@ed.gov • Focus Area E: Corinne Weidenthal corinne.weidenthal@ed.gov