Interdisciplinary Preparation in Special Education, Early Intervention, and Related Services for Personnel Serving Children with Disabilities who have High-Intensity Needs - Focus A (Early Childhood)

Overview

<p>The purposes of this program are to<strong> (1)</strong> help address State-identified needs for personnel preparation in special education, early intervention, related services, and regular education to work with children, including infants, toddlers, and youth with disabilities; and <strong>(2)</strong> ensure that those personnel have the necessary skills and knowledge, derived from practices that have been determined through scientifically based research, to be successful in serving those children.</p> <p><strong>Priorities</strong><br>This competition includes two absolute priorities and two focus areas:</p> <p><strong>Absolute Priority 1:</strong> <strong>Interdisciplinary Preparation in Special Education, Early Intervention, and Related Services for Personnel Serving Children with Disabilities who have High-Intensity Needs.</strong></p> <p>The purpose of this priority is to increase the number and improve the quality of personnel who are fully credentialed to serve children, including infants, toddlers, and youth with disabilities who have highintensity needs. Under this priority, the Department will fund high-quality interdisciplinary projects that prepare special education, early intervention, and related services personnel at the master’s degree, educational specialist degree, or clinical doctoral degree levels for professional practice in a variety of education settings, including natural environments (the home and community settings in which children with and without disabilities participate), early learning programs, classrooms, schools, and distance learning environments. The competition will also prepare personnel who have the knowledge and skills to support each child with a disability in meeting high expectations and to partner with<br>other providers, families, and administrators in meaningful and effective collaborations.</p> <p><strong>Absolute Priority 2:</strong> <strong>Preparation of Special Education, Early Intervention, and Related Services Personnel Attending Minority Serving Institutions</strong></p> <p>The purpose of this priority is to increase the number of ethnically and racially diverse personnel who are fully credentialed to serve children, including infants, toddlers, and youth with disabilities. Under this absolute priority, the Department will fund high- quality projects within MSIs that prepare special education, early intervention, and related services personnel at the certification, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, educational specialist degree, or clinical doctoral degree levels to serve in a variety of settings, including natural environments (the home and community settings in which children with and without disabilities participate), early learning programs, child care, classrooms, schools, and distance learning.<br><strong></strong></p> <p><strong>Focus Areas</strong></p> <p><strong>(A) Preparing Personnel to Serve Infants, Toddlers, and Preschool-Age Children with Disabilities who have High-Intensity Needs</strong></p> <p>Preparing Personnel to Serve Infants, Toddlers, and Preschool- Age Children with Disabilities who have High-Intensity Needs. This focus area is for interdisciplinary projects that deliver core content through shared coursework, group assignments, and extensive and coordinated field or clinical experiences for scholars across two or more graduate degree programs in early intervention or early childhood special education and one or more related services for infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children with disabilities or developmental delays who have high-intensity needs. Early intervention personnel are those who are prepared to provide services to infants and toddlers with disabilities ages birth to three, and early childhood personnel are those who are prepared to provide services to children with disabilities ages three through five (and in States where the age range is other than ages three through five, we defer to the State’s certification for early childhood special education). In States where certification in early intervention is combined with certification in early childhood special education, applicants may propose a combined early intervention and early childhood special education personnel preparation project under this focus area.</p> <p><strong>(B) Preparing Personnel to Serve School-Age Children with Disabilities who have High-Intensity Needs</strong><br>This focus area is for interdisciplinary projects that deliver core content through shared coursework, group assignments, and extensive and coordinated field or clinical experiences to scholars across two or more graduate degree programs in special education and one or more related services for school-age children with disabilities who have high- intensity needs.</p>