OSERS-OSEP: Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities--Improving Retention of Special Education Teachers and Early Intervention Personnel

Overview

<p><span>The purposes of this program are to (1) help address State-identified needs for personnel preparation in special education, early intervention, related services, and regular education to work with children, including infants and toddlers, and youth with disabilities; and (2) 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.</span></p> <p>This competition includes one absolute priority and one competitive preference priority.</p> <p><strong>Absolute Priority</strong>: Improving Retention of Special Education Teachers and Early Intervention Personnel. This priority is consistent with the Secretary’s Supplemental Priority 5: Meeting the Unique Needs of Students and Children with Disabilities and/or Those with Unique Gifts and Talents; and Supplemental Priority 8: Promoting Effective Instruction in Classrooms and Schools.</p> <p><strong>Competitive Preference Priority</strong>: Matching Support (Up to 5 points). An application that demonstrates matching support for the proposed project at—<br>       (a) 20 percent of the requested Federal award (1 point);<br>      (b) 40 percent of the total amount of the requested Federal award (2 points);<br>      (c) 60 percent of the total amount of the requested Federal award (3 points);<br>      (d) 80 percent of the total amount of the requested Federal award (4 points); or<br>      (e) 100 percent of the total amount of the requested Federal award (5 points).</p> <p>Applicants must address this competitive preference priority in the budget information (ED Form 524, Section B) and budget narrative.</p> <p>With the goal of ensuring alignment between preparation programs and the needs of the local systems serving children with disabilities, stronger partnerships bring stakeholders together regularly to share knowledge, address common challenges, and develop enduring relationships around shared goals. By connecting these research findings with available resources from technical assistance centers funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), such as The Educator Shortages in Special Education Toolkit (Great Teachers and Leaders Center, 2020) and A System Framework for Building High Quality Early Intervention and Preschool Special Education Programs (Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center, 2015), States, regional, and local systems will be better able to develop, implement, evaluate, scale-up, and sustain comprehensive retention plans, resulting in meaningful improvement in retention of special education teachers and early intervention personnel. Over the past year, OSEP has engaged the field in numerous activities related to attracting, preparing, and retaining effective personnel and received considerable feedback that State educational agencies (SEAs) and Part C lead agencies would benefit from investments that support their efforts to improve retention.</p> <p>The proposed investment under the absolute priority would fund efforts EIS by SEAs or Part C lead agencies, in collaboration with LEAs or providers, to plan, implement, evaluate, scale-up, and sustain a comprehensive retention plan that uses evidence-based policies and practices to address factors contributing to low retention in these systems.</p>