Personnel Development To Improve Services and Results for Children With Disabilities-Personnel Preparation of Special Education, Early Intervention, and Related Services Personnel at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled...

Overview

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, 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.

This competition includes one absolute priority and two competitive preference priorities.

Absolute Priority: Personnel Preparation of Special Education, Early Intervention, and Related Services Personnel at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Minority Serving Institutions..

The purpose of this priority is to prepare scholars who are fully credentialed to serve children, including infants, toddlers, and youth, with disabilities (children with disabilities). The Department is committed to promoting equity for children with disabilities in accessing educational resources and opportunities. The Department also places a high priority on increasing the number of personnel, including increasing personnel from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds and personnel who are multilingual, who provide services to children with disabilities. Further, the Department seeks to fund applications from new potential grantees that prepare special education, early intervention, and related services leadership personnel. To support these goals, under this absolute priority, the Department will fund projects within Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) that prepare special education, early intervention, and related services personnel at the bachelor’s degree, certification, 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, and schools.

Competitive Preference Priority 1: Applications from New Potential Grantees

(a) Under this priority, an applicant must demonstrate that the applicant ( e.g., the IHE) has not had an active discretionary grant under the ALN 84.325M, 84.325K, or 84.325R, including through membership in a group application submitted in accordance with 34 CFR 75.127-75.129, in the last five years before the deadline date for submission of applications under ALN 84.325M. 

(b) For the purpose of this priority, a grant is active until the end of the grant's project or funding period, including any extensions of those periods that extend the grantee's authority to obligate funds.

Competitive Preference Priority 2: Promoting Equity in Student Access to Educational Resources and Opportunities

Under this priority, an applicant must demonstrate the project will be implemented by or in partnership with one or both of the following entities:

(a) HBCUs (as defined in this notice).

(b) TCCUs (as defined in this notice).

Applicants under this priority may not submit the same proposal under Preparation of Early Intervention and Special Education Personnel Serving Children with Disabilities who have High-Intensity Needs, ALN 84.325K. Applicants may submit substantively different proposals under ALN 84.325M and ALN 84.325K. OSEP will not fund similar personnel preparation projects within the same IHE across ALN 84.325K and ALN 84.325M competitions. 

Eligible applicants may submit only one application under this competition.

Estimated Range of Awards: $150,000-$350,000 per year. 
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $250,000 per year. 
Maximum Award: We will not make an award exceeding $1,250,000 per project for a project period of 60 months or an award that exceeds $350,000 for any single budget period.
Estimated Number of Awards: 12. 
Project Period: Up to 60 months.