Program Description: The purposes of the Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities program are to (1) help address State-identified shortages and needs for personnel preparation in special education and early intervention, 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.
The purpose of the Personnel Preparation of Special Education, Early Intervention, and Related Services Personnel (84.325K) competition is to prepare and increase the number of personnel who have the necessary qualifications to serve children with disabilities. Under this absolute priority, ED will fund grantees that use evidence-based strategies to prepare scholars in special education, early intervention, and related services 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.
Assistance Listing Number (ALN): 84.325K.
Applicants are required to follow the 2025 Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on August 29, 2025 (90 FR 42234) and available at ED 2025 Common Instructions.
Note: For new potential grantees unfamiliar with grantmaking at ED, please consult our “Getting Started with Discretionary Grant Applications” webpage.