KDE receives federal grant for staff development

(FRANKFORT, Ky.) - A five-year, $5.8 million federal grant will help the Kentucky Department of Education enhance staff development to improve services to children with disabilities.

The State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG) is a competitive grant administered by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services at the U.S. Department of Education.

SPDG is designed to assist state departments of education in reforming and improving their systems for personnel preparation and professional development in early intervention, education and transition services in order to improve results for children with disabilities.

A team composed of key partners, including the department’s Division of Exceptional Children's Services, the KY Special Parent Involvement Network (KYSPIN), the state’s special education cooperatives and a local special education director, developed four major initiatives to be addressed by the grant:

· improve student results through improved instructional climate

· increase the instructional capacity of schools to provide meaningful access to the general curriculum to low-incidence populations (students with the most severe disabilities)

· improve secondary transition and post-school outcomes for students with disabilities

· increase and retain highly qualified minority special education teachers.

The grant will be used to support professional development for several initiatives, including high-quality instruction and alternate assessment for students with severe disabilities; postsecondary transition for all students with disabilities; teacher retention and recruitment; and the establishment of a team of experts that will develop and implement a train-the-trainer module across the state.

The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 requires states to focus on results for children with disabilities through mandates for educational assessments and accountability inclusive of all students, reporting of post-school outcomes for all students with disabilities and comprehensive professional development for both general and special educators.

The SPDG will provide much-needed funding and assistance to Kentucky at the state and local levels to help meet the needs of all students with disabilities in the state.

This from KDE Press Release.