HARRISBURG – Education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak announced today that the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Bureau of Special Education has been awarded an annual $1.4 million, 5-year federal grant to help prepare and retain teaching and support staff for students with disabilities.
The bureau will receive $1,388,716 annually for five years from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Special Education Programs. The funding will be used for a professional development initiative called “Improving Student Results: A Focus on Highly Qualified Special Education Personnel.”
Pennsylvania’s personnel development effort goes beyond teachers, focusing more broadly on all school personnel who play a role in the education of students with disabilities. It targets two long-term goals: allowing students with disabilities to learn in the least restrictive environment; and ensuring they make adequate yearly progress so they can graduate from high school ready for adult life.
“Pennsylvania’s strategic focus on professional development recognizes that every child is unique and that all school personnel, not just teachers, play a role in helping each student reach his or her full potential,” Zahorchak said.
The majority of the grant money, about 90 percent, will go directly toward professional development activities. The remainder will be used to revise the Pennsylvania Special Education Certificate process to improve the knowledge, skills and retention rates of new special education teachers.