U.S. Department of Education opens information session for 84.325K personnel-preparation grants

Sanyoung Ahl, competition manager, led a Department of Education information session describing the Assistance Listing 84.325K personnel-preparation competition and its goals to prepare special education, early intervention and related-services personnel.

The competition has $8,750,000 available to fund up to 35 awards over project periods of up to 60 months; individual projects may not exceed $1,250,000 total, with a typical annual award range of $100,000 to $350,000 and a maximum budget-period award of $350,000. Applications must be submitted by 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time on July 2, 2026, and the application notice was posted on Grants.gov on May 13, 2026.

The grant’s stated purpose is to address state-identified shortages in personnel preparation for children with disabilities and to ensure personnel are trained using practices informed by scientifically based research. Ahl said projects must use evidence-based strategies and noted the competition’s two separate focus areas: focus area A (infants, toddlers and preschool-age children) and focus area B (school-age children). Applicants must choose one focus area on the application cover sheet and abstract.

Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education (IHEs) and private nonprofit organizations; an eligible applicant must be the institution itself (not an individual faculty member, department or program), and each eligible institution may submit only one application in this competition. The Department will award competitive preference points — five points for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) and an additional five points for applicants that have not had an active related grant in the last five years.

The program requires that no less than 70% of awarded funds over the project period be devoted to scholar support (an increase from 65% in prior competitions). Other budget rules noted by Ahl include a training indirect cost rate of 8% and an allowance of up to $100,000 from the first budget cycle for planning during the initial 12 months. Ahl also outlined the definition of eligible "scholars" (degree- or certification-seeking individuals who will be eligible for licensure/endorsement and will spend at least 51% of their time serving children with disabilities) and listed qualifying related services (for example, speech-language pathology, assistive technology, applied behavior analysis, physical and occupational therapy, and counseling).

The session closed with reminders about the deadline and resources available on the competition webpage; Ahl provided contact information for follow-up questions and directed applicants to the application notice and instructions on Grants.gov for full details.