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Indiana University center awarded close to $5 million to train school leaders on special education
Summary
Indiana University's Center on Education and Lifelong Learning (CELL) will lead a five‑year, close to $5 million state personnel development grant (CSLI) to build school leadership capacity to improve outcomes for students with disabilities through principal cohorts, teacher‑leader pathways and family engagement.
Dr. Penny Gregory, executive director of the Center on Education and Lifelong Learning at Indiana University Bloomington, told the State Advisory Committee that CELL will lead a five‑year state personnel development grant called the CELL School Leadership Initiative (CSLI), funded at close to $5 million, to strengthen school leadership for improved outcomes for students with disabilities.
The grant will fund a year‑long cohort of school principals who will develop and implement school improvement projects with coaching support; a parallel Aspiring Special Education Leadership Institute will support teacher leaders; and the project includes family‑engagement work with InSource and partnerships with Indiana University campuses to explore dual licensure for school leaders and special education directors. "We're really focused on building leadership capacity to improve outcomes for students with disabilities," Gregory said, describing the program's emphasis on sustained leadership development rather than one‑off professional learning.
A Department of Education representative told the committee the grant reviewers noted strengths in the proposal's cross‑agency partnerships and thoughtfulness about aligning with existing initiatives; earlier SPED grants had targeted rural districts and very large districts, while CSLI focuses on leadership systems and sustainability. Gregory said CELL will recruit districts starting in February and March, targeting schools identified via state data as most in need of improved outcomes, and that the team aims to design systems that remain after the grant ends.
The initiative will pair principals with their building special education leaders for joint learning, invest in coaching infrastructure, and emphasize family partnerships as a regular part of school improvement planning. Gregory said the team will share the slide deck with the committee and return to update the State Advisory Committee on project progress in a future SAC meeting.
Next steps: CELL will begin recruitment in late winter, coordinate with IDOE and named partners (including InSource and IU Bloomington/Indianapolis), and provide updates to the committee as the grant moves into implementation.
