Newswise — Seven CSU campuses received nearly $17 million from the United States Department of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to prepare educators, school counselors and psychologists to work collaboratively to serve the unique needs of students with disabilities.
The campuses awarded are California State Polytechnic University, Pomona ($1.1 million), California State University, Chico ($1.25 million), Humboldt State University ($1.25 million), San Francisco State ($1.25 million), California State University, Long Beach ($3.6 million), California State University, Los Angeles ($3.75 million) and San Diego State University ($4.5 million).
The projects will advance interdisciplinary collaboration among general and special education teachers, school counselors and psychologists, ensuring students with special needs and their families receive comprehensive support in and out of the classroom. Several projects are also aimed at supporting dual-language learners with special needs and their families.
Educators and administrators will be equipped to provide evidence-based assessment and instructional practices to improve outcomes for students with disabilities including supporting the social, emotional and behavioral development of young children with disabilities and the use of technology to enhance development and learning.
“These grants are evidence of the significant commitment of CSU campuses to preparing educators to enhance the vision of inclusive education for all students,” says Marquita Grenot-Scheyer, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Educator Preparation. “Addressing the needs of all learners is at the heart of CSU teacher preparation and major reforms in California.”
Campus Projects Support Diverse Students
California is home to more than 2.6 million P-12 students who speak a language other than English at home—roughly 42 percent of the state’s public school enrollment. CSU colleges and schools of education, which prepare more than half the state’s educators, play a critical role in addressing the needs of this growing population.
Campus projects receiving funding from OSERS in this round of awards that support dual-language learners with special needs include:
- A San Diego State project called Project PUEDE!: Partnering to Unify Education Services for Dual Language and English Learners, which prepares bilingual school psychologists and speech language pathologists uniquely skilled at interdisciplinary collaboration in assessment, interventions, and consultation for dual language and English-learner students with high intensity needs.
- A Cal State Long Beach project called Project CREST (Culturally Responsive Transition Support in School Counseling and Special Education) that will teach evidence-based practices that emphasize culturally-congruent support for special needs students with a focus on postsecondary opportunities including employment and education.
Addressing California’s Degree Shortage
The CSU is the largest preparer of teachers in the state, producing more than half the state’s educators each year and helping to solve the state’s teacher shortage. Of the nearly 8,000 new teachers produced by the CSU each year, more than 1,500 are new special education teachers.
Teacher preparation is key to the CSU’s Graduation Initiative 2025, which will enable the university to produce its share of the 1.1 million college graduates California needs to address its looming degree gap while improving student achievement and eliminating equity gaps.
The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) projects the state’s teacher shortage will become greater by 2030 as demand for qualified educators will increase by nearly 5 percentage points.
To learn more about how the CSU is working to solve California’s teacher shortage, visit the page for teacher preparation.
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