OSEP 101: An Overview of the Office of Special Education Programs

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OSEP 101: An Overview of the Office of Special Education Programs

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Welcome to OSEP! OSEP is an acronym for the Office of Special Education Programs. This short video will provide a brief overview of the work that OSEP does and the resources OSEP provides. 

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United States Department of Education. Photo of the front of the U.S. Department of Education’s Lyndon Baines Johnson Building in Washington, D.C.

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OSEP is part of the United States Department of Education

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Where does OSEP live in the broader Department of Education? Organization chart of the Department of Education shows the Office of the Secretary at the top of the chart. The Office of the Deputy Secretary and the Office of the Under Secretary Report to the Office of the Secretary. The following offices fall under the Office of the Deputy Secretary: Office of Finance and Operations; Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; the Office of the Chief Information Officer; the Office of English Language Acquisition; and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services has a yellow circle around it to emphasize where OSEP fits in the broader ED environment.

The following offices fall under the Office of the Under Secretary: Office of Postsecondary Education; Office of Careers and Technical Adult Education; and Federal Student Aid.

The following offices report directly to the Office of the Secretary: Institute of Education Sciences; Office of Civil Rights; Office of the Inspector General; Office of Planning; Evaluation and Policy Development; the Office of Communication and Outreach; the Office of the General Counsel, the Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs; and White House Initiatives.

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OSEP is under the program office of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, also known as OSERS. 

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Organizational Chart for OSERS. The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) sits at the top of the organizational chart. Under OSERS is the Office of the Assistant Secretary (OAS) sits the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) with a yellow circle to highlight OSEP’s place in the chart and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA).

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OSERS is comprised of two offices under the Office of the Assistant Secretary – the Rehabilitation Services Administration, also known as RSA, and OSEP. 

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OSEP Mission and Vision.

Mission: To lead the nation’s efforts ​to improve outcomes for children with disabilities, birth through 21, and their families, ensuring access to fair, equitable, and high-quality education and services.

Vision: A world in which individuals with disabilities have unlimited opportunities to learn and ​to lead purposeful and ​fulfilling lives

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The mission of OSEP is to lead the nation’s efforts to improve outcomes for children with disabilities, birth through 21, and their families, ensuring access to fair, equitable, and high-quality education and services. OSEP’s vision is for a world in which individuals with disabilities have unlimited opportunities to learn and to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives.

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Individuals With Disabilities Education Act – IDEA (2004). Image of the top banner of the IDEA Website, which includes the ED logo and the words IDEA, Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.

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OSEP is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, also known as IDEA. IDEA is a law that makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation and governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to more than 7.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities.

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Who does OSEP Serve? Visual lists the following:

• IDEA Part C: Infants and toddlers, birth through age 2, and their families​
• IDEA Part B: Children and youth ages 3 through 21
• 50 States​
• Additional entities: American Samoa​, Bureau of Indian Education​, District of Columbia​, Federated States of Micronesia​, Guam, Marshall Islands​, Northern Mariana Islands​, Palau​, Puerto Rico​, Virgin Islands

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Infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families receive early intervention services under Part C of IDEA. Children and youth ages 3 through 21 receive special education and related services under IDEA Part B. OSEP provides support and services to the 50 States as well as the various other entities shown here.

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Organizational Chart: OSEP. The OSEP organizational chart shows the Office of Special Education Programs at the top of the chart with the Office of the Director below. Reporting to the Office of the Director are the Research to Practice (RTP) Division and the Monitoring and State Improvement Planning (MSIP) Division.

The following fall under RTP: Early Childhood & Parent Program Team; Elementary and Middle School Team; Secondary, Transition and Post-Secondary Team, and National Initiatives Team.

The following fall under MSIP: Team A, Team B, Team C and Team D.

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OSEP is comprised of 2 divisions: The Research to Practice Division, or RTP and the Monitoring and State Improvement Planning Division, or MSIP

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Who does OSEP Fund? A chart shows OSEP Grants.

Under OSEP Grants there are Research to Practice Division: Discretionary Grants and Monitoring and State Improvement Planning Division: Formula Grants.

The RTP Discretionary Grants include: Technical Assistance (TA) and Dissemination; Educational Technology, Media and Materials for Individuals with Disabilities; Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities; State Personnel Development Grants; TA on State Data Collection; and Parent Training and Information Centers.

The MSIP Formula Grants include: Part B Formula Grants (both grants to states and preschool grants) and Part C Formula Grants.

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IDEA authorizes funding through formula grants and discretionary grants. OSEP provides discretionary grants to state educational agencies, institutions of higher education, and other nonprofit organizations, and the three formula grants are awarded to states annually.

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Research to Practice Division (RTP). Image shows a chart of centers funded by OSEP RTP. The center of the chart says Improving Results for Children with Disabilities, which connects to the following categories: Data Collection, Analysis and Use; Accessibility; Early Childhood; Effective Instruction; School Climate and Behavior; Building Systems of Support; Sensory Disabilities; Supporting Parents and Families; and Secondary Transition. There are 34 centers listed on the chart. An accessible and interactive version of the chart can be found on OSEP IDEAs That Work.

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Let’s take a closer look at the work of the RTP Division in OSEP. RTP serves as a national leader in early intervention and special education programs, policies, and activities and collaborates with federal partners and key stakeholders in education and related fields. RTP provides information and data to the public, including policy leaders and other stakeholders, through the 618 data collection and the Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of IDEA. There are currently over 34 funded OSEP centers that work together as a network to generate and bring information, knowledge, and support to those who need it, including State and local administrators, practitioners, parents and families, and policy makers.

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OSEP IDEAs That Work. OSEPIdeasThatWork.org. The image shows a screen grab from the OSEP IDEAs That Work website.

A picture of the Capitol building and a cherry blossom tree is above the column Federal Resources for Stakeholders, which lists Tool Kits, Topical Issues, and Intervention IDEAs Briefs.

A picture of a girl in a red winter coat and brown winter hat playing on a rope net at a park is above the column Resources for Grantees, which lists Program Areas, Evaluation, OSEP Peer Review, and Section 508 Accessibility.

A picture of a teacher raising her hand while reading a book to her students who are also raising their hands is above the column Find a Center or Grant, which lists Find a Center, OSEP TA Network Center List, and Discretionary Grants Database.

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We encourage you to check out the multitude of free resources that OSEP-funded projects provide by visiting the IDEAs That Work website.

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Monitoring and State Improvement Planning Division (MSIP). Lists the following:

• IDEA Part B and Part C State applications for formula grants
• State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR), including the State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP)
• Differentiated Monitoring and Support (DMS 2.0)
• Policy guidance and customer service support

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Now let’s take a closer look at the work of the MSIP Division in OSEP. MSIP carries out major activities related to Part B and Part C of IDEA and the 619 formula grant programs. The division is responsible for State Plan review and approval, and for monitoring OSEP’s formula grant programs to ensure consistency with federal requirements and to ensure that states and other public agencies continue to implement programs designed to improve results for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities. As stewards of the $13 billion dollars allocated each year through IDEA, MSIP ensures that children with disabilities and their families are afforded all the rights to which they are entitled under the law.

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IDEA. https://sites.ed.gov/idea. Image of the IDEA Website homepage. Image includes the ED logo with the words IDEA – Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Include IDEA Website menu, which is Home, About, Law and Policy, Reports, Grants and Funding, Resources, and News and Media. Picture from the homepage shows a collage of seven separate images. The top row includes an image of a toddler playing in the grass, an image of five teenagers laying on the ground in a circle with their heads together laughing up at the camera, and an image of a row of the backs of students in graduation caps and gowns. The bottom row of pictures includes an image of an infant in overalls being supported on a large yellow exercise ball by a woman who appears to be helping the baby with physical therapy activities, and image of an elementary school aged boy in a wheelchair at his school desk holding a pencil and smiling, an image of an elementary aged girl sitting on the floor reading a book while a woman and a man look over her shoulder to read with her, and an image of a elementary aged boy sitting at a desk reading braille.

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The IDEA website is your one-stop-shop for information about laws and regulations, policy documents, state data and reports, grants and other resources related to the implementation of IDEA.

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Contact slide for OSEP. Slide states OSEP, Office of Special Education Programs, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education. Home: www.ed.gov/osers/osep. Connect with OSEP: www.sites.ed.gov/idea/connect-with-osep. Slide includes a QR code to the Connect with OSEP webpage.

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We hope this video has been a helpful introduction to the work of OSEP. For more information and to connect with additional OSEP resources including newsletters and social media accounts, please visit the websites listed here. Thank you for your interest and support as OSEP works to improve outcomes for children with disabilities, birth through 21, and their families, ensuring access to fair, equitable, and high-quality education and services.