OSEP Technical Assistance Centers
The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) funds a technical assistance (TA) network to support the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) by state educational agencies, Part C lead agencies, institutions of higher education, local educational agencies, local agencies, programs and schools.
The centers provide TA to ensure the needs of all infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities and their families are met.
OSEP administers discretionary grants funded under IDEA to improve results for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities ages birth through 21 across six areas:
- Technical Assistance and Dissemination,
- Parent Training and Information Centers,
- Educational Technology and Accessible Media and Materials Centers,
- Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities,
- Technical Assistance on State Data Collection, and
- State Personnel Development Grants.
These grants support states and local programs to lead systems change and provide comprehensive and high-quality IDEA services.
The Technical Assistance and Dissemination (TA&D) program funds centers to improve results for children with disabilities from birth through 21 and their families by promoting the use of evidence-based practices.
The TA&D centers build the capacity of states and local programs to implement evidence-based practices by:
- identifying emerging needs,
- developing high-quality products,
- providing effective technical assistance, and
- widely disseminating useful information.
The Special Education Parent Information Centers support parents of children with disabilities from birth through 26 by providing high- quality, relevant, and useful training and information to help improve outcomes for their children. Activities include:
- working with families of infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities, birth to 26;
- helping parents participate effectively in their children’s education and development; and
- partnering with professionals and policy makers to improve outcomes for all children with disabilities.
| Focus | Center |
|---|---|
| National Center Supporting All Parent Training and Information Centers, Community Parent Resource Centers, and Parents | Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR) |
| Local Centers Supporting Underserved Families and Youth | Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs) |
| Statewide Centers Supporting Families and Youth | Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs) |
| Regional Centers Supporting PTIs and CPRCs | Regional Parent Technical Assistance Centers (RPTACs) |
OSEP funds national centers that support the effective use of accessible technology to improve access to instruction for individuals with disabilities.
| Focus | Center |
|---|---|
| Educational Materials in Accessible Formats for Eligible Children and Students with Disabilities | Bookshare |
| Building Faculty Capacity to Use Educational Technology in Personnel Preparation | Center for Innovation, Design, and Digital Learning (CIDDL) |
| Assistive Technology | Center on Inclusive Technology & Education Systems (CITES) |
| Audio Description and Captioning | Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) |
| Use of Technology for Early Childhood Assessment | Innovative Technology for Early Childhood Assessment (INTECA) |
| Accessible Digital Educational Materials and Instruction | National Center on Accessible Digital Educational Materials and Instruction (NCADEMI) |
| Supporting Production of Educational Materials in Accessible Formats | Braille, Large Print, and Digital Text | National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) |
| STEM Experiences for Young Children with Disabilities | STEMIE: Innovation for Inclusion in Early Education |
In addition to national centers, OSEP funds projects to help develop and integrate evidence-based technology tools and approaches for use in education for students and youth with disabilities.
OSEP funds national centers that support institutions of higher education and state agencies to increase the number of fully qualified personnel— including teachers, providers, and administrators—working with children with disabilities and their families and to ensure those personnel have the necessary knowledge and skills to use evidence-based practices to improve services and results in serving those children.
| Focus | Center |
|---|---|
| Aligning and Improving Personnel Preparation Systems | Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform Center (CEEDAR Center) |
| Diversifying the Workforce Serving Children with Disabilities | The DREAM Center |
| Early Childhood Personnel and Faculty Diversity | Early Childhood Intervention Personnel Center for Equity (ECiPC) |
| Evidence-Based Practices I Translating Research to Practice | Effective Instruction | IRIS Center |
| Supporting Early Childhood and PreK-12 Leaders | Improving Systems Serving Children with Disabilities | Lead IDEA Center |
OSEP funds national centers that provide technical assistance to improve the capacity of states to meet the data collection and reporting requirements under Parts B and C of IDEA.
| Focus | Center |
|---|---|
| Part B Preschool and School Age Data | IDEA Data Center (IDC) |
| Part C and Part B Preschool Data | Early Childhood Data Systems | The Center for IDEA Early Childhood Data Systems (DaSy Center) |
| IDEA Part B Data Systems | Integration | The Center for the Integration of IDEA Data (CIID) |
| Reporting Data in Dynamic, Accessible Visualizations | Rhonda Weiss Center for Accessible IDEA Data (Weiss Center) |
| Significant Disproportionality | Data Center Addressing Significant Disproportionality (DCASD) |
| Part B and Part C Fiscal Data | Center for IDEA Fiscal Reporting (CIFR) |
The State Personnel Development Grants (SPDG) program provides grants to help state educational agencies reform and improve their systems for personnel preparation and professional development of individuals providing early intervention, educational and transition services to improve results for children with disabilities.
| Focus | Center |
|---|---|
| State Personnel Development | State Personnel Development Network (SIGNetwork) |
Related Resources
Last modified on March 21, 2025