The National Center on Dispute Resolution (CADRE) serves as the National Center on Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education on behalf of the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education. CADRE works to increase the nation’s capacity to prevent and resolve special education and early intervention disputes by fostering productive home/school/provider partnerships and the use of collaborative processes to improve outcomes for children and youth with disabilities. CADRE assists states with implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) procedural safeguards provisions and the development of high-performing dispute resolution systems through the identification and dissemination of exemplary practices related to program design, implementation, evaluation and improvement.
Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE)
Specialty Area
- Alternative Dispute Resolutions
Primary Audience
- Administrators
- Families
- School Districts
- State Education Agencies
Services
- Assessment Tools
- Consulting
- Content Expertise
Regions/States
NationalAll States
Level of Support
TieredAdditional Information
Other Services Provided: Communication; relationship building workshops; and trainings; Systems analysis and improvement
Other Specialty Areas: Dispute Resolution; Conflict Prevention
Center for IDEA Early Childhood Data Systems (DaSy Center)
The Center for IDEA Early Childhood Data Systems (DaSy Center) is a national technical assistance center funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). DaSy Center works with states to support IDEA early intervention and early childhood special education state programs in the development or enhancement of coordinated early childhood longitudinal data systems.
DaSy Canter provides technical assistance (TA) and resources to state agencies to assist with the development or enhancement of data systems for Part C early intervention and Part B preschool special education programs supported through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The DaSy Center collaborates with other projects to leverage what is known and generate new ideas and products to help state agencies create and expand early childhood cross-agency and longitudinal data systems that include the Part C and Part B preschool data needed to collect, analyze, and report high-quality data required under IDEA. We offer a range of supports based on our clients needs including intensive and targeted TA as well as opportunities to join DaSy Center led communities of practice or attend webinars.
Specialty Area
- Data Systems
- Early Childhood Educators
- Early Childhood Leadership
- Education Leadership
- Educator Effectiveness
- Educator Preparation
- Educator Retention
- Evidence Based Practices & Scaling Up
- Family Engagement
- Measuring Student Growth
- Multi-tiered Systems of Support
- Organizational Leadership
- Part B – 619
- Part C
- Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS)
- Response to Intervention
- Social and Emotional Learning
- System Alignment
Primary Audience
- Administrators
- Families
- State Education Agencies
Services
- Assessment Tools
- Consulting
- Content Expertise
- Convening Stakeholders
- Facilitation
Regions/States
NationalAll States
Level of Support
Tiered, UniversalAdditional Information
Other Services Provided: National Technical Assistance (TA)
Other Specialty Areas: IDEA Part C Data Systems; IDEA Part B-619 Data Systems
Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR)
The Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR) is your central “Hub” of information and products created for the network of Parent Centers serving families of children with disabilities.
All the materials found on the CPIR Hub have been created and archived for Parent Centers around the country to help them provide support and services to the families they serve. The CPIR employs a user-centered process, gathering the perspectives of our experienced audience—Parent Center staff members and other experts—every step of the way, to create products and services that increase Parent Centers’ knowledge and capacity in specific domains.
Specialty Area
- Family Engagement
- Parents, Families, & Youth
Primary Audience
- Families
- Schools
- Teachers
Services
- Content Expertise
Regions/States
NationalAll States
Level of Support
Additional Information
Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS Center)
Funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), the Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) supports schools, districts, and states to build systems capacity for implementing a multi-tiered approach to social, emotional and behavior support. The broad purpose of PBIS is to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and equity of schools and other agencies. PBIS improves social, emotional and academic outcomes for all students, including students with disabilities and students from underrepresented groups.
Specialty Area
- Education Leadership
- Evidence Based Practices & Scaling Up
- Family Engagement
- Intensive Supports
- Multi-tiered Systems of Support
- Organizational Leadership
- Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS)
- Response to Intervention
- School Climate & Behavior
- School Mental Health
- Social and Emotional Learning
- Special Education
- System Alignment
Primary Audience
- Administrators
- Families
- School Counselors
- School Districts
- Schools
- State Education Agencies
Services
- Assessment Tools
- Coaching
- Consulting
- Content Expertise
- Research
Regions/States
NationalAll States
Level of Support
GeneralAdditional Information
Other Specialty Areas: Implementation Science; Prevention Science
Lead for Literacy (L4L)
The Lead for Literacy Center, operated by Boston University’s Wheelock College of Education and Human Development with funding from the United States Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs, is a partnership among literacy experts, education leaders, university researchers, and technical assistance providers from the University of Oregon and American Institutes for Research.
Their mission is to provide technical assistance to school and district leaders that builds their capacity to facilitate improved teacher implementation of evidence-based literacy practices for educating students with, or at risk for, literacy-related disabilities.
Specialty Area
- Effective Literacy Instruction
- Evidence Based Practices & Scaling Up
Primary Audience
- Administrators
- School Districts
- Schools
Services
- Content Expertise
Regions/States
NationalAll States
Level of Support
TargetedAdditional Information
Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center
The Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center is one of four regional Equity Assistance Centers. This center is funded by the United States Department of Education under Title IV of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The center provides technical assistance and training, upon request, in the areas of race, sex, national origin and religion to public school districts and other responsible governmental agencies to promote equitable education opportunities. Work focuses on the areas of civil rights, equity, and school reform.
Specialty Area
- Alternative Routes to Certification
- Educator Effectiveness
- Equity
- Family Engagement
- School Climate & Behavior
- School Mental Health
- System Alignment
Primary Audience
- School Districts
- State Education Agencies
Services
- Coaching
- Consulting
- Content Expertise
- Convening Stakeholders
- Facilitation
- Research
Regions/States
MidwestIllinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin
Level of Support
TieredAdditional Information
Technical Assistance Centers
National Center on Accessible Educational Materials for Learning
The National Center on Accessible Educational Materials for Learning (AEM Center) at CAST is a knowledge-development, information dissemination, and technical assistance project whose activities and actions are designed to:
- Expand and disseminate knowledge about Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) and technologies among key stakeholder groups.
- Increase AEM Center stakeholders’ skills; and motivation.
- Improve and enhance the organizational, material and structural capacities of AEM stakeholders so that they effectively use AEM resources.
The overall goal established by CAST and OSEP pertains to improvements in the availability and use of accessible educational materials and technologies for learning.
Specialty Area
- Accessible Education Materials
- Equity
- Family Engagement
- Multi-tiered Systems of Support
- Response to Intervention
- Transitions (from grade to grade)
Primary Audience
- Administrators
- Families
- School Counselors
- School Districts
- Schools
- State Education Agencies
- Teachers
Services
- Assessment Tools
- Coaching
- Consulting
- Content Expertise
- Convening Stakeholders
Regions/States
NationalAlaska, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Ohio, Texas
Level of Support
IntensiveAdditional Information
Other Primary Audiences: Higher Education; Workforce Development; Publishers; EdTech Developers
Technical Assistance and Training
Other Specialty Areas: Access to AEM and assistive technology; Policy
National Center on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB)
The National Center on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB) provides technical assistance to meet the needs of children (birth to 21) with deaf-blindness in five initiative areas: early identification and intervention; family engagement; interveners and qualified personnel; transition; and assessment, planning, and instruction. It's universal, targeted, and intensive TA is conducted in concert with state deaf-blind projects throughout the U. S., and with national family organizations. NCDB has an extensive website with information and products to support its TA as well as relevant information on deaf-blindness of use to families, service providers, and the general public.
Specialty Area
- Career and Technical Education
- Deaf-Blindness
- Early Childhood Educators
- Educator Effectiveness
- Educator Preparation
- Evidence Based Practices & Scaling Up
- Family Engagement
- Intensive Supports
Primary Audience
- Administrators
- Families
- School Districts
- Schools
- State Education Agencies
- Teachers
Services
- Consulting
- Content Expertise
- Convening Stakeholders
- Facilitation
Regions/States
NationalAll States
Level of Support
TieredAdditional Information
Other Primary Audiences: State Deaf-Blind Projects
Other Services Provided: Assisting State Deaf-Blind Projects to Implement Systems Change in Their States; Assisting State Deaf-Blind Projects to Provide Effective Child-Specific TA to Educational Teams; Comprehensive Website on Deaf-Blindness and Technical Assistance
Other Specialty Areas: Early Identification and Intervention; Transition to Adulthood; Assessment; Planning and Instruction; Annual Child Count of Children Who Are Deaf-Blind; Supporting Intervener Services Infrastructure
National Center on Improving Literacy (NCIL)
The National Center on Improving Literacy (NCIL), operated by Boston University’s Wheelock College of Education and Human Development with funding from the United States Department of Education, is a partnership among literacy experts, university researchers, and technical assistance providers from the University of Oregon, Florida State University, and RMC Research Corporation.
NCILs mission is to increase access to, and use of, evidence-based approaches to screen, identify, and teach students with literacy-related disabilities, including dyslexia. They also work to build individual and organizational capacity to assess students’ literacy-related skill, identify students with disabilities or those at risk of disabilities, and fully implement evidence-based literacy programs and professional development.
Specialty Area
- Dyslexia
- Effective Literacy Instruction
- Supporting Parents and Families
Primary Audience
- Administrators
- Families
- School Counselors
- School Districts
- Schools
- State Education Agencies
- Teachers
Services
- Assessment Tools
- Coaching
- Content Expertise
Regions/States
NationalAll States
Level of Support
Additional Information
National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII)
The Mission of the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) is to build the capacity of state and local education agencies, universities, practitioners, and other stakeholders to support implementation of intensive intervention in literacy, mathematics, and behavior for students with severe and persistent learning and/or behavioral needs, often in the context of their multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) or special education services. NCII’s approach to intensive intervention is data-based individualization (DBI), a research-based process that integrates the systematic use of assessment data, validated interventions, and intensification strategies.
Specialty Area
- Educator Preparation
- Effective Instruction
- Evidence Based Practices & Scaling Up
- Family Engagement
- Intensive Supports
- Measuring Student Growth
- Multi-tiered Systems of Support
- Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS)
- Response to Intervention
- School Climate & Behavior
- Special Education
- System Alignment
Primary Audience
- Administrators
- Families
- School Counselors
- School Districts
- Schools
- State Education Agencies
- Teachers
Services
- Consulting
- Content Expertise
- Convening Stakeholders
- Facilitation
Regions/States
NationalAll States
Level of Support
TieredAdditional Information
Other Specialty Areas: Intensive Intervention; Data-based Individualization
National Center on Systemic Improvement (NCSI)
The National Center for Systemic Improvement (NCSI) helps states transform their systems to improve outcomes for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities. NCSI provides states with technical assistance to support development, implementation and evaluation of their 6-year state systemic improvement plan and build capacity among their school districts and local early intervention service programs to improve educational results and functional outcomes for children and youth with disabilities.
Specialty Area
- Early Childhood Educators
- Early Childhood Leadership
- Education Leadership
- Educator Effectiveness
- Evidence Based Practices & Scaling Up
- Family Engagement
- Measuring Student Growth
- Multi-tiered Systems of Support
- Response to Intervention
- Social and Emotional Learning
- System Alignment
- Transforming State Systems
Primary Audience
- Administrators
- School Districts
- Schools
- State Education Agencies
Services
- Coaching
- Consulting
- Content Expertise
- Convening Stakeholders
- Facilitation
- Research
Regions/States
NationalAll States
Level of Support
TieredAdditional Information
Other Specialty Areas: Systems Change; Students with Disabilities
National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: The Collaborative (NTACT:C)
The National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: The Collaborative (NTACT:C) is a Technical Assistance Center co-funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). They provide information, tools, and supports to assist multiple stakeholders in delivering effective services and instruction for secondary students and out of school youth with disabilities.
Specialty Area
- 21st Century Skills
- Career and Technical Education
- Education Leadership
- Evidence Based Practices & Scaling Up
- Family Engagement
- Organizational Leadership
- School Climate & Behavior
- School Mental Health
- Secondary Transition
- Special Education
- Transitions (from grade to grade)
Primary Audience
- Administrators
- Families
- School Counselors
- State Education Agencies
- Teachers
Services
- Assessment Tools
- Coaching
- Consulting
- Content Expertise
- Convening Stakeholders
- Facilitation
Regions/States
NationalAll States
Level of Support
TieredAdditional Information
Other Primary Audiences: State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies; Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors; Secondary Students with Disabilities
Other Specialty Areas: Transition to post-school environments; Data Analysis and Use
PROGRESS Center
PROGRESS Center (which stands for Promoting Rigorous Outcomes and Growth by Redesigning Educational Services for Students With Disabilities Center) provides information, resources, tools, and technical assistance services to support local educators and leaders (kindergarten through transition age) in developing and implementing high-quality educational programs that ensure students with disabilities have access to free appropriate public education (FAPE) which allows them to make progress and meet challenging goals, consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District (2017).
Specialty Area
- English Language Learners
- Evidence Based Practices & Scaling Up
- Family Engagement
- High-Quality Educational Programming
- Intensive Supports
- Measuring Student Growth
- Multi-tiered Systems of Support
- Response to Intervention
- Special Education
Primary Audience
- Administrators
- School Districts
- Schools
- State Education Agencies
- Teachers
Services
- Assessment Tools
- Coaching
- Consulting
- Content Expertise
- Convening Stakeholders
- Facilitation
Regions/States
NationalAll States
Level of Support
TieredAdditional Information
Private and charter school associations and entities
Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic
The Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic (REL Mid-Atlantic) is one of 10 research centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences to partner with stakeholders in using evidence to improve teaching, learning, and school leadership. REL Mid-Atlantic translates research to practice in partnership with policymakers and practitioners in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Based on regional needs they provide training, coaching, and technical support to help apply high-quality evidence to education improvement initiatives. The lab also conducts, applies, and disseminates research and research-based technical assistance in collaboration with stakeholders in the region to promote continuous improvement of educational practice.
Based on the input from the region the work takes many forms:
- Partnerships and alliances are formed and evolve
- Conduct research studies to answer pressing questions for stakeholders in the region
- Publications are released based on research studies conducted
- Coaching and technical support workshops are collaborative activities conducted with stakeholders
- Events are designed and supported to meet the needs of the region
- Tools are developed through the work with stakeholders
- Ask A REL responses are provided to inquiries from the region
Specialty Area
- Alternative Routes to Certification
- Career and Technical Education
- Early Childhood Educators
- Early Childhood Leadership
- Education Leadership
- Educator Effectiveness
- Educator Preparation
- Educator Retention
- Equity
- Evidence Based Practices & Scaling Up
- Family Engagement
- Measuring Student Growth
- Multi-tiered Systems of Support
- Organizational Leadership
- School Climate & Behavior
- Social and Emotional Learning
- Teacher Mentoring and Induction
Primary Audience
- Administrators
- School Districts
- State Education Agencies
Services
- Assessment Tools
- Coaching
- Content Expertise
- Convening Stakeholders
- Facilitation
- Research
Regions/States
NortheastDelaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
Level of Support
IntensiveAdditional Information
No additional information provided
Regional Educational Laboratory Pacific
The Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Pacific translates research to practice in partnership with policymakers and practitioners in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Hawaii, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.
Specialty Area
- Career and Technical Education
- Cross-Disciplinary Competencies
- Early Childhood Educators
- Education Leadership
- Educator Effectiveness
- Educator Preparation
- Educator Retention
- Evidence Based Practices & Scaling Up
- Family Engagement
- Organizational Leadership
- Social and Emotional Learning
- System Alignment
- Teacher Mentoring and Induction
- Transitions (from grade to grade)
Primary Audience
- Administrators
- School Districts
- State Education Agencies
Services
- Assessment Tools
- Coaching
- Content Expertise
- Convening Stakeholders
- Facilitation
- Research
Regions/States
Pacific IslandsAmerican Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands
Level of Support
IntensiveAdditional Information
Other Specialty Areas: College readiness; Developmental education; Culturally responsive education
Regional Educational Laboratory Central
Regional Educational Lab (REL) Central partners with key stakeholders in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Standing Rock Reservation, and Wyoming to develop evidence that can inform consequential decisions about policy, programs, and practice. Key stakeholders include organizations with decision-making authority and the ability to influence education policy and practice, such as state and local education agencies, school boards, institutes of higher education, and student, family, and community organizations. RELs partner with these organizations on applied research and development; training, coaching and technical supports; and dissemination.
Specialty Area
- Educator Effectiveness
- Educator Preparation
- Educator Retention
- Equity
- Evidence Based Practices & Scaling Up
- Family Engagement
- Teacher Mentoring and Induction
Primary Audience
- Administrators
- School Districts
- State Education Agencies
Services
- Assessment Tools
- Content Expertise
- Convening Stakeholders
- Facilitation
- Research
Regions/States
MidwestColorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota
Level of Support
IntensiveAdditional Information
Other Specialty Areas: Rural Education; American Indian Education; School Improvement; Innovative Schools