84.326M: Outreach Services to Minority Entities to Expand Research Capacity

This document describes the project that received funding in Fiscal Year 2004 from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), U.S. Department of Education, under its competition 84.326M, Outreach Services to Minority Entities to Expand Research Capacity. This funding is authorized by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), our nation's special education law.

The Bigger Picture

NICHCY is pleased to make this listing available to you online. The listing comes from a longer publication with the incredibly long title of: Volume 3 of Discretionary Projects Supported by the Office of Special Education Programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Fiscal Year 2004: Technical Assistance, Dissemination, Parent Information, and State Improvement.

Interested in what other Technical Assistance and Dissemination grants have been funded by OSEP in 2004? Please visit:
www.nichcy.org/directories/tad.asp

For an overview of OSEP's discretionary funding programs, and to find complete listings of all its program areas, competitions, and funded projects, please visit:
www.nichcy.org/directories/intro.asp

For a print copy of the complete Technical Assistance, Dissemination, Parent Information, and State Improvement directory (Volume 3), or any of the other directories (while supplies last), please contact Todd Fisk, the Directory/Database Manager, at:
tfisk@aed.org

84.326M
Outreach Services to Minority Entities to Expand Research Capacity

Purpose: Linking Academic Scholars to Educational Resources (LASER) will ensure the development and implementation of a definitive research agenda on urban special education, with the ultimate goal of improving schooling for urban children and youth with or suspected of disabilities. LASER's mission is to: (a) develop cadres of faculty and graduate students in minority institutions who will conduct and sustain urban special education research/scholarship; (b) develop a national strength-based model that documents strategies for enhancing individual and institutional research capacities; and (c) define and coordinate a national agenda that narrows the gap between research and urban school practice.

Method: LASER will provide technical assistance and professional development for minority doctoral students and faculty. In addition, cohorts of ethnic minority doctoral students will be recruited to the University of South Florida's special education program and will commit to conducting urban special education research studies. The doctoral students will complete their coursework at the University of South Florida and spend their third year at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), or Other Minority Institutions (OMIs).

Products: LASER's impact will be far reaching. Four regional clusters or collaborative research communities that serve African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, and Native Americans across the country have been identified for the most intense services. For participating faculty and doctoral students, LASER will host an annual conference to showcase urban special education research and disseminate those findings to lay and professional audiences. LASER will also reach out to facilitate site-based resource sharing and collaboration among the participating institutions. Most importantly, a consortium will be positioned by the project's fifth year to be competitive in the next funding cycle of the Outreach to Minority Entities Project. The LASER project will transition from the University of South Florida to a consortium comprised of predominantly minority institutions to further the mission of LASER.

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