RFP Special Education Inclusion Training
You have a proposal for a special education inclusion training project at your school. The next step is to locate a source of funding. Before you plan fundraisers or start knocking on doors for donations, you should see if someone already wants to fund your proposal. Government agencies and foundations regularly post Requests for Proposals (RFP) for well-researched projects that make public education accessible to all children regardless of disabilities.
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Theories/Speculation
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For most of the 20th century having disabilities meant isolation. Access to public schools was limited to the mainstream population. Reforms in public education began as a result of the Civil Rights movement that ended racial segregation in public schools. Eventually, the concern about exclusion based on race spilled over into exclusion based on disabilities. Reforms began at the federal level during the Eisenhower administration in 1958.
History
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The first federal allocations for educating students with disabilities were in 1958. PL-85-905 provided captioned films for the deaf, and PL-85-926 provided support for teachers of mentally retarded children. The depopulation of institutions for school-aged children in the late 60s led to demand for appropriate access to public education for all students. The Education for Handicapped Children Act of 1975 resulted in federally financed training programs for public school personnel to allow full inclusion of handicapped students. The Individual with Disabilities Act of 2004 increased federal funding to improve services to the 6.5 million public school children identified with disabilities from preschool through age 18.
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Considerations
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The state departments of education or the federal government now provide grants for research into improving the quality of special education inclusion training. The process of selecting grant money recipients begins with posting a Request for Proposal. Selection depends upon the suppliers’ expertise, qualifications and proposed solution rather than cost. The state department of education announces RFPs through notices in print media, schools and on the Internet. Notices for federal RFPs are published in the “Commerce Business Daily.”
Request for Funding Proposals
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The RFP contains the pertinent information for submitting a complete proposal. The first two components identify the purpose for the proposal and the deadline for submission. Following contact information is the explanation of services required to address the need identified. The proposal format identifies areas to be addressed by the proposed services. A statement details the length of contract and the amount of funding. The final section explains the criteria for determining the recipient of the contract.
Sample Grant Proposals
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Grant proposals should contain a cover page, succinct cover letter and the actual grant proposal. The grant proposal contains an abstract stating the observed need and a summary of the proposed program. The proposal should also describe assistive technology used, a timeline, budget and method of evaluation. An appendix containing research used as a basis for the training is also important. You should also provide information about a nonprofit tax status.
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References
- California Department of Education: RFP: Special Education Teacher Professional Development (SETPD) Evaluation Study
- Procurement Services, University of Toronto: Purchasing Terms
- Virginia Union University: Division of Title III Administration and Sponsored Programs
- Ed.gov: OSERS
- State of Vermont Department of Education: Programs and Services--Student Support--Special Education
Resources
- Photo Credit handicapped sign image by sonya etchison from Fotolia.com
