Fresno State’s special education program won a $1,249,307 award from the U.S. Department of Education for Project ACCESS, which will provide 16 scholars with four-year scholarships valued at $52,500 per student, plus a customized bundle of academic services.

The project is designed to prepare more special education teachers of color to serve children with disabilities who have high-intensity needs. Project ACCESS scholars will earn their advanced teaching credential and master’s degree in special education. They will then fulfill their service obligation in the San Joaquin Valley, which has a severe shortage of qualified special education teachers throughout its school districts.

Project ACCESS scholars will be the next generation of teachers and leaders for students with autism, emotional disturbance, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, specific learning disability and traumatic brain injury, or those who are deaf or blind.

“In Project ACCESS we’re not just training teachers; we’re unlocking opportunities and breaking down barriers future teachers face,” said Dr. Kimberly Coy, the co-project director who is an expert in inclusive education, and a core faculty member in Fresno State’s Doctoral Program in Education Leadership. “Project ACCESS gets high-needs students the education they deserve.”

Project ACCESS scholars will be prepared to teach students with high-intensity needs under the guidance of expert faculty in special education. The ambitious project includes a leadership initiative, with a new leadership course as the capstone experience. Special education leaders throughout California will be invited to give guest talks and meet and inspire the scholars.

Students selected for the four-year program will begin the curriculum during their junior year at Fresno State. They will complete their bachelor’s, teaching credential as an education specialist, and master’s in special education.

Scholars will conduct a research project focusing on the special needs students they intend to serve. The scholars will then present their research at the California Teaching Commission’s annual meeting.

“Project ACCESS bridges the special education teacher gap in the Central Valley,” says Dr. Kristina Rios, project director, an expert on parent advocacy for Latinx families of children with significant disabilities, and an assistant professor in special education. “We will empower special educators of color to shape the future of our children and so of our Valley.”

The teacher shortage has hit California hardest in the field of special education. Two out of three special education teachers hired in California in 2016-17 had substandard permits – they were teachers of record in their own classrooms without being fully credentialed. Nearly eight of every 10 California schools are in need of credentialed special education teachers.

(Story by Gil Harootunian, Office of the Provost at Fresno State)