Personnel Development to Improve Services 

and Results for Children with Disabilities

Preservice Development Grants at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 

Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Other Minority Serving 

Institutions to Diversify Personnel Serving Children with Disabilities (84.325X)

FY2024 84.325X Grant Competition

Applicant Resource

This document is a brief summary of the 84.325X program priorities, requirements, and definitions. Do not rely solely on the information in this 

document for guidance. Please refer to the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) and the final priorities, requirements, and definitions published in 

the Federal Register for additional information, as these are the official documents governing the competition.
FY2024

Personnel Development

325X Grant Program

This program provides grants to help address State-identified needs 

for personnel preparation in special education, early intervention, 

related services, and regular education to work with children with 

disabilities; and ensure that those personnel have the necessary 

skills and knowledge to be successful in serving those children.

Eligible: Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally 

Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), and Other Minority Serving 

Institutions (MSIs) and private nonprofit organizations.

Funding: The Department estimates making 16 awards in FY 

2024. The maximum award is $750,000 for a total of 60 months.

This document is a brief summary of the 84.325X program and application requirements. Do not rely solely on the information in this document for guidance. Please 

refer to the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) and the program regulations published in the Federal Register for additional information, as these are the official 

documents governing the competition.
FY2024

Absolute Priority

The Personnel Development program (84.325X) has one absolute priority. Applications must meet 

this priority to be considered for funding.

Absolute Priority: This grant competition plans to award grants to HBCUs, TCCUs, and 

MSIs to develop new associate's, bachelor's, master's, educational specialist, and 

clinical doctorate degrees, and certifications in early intervention, early childhood special 

education, special education, and related services.

Purpose

The purpose of this priority is to increase the number of programs that prepare personnel who 

are fully credentialed and licensed to enter the field to serve children with disabilities and their 

families, including multilingual personnel and personnel from racially and ethnically diverse 

background.

Expected Outcomes 

Within this absolute priority, projects are expected to achieve, at a minimum, the following 

expected outcomes: 

A

Increased number of 

early intervention, early 

childhood special 

education, special 

education, or related 

services personnel who 

are multilingual and 

from racially and 

ethnically diverse 

backgrounds 

B

Increased variety of 

degrees and 

certifications in early 

intervention, early 

childhood special 

education, special 

education, and related 

services 

C

Increased faculty 

capacity at HBCUs, 

TCCUs, and MSIs to 

design and deliver 

programs of study in 

early intervention, early 

childhood special 

education, special 

education, and related 

services

This document is a brief summary of the 84.325X program and application requirements. Do not rely solely on the information in this document for 

guidance. Please refer to the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) and the program regulations published in the Federal Register for additional information, 

as these are the official documents governing the competition.
FY2024

Key Project Elements - Timing

To respond to the Absolute Priority, applicants must demonstrate how the project will successfully 

complete the key milestones listed below:

Years 1-2

Develop 

a Plan

Develop a plan to 

create a new degree 

or certification 

program in the first 

24 months of the 

project

Year 3

Infrastructure 

in Place

By the end of the 

third year, put the 

infrastructure in place 

to be able to deliver 

the new degree or 

certification program.

Year 4

Enroll 

Students 

By the end of the 

fourth year the 

project must enroll 

students and begin 

courses in the new 

degree or certification 

program.

This document is a brief summary of the 84.325X program and application requirements. Do not rely solely on the information in this document for 

guidance. Please refer to the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) and the program regulations published in the Federal Register for additional information, 

as these are the official documents governing the competition.
FY2024

Selection Criteria

The application will be awarded based on applicants responding to the absolute priority requirements, 

and five selection criteria, described below. 

Selection Criteria

Significance: The extent to which the proposed project will prepare personnel for fields 

in which shortages have been demonstrated and the importance or magnitude of the 

results or outcomes likely to be attained by the proposed project, especially 

improvements in teaching and student achievement. 

10 points

Project Services: the quality and sufficiency of strategies for ensuring equal access 

and treatment for eligible project participants who are members of groups that have 

traditionally been underrepresented and the extent to which: (i) the goals, objectives, and 

outcomes to be achieved are clearly specified and measurable (ii) the services to be 

provided reflect up-to-date knowledge from the research and effective practice and (iii) 

the training or professional development services to provided are of sufficient quality, 

intensity, and duration to lead to improvements in practice among the recipients of the 

services 

45 points

Project Personnel & Management Plan: extent to which the applicant encourages 

applications for employment from persons who are members of groups that have 

traditionally been underrepresented, as well as the qualifications of key project 

personnel, the adequacy of the management plan to achieve objectives on time and 

within budget, extent to which the time commitments of key personnel are appropriate 

and adequate to meet the objectives of the proposed project, and adequacy of 

mechanism for ensuring high quality products and services from the proposed project. 

20 points

Adequacy of Resources: the adequacy of support, including facilities, equipment, 

supplies, and other resources, from the applicant organization and the extent to which 

the costs are reasonable in relation to the objectives, design, and potential significance 

of the proposed project. 

20 points

Project Evaluation: extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough, feasible, 

and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the proposed project and the 

extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide performance feedback and permit 

periodic assessment of progress toward achieving intended outcomes. 

15 points

This document is a brief summary of the 84.325X program and application requirements. Do not rely solely on the information in this document for 

guidance. Please refer to the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) and the program regulations published in the Federal Register for additional information, 

as these are the official documents governing the competition.
FY2024

FAQs & Resources 

Common Questions 

When is the application due?

The application is due April 4, 2024.

The application must be fully uploaded and submitted 

in the Grants.gov system no later than 11:59:59 p.m., 

Eastern Time, on the application date.

Where can I find the application 

package?

You may access the electronic grant 

applications at www.grants.gov. You 

may search for the downloadable 

application package for this competition 

using 84.325X.

Is there a webinar available to provide 

additional information?

A prerecorded webinar is available to provide 

technical assistance to interested applicants. 

Links to the webinars may be found here.

Resources & Contact 

Program Website Notice Inviting 

Applications (NIA)

Point of Contact: 

Tracie Dickson, Competition Manager

Tracie.Dickson@ed.gov

202-245-7844

This document is a brief summary of the 84.325X program and application requirements. Do not rely solely on the information in this document for 

guidance. Please refer to the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) and the program regulations published in the Federal Register for additional information, 

as these are the official documents governing the competition.