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Course detail: Special Education Grants Webinar
Join us for a timely and in-depth webinar on May 13, 2026, noon Central Time, examining the shifting landscape of IDEA discretionary grants under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. We will analyze the current state of grant cancellations affecting IDEA Part D programs, including Community Parent Resource Centers, State Deafblind Projects, Personnel Development, State Personnel Development, and Interpreter Training Programs-impacting universities, state education agencies, and nonprofit organizations across the country. Drawing on recent reporting from Education Week, we'll review the scope of discontinued grants, funding amounts, and the practical consequences for families, educators, and students with disabilities.
The session will also explore the Administration's evolving federal grants oversight framework, including the new Executive Order on improving oversight of federal grantmaking, its emphasis on "national interest," restrictions on DEI-related initiatives, centralized political review, and changes to peer review authority and agency discretion.
Looking ahead, we will examine proposals outlined in Project 2025, including restructuring or shuttering the U.S. Department of Education, converting IDEA funding into block grants, deregulating key provisions such as significant disproportionality requirements, and shifting funding oversight to HHS's Administration for Community Living.
Importantly, we will highlight key developments in the FY 2026 IDEA budget, which maintained level funding for core programs, rejected consolidation of Part D discretionary grants into formula grants, and preserved critical personnel development and technical assistance structures following extensive advocacy efforts.
Finally, we will place these developments in historical context, tracing the federal investment in special education innovation from 1958 through the enactment of IDEA, and examining how grant planning, peer review, and internal oversight processes have evolved over time.
This webinar is designed for nonprofit leaders, university faculty, state agency personnel, policy analysts, and advocates seeking clarity on the future of IDEA discretionary funding and the broader policy direction shaping special education nationwide.
The session will also explore the Administration's evolving federal grants oversight framework, including the new Executive Order on improving oversight of federal grantmaking, its emphasis on "national interest," restrictions on DEI-related initiatives, centralized political review, and changes to peer review authority and agency discretion.
Looking ahead, we will examine proposals outlined in Project 2025, including restructuring or shuttering the U.S. Department of Education, converting IDEA funding into block grants, deregulating key provisions such as significant disproportionality requirements, and shifting funding oversight to HHS's Administration for Community Living.
Importantly, we will highlight key developments in the FY 2026 IDEA budget, which maintained level funding for core programs, rejected consolidation of Part D discretionary grants into formula grants, and preserved critical personnel development and technical assistance structures following extensive advocacy efforts.
Finally, we will place these developments in historical context, tracing the federal investment in special education innovation from 1958 through the enactment of IDEA, and examining how grant planning, peer review, and internal oversight processes have evolved over time.
This webinar is designed for nonprofit leaders, university faculty, state agency personnel, policy analysts, and advocates seeking clarity on the future of IDEA discretionary funding and the broader policy direction shaping special education nationwide.
