Database of Federally Funded Technical Assistance and Research Centers

Bookshare

Bookshare makes reading easier. People with dyslexia, blindness, cerebral palsy, and other reading barriers can customize their experience to suit their learning style and find virtually any book they need for school, work, or the joy of reading.

Bookshare is an ebook library that makes reading easier. Members can access a huge collection of ebooks and read their way with the most customizable ebooks for people with reading barriers.

The library has 1,233,523 titles and is the most extensive collection of accessible ebooks in the world. It includes books for school, career, and reading pleasure, as well as titles in over 34 languages. The collection is supported by a dedicated volunteer community and partnerships with over 1000 US and international publishers.

Director(s): Ayan Kishore, CEO

Specialty Area

  • Accessible Education Materials

Primary Audience

  • Families
  • Schools
  • Teachers

Services

  • Content Expertise

Regions/States

National

All States

Level of Support

General

Additional Information

National Center on Accessible Educational Materials for Learning

The National Center on Accessible Educational Materials for Learning (AEM Center) at CAST is a knowledge-development, information dissemination, and technical assistance project whose activities and actions are designed to:

  1. Expand and disseminate knowledge about Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) and technologies among key stakeholder groups.
  2. Increase AEM Center stakeholders’ skills; and motivation.
  3. Improve and enhance the organizational, material and structural capacities of AEM stakeholders so that they effectively use AEM resources.

The overall goal established by CAST and OSEP pertains to improvements in the availability and use of accessible educational materials and technologies for learning.

Director(s): Cynthia Curry

Specialty Area

  • Accessible Education Materials
  • Equity
  • Family Engagement
  • Multi-tiered Systems of Support
  • Response to Intervention
  • Transitions (from grade to grade)

Primary Audience

  • Administrators
  • Families
  • School Counselors
  • School Districts
  • Schools
  • State Education Agencies
  • Teachers

Services

  • Assessment Tools
  • Coaching
  • Consulting
  • Content Expertise
  • Convening Stakeholders

Regions/States

National

Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Ohio, Texas

Level of Support

Intensive

Additional Information

Other Primary Audiences: Higher Education; Workforce Development; Publishers; EdTech Developers

Technical Assistance and Training

Other Specialty Areas: Access to AEM and assistive technology; Policy

National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes

The National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes (NDC) provides evidence-based strategies to deaf individuals, family members, and professionals at the local, state, and national levels with the goal of closing education and employment gaps for deaf individuals.

Director(s): Stephanie Cawthon, Director, Carrie Lou Garberoglio, Associate Director

Specialty Area

  • Educator Preparation
  • Equity
  • Evidence Based Practices & Scaling Up
  • Transitions (from grade to grade)

Primary Audience

  • Administrators
  • State Education Agencies
  • Teachers

Services

  • Assessment Tools
  • Consulting
  • Content Expertise
  • Convening Stakeholders
  • Facilitation
  • Research

Regions/States

National

All States

Level of Support

Tiered

Additional Information

Other Primary Audiences: Service Providers; Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies; Individuals; and Community Organizations

Other Specialty Areas: Deaf; Technology; System change

National Instructional Materials Access Center

Created by IDEA 2004, the NIMAC is a federally-funded, searchable online repository of source files for K-12 instructional materials. We receive files in the XML-based NIMAS (National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard) format, and states use these materials in the production of accessible formats such as braille, large print, and digital text. The NIMAC currently has over 74,000 files from more than 160 publishers.

Director(s): Rebecca Sheffield, U.S. Dept. of Education OSEP Project Officer for NIMAC

Specialty Area

  • Accessible Education Materials
  • Educational Technology

Primary Audience

  • Administrators
  • Families
  • School Counselors
  • School Districts
  • Schools
  • State Education Agencies
  • Teachers

Services

  • Content Expertise

Regions/States

National

All States

Level of Support

General

Additional Information

National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: The Collaborative (NTACT:C)

The National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: The Collaborative (NTACT:C) is a Technical Assistance Center co-funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA).  They provide information, tools, and supports to assist multiple stakeholders in delivering effective services and instruction for secondary students and out of school youth with disabilities.

Director(s): David Test, UNC Charlotte, Paula Kohler, University of Central Florida, Deanne Unruh, University of Oregon

Specialty Area

  • 21st Century Skills
  • Career and Technical Education
  • Education Leadership
  • Evidence Based Practices & Scaling Up
  • Family Engagement
  • Organizational Leadership
  • School Climate & Behavior
  • School Mental Health
  • Secondary Transition
  • Special Education
  • Transitions (from grade to grade)

Primary Audience

  • Administrators
  • Families
  • School Counselors
  • State Education Agencies
  • Teachers

Services

  • Assessment Tools
  • Coaching
  • Consulting
  • Content Expertise
  • Convening Stakeholders
  • Facilitation

Regions/States

National

All States

Level of Support

Tiered

Additional Information

Other Primary Audiences: State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies; Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors; Secondary Students with Disabilities

Other Specialty Areas: Transition to post-school environments; Data Analysis and Use

Regional Educational Laboratory Pacific

The Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Pacific translates research to practice in partnership with policymakers and practitioners in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Hawaii, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

Director(s): Phillip Herman, Ph.D.

Specialty Area

  • Career and Technical Education
  • Cross-Disciplinary Competencies
  • Early Childhood Educators
  • Education Leadership
  • Educator Effectiveness
  • Educator Preparation
  • Educator Retention
  • Evidence Based Practices & Scaling Up
  • Family Engagement
  • Organizational Leadership
  • Social and Emotional Learning
  • System Alignment
  • Teacher Mentoring and Induction
  • Transitions (from grade to grade)

Primary Audience

  • Administrators
  • School Districts
  • State Education Agencies

Services

  • Assessment Tools
  • Coaching
  • Content Expertise
  • Convening Stakeholders
  • Facilitation
  • Research

Regions/States

Pacific Islands

American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands

Level of Support

Intensive

Additional Information

Other Specialty Areas: College readiness; Developmental education; Culturally responsive education