Database of Federally Funded Technical Assistance and Research Centers

Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP)

DCMP provides a streaming library of accessible education videos, teaching tools, and professional development opportunities. They partner with educational content creators to provide high-quality captioning, audio description, and American Sign Language (ASL) translation.

Families and school personnel who have at least one early learner-Grade 12 child with a disability qualify for free DCMP membership. Educational professionals in training also qualify.  Professional development opportunities are available to members, and many eLearning resources are available to everyone.

Director(s):

Specialty Area

  • Deaf-Blindness

Primary Audience

  • Families
  • School Counselors
  • Schools
  • Teachers

Services

  • Content Expertise

Regions/States

National

All States

Level of Support

General

Additional Information

Lead for Literacy (L4L)

The Lead for Literacy Center, operated by Boston University’s Wheelock College of Education and Human Development with funding from the United States Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs, is a partnership among literacy experts, education leaders, university researchers, and technical assistance providers from the University of Oregon and American Institutes for Research.

Their mission is to provide technical assistance to school and district leaders that builds their capacity to facilitate improved teacher implementation of evidence-based literacy practices for educating students with, or at risk for, literacy-related disabilities.

Director(s): Hank Fien, Ph.D., Director, Abby Foley, M.Ed., PMP, Deputy Director

Specialty Area

  • Effective Literacy Instruction
  • Evidence Based Practices & Scaling Up

Primary Audience

  • Administrators
  • School Districts
  • Schools

Services

  • Content Expertise

Regions/States

National

All States

Level of Support

Targeted

Additional Information

National Center on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB)

The National Center on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB) provides technical assistance to meet the needs of children (birth to 21) with deaf-blindness in five initiative areas: early identification and intervention; family engagement; interveners and qualified personnel; transition; and assessment, planning, and instruction. It's universal, targeted, and intensive TA is conducted in concert with state deaf-blind projects throughout the U. S., and with national family organizations. NCDB has an extensive website with information and products to support its TA as well as relevant information on deaf-blindness of use to families, service providers, and the general public.

Director(s): Linda McDowell, Ph.D., Co-Director, Samuel Morgan, Ed.D., Co-Director

Specialty Area

  • Career and Technical Education
  • Deaf-Blindness
  • Early Childhood Educators
  • Educator Effectiveness
  • Educator Preparation
  • Evidence Based Practices & Scaling Up
  • Family Engagement
  • Intensive Supports

Primary Audience

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

Services

  • Consulting
  • Content Expertise
  • Convening Stakeholders
  • Facilitation

Regions/States

National

All States

Level of Support

Tiered

Additional Information

Other Primary Audiences: State Deaf-Blind Projects

Other Services Provided: Assisting State Deaf-Blind Projects to Implement Systems Change in Their States; Assisting State Deaf-Blind Projects to Provide Effective Child-Specific TA to Educational Teams; Comprehensive Website on Deaf-Blindness and Technical Assistance

Other Specialty Areas: Early Identification and Intervention; Transition to Adulthood; Assessment; Planning and Instruction; Annual Child Count of Children Who Are Deaf-Blind; Supporting Intervener Services Infrastructure

National Center on Educational Outcomes

The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) helps students with disabilities, English learners (ELs), and ELs with disabilities by:

  • Collecting, analyzing, synthesizing, disseminating, and providing leadership on evidence-based information on inclusive assessments and comprehensive assessment systems.
  • Promoting the use of assessments for instructional decision-making purposes.
  • Assisting states in their efforts to support districts to improve results.
  • Reviewing the participation and performance of students in national and state assessments, including the use of accessibility features and accommodations and alternate assessments.
  • Examining national and state practices in reporting assessment information.
  • Supporting implementation of U.S. Department of Education accountability systems, including ESEA accountability and IDEA State Systemic Improvement Plans (SSIPs) and State-Identified Measurable Results (SIMRs).
  • Bridging general education, special education, English as a Second Language or bilingual education, and other systems as they work to improve results of education for all students.
Director(s): Martha Thurlow

Specialty Area

  • English Language Learners
  • Measuring Student Growth

Primary Audience

  • State Education Agencies

Services

  • Research

Regions/States

National

All States

Level of Support

Tiered

Additional Information

Other Services Provided: Technical assistance on assessment related topics

Other Specialty Areas: Assessment; Accountability; Accessibility and Accommodations; Alternative Assessments

National Center on Improving Literacy (NCIL)

The National Center on Improving Literacy (NCIL), operated by Boston University’s Wheelock College of Education and Human Development with funding from the United States Department of Education, is a partnership among literacy experts, university researchers, and technical assistance providers from the University of Oregon, Florida State University, and RMC Research Corporation.

NCILs mission is to increase access to, and use of, evidence-based approaches to screen, identify, and teach students with literacy-related disabilities, including dyslexia.  They also work to build individual and organizational capacity to assess students’ literacy-related skill, identify students with disabilities or those at risk of disabilities, and fully implement evidence-based literacy programs and professional development.

Director(s): Hank Fien, Ph.D., Director, Yaacov Petscher, Ph.D., Deputy Director, Sarah Sayko, Ed.D., Deputy Director, Nancy J. Nelson Fien, Ph.D., Deputy Director

Specialty Area

  • Dyslexia
  • Effective Literacy Instruction
  • Supporting Parents and Families

Primary Audience

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

Services

  • Assessment Tools
  • Coaching
  • Content Expertise

Regions/States

National

All States

Level of Support

Additional Information

PROGRESS Center

PROGRESS Center (which stands for Promoting Rigorous Outcomes and Growth by Redesigning Educational Services for Students With Disabilities Center) provides information, resources, tools, and technical assistance services to support local educators and leaders (kindergarten through transition age) in developing and implementing high-quality educational programs that ensure students with disabilities have access to free appropriate public education (FAPE) which allows them to make progress and meet challenging goals, consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District (2017).

Director(s): Tessie Rose Bailey, Center Director, Rebecca Zumeta Edmonds, Principal Investigator

Specialty Area

  • English Language Learners
  • Evidence Based Practices & Scaling Up
  • Family Engagement
  • High-Quality Educational Programming
  • Intensive Supports
  • Measuring Student Growth
  • Multi-tiered Systems of Support
  • Response to Intervention
  • Special Education

Primary Audience

  • Administrators
  • School Districts
  • Schools
  • 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

Private and charter school associations and entities

State Support Network

The State Support Network was a technical assistance initiative operating from 2016 to 2020 designed to support state and district school improvement efforts. Use this site to learn more about State Support Network communities of practice and to access free resources for states and district to support school improvement.

Director(s):

Specialty Area

  • Education Leadership
  • English Language Learners
  • Evidence Based Practices & Scaling Up
  • Measuring Student Growth
  • System Alignment

Primary Audience

  • School Districts
  • State Education Agencies

Services

  • Consulting
  • Content Expertise
  • Facilitation
  • Research

Regions/States

National

All States

Level of Support

Tiered

Additional Information

Technical Assistance Providers

Communities of Practice

Implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act; Needs Assessments; Strategic Planning