Special Education News

ACT-Residency Program

New opportunity for special education credential candidates to complete a 1-year residency program with a stipend of up to $15,000.
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Introducing Colleen Smith

September 27, 2023

Colleen Smith is a new faculty member in the Department of Special Education. Colleen graduated from Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. with a B.A. in Communication Arts, San Diego State University with a M.A. in ASL-English Multicultural Education, and Claremont Graduate University-SDSU with a Ph.D. in Education- Policy Studies in Language & Cross-Cultural Education. Read more

Project PRISM-Ed Receives Office of Special Education Programs Grant

September 27, 2023

Congratulations to Rachel Friedman-Narr, with Flavia Fleischer, Christine Mitchell, and Jasmine Solis, for being awarded an Office of Special Education Programs grant for Project PRISM-Ed. The purpose of Project PRISM-Ed is to implement a pipeline through Deaf Studies into the Deaf Education Preliminary Credential Program at CSUN. Read more

Office of Special Education Programs Awards Grant to Project REACH IT

September 27, 2023

Congratulations to Sami Toews and Fatmana Deniz with Amy Hanreddy for winning an OSEP grant for Project REACH IT. Project REACH IT has four goals: 1) recruit, retain, and increase the percentage of multilingual, racially and ethnically diverse teachers to address the shortage of special educators prepared to serve students with high intensity needs; 2) prepare scholars to develop leadership skills to promote access and serve students with high-intensity needs within inclusive settings; 3) prepare skilled teachers to implement individualized, evidence-based, and culturally sustaining practices to support diverse students with high-intensity needs and their families; and 4) prepare scholars who are self-determined reflective teachers through practice, feedback, and reflection and who foster self-determination skills in students with high-intensity needs. Read more

Transdisciplinary Bridge Project Receives Funding From Office of Special Education Programs

September 25, 2023

We pleased to share that the Transdisciplinary Bridge Project has been chosen to receive funding from the Office of Special Education Programs, totaling 1.25 million dollars over the next five years. This funding will help our Early Childhood Special Education Program establish groundbreaking collaboration across Masters degree programs at CSUN. Read more

Six CSUs Receive DDS Grant to Fund Inclusive Post-Secondary Education Programs

December 17, 2022

On December 2, 2022 the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) announced its intent to award $710,000 to the California State University Long Beach Research Foundation to fund an initiative of the California Inclusive College Alliance, with Dr. Beth Lasky as the CSUN project leader. Read more

UC/CSU California Collaborative for Neurodiversity and Learning

December 16, 2022

A child with a sketch of a brain superimposed on her head

The UC/CSU California Collaborative for Neurodiversity and Learning brings together resources from the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems with an aim to strengthen educational support for students with diverse learning needs. In an effort to achieve this goal, faculty from UCLA and CSU campuses, including CSUN, are working as a part of the Collaborative to develop a series of e- learning modules, focused on dyslexia. Designed for use in teacher preparation programs, the Dyslexia Modules explore the complexities of defining, assessing, and teaching students with dyslexia, within the context of today’s diverse communities, families, and student populations. Read more

The Bridge Project Receives Continuation Grant From U.S. Department of Education

October 3, 2022

Congratulations to Dr. Zhen Chai and the rest of the Bridge Project team for receiving a $231,245 continuation grant from the U.S. Department of Education for "The Bridge Project: Bringing Early Childhood Special Educators and Behavior Interventionists Together Through Interdisciplinary Evidence-Based Preparation to Serve Young Children with High-Intensity Needs". Learn more on the Bridge Project website

Project CREATE: Preparing Culturally Responsive Early Educators in Teacher Education

September 9, 2022

Congratulations to Dr. Zhen Chai and the rest of the Project CREATE team for receiving a United States Department of Education award in the amount of $1.1 million. The purpose of this project is to support a newly modified Early Childhood Special Education Preliminary Credential Program and to prepare competent culturally responsive early childhood special educators/early interventionists who will be eligible for the California Preliminary Education Specialist Credential. Read more

Welcoming Fatmana Kara Deniz

August 31, 2022

Fatmana Kara Deniz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education. Her research focuses on three main areas: (1) understanding teachers’ perceptions of cognitive autonomy-supportive teaching, (2) investigating evidence-based practices to support the development of cognitive autonomy skills for children/youth with and without disabilities and for whom English is not their first language, and (3) training teachers to use evidence-based practices to enhance student cognitive autonomy skills within the MTSS Framework. Read more

Amy Hanreddy Wins CalTASH Robert Gaylord-Ross Memorial Award

August 31, 2022

Congratulations to Dr. Amy Hanreddy, who was nominated and selected to be the recipient of this year's CalTASH Robert Gaylord-Ross Memorial Award! This award is given to an outstanding scholar involved in conducting and disseminating research and in providing teacher training at the university level in the area of services and support for individuals with severe disabilities. Read more

Michael D. Eisner College of Education

Department of Special Education

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