Minnesota State Mankato Special Education, School Psychology Graduate Programs Awarded $1.25 Million Training Grant
Mankato, Minn. – Minnesota State University, Mankato’s graduate programs in special education and school psychology were recently awarded a five-year $1.25 million training grant by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs.
The training grant will fund Project LEAP-IT (Leaders in Education promoting Academic achievement and Positive behavior through Interdisciplinary Training) at Minnesota State Mankato.
Project LEAP-IT extends the work funded by a five-year $1.20 million grant awarded in 2022 to Minnesota State Mankato by the U.S. Department of Education for Project PASS-IT.
PASS-IT trained special education teachers and school psychologists to lead collaborative efforts to use current evidence-based practices that maximize the academic achievement of students who have high-intensity needs, including students with specific learning disabilities (SLD).
LEAP-IT will extend the work with an increased emphasis on behavioral assessment and intervention and the reciprocal relationship between behavioral difficulties and poor academic outcomes. LEAP-IT will also address best practice in the use of artificial intelligence in the classroom to maximize benefits for both students and educators.
LEAP-IT is led by principal investigator Dana Wagner, a faculty member from Minnesota State Mankato’s Department of Special Education, along with co-principal investigators and faculty members Alexandra Hilt-Panahon (Special Education), Kiersten Hensley (Special Education) and Shawna Petersen-Brown (School Psychology).
During the course of the five-year grant period, Project LEAP-IT will provide funding for 36 students to earn master’s degrees. For more information about the grant, contact Dana Wagner by email at dana.wagner@mnsu.edu.
Minnesota State Mankato’s Department of Special Education is part of the University’s College of Education, while the School Psychology Doctoral Program is part of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 15,721 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 26 colleges and seven universities.
