Rutgers awarded $3.75 million federal grant to train next generation of special education leaders
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Middlesex County) — Rutgers University has been awarded a five-year, $3.75 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to prepare future leaders in special education administration through a new national partnership.
Rutgers will lead the project — called Preparation of Administrators in Special Education (PASE) — in collaboration with the University of South Carolina (USC) and Northern Arizona University (NAU). Training for the program’s first group of scholars is expected to begin in January 2026.
The PASE program will train experienced special education teachers to become qualified administrators who oversee special education services in school districts, early-intervention programs, charter, private and parochial schools, and state education agencies. Doctoral candidates will be selected from certified special education teachers with at least three years of full-time experience working with students with disabilities.
Because of a national shortage of special education teachers, many states allow individuals without special education certification to fill administrative roles — a gap that PASE aims to address by combining administrative expertise with deep special education experience.
“Project PASE integrates the fields of special education and educational administration to develop solutions for supervising and managing complex administrative challenges in the delivery of special education services for students with disabilities, such as planning, supervising, mentoring and the evaluation of evidence-based practices,” said Dake Zhang, PASE program coordinator and professor of special education at Rutgers Graduate School of Education. “The program also emphasizes serving high-needs districts and high-poverty schools, as well as collaborating closely with families and communities.”
Through Rutgers, PASE scholars will earn a doctoral degree in education in about four and a half years through a hybrid model that includes online coursework, internships, virtual seminars, research projects and a dissertation focused on improving special education administration. The majority of the federal grant funds will cover tuition and stipends, including books, travel and summer housing. Officials expect 100% of the program’s costs to be financed by federal funding.
“This October, when we celebrated National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we were reminded of the power of inclusion and the importance of expanding opportunities for all individuals,” said Christopher M. Span, dean and Distinguished Professor of the Graduate School of Education. “This grant represents a critical investment in that mission – building a strong leadership pipeline in special education and preparing administrators who are equipped with the knowledge, compassion and innovation needed to ensure that all students have access to the high-quality education and support they deserve.”
PASE scholars will complete Rutgers’ doctoral coursework while also participating in shared courses, internships and virtual seminars with peers at USC and NAU. Summer residencies will rotate among the partner universities: a two-week residential course at Rutgers in New Jersey; a session in Arizona, where scholars will visit schools on Navajo, Hopi, Acoma, San Carlos Apache and Hualapai reservations; and a course at USC that includes a field trip to Charleston, S.C., to engage with high-need Gullah schools.
“As the mother of a child with severe autism, I am deeply gratified that this grant provides both financial support and a comprehensive curriculum to prepare special education teachers to become future special education administrators – ultimately improving services for students with disabilities,” Zhang said. “As a GSE faculty member, I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to my former and current deans’ vision by helping bring additional financial support to our special education training programs.”
The first cohort of PASE scholars will begin in January 2026 and complete their doctoral program by May 2030. Graduates will be prepared to serve as full-time special education administrators dedicated to improving outcomes for students with disabilities.
