$1M grant to help disability training

FAYETTEVILLE — A $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education will help University of Arkansas, Fayetteville faculty train graduate students to help high school students with disabilities.

The five-year grant will involve collaboration with school districts, according to UA, and will help train students in special education and communication disorder academic programs.

“This award is in recognition of the significant need to prepare professionals in these disciplines to work together as they transition students with disabilities through high school to adult life,” Suzanne Kucharczyk, an assistant professor of special education and one of the primary investigators of the grant project, said in a statement released by UA.

Kucharczyk said in a phone interview that graduate students will be working with students in Northwest Arkansas high schools as part of an effort to establish best practices. She said information will be shared with the Arkansas Department of Education and the affiliated transition services program that works throughout the state to help students with disabilities.

In 2016-17, the most recent year with data available for state school districts, there were 56,926 students receiving special education services, or about 11.9 percent of the total student population, according to online state data.