Building Special Education and Behavior Analytic Connections for Students with High-Intensity Needs (BEACON)

2025 ABSTRACT TEMPLATE 84.325K Interdisciplinary Preparation of Early Intervention, Special Education, and Related Services Personnel Serving Absolute Priority: Children with Disabilities Who Have High-Intensity Needs Organization: University of Kentucky Project Title: Building Special Education and Behavior Analytic Connections for Students with High-Intensity Needs (BEACON) Start Date: 04/01/2026 End Date: 03/31/2031 Project Director: Full Name: Sally B. Shepley Address Line 1: 229 Taylor Education Building Address Line 2: City: Lexington State: Kentucky Zip Code: 40506 Telephone: (859) 257-8596 Email: [email protected] Average Time on 5.00% Project, Year 1 (%)*: * Example: enter .2532 for 25.32%. Additional Key Personnel (not including project director/s listed above): Full Name / Degree Program Position / Average Email Time on Project, Justin D. Lane/Associate Professor/Special Education [email protected] Year 1 (%)* 3.00% Kera B. Ackerman/Associate Professor/Special Education 3.00% [email protected] 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Example: enter .2532 for 25.32%. 2025 ABSTRACT TEMPLATE: 84.325K PAGE 2 Briefly describe the purpose and expected outcomes. (100 words or fewer) BEACON aims to increase the number of high-quality special educators and behavior analysts serving students with high-intensity needs in high-needs schools. Over the grant period, we will train 16 scholars across two cohorts: 25% in Special Education Moderate to Severe Disabilities (MSD), 25% in Learning and Behavior Disorders (LBD), and 50% in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). MSD and LBD scholars will earn initial certification in special education, while ABA scholars will meet all requirements to sit for the Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) exam. Briefly describe how the project will be designed, managed, and evaluated to address the identified outcomes. (100 words or fewer) BEACON is designed to provide MSD, LBD, and ABA scholars with the competencies necessary to produce high-quality professionals in their respective disciplines, with specific emphasis on interdisciplinary training on assessment, intervention, and progress monitoring for students with high-intensity needs. Scholars will receive coursework and shared experiences on evidence-based practices provided in schools. A doctoral level graduate assistant will be employed. To ensure mastery of competencies, direct observation and portfolio evaluations of scholarly work will be conducted formatively to evaluate and guide each scholar''s progress. 2025 ABSTRACT TEMPLATE: 84.325K PAGE 3 Disability (or disabilities) focused on by the project (check all that apply): Autism Deaf-blindness Deafness Developmental delay (DD) Emotional disturbance (ED) Hearing impairment Intellectual disability Multiple disabilities Orthopedic impairment Other health impairment Specific learning disability Speech or language impairment Traumatic brain injury Visual impairment Age group(s) of students with disabilities focused on by the project (check all that apply): Birth to 3 Preschool Elementary School Middle School High School Postsecondary Target content area(s) focused on by the project (check all that apply): Assessment ELs with Disabilities Behavior Accessible Educational Materials Early Childhood Technology Research and Development Inclusive Practices Assistive and Instructional Technology Instructional Strategies Transition Services Literacy Dropout Prevention STEM Family Engagement MTSS Related Services Data Collection, Analysis and Use (373) Dispute Resolution Geography focused on by the project (check all that apply): Urban Suburban Rural 2025 ABSTRACT TEMPLATE: 84.325K PAGE 4 Absolute Priority Focus Areas (specify one): 84.325K Focus Area A: Preparing Personnel to Serve Infants, Toddlers, and Preschool-Age Children with Disabilities who have High-Intensity Needs s 84.325 Focus Area B: Preparing Personnel to Serve School-Age Children with Disabilities who have High-Intensity Needs Competitive Preference Priority (check the box if applicable): Competitive Preference Priority: Applications from New Potential Grantees (a) Under this priority, an applicant must demonstrate that the applicant (e.g., the IHE) has not had an active discretionary grant under the ALN 84.325K, 84.325M, or 84.325R, including through membership in a group application submitted in accordance with 34 CFR 75.127 through 75.129, in the last five years before the deadline date for submission of applications under ALN 84.325K. (b) For the purpose of this priority, a grant is active until the end of the grant’s project or funding period, including any extensions of those periods that extend the grantee’s authority to obligate funds. Scholar Support through Grant: Budget Number of Scholars per Cohort Percent of Funding Designated for Period Receiving Support* Scholar Support Year 1 8 (Cohort 1, 1 semester) 75.1 Year 2 8 (Cohort 1, 3 semesters) 63.9 Year 3 4 (Cohort 1, 1 semester) + 4 (Cohort 1, 2 semesters) + 8 (Cohort 2, 1 semester) 63.2 Year 4 8 (Cohort 2, 3 semesters) 62.5 Year 5 4 (Cohort 2, 1 semester) + 4 (Cohort 2, 2 semesters) 72.8 Total 16 67.5 *Note: Indicate the total number of scholars in each cohort that are receiving support in a budget period (e.g., Budget Period Year 3: 3 [Cohort 1] + 2 [Cohort 2]). How is the program delivered? s Online In-person Hybrid 2025 ABSTRACT TEMPLATE: 84.325K PAGE 5 Additional Information The first two rows are EXAMPLES of the information requested. NAME DEGREE LENGTH CERTIFICATION/LICENSURE NUMBER OF of Degree Awarded of Program being pursued by SCHOLARS Program to Program (# Semesters Program Graduates Proposed Graduates or Total 1. Early Credits) Early Interventionist # Intervention M.A. Certification (0-2) 4 semesters; 32 credits 2. Applied Behavior 4 semesters; Board Certified # 36 credit hours Behavior Analysis Analysis M.S. 3. Special Education MSD M.S. 6 semesters; 31 credit hours Special Education Teacher Cert4ification (K-12)- Mod. to 4. Special Education LBD M. S. 6 semesters; 30-31 credit hours Special Education Teacher Cert4ification (K-12)- Learn. 5. Applied Behavior Analysis M. S. 5 semesters; 42 credit hours Board Certified Behavior Analys8t 6. Briefly describe how “high-intensity needs” are defined for the purpose of this project being proposed to prepare personnel serving children with disabilities who have high-intensity needs. For our proposed project, students exhibiting high-intensity needs are defined as those in kindergarten through 12th grade with MSD or LBD who display significant interfering behaviors in the classroom that impact their academic performance, adaptive behavior, and social communication. Examples of students with high-intensity needs may be those who (a) regularly disrupt their learning or the learning of other children, (b) struggle to maintain meaningful relationships with peers or adults, and (c) make minimal progress in academic areas and related skills.