Illinois Special Education Leadership Academy Grant

The Illinois Special Education Leadership Academy is a discretionary grant program administered by the Illinois State Board of Education to support the professional development and continuous improvement of special education leadership throughout Illinois. ISELA was established by ISBE in 1988 to meet the professional development needs of special education administrators and has evolved to provide support for both special education and general education administrators. The program determines training needs, coordinates professional development activities, develops resources, evaluates the effectiveness of those activities and resources, and supports administrators in strengthening leadership and instructional practices related to special education. The grant supports three principal components: training and support for experienced directors of special education; training, support, and mentoring for new directors of special education; and an annual statewide conference for directors of special education conducted in conjunction with ISBE. The awardee must collaborate with ISBE to identify professional development needs at state and regional levels and use those findings to plan regional training, Administrator Academies, mentoring resources, and other professional development opportunities. Program expectations include delivery of professional development for special education and general education administrators, development of new special education resources for administrators, maintenance of a mentoring program, and implementation of a two-day statewide directors conference. One grant will be awarded in FY 2026 in an amount not to exceed $186,000. ISBE states its intention to support the project for three years through FY 2028, with annual grant awards in successive years of $186,000, subject to appropriations, compliance, satisfactory performance, and applicable federal and state requirements. Allowable expenditures include salaries and benefits, facility costs such as room rental, supplies directly related to the grant, equipment rental and maintenance, travel and other costs associated with program delivery and participation in professional development, presenter fees, training materials, and duplication services. The grant uses a federally restricted indirect cost rate, and grant funds must supplement rather than supplant funds that would otherwise support authorized activities. There is no cost sharing or matching requirement. Eligible applicants are Local Education Agencies, institutions of higher education, Regional Offices of Education, other public agencies, and private nonprofit organizations. Only one application per entity will be accepted, with an entity determined by its Federal Employer Identification Number. Applicants must have an RCDT code before applying, complete Steps 1 through 3 of the Illinois Grant Accountability and Transparency Act prequalification process before submission, and comply with applicable System for Award Management registration requirements. Applications are ineligible if they lack the required authorized representative signature, are submitted before the applicant obtains an RCDT code, are submitted before completion of the required GATA prequalification steps, or are submitted after the application deadline. A complete application includes the Uniform Application for State Grant Assistance; a Program Narrative of no more than five pages; Objectives and Activities of no more than five pages; a Proposal Evaluation Design of no more than five pages; the Federal Budget Summary; the Budget Summary Breakdown or Narrative; and any Letters of Support or Letters of Intent to Participate that the applicant chooses to include. The narrative must address the applicant's experience identifying special education administrator training needs, designing and conducting statewide training, evaluating training outcomes, promoting professional development opportunities, disseminating resources, implementing training and mentoring activities, and supporting new administrators. Completed proposals must be scanned into PDF with supporting documents and required signatures and submitted through the designated ISBE submission link. The submission confirmation page should be retained as proof of submission. Applications are evaluated through ISBE's merit-based review process. The scoring framework allocates 35 points to Experience and Expertise, 30 points to Program Implementation, 10 points to Program Awareness, and 25 points to Program Evaluation. Proposals scoring below 80 points will not be funded. Reviewers evaluate the applicant's experience and expertise, implementation plan, strategies for creating program awareness, and ability to collect and present evaluation and reporting information. In a tie, priority is given to the applicant with the greatest number of years providing professional development to special education administrators. The explicit application deadline stated in the NOFO is August 18, 2025 at 5:00 PM. Late proposals will not be accepted. Successful and unsuccessful applicants are anticipated to receive award or non-award notices approximately 90 days after the application deadline. The grant period will begin no sooner than July 1, 2025 and extend from grant execution through June 30, 2027, with the possibility of continuation funding through FY 2028. The grantee must maintain monthly communication with ISBE, provide reports and updated budgets during monthly ISELA committee meetings, submit financial reporting at least quarterly through IWAS, and complete annual programmatic reporting. Technical assistance and program questions may be directed to Sherry Bochenek at sbochene@isbe.net or 217-782-5589.

Address every scored rubric criterion with specific evidence and implementation detail; proposals scoring under 80 points will not be funded; clearly document experience identifying special education administrator training needs and delivering statewide training; provide detailed Administrator Academy and mentoring plans; demonstrate capacity to collect and analyze participant satisfaction, usefulness, demographic, statewide reach, performance, and financial data; ensure all signatures, RCDT, GATA, and SAM requirements are satisfied before submission