Minnesota State Mankato Special Education, School Psychology Graduate Programs Awarded $1.2 Million Training Grant from U.S. Department of Education

October 21, 2022 | News Story

Mankato, Minn. – Minnesota State University, Mankato’s graduate programs in special education and school psychology were recently awarded a five-year, $1.2 million training grant by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs.

The training grant will fund Project PASS-IT (Promoting Academic Success of Students with high-intensity needs through Interdisciplinary Training) at Minnesota State Mankato.

Through Project PASS-IT, special education teachers and school psychologists will specifically be trained 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).

The project 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 Shawna Petersen-Brown (Department of Psychology) and Alexandra Hilt-Panahon (Department of Special Education).

The grant will provide students in both the special education master’s and school psychology doctoral programs at Minnesota State Mankato the opportunity to work together in coursework and field-based experiences during the completion of their program, an opportunity that would not otherwise be available for students.

During the course of the five-year grant period, Project PASS-IT will provide funding for approximately 36 graduate students enrolled in the special education master’s and school psychology doctoral programs.

The first cohort of the Project PASS-IT scholars will begin in January (spring semester). Applications will be accepted through Nov. 1. Click here for application information.

For more information about the grant, contact Dana Wagner, associate professor in the Department of Special Education, 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 14,482 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 26 colleges and seven universities.

Categories: News Story