The University of Houston will use a $1.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to prepare teachers for special education positions and improve reading instruction, university officials said.
Project BRIDGE, short for Building Reading Instruction and Dyslexia Guidance Expertise, will pay the full tuition for an online Master of Education in Special Education. The program also includes a certificate focused on inclusive education and dyslexia support, allowing participants to continue working while completing their studies.
How the program will work
Each cohort will complete the program over five semesters. The University of Houston plans to enroll 42 participants through several cohorts during the grant's five-year period, a university spokesperson said. The program is led by Kristi Santi, the grant's principal investigator.
- Applicants must hold a bachelor's degree.
- Applicants must have a teaching certificate.
- Applicants must have at least two years of classroom experience.
- Applications are open through Nov. 15.
- The first cohort is scheduled to begin in January 2027.
The certificate will cover disability law, characteristics of disabilities, instructional programs, data-based decision-making and interventions for dyslexia. The graduate degree and certificate are designed for teachers who want additional preparation while remaining in their regular jobs.
“Training is really crucial because teaching is such a hard job, and there's so many facets of it,” said Desiree Carver-Thomas, a senior researcher and policy analyst at the Learning Policy Institute.
Texas is among 45 states dealing with a shortage of special education teachers, according to the Learning Policy Institute, an education research organization. The institute said the shortage has been the most common teaching-field shortage among states. Carver-Thomas said the shortage has continued since the federal government began requiring free special education in 1975.
The institute attributed the shortage to difficulties recruiting and retaining teachers. Carver-Thomas said education leaders should emphasize high-quality preparation that includes hands-on teaching practice, along with higher pay. Project BRIDGE's online format is intended to let participating teachers complete the program while they remain employed in classrooms.
The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs provided the grant. The University of Houston said the first group of participants will begin in January after the application period closes.
