by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector
December 3, 2025
TOPEKA — The University of Kansas and public universities in Arizona and Michigan will collaborate on a $3.75 million federal grant to recruit master’s degree recipients into a collaborative doctoral program focused on special education leadership.
The objective of the U.S. Department of Education initiative at University of Arizona in Tucson, Wayne State University in Detroit and KU in Lawrence would be development of a new generation of administrators prepared to be part of reforming special education and fostering partnerships in the discipline that deliver better academic achievement among students.
“There is a pressing need to improve outcomes for students with disabilities,” said Alison Zagona, an assistant professor of special education at KU. “Preparing doctoral students to take leadership roles, we believe, will help improve those outcomes.”
Doctoral students enrolled in the four-year program would receive financial support, including full tuition for four years, a living stipend, health insurance and funds for organizational membership and travel funds. The Department of Education said the program would begin in fall 2026.
The three universities would recruit people to the program who earned master’s degrees and had experience in special education teaching or a comparable career. Graduate students at each of the universities would work with one another as well as faculty on the three campuses.
They also would serve internships at high-need schools to learn directly from educators in the field and to collaborate on research with leaders in the schools.
“We have a wide range of research specialties they will have the chance to take part in and learn from, and they will also be able to explore their own research interests,” Zagona said.
Zagona said graduate students completing the program would be prepared for leadership jobs involved with special education teaching, research and administration.
“One of the biggest jobs of special education leaders is networking and building collaborative partnerships, and our students will get that through this program,” she said.
The Department of Education said applicants must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States to qualify. In addition, the federal agency said it was interested in enrolling scholars with disabilities.
Anyone interested in the Collaborative Approaches to Impactful Special Education Leadership program could find information at the Department of Education’s funding opportunities website.
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com.
