The US Department of Education Investing in Innovation (i3) program in the Office of Innovation and Improvement published a notice inviting applications (NIA) for the 2014 Development competition.

The purpose of this program is to provide competitive grants to applicants with a record of improving student achievement and attainment in order to expand the implementation of, and investment in, innovative practices that are demonstrated to have an impact on improving student achievement or student growth, closing achievement gaps, decreasing dropout rates, increasing high school graduation rates, or increasing college enrollment and completion rates.

Of interest to our readers is Priority 3: Improving Academic Outcomes for Students with Disabilities:

Implementing coherent systems of support that appropriately coordinate and integrate programs to address the needs of children and youth with disabilities and improve the quality of service for those children and their families.

Other priorities are: Effective Use of Technology, Improving Academic Outcomes for English Learners (ELs), Improving the Effectiveness of Teachers or Principals, Improving Low-Performing Schools, and Serving Rural Communities.

The deadline for the pre-application is April 14, 2014. To learn more about the i3 grant program and the pre-application process, please visit the i3 site: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation/index.html.