KU LEAP: Preparing Leaders to Create Ambitious Educational Programs for Students with Severe Disabilities: Beyond De Minimis

The University of Kansas Preparing Leaders to Create Ambitious Educational Programs for Students with Severe Disabilities: Beyond De Minimis (KU LEAP) program will focus on promoting competencies in three areas of critical need in research and teacher education in the field of special education and severe disabilities: (a) promoting appropriately ambitious goals and curriculum in line with the recent landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1, 2017 (Endrew F.), (b) enabling college and career readiness in students with severe disabilities across K-12 grades, and (c) building strengths-based systems of supports that promote inclusion and valued adult outcomes. Within each of these competency areas, KU LEAP Scholars will develop: (a) discipline-specific content knowledge including knowledge of evidence-based decision-making strategies and procedures used to support positive outcomes; (b) skills to contribute to the discipline’s research base and support the translation of practices in the field, particularly in high-need LEAs; (c) knowledge of teacher preparation strategies and approaches, including online technologies, that have documented effectiveness in the professional development of teachers of students with severe disabilities in inclusive settings; and (d) an understanding of the activities and behaviors required to be successful in the culture of academia across a range of higher education institutions.