San Diego State Wins $3.8 Million Federal Grant: 30 Special Education Teacher Apprentices With Tuition and a Stipend Covered
San Diego State University, in the city of San Diego, San Diego County, California, announced on November 3 that it has received a five-year, $3.8 million federal grant for a pilot program preparing special education teachers through an apprenticeship model, aimed at California's long-running special education teacher shortage.
The State Personnel Development Grant is funded through the U.S. Department of Education and the California Department of Education and was awarded in October 2026. The program is run with the SDSU Research Foundation's Interwork Institute and the San Diego County Office of Education, and will prepare 30 future educators across San Diego and Imperial counties.
Recruitment targets current paraeducators, substitute teachers, classified school staff and parents of children with disabilities. Coursework is 100 percent online. Participants receive $24,000 in tuition support over three semesters plus a summer term, a $10,000 practicum stipend, and district-paid substitute coverage two days a week during clinical practice. The first cohort starts in January 2028 and the second in January 2030.
The backdrop is vacancy and mismatch in California special education: roughly a third of special education teaching positions statewide are vacant, and about 55 percent of those serving in them lack the matching special education credential. The program is led by department chair Professor Bonnie Kraemer and Andrew Karhan.
San Diego State, at 5500 Campanile Drive, is part of the California State University system. The university says the apprenticeship model, if it works, can be replicated in other parts of the state.
(Source: San Diego State University)
Source: San Diego State University
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 圣迭戈州立大学地标Hepner Hall（资料图）。CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Hepner Hall, the landmark building at San Diego State University (file photo). CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
