Announcements  

Pathways to Partnerships Competitive Grant Applications Announcement

The purpose of the Pathways to Partnerships Grant is for institutions to apply for needed funding to develop new transition programs for students with disabilities that focus on career-exploration, work-based learning, independent living skill acquisition, social development, and competitive integrated employment (CIE) with a preference on students with IDD and students in rural, high-need settings.

Innovative projects generated through this application process will provide amazing opportunities to expand the availability of high-quality transition and postsecondary education programs, ultimately increasing the number of individuals with disabilities who are prepared to obtain and retain employment while living as independently as possible as active members of their community.  

The Oklahoma Pathways to Partnerships (OP2P) grant is a Disability Innovation Fund (DIF) Award from the Rehabilitation Services Administration. It was awarded to the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) on October 1, 2023. There are two broad initiatives:

1. Expand capacity of statewide interagency partnerships to serve students with disabilities.

2.  Expansion of access to effective transition programming, including career exploration and work-based learning, focused on competitive integrated employment (CIE) for children (ages 10-13) and youth (ages 14-24) with disabilities with a focus on those with intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities (IDD) and those in rural, high-need settings.

The portion of the grant related to this application is Initiative 2.

Submission Details

All applications must be submitted through the OSDE Grant Management System (GMS).

Non-district applicants must complete a Grants Management User Access Form and email the completed form to Donna Tye-Lewis by 12/20/24 to gain access to the Grants Management System for this online application process.

You will receive an email confirming receipt of your Grants Management User Access Form  within 3 business days of your submission. It will then take up to 14 business days to receive your GMS User Access.  

 ALL (district and non-district) applicants must email a letter of intent to apply to Donna Tye-Lewis. You will receive an email confirming receipt of your letter of intent to apply and access to the applications will be added to your GMS account within 5 business days of your submission.