Federal Grant Award Summary

South Dakota State University received a $261,324 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) under the Rehabilitation Long-Term Training (RLTT) program (CFDA 84.129) effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. The grant supports the South Dakota Long-Term Rehabilitation Program, which is designed to address personnel shortages in vocational rehabilitation services by providing academic training to develop qualified rehabilitation professionals. The program prepares personnel to deliver specialized services to individuals with disabilities across multiple disability categories, including physical disabilities, mental health disorders, intellectual and developmental disabilities, blindness, and hearing impairments, with the ultimate goal of enabling individuals with disabilities to achieve competitive integrated employment and independent living.

The award reflects OSERS's commitment to expanding the rehabilitation workforce through higher education institutional partnerships. As a land-grant research institution with extensive experience in federal programming, South Dakota State University is positioned to deliver comprehensive training curricula and develop rehabilitation counseling tracks that address emerging service needs and personnel gaps identified by the Secretary of Education. The one-year project period allows the institution to implement training initiatives while maintaining alignment with state-federal vocational rehabilitation service program objectives and established evaluation criteria outlined in applicable federal regulations.