$720K in Funding Will Create Inclusion Support for Preschool Children with Disabilities

The Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health (CAECMH) at Montclair State University has been awarded more than $720,000 a year for the next three years to support an initiative that aims to ensure each preschool child with a disability has equitable access to the educational services and resources they need to meet their unique needs.

A collaboration between the New Jersey Department of Education Office of Special Education and Montclair State University, the New Jersey Preschool Inclusive Education Project (NJPIEP) is currently in effect through June 2026 and is expected to achieve outcomes that include increases in:

• The number of preschool students assigned to age-appropriate general education classes that utilize standard-based curricula and inclusive instructional practices to address learner variability.
• Culturally responsive learning environments where diversity is valued and all students are supported.
• The number of preschools whose leaders and stakeholders utilize preschool inclusion quality indicators to ensure that more preschoolers have full access to the supports needed for learning in general education preschool classrooms.
• School districts with an ongoing commitment and capacity to sustain the project beyond the grant period that results in a statewide increase in positive post-school outcomes.

Each year of the project, the CAECMH team will host a statewide Preschool Inclusion Leadership Conference for all general and special education administrators working in public school preschool programs. The team will also provide ongoing support for up to 20 Early Childhood/Preschool Implementation (Systemic Change) sites to foster the transformation to exemplary inclusive learning environments across the state of New Jersey. The CAECMH team will also provide technical assistance to 12 preschool sites each year of the project. This technical assistance will be provided on targeted inclusion practices to interdisciplinary teams of early childhood professionals including general and special education teachers and administrators as well as therapists and child study team members.

“Montclair State University opened the Ben Samuels Children’s Center in 2005 as a model of excellence in inclusive early childhood education,” says Associate Director for Education, Inclusion, and Development, Corinne G. Catalano, who is leading the project. “This partnership we have with the New Jersey Department of Education provides us the opportunity to continue to support high-quality early childhood inclusive education in public school preschool programs throughout the state.”

Visit the Center For Autism And Early Childhood Mental Health page for more information.