The Thompson Policy Institute on Disability (TPI) has received a new three-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for $784,000. Funding for the Strategic Practices for the Advancement of Inclusive Schooling (SPAIS) grant will support educator preparation programs (EPPs), public charters, and public school districts to improve outcomes for historically marginalized students.

Leveraging the work of the California Alliance for Inclusive Schooling (CAIS), TPI will serve as the lead agency to provide EPPs, public, and public-charter K-12 educators and administrators with professional development, in-person and virtual collaboration convenings, and technical coaching on research-based educational practices. The workshops and coaching will focus on increasing inclusive practices and transition outcomes for Black and Latinx students, students experiencing poverty and homelessness, and students with disabilities.

“With support of the Gates Foundation, TPI is able to expand and capitalize on our efforts to create more inclusive educational settings for historically marginalized youth,” said TPI’s Associate Director Audri Sandoval Gomez, Ph.D. “The SPAIS grant will allow TPI to increase the implementation of inclusive education in California’s schools.”

2021 DisAbility Summit

In support of its mission, the Thompson Policy Institute hosts an annual DisAbility Summit to showcase disability studies research and programs. The 2021 Virtual Summit on DisAbility and Inclusion on Wednesday, August 11, 2021, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. will include Keynote Speaker Megan Bomgaars, a well-known self-advocate with Down Syndrome, and four breakout sessions on PK-12 Practice, TPI’s FAST (Families and Schools Together) program, Teacher Preparation, and Transition Services.

The virtual event is free of charge, but preregistration is required.