Frequently
Asked Questions
Listed below are questions asked most often by Traineeship Program
applicants. If you have additional questions, please call (859)
442-3506.
What
is the Special Education Traineeship Program?
The
Traineeship program is an incentive program for regular education
teachers to obtain special education certification. It is also
designed to help special education teachers obtain special education
certification in an area not previously completed. The Traineeship
is a certification program. It not a financial aid program nor
can funding be guaranteed. Courses required for a master’s
degree or a fifth year program are not necessarily certification
requirements.
Classes required for degree or rank change cannot be funded. Once
an applicant is approved funding, it is usually available for
four (4) semesters or 21 semester hours.
The
program was designed in the late seventies primarily as a way
to assist Kentucky’s rural school districts in staffing
vacant special education teaching positions. The idea was to provide
a financial incentive for regular education teachers, who were
established in the community, to become certified special education
teachers. In 1993, “Director of Special Education”
certification was added to the areas funded. In 2004 Interdisciplinary
Early Childhood Education (IECE) certification was included.
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I
forgot to send in a Part A form for the new semester before the
deadline. Will I still receive funding?
You
may submit your Part A form after the deadline but there is no
guarantee that you will receive funding. The application review
process begins after the deadline to be sure
that all previously funded applicants receive priority consideration.
Available funds are then allocated. If all funds are allocated
there will be no funds left to approve your request. So get it
in by the deadline date to insure that you remain eligible.
| Fall
Semester |
July
1 |
| Spring
Semester |
November
1 |
| Summer
Semester |
April
1 |
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What
if I cannot send my application in by the deadline because my
university has not published the course catalog?
Submit your application before the deadline listing
the courses you expect to take on Part A of the
application. If you need to make changes after the catalog is
available, contact the Traineeship Program staff and ask for a
Course Change. If the new course is approvable, your approval
letter will be amended and sent to you. Your university will be
notified of the approved course change. You must
notify the Traineeship Program of all changes.
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Will
I be notified when it is time to send in my grades?
You
are responsible for meeting all deadlines.
January 10 for courses completed during the fall
semester;
June 1 for courses completed during the spring
semester; and
September 1 for courses completed during the
summer semester.
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What if my university does not
offer the course(s) I need all four of the semesters I am eligible
for the funding from the Traineeship Program?
You
may be able to take the course(s) you need for special education
certification from another university and transfer credit to your
university. Check with your advisor. If your advisor approves
course substitutions, ask your advisor to write a letter to amend
Part B of your Traineeship Program application. In the letter,
your advisor will:
1.
Explain the reason for the transfer;
2. Name the university where you will take the course substitution;
3. List the name(s) and number(s) of the course(s) being accepted
from the other university;
4. State the course name(s) and number(s) being replaced on Part
B of your Traineeship Program application; and
5.
You can also request a waiver for that semester from the Traineeship
Program.
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I applied to the Traineeship Program
and was approved for the 2007 fall semester. However, I had to
drop my courses. Does the 2007 fall semester still count as my
first semester?
If
the Traineeship Program paid tuition for the approved courses,
then the 2007 fall semester does count as your first semester.
It is EXTREMELY important that you keep the Traineeship
program informed of ALL changes you make in your
program. Traineeship funds cannot be used to pay penalties fees.
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Can
my other scholarship pay for my books if I am an approved Traineeship
Program participant?
Yes. The Traineeship Program pays TUITION ONLY for the courses
needed for special education certification. Traineeship Program
participants cannot be a recipient of any other traineeship, stipend,
scholarship or fellowship for TUITION for the courses approved
for funding under the Traineeship Program. You must notify the
Traineeship Program staff immediately if you receive funding from
another program or agency for any course for which Traineeship
Program funds are awarded or requested. Be sure to check and make
sure the rules under the other funding source allow you to accept
Traineeship Program funding at the same time.
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What are some reasons that
applications are not approved?
In
general, applications are not approved for the following reasons:
- Incomplete
application (e.g., forms missing, forms not signed or dated,
parts of forms left bland, etc.).
- Application
received after the deadline.
- Traineeships
are not designed to assist support personnel or to assist in
obtaining certification in an area other than special education.
- Recipients
must be seeking to extend certification in an area where certification
requirements have not been met previously.
- Recipients must hold at least a baccalaureate degree and a
teaching certificate issued by the Kentucky Education Professional
Standards Board. A “Substitute Certificate” cannot
be substituted.
- The
courses requested are not necessary for the certification area
listed. Courses required for a master's degree or a fifth year
program are not necessarily certification requirements.
- The courses requested on Part A do not match the courses listed
on Part B.
- The four consecutive semester rule was not followed or a waiver
was not requested.
- Due
to the limited funds available, highest priority areas were
funded first.
- The
grade report was not submitted.
- The four consecutive semester rule was not followed or a waiver
was not requested.
- Applicant
received a "C" or "I" in a course funded
by the Traineeship Program.
- Applicant
does not notify Traineeship Staff of a previous semester's class
change.
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How many hours may I take in the summertime?
Summer
hours are limited to six (6).
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If I get a "C" in a course that
is funded by the Traineeship Program, can I take the course over
again at my own expense and be reinstated in the Traineeship Program?
No.
As stated in the Terms of the Traineeship Program, participants
who receive a grade below "B," or fail to submit a grade,
are no longer eligible applicants.
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What if I cannot complete a course and
get an "I" for incomplete?
The
Traineeship Program will pay tuition for the course; however,
you must complete the PRIOR to approval of your application for
the NEXT SEMESTER. If you have not earned a "B" or better
by that time, you are no longer an eligible applicant.
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I sent my application in four weeks before
the deadline, but it was three weeks after the deadline before
I got my approval letter. Why did it take so long?
The application review process begins after the
deadline to be sure that all previously funded applicants receive
priority consideration. Generally, internal timelines call for
notices (letters) to be mailed to applicants and universities
within three weeks after the deadline. However, there are several
hundred applications to be processed, and the review process can
extend past the deadline. Grant funding amounts are always dependent
on state contracts and that is often delayed.
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I
want to change jobs and work for a private not for profit agency.
Can I still receive Traineeship funding?
Recipients
of Traineeship funds are required to be employed as a special
education teacher or special education administrator in a Kentucky
public school district. You must notify the program of any change
in your employment.
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I applied for the Traineeship program and then registered for
my classes. Now I find out that funds are not available to pay
for these classes. What am I going to do?
Remember that Traineeship funds are
not guaranteed. Please consider this before you register for the
classes. You should contact the financial aid office at the your
university to obtain information regarding additional grant or
scholarship programs. The Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act of 1997 provides Part D funds for preservice education. Colleges
and universities apply directly to the federal government for
Part D funds. Ask the special education department chairperson
at your university about any Part D funds available. Generally,
a faculty member in the special education department is responsible
for writing and administering a Part D grant. The KHEAA
program may also be a resource for you.
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