The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) at the U.S. Department of Education is dedicated to improving results for infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities ages birth through 21 by providing leadership and financial support to assist states and local districts. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) authorizes formula grants to states, and discretionary grants to institutions of higher education and other non-profit organizations to support research, demonstrations, technical assistance and dissemination, technology and personnel development and parent-training and information centers.

The National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) is a not-for-profit organization established in 1938 to promote and support education programs and related services for children and youth with disabilities in the United States and outlying areas. NASDSE accomplishes its goals by establishing and maintaining relations between those responsible for the development of statewide and federal special education programs and those responsible for general curriculum planning at the local, state and national levels. NASDSE activities are designed to provide professional support to its members and others interested in special education. The two key projects at NASDSE that are working closely with CTQ include the IDEA Partnership and the Personnel Center.

The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) is a national voluntary association of higher education institutions and other organizations and is dedicated to ensuring the highest quality preparation and continuing professional development for teachers and school leaders in order to enhance PK-12 student learning. The almost 800 institutions holding AACTE membership include private, state, and municipal colleges and universities large and small located in every state, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Guam.

The Regional Resource and Federal Centers (RRFC) Network is made up of the six Regional Resource Centers for Special Education (RRC) and the Federal Resource Center (FRC). The six RRCs and the FRC are funded by the federal Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to assist state education agencies in the systemic improvement of education programs, practices, and policies that affect children and youth with disabilities. These centers offer consultation, information services, technical assistance, training, and product development.

The National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality (NCCTQ) is the premier national resource to which the regional comprehensive assistance centers, states, and other education stakeholders turn for strengthening the quality of teaching-especially in high-poverty, low-performing, and hard-to-staff schools-and for finding guidance in addressing specific needs, thereby ensuring highly qualified teachers are serving students with special needs.

The Federal Comprehensive Centers, funded by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) at the U.S, Department of Education, are comprised of fifteen (15) regional centers that provide technical assistance to States within defined geographic boundaries. They provide frontline assistance to States to help them implement NCLB and other related Federal school improvement programs and help increase State capacity to assist districts and schools meet their student achievement goals.