The University of Dayton has developed a plan to address the state's acute shortage of special education teachers through a partnership with the Ohio Department of Education, the University of Cincinnati, Youngstown State University, the School Study Council of Ohio, and five high-need school districts. The project will match these districts, all of which need special education teachers, with: (1) mid-career professionals and recent college graduates who are potential highly qualified special education teachers and (2) local participating institutions of higher education (IHEs). The IHEs will provide support for local cohorts of trainees as they prepare to enter the field through an alternative license training program composed of one year of intensive online coursework supplemented by monthly seminars, annual conferences, and mentoring provided by veteran teachers trained as part of the project. Building on lessons learned from a previous Transition to Teaching grant, this new project will incorporate incentives such as tuition assistance for participants who agree to teach in the targeted districts for three years. In addition, staff from the school districts will interview potential trainees to identify appropriate teacher placements and the partner IHEs will be encouraged to provide opportunities for trainees to move through the project as learning cohorts. Fifty trainees will be enrolled annually during this five-year grant. It is anticipated that the project will continue beyond the grant by being folded into the partner IHE programs.