Clarification from the agency

United States Citizens If you are a current or former federal employee or are eligible under a special hiring authority (VEOA, Schedule A, etc.), you may be eligible to apply under the concurrently advertised merit promotion vacancy announcement: OSERS-2026-0009.

APPLICATION LIMIT: This vacancy announcement is limited to the first 200 applications received and will close at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the day that we receive the 200th application, or at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the listed closing date, whichever occurs first.

We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application.

As an Education Program Specialist, GS-1720-13, you will be responsible for:

• Serves as the State contact and provides leadership, administration, and support for Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funded programs (Part B and Part C), ensuring effective implementation of services and improved results for infants, toddlers, children, youth, and adults with disabilities and their families.
• Provides substantial input into developing program objectives, policies, and long‑range work priorities for the assigned organizational unit. Offers authoritative advice to managers on virtually all aspects of program operations, including strategic planning, policy interpretation, and the coordination of activities essential to achieving program goals.
• Provides authoritative leadership and guidance on critical special projects that influence organizational direction and operations, requiring integration across units and a high level of programmatic expertise.

Conditions of employment

• Relocation will not be paid.
• You may be subject to serve a one -year probationary period.
• Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.
• A background investigation and fingerprint check must be completed
• Must be a US Citizen

Condition of Employment:

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a probationary period or trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: • your performance and conduct; • the needs and interests of the agency; • whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and • whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period OR trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills, and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. We will consider all qualifying experience, including any volunteer experience.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualification Requirements
You may meet the minimum qualifications for the GS-13, if you possess the specialize experience, and education.

Specialized Experience for the GS-13
One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-12 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:
1. Experience managing, monitoring or advising on Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) implementation at the State or local systems level, including overseeing compliance with IDEA requirements, conducting program monitoring activities and or leading or supporting system improvement initiatives.
2. Experience reviewing, analyzing, and interpreting special education data, including IDEA Section 616 and 618 data, to identify compliance issues, evaluate state and local performance, or provide targeted technical assistance, and support system improvement.
3. Experience interpreting and applying IDEA regulations at the state or local systems level, to include leading or contributing to the development, revision, or approval of policies, procedures, or guidance to ensure compliance with IDEA requirements.

EDUCATION (see EDUCATION SECTION of the vacancy announcement)

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)
The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). You do not need to provide separate narrative responses to these KSAs, as they will be measured by your responses to the occupational questionnaire (you may preview the occupational questionnaire by clicking the link at the end of the Evaluations section of this vacancy announcement).

1. Knowledge of legislative and regulatory provisions of Part B and/or Part C of the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
2. Skills implementing early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families or special education and related services for children and youth with disabilities at the local, regional, or State level.
3. Knowledge of education theories, principles and practices and the roles of the federal, state, and local governments sufficient to plan, evaluate, and advise on funded educational programs, their requirements and problems.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

We use a multi-step process to review and evaluate applicants:

1. Eligibility and Minimum Qualifications

Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will review your resume and documents to determine if you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, including any required education, experience, and/or selective placement factors. You will be rated as ineligible if your application is missing any required documents. You will be rated as not qualified if you do not possess the minimum qualification requirements.

2. Rating and Ranking

If you are found to meet both the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, we will assess the quality of your experience and the extent to which you possess the required KSAs by comparing your submitted resume and documents. You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications and competencies listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials, and the result of the Monster Competency Based Assessment(s) required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies.

Non-Supervisory: Oral Communications, Writing, Interpersonal Skills, Problem Solving, Teamwork, Technology Orientation, Customer Service, Attention to Detail and Self-Management

Based on the outcome of this evaluation candidates will be placed into one of three categories.

Under category rating procedures you are placed into one of three categories based on the evaluation results:

Best Qualified -Candidates who possess the type and quality of experience that substantially exceeds the position’s minimum qualifications, including appropriate quality ranking factors.

Highly Qualified- Candidates who possess the type and quality of experience that exceeds the position’s minimum qualifications.

Qualified-Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications and are proficient in some but not all of the position’s requirements.

Based on the outcome of this evaluation, your application data may be further assessed by a Subject Matter Expert (SME) panel. If your qualifications are not substantiated by your submitted resume, you may be eliminated from receiving further consideration.

Veterans’ Preference: Veterans’ preference eligibles will be ranked ahead of qualified non-preference eligibles within each category for which they are qualified. Qualified veterans’ preference eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of 10 percent or more (CPS and CP) will be placed at the top of the Best Qualified category, except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-9 grade level or higher.

3. Referral and Selection

If you are found to be amongst the best qualified applicants, you will be referred to the selecting official. As part of the assessment and selection process, the selecting official may invite you to participate in a structured interview, check your references, and/or request a writing sample or complete a written assessment or exercise to further evaluate your qualifications for this position.

You must submit (REQUIRED FOR ALL APPLICANTS): A resume demonstrating your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiating your responses to the occupational questionnaire. Please limit your resume to 2 pages with the font size no smaller than 10 points. If your resume is more than 2 pages, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed and considered for the qualifications determination.

• Transcript: This position has a positive education requirement and requires proof of education for eligibility. You must submit an unofficial transcript that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, major(s), grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. If any required coursework is not easily recognizable on transcripts, or if you believe a portion of a particular course can be credited toward meeting an educational requirement, you must also provide a memorandum on letterhead from the institution's registrar, dean, or other appropriate official stating the percentage of the course that should be considered to meet the requirement and the equivalent number of units. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to produce the original official transcripts. This also applies to ED employees.
• If you are claiming Veteran's Preference, you must submit: A copy of your DD-214 that shows active service and character of discharge (Separated Members only); OR A certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days from the date of application (Current Active Duty Members only); AND/OR The Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) AND all documents indicated on the form as proof of type of preference; AND/OR Proof of Sole Survivorship Preference (e.g., certificate of death or 100% disability as a result of serving in the armed forces).

Are you claiming special priority selection rights under the Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP/CTAP)?

• If you are a current or former Federal employee who was displaced (for example, due to a Reduction-in-Force) and want priority consideration, you must submit the documents listed below.
• Required documents for Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan consideration (All are required):

1. Proof that you were displaced, such as Reduction-in-Force (RIF) notice or notice of proposed removal.

• • SF-50s (Notification of Personnel Action) showing:

  • RIF as the Nature of Action (Box 5B)
  • Career or career-conditional status (Box 24 must be 1 or 2)
  • Competitive status (Box 34 must be 1)
  • Promotion potential or full performance level of the position from which you were or are being displaced. This is likely your appointment SF-50 for that position.
  • Duty location

• • Your most recent performance appraisal showing a rating of Fully Successful or higher.
• Your Federal position at the time you were displaced must be within the local commuting area for a location listed in this announcement. The definition of local commuting area varies based on duty location and hiring agency policy. To receive priority consideration, you must also be found well-qualified, which means you score 75 or higher based on this announcement's assessment rating criteria.

Next steps