Summary About the Position: This position is located with the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), Education Directorate, Student Services Division, in Alexandria, VA. This position may be eligible for situational telework as determined by the agency policy. Responsibilities Provide expert advice and consultation to student services on matters related to policies and procedures. Collaborate with legal counsel to ensure special education policies comply with applicable laws, regulations, and due process requirements. Draft, review, and/or revise special education policies, ensuring clarity, coherence, and compliance with legal and ethical standards. Respond to inquiries and requests for information related to special education policies, due process, investigations, and congressional inquiries, providing accurate and timely responses. Liaise with relevant stakeholders, such as educators, administrators, etc. to address and resolve special education disputes and due process requests. Conduct research and analysis to inform the development and the revision of special education policies, ensuring alignment with federal and state regulations. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Who May Apply: U.S. Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Basic Requirement for Instructional Systems Specialist: Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours appropriate to the work of the position to be filled. The course work must have included study in at least four of the following five areas: (1) Learning theory, psychology of learning, educational psychology: Study of learning theories as they relate to the systematic design, development, and validation of instructional material. (2) Instructional design practices: Study of the principles and techniques used in designing training programs, developing design strategy and models, and applying design methods to the improvement of instructional effectiveness. (3) Educational evaluation: Study of the techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of instructional/educational programs, including developing written and performance tests and survey instruments, and determining reliability and validity of evaluation instruments. (4) Instructional product development: Study of the techniques appropriate for developing training materials, including identifying learner characteristics, specifying objectives, applying training strategy, validating training materials, and evaluating training. OR (5) Computers in education and training: Study of the application of computers in education and training, including selecting appropriate computer software. NOTE: You are required to submit ALL TRANSCRIPTS with at a minimum, your bachelor's degree. Your Master's, EDS, Doctorate etc. may need to be submitted as well if they must be used to meet the education requirement. If you do not provide this, your application WILL be rejected. In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: Specialized Experience: One year specialized experience which includes developing PreK-12 special education policies, communicating with internal and external stakeholders regarding special education, and reviewing performance and/or program standards. This experience should have been in an above PK-12 school (district, state, federal, central office, etc.) level. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service or equivalent (GS-13). NOTE: If your resume doesn't clearly describe this experience, your application WILL be rejected. One year is defined as 365 days or 52 weeks of full-time experience, whichever comes sooner. Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted. Education FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html Additional Information Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees. Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement. Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. Be advised that effective Jan. 1 2018, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, most civilian employee relocation allowances became taxable. The Relocation Income Tax Allowance (RITA) reimburses eligible employees for the additional Federal, State, and local income taxes incurred as a result of receiving taxable travel income. RITA does not apply to new government employees or employees returning from an overseas assignment for the purpose of separation from Government service. For more information, visit https://www.dfas.mil/civilianemployees/civrelo/Civilian-Moving-Expenses-Tax-Deduction.html. This position is not covered by a bargaining unit. If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet. You may claim Military Spouse preference. You may claim Priority Placement Program (PPP) preference. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable\Accommodations\for\USA\Hire
