Special Education News: Archives
The Access Center's Research Continuum
The Access Center' s Research Continuum helps explain what research-based really means. The article describes the difference between emerging, promising, and evidence-based practices. It also includes links to other sources of information on educational research. This article can be found at: http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/reasearchapproach.asp.
Adequate Yearly Progress
Under the accountability provisions in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, all public school campuses, school districts, and the state are evaluated for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Districts, campuses, and the state are required to meet AYP criteria on three measures: Reading/Language Arts, Mathematics, and either Graduation Rate (for high schools and districts) or Attendance Rate (for elementary and middle/junior high schools). The final AYP for 2006 is now available on the Texas Education Agency's (TEA) web site.
Best Evidence Encyclopedia
The Johns Hopkins University Center for Data-Driven Reform recently developed a web site that provides summaries of research and evaluations conducted on education programs. The “Best Evidence Encyclopedia” provides summaries and full-text reviews of reading and math curricula, school-reform programs, and other topics. http://www.bestevidence.org/
Building on Results: A Blueprint for Strengthening No Child Left Behind
Last week Secretary Spellings released Building on Results: A Blueprint for Strengthening No Child Left Behind. This document sets forth the administration's policy proposals for reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act, including proposals relating to the Act's public school choice and SES provisions. To obtain a copy of Building on Results, please go to http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/nclb/buildingonresults.pdf.
For more information on the administration's proposals, visit http://www.ed.gov/news/opeds/factsheets/index.html?src=gu.
Center for Evidence-Based Practice: Young Children with Challenging Behavior (CEBP) Has A New Brochure Available Online
This FREE brochure titled Positive Solutions for Families is now available online. This 4-page brochure provides parents with eight practical tips they can use when their young children exhibit challenging behavior. Each tip includes a brief explanation and an example to show parents how they might use the specific approach with their own family in everyday life. To view and download this FREE brochure please visit the Center for Evidence-Based practice web site at: challengingbehavior.fmhi.usf.edu
Cornelia De Lange Syndrome Video
A free video about Cornelia De Lange Syndrome (CdLS), "Find One Child" can be ordered from the CdLS-USA Foundation by calling 1-800-753-2357 or email at awareness@cdlsusa.org. The web site is www.cdlsusa.org. Note: The birth prevalence of CdLS in Texas is about 0.6 per 10,000 live births, with 9 cases identified among deliveries during 1999-2002.
Article from: The Texas Birth Defects MONITOR
Deaf-Blind Registry Seeks Enrollees
The Helen Keller National Center is required to maintain a National Registry of persons who are Deaf-blind, or who have a combined vision and hearing loss that is severe enough to create challenges in life activities, at home, in the community, and at work. While all personal information compiled is strictly confidential, statistical information compiled from the Registry is used to benefit the Deaf-blind community in the following ways:
- information is shared with adult services programs so they can better prepare to serve Deaf-blind adults, as well as young adults when they transition to adult services;
- information is shared with teachers, personnel, and interpreter training programs to better prepare these professionals to work with the Deaf-blind community;
- information is shared to help with research that is beneficial to the Deaf-blind community; and,
- information is shared with the federal and state governments as they develop priorities for program funding. If we prove to the government that there are many people needing services, there is a better chance that Deaf-blind services will be funded.
About 10,000 people have already entered their names onto the Registry, but there are many more. Anyone who is Deaf-blind, of any age, is eligible to register. To register over the phone, call the Helen Keller center at 309-755-0018, or register online at www.hknc.org.
Article from FORUM, Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities.
IDEA 2004 Regulations Available
CDs and print copies of the IDEA 2004 regulations can be ordered online at www.edpubs.org. They are provided at no cost. Many other U.S. Department of Education documents can also be ordered for free from the web site.
Article from FORUM, Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities.
Living with Birth Defects
The Spina Bifida Research Resource (SBRR) has received an additional five years of funding from the NIH. The SBRR was initiated in 1997 to study genetic and environmental birth factors that contribute to Spina Bifida, and has received NIH funding since 2000.
Over 650 Families have already joined the SBRR, but information from many more families is needed to ensure that the factors associated with Spina Bifida will be identified. Over the next four years, the SBRR will recruit an additional 400 families. Although Spina Bifida is one of the most common birth defects, it is rare compared to diseases like breast cancer and cardiovascular disease. Consequently, every family that participates in the SBRR is very important.
Individuals with Spina Bifida (myelomeningocele) and their families, and families that have received a prenatal diagnosis of Spina Bifida, are eligible to participate in the SBRR. Participation includes an interview, which can be completed in English or Spanish, to gather information on family pregnancy history, and the collection of samples (saliva, cheek cells or blood) for DNA analysis. There are no costs or travel associated with participation. All aspects of the study can be accomplished by telephone and mail. For further information about the SBRR, please contact Barbara Weyland, project coordinator, toll-free at 1-866-521-7289 or atbweyland@ibt.tamhsc.edu.
Article from: The Texas Birth Defects MONITOR
Mental Health Care State Report Card
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) released a new report providing a state-by-state analysis of mental health care systems. States were graded on nearly 40 indicators in the four categories of infrastructure, information access, services, and recovery supports. To find information on an individual state or access the full report, go to: www.Nami.org.
Online Technology Support
There are several Web sites that offer free technology support. Many discussion boards, tutorials, and FAQ documents exist that can help solve a variety of technical problems. For a listing of some of the resources available, read the following TechSoup article: http://ga0.org/ct/H7S-qJ91omDJ/.
OSEP Regional Implementation Meetings ~ From Regulation to Resolution: Emerging Practices In Special Education Dispute Resolution
This presentation, presented at the OSEP Regional Implementation Meetings, explores opportunities and considerations related to implementation of the resolution meeting and mediation provisions under IDEA '04. Included in the session will be the presentation of a conceptual model for conflict resolution, specific practice tips and information regarding emerging state practices. To view the PowerPoint presentation, click here: http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/rim.cfm.
PACER Offers Online Training
PACER Center recently developed a new online training session, Online Training for Surrogate Parents. You can now participate in PACER trainings in the comfort of your home. Check out these training sessions which were funded in part by the Minnesota Department of Education.
Panel Weighs NCLB and Students With Disabilities
By Christina A. Samuels
Washington
The federal No Child Left Behind Act has prompted a significant improvement in the education of students with disabilities, a panel of education experts told a House subcommittee last week.However, crafting a testing policy that can adequately measure achievement of students with such a variety of needs, from mild learning disabilities to profound developmental disabilities, continues to be a challenge, as is finding highly qualified teachers to educate such students, the witnesses said.
The March 29 hearing was the latest on NCLB issues being held by the House Education and Labor Committee’s Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education. Rep. Dale E. Kildee, D-Mich., the subcommittee chairman, said that the same principles that underlie the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act also apply to NCLB. Like the IDEA, the No Child Left Behind law recognizes that children with disabilities “must overcome unique hurdles to get their education,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that these children can’t achieve what their nondisabled peers achieve—only that they need special help to achieve it,” he added.
Michael L. Hardman, the incoming dean of the college of education at the University of Utah , in Salt Lake City , said that his university was trying to ensure it graduates teachers who are prepared to instruct a diverse group of students, including those with disabilities, alongside the general education population.
“In many parts of this country, general education and special education teachers are still being prepared in total isolation from each other,” said Mr. Hardman, a former chairman of the university’s department of special education. Collaboration, he said, “becomes the key to raising expectations.”Testing Challenge
States continue to have difficulties testing students with disabilities, said Rachel Quenemoen, the technical assistance team leader at the National Center on Educational Outcomes, based at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
The last 10 years have shown that even students with severe disabilities can demonstrate achievement in parts of the academic curriculum, a far cry from when such students were only given lessons in life skills, she said.
Because of the NCLB law’s focus on high expectations for all students, “we now have a powerful lever—perhaps the most powerful one in the past three decades—for reducing and eliminating the achievement gap for students with disabilities,” Ms. Quenemoen told the subcommittee. But it’s important to stay focused on students with disabilities, and not try to hide their performance by adjusting testing systems so that scores for such students can be discounted, she added.
“At this point, we cannot accept the argument that we should accept far less,” Ms. Quenemoen said.
Jane Rhyne, the assistant superintendent overseeing programs for exceptional children for the 129,000-student Charlotte-Mecklenburg County school district in North Carolina, also addressed the concern that students with disabilities are being overlooked through extremely large “N” sizes, or the minimum subgroup size that counts toward schools’ and districts’ accountability under the federal education law.
Minimum subgroup sizes, which are set by each state, range from as few as five students to more than 40 students. One result of a large N-size is that individual schools are less likely to have to report test results for a particular subgroup.
“With that wide disparity, a lot of students with disabilities are being left out of the accountability system,” Ms. Rhyne said. She favored a recommendation from the Council of the Great City Schools that N-sizes be no greater than 30 students, and that subgroup sizes should not change for different categories of students.Rebecca H. Cort, New York state’s deputy education commissioner overseeing services for individuals with disabilities, told the subcommittee that NCLB should add provisions for students who can learn subjects at the same breadth and depth as their peers, just more slowly. That would allow a student who is reading at a 3rd grade level to be tested at that level, even if the student’s chronological age placed him or her in a higher grade. That is not currently allowed.
“A school will then be held accountable for that student’s learning on subject matter they have been taught,” Ms. Cort said.
Vol. 26, Issue 31, Page 22
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/04/04/31special.h26.html
Parent Brief: Measuring Transition Success
The National Post-School Outcomes Center has published a new PACER Center Parent Brief called "Measuring Transition Success: Focus on Youth and Family Participation". The brief examines current research on post-school outcomes and ways families can be involved and offer their input. The document can be accessed online at: http://www.psocenter.org/Docs/PacerParentBrief.pdf.
Parents Urge Lawmakers to Help Autistic Children
Some parents of autistic children were at the capitol on Thursday urging the state to do more for their children. As FOX 7's Will Jensen reports, these parents met with medical professionals to try and get their message to lawmakers. View report at Fox 7.
Partners Resource Network
Celebrating 20 Years!September 2006 marks the twentieth birthday of Partners Resource Network, Inc., as the federally funded Parent Training and Information Center(PTI) for the State of Texas. Partners, a non-profit agency, operates three grant projects from its main office in Beaumont, TX. Partners began the PATH Project in 1986 with a small grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in Washington, D.C. The grant allowed Partners to begin providing training, education, information, referral, and technical assistance to parents of children with all types of disabilities throughout the state of Texas.
New competitions and new grant awards followed over the years, allowing Partners to continue serving as the federally funded Texas PTI. In 2002 OSEP increased funding for the state of Texas as well as dividing the state into three regions. Partners Resource Network was awarded all three grant projects making possible the opening of regional offices in Lubbock and Houston, the hiring of additional staff, and the addition of new programs and services throughout the State. Parents in West Texas (which includes Amarillo , Lubbock and El Paso ) are served by the PEN Project. Houston , San Antonio , and the Rio Grande Valley are served by the Team Project, and the PATH Project serves Beaumont , central Texas , Dallas/Fort Worth and the eastern side of the state.
“The mission of Partners Resource Network is to empower parents in their various roles as parents, decision makers, and advocates for their children with special needs,” stated Janice Meyer, Executive Director. “We inform parents of their responsibilities as well as their rights, and we encourage them to work together as partners with professionals to help their children be successful at home, school, and the community. What makes us unique is that our agency is parent-run and parent driven. The majority of our staff and our Board are themselves, parents of children and adults with disabilities.”
Sheila Perry, an educator from Orange, Texas, serves as a professional member of the volunteer Board of Directors and is the current Board President. “I have known the founders, Janice and Michael Meyer, for over twenty years, and I am proud of what Partners has accomplished under their leadership. I knew Janice’s son, Jeff, who had Down Syndrome and who has been her inspiration for helping other parents.”
Meyer has a quick answer when asked about the next twenty years. “Of course, we plan to continue our work with families throughout the State, but we have some new plans, too. Partners has purchased property in South Jasper County on which to build a retreat center. We plan to offer summer camp, horse back riding, fishing, weekend family retreats, and sports programs for children with disabilities and their families. We are literally at the drawing board right now and hope to begin the first phase of construction sometime in 2007.”
For more information, call 1-800-866-4726 or visit www .partnerstx.org.
Positive Solutions for Families Brochure
The Center for Evidence-Based Practice: Young Children with Challenging Behavior (CEBP) has published a new brochure: "Positive Solutions for Families." The brochure provides examples of situations when challenging behavior might occur and offers tips for how to deal with them or prevent them from happening in the first place. Download the document at: http://challengingbehavior.fmhi.usf.edu/resources.html.
Postsecondary Options for Students with Intellectual Disabilities
This article by the Institute for Community Inclusion in Boston provides an overview of postsecondary models and different sources of funding that may be used to support students with intellectual disabilities. The document also provides research on current educational outcomes of students and recommendations on how to improve access to postsecondary education opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities. http://www.communityinclusion.org/article.php?article_id=178
Presentation Materials Available from "On the Road to Agreement ~ IDEA 04 & More: The Fourth National Symposium on Dispute Resolution in Special Education"
CADRE convened its fourth National Symposium at the Academy for Educational Development in Washington, D.C. on December 7-9, 2006. The event attracted over 240 participants from 48 states and territories. To view the presentation materials and other resources, click here: http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/conf2006/resources.cfm
Public Meetings on the new Federal Regulations for IDEA 2004
The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) will be hosting a series of community-based public meetings around the country from late September through November 2006. These meetings will serve two purposes: 1) provide the public with an opportunity to learn about the major concepts and principle changes in the new regulations and 2) help the public to learn about and obtain some of the many resources and supports available from OSERS to assist in the implementation of these regulations.
One of the public meetings will be held in Texas on November 2, 2006 from 5:00 – 9:00 pm at the Region 10 Education Service Center (ESC) in Richardson, Texas. The meeting will begin with a reception at which DOE Assistant Secretary John Hager and OSEP Director Alexa Posny will be available to meet with the attendees on an informal basis. The reception will be followed by a presentation about the regulations and the opportunity to ask questions about the regulations and OSERS' implementation plans.
Please note: This meeting is being held so that OSEP can provide information to the pubic. It is NOT designed as a forum for individual parents to discuss issues with their children’s educational programs.
Participants will receive two CD ROM’s: 1) the regulations and 2) a Tool Kit on Teaching and Assessing Students With Disabilities. Other material will be available in print form. All members of the community are encouraged to attend: parents, teachers, family members, local school administrators, community service representatives, related service providers, advocates, and others with an interest in education. There is no advanced registration and no cost. Registration will take place at the door. Interpreters will be available for individuals with hearing impairments. For further information, contact Tanya Kosinski at Tanya.Kosinski@ed.gov or 202-245-7407.
Other resources and supports available from OSERS include a dedicated Web site with an array of information on the IDEA 2004 Part B regulations, as well as video tapes, topical briefs, a list of OSERS-supported technical assistance centers, and a list of conferences and other meetings related to the implementation of the regulations. The new web site is: http://idea.ed.gov.
Reporting on State Assessment Data for Students with Disabilities: Synthesis of the 2007 NCEO Report
This In-Brief Policy Analysis is a synthesis of a detailed document produced by the National Center on Educational Outcomes in which they conducted nine analyses of the public reporting of state assessment results for students with disabilities. Results show that all 50 states reported some disaggregated general assessment results for students with disabilities; 36 reported participation and performance data for all general assessments; 12 reported participation and performance for some general assessments; and two reported only performance data for all tests. More states reported all assessment data publicly for assessments that are considered for NCLB accountability. This synthesis document summarizes assessment performance, trends and other information. Recommendations for reporting are given.View the document.
The Road to Freedom Cross-Country Bus Tour
The Road To Freedom is a national awareness campaign inspired by the historic journey of Justin and Yoshiko Dartto mobilize support for passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Our year-long, cross-country bus journey launched from Washington, DC on November 15th, 2006 and aims to engage audiences across the United States in the story of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the history of the disability rights movement. We hope to mobilize Americans to keep the promise of the ADA – freedom, inclusion, and opportunity for children and adults with physical, mental, cognitive and developmental disabilities.
Throughout this journey, national and state disability leaders will be joined by young people with disabilities, family members and others in a campaign to restore and strengthen the ADA. For more information, visit the Road to Freedom web site.
Secretary Spelling Announces New Special Education Regulations
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings has announced the final regulations for Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004. The final regulations further the president’s goal that no child-including each and every one of America’s many students with disabilities-is left behind. By aligning the IDEA regulations with the No Child Left Behind Act, there is a new focus on ensuring that students with disabilities are held to high expectations.
“Thirty years ago, America’s students with disabilities were for the first time assured access to public education by new laws passed by Congress, now called IDEA,” said Spellings, “Yet in those 30 years, too many students with disabilities have faced what President Bush calls ‘the soft bigotry of low expectations. Students with disabilities can meet high standards, as long as we adults have high expectations and hold them to these standards. Thanks to the No Child Left Behind Act, we are holding ourselves accountable for making sure students receive the education they deserve. And with these final regulations for IDEA aligned with No Child Left Behind, we ensuring that students with disabilities are challenged and prepared for successful lives.”
Two closely watched issues that are addressed in the new regulations are:
Highly qualified teachers: States may develop a separate, high, objective, uniform state standard of evaluation (or HOUSSE) specifically for special education teachers, provided it does not establish a lower standard for content knowledge than for regular education.
Diagnosis of learning disabilities: States may continue using the “severe discrepancy” method of diagnosing students with specific learning disabilities. However, states and districts are directed to use Response to Intervention (RTI) as part determining eligibility for special education services. RTI requires that all students be given a variety of interventions on difficult subjects. If a students still does not make progress, further investigation may be warranted, including evaluation for learning disabilities.
The new regulations will take effect October 13, 2006. The Department of Education has prepared a user-friendly package to help guide the public through these changes, including any analysis of the public’s comments, a summary of the major changes since publication of the proposed regulations, and several appendices, including an index and additional guidance for implementing the regulations.
To view the regulations: HTML Version or PDF Version.
Social Security Board Defines Disability
In its October 2003 report, "The Social Security Definition of Disability", the Social Security Advisory Board observed that, "The original Social Security disability programs were designed to serve those who had no realistic expectation of a return to the workforce because of a combination of severity of disability and attainment of near-retirement age." That report raised the question of whether or not the Social Security definition of disability facilitates an appropriate approach to supporting and enabling persons with disabilities.
After 3 years of intensive study of this question, the Board has issued a follow-up report outlining its vision of a disability system for the 21st century that is in alignment with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which proclaimed,"...the Nations's proper goals regarding individuals with disabilities are to assure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for such individuals..".
The Board's report is available now in a preliminary electronic version at: www.ssab.gov/Disability-System-for-the-21st-century.htm.
Article from FORUM, Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities.
The State Council for Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders has published the 2006 State Plan.
It's been sent to the executive level of elected and agency leadership, and will be on the Council's web site (www.autismcouncil.org) soon. Every two years, the Council develops a state plan that identifies and articulates the needs of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), as well as to recommend ways to meet those needs. The Council also makes recommendations to agencies providing services to persons with ASD, and advises the legislature about legislation needed to develop and maintain quality intervention and treatment services. In late 2005 and early 2006, the Council asked for suggestions from Texans to help them write the State Plan.
The state was divided into regions, and input was gathered and sent to the Council by Regional Chairpersons. As the Chairperson for the Waco regional area, I talked to a variety of people in McLennan and surrounding counties, and in January 2006 submitted a report based on comments and feedback.
Some key recommendations in the Council's 2006 Plan include:
- Establish a statewide resource center to coordinate and provide training, distribute information, research and best practices for educators, medical professionals, agency staff, and law enforcement personnel who deal with people with autism spectrum disorders;
- Require certification for educators with a specialization in autism spectrum disorders;
- Pass legislation to forbid insurance companies from denying coverage of testing or treatment for autism spectrum disorders;
- Create a Medicaid waiver for autism spectrum disorders, and more.
There's going to be a meeting in Waco on Saturday, December 16th, from 10 am to noon at ESC Region 12 to discuss any needs and issues not included in the Plan, any specific gaps or needs in the community that you would like the Council to integrate in its message to the legislature, or any other comments. The Council will have a public hearing in Austin on Thursday, January 11, 2007, from 10:30 - 3 pm in room E1.016 at the Capital. The Council will also have its quarterly meeting the next day (Friday), January 12, from 9 to 3 pm (location not yet determined).
If you'd like to contribute any comments, suggestions, or testimony directly to the Council, you can attend the hearing in Austin, or send written remarks to the Council:
Email Richard Garnett, Chair of the Council, at autismdocuments@yahoo.com or mail or fax your message to him at:
Texas Council on Autism and PDD
Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services
Mail Code W-578
P.O. Box 149030
Austin, Texas 78714-9030
Phone: 512-438-3512 // Fax: 512-438-5768
ESC Region 12 is located at Highway 6 (Loop 340) and Bagby in Waco, Texas.The web site at http://www.esc12.net/mapsandlocations/html/waco.htm has a map and driving directions, and their phone number is (254) 297-1212.
Tool Kit on Teaching and Assessing Students with Disabilities
The U. S. Department of Education has developed a Tool Kit on Teaching and Assessing Students with Disabilities (Tool Kit), which offers a compilation of current information that will move states forward in improving results for all students with disabilities. The Tool Kit will be added to over time to include more information designed to support states’ efforts and to communicate the results of research on teaching, learning, and assessments.
The Tool Kit brings together the most current and accurate information, including research briefs and resources designed to improve instruction, assessment, and accountability for students with disabilities in a format that is easy to access and to understand. The Tool Kit will assist state personnel, schools, and families in their efforts to ensure that all students with disabilities receive a quality education.
Primary access to the Tool Kit is through the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Ideas That Work Web site (http://OSEPIdeasThatWork.org). The Web site contains a table of contents that lists all Tool Kit resources and links to each of the items listed. Users will find a description of each resource, including its citation and target audience. The Web site contains the master list of Tool Kit documents and will be updated as new products become available.
Universally Designed Technology in Schools Online Training
With the support of the NEC Foundation, PACER Center has created a free online training to help teachers, administrators and other professionals, and families learn about and implement universally designed technology (UDT) in K-12 schools. UDT supports a broad range of abilities and learning styles. It can give students with disabilities equal access to the curriculum and help schools meet the educational needs of all students. For more info, go to: www.pacer.org/stc/udt .
