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The National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) and The Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) are excited to be hosting a joint conference that reflects the desired collaboration between local and state special education directors and their stakeholders. The conference will take place September 25-27, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency in Milwaukee, WI. Conference details, including registration information, will be posted soon. To view the final conference agenda, click here. For hotel reservations, click here. To register for the conference, please click here.
September 7, 2016: NASDSE extends its appreciation to the Gold and Silver sponsors at the NASDSE/CASE conference. (For more information about the conference please click here.) For more information about our Gold and Silver sponsors, click here.
August 15, 2016: There are four conference hotels you can choose from when making your reservations to attend the NASDSE/CASE annual conference:
August 1, 2016: Today NASDSE submitted comments in response to proposed accountability regulations for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). NASDSE strongly believes that subgroups progress should be measured against the state goal for that subgroup, not other students. Moreover we believe school data should take the form of a dashboard of information for all students, not a summative rating. For more information on an implementation timeline, N-sizes, timeline for English Language Learners, high school graduation and other topics, please see our full set of comments here.
July 25, 2016: Today NASDSE submitted comments in response to a proposed pilot program on Pay for Success from the Department of Education. Generally speaking, NASDSE has serious concerns about Pay for Success programs that target reductions in referrals for special education as a successful outcome indicator. We remain concern that by setting such goals, children who need special education services may not be referred for them. Please click here to see our comments.
June 3, 2016: Registration is now open for this fall’s joint NASDSE/CASE annual conference. Please click here for information about the conference.
May 19, 2016: NASDSE submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on significant disproportionality. NASDSE solicited feedback from the Part B State Directors, the Part B data managers and the 619 Coordinators in developing our comments. Click here to read our comments.
May 19, 2016: NASDSE recently submitted comments in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) from the U.S. Department of Education regarding the evaluation of virtual teacher preparation programs. The NPRM was a subset of an NPRM published more than a year ago on the evaluation of all teacher preparation programs. Click here to read our comments.
May 19, 2016: NASDSE recently submitted comments to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to ban the use of electrical stimulation devices used to treat self-injurious or agressive behavior. NASDSE supports the ban and urged the FDA to go further and ban the use of tasers in schools. Click here to read our letter.
March 22, 2016: NASDSE is pleased to announce a new publication, Surrogate Parents and Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, jointly published by the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) and NASDSE. To view and download a copy of this publication, please click here.
March 9, 2016: Professor Perry Zirkel has recently updated his 2014 document, Impartial Hearings Under the IDEA: Legal Issues and Answers. You can find the updated document by clicking here.
February 1, 2016: The NASDSE Board of Directors met on January 25th and adopted a Government Relations Agenda for 2016. While the Agenda will serve as a roadmap for the focus of NASDSE’s government relations work for this year, we remain flexible and will take on any additional issues that crop up that were not foreseen but are important to the state directors of special education, their teams and special education advocates. Click here to see the Agenda.
January 12, 2016: NASDSE recently submitted comments to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in response to a request for feedback on a draft paper on parent and family engagement. Click here to read our comments.
OCTOBER 2015: Just prior to NASDSE’s 77th Annual Conference and Business Meeting, the NASDSE Board of Directors adopted, and presented to the NASDSE membership a new Mission Statement for our organization that more closely reflects the work that the state directors of special education do every day.
NASDSE Mission Statement
(adopted October, 2015)
NASDSE’s mission is to work with state education agencies to ensure that all children and youth with disabilities receive the educational supports and services they need from birth to be prepared for post-school education, career and independent living choices.
NASDSE accomplishes its mission by establishing and maintaining relationships with those individuals and groups responsible for the development of policies, educational and other programs serving individuals with disabilities, and those responsible for implementation at the school, local district, state and national levels. NASDSE promotes leadership development through collaborative relationship building with these stakeholders based on its Leading by Convening initiative and strategies.