NASDSE Publishes New Document on the Role of Independent Hearing Officers
Noted IDEA legal scholar Perry Zirkel has teamed with NASDSE to publish a new Q&A on the role of Independent Hearing Officers. The article includes an updated review of IDEA law, regulations and OSEP policy letters. This document, Impartial Hearings under the IDEA: Legal Issues and Answers, is available for free downloading from our website. Click here to read and download the article.
LearningPort National Professional Development Library Launched!! - LearningPort is a national professional development library of learning modules, tool kits, archived webinars and video resources conceived by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to support the use of ARRA funds. It was developed through supplemental funds made available to NASDSE’s IDEA Partnership grant. Larry Wexler, Director of OSEP’s Research-to-Practice Division expressed the intent of the LearningPort website in this way: “We believe that after saving jobs, most school districts would use at least some of their ARRA funds to support the provision of professional development. As such, we wanted to develop a resource for states.” NASDSE is proud to be a part of this new initiative. To access LearningPort, go to: www.learningport.us or www.learningport.info.
NASDSE Updates its Government Relations Site -
We have recently updated our Government Relations web pages to include all of our recent letters to Congress and the U.S. Department of Education and policy statements. Click on the Government Relations tab to see our latest statements on Appropriations, ARRA, ESEA, IDEA and more.
NASDSE Urges Every Member of Congress to Write to Secretary Duncan - On Monday, March 29th, NASDSE wrote to every member of Congress urging them to contact Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and tell him to cancel a proposed data collection on comprehensive early intervening services and state determinations of local school districts. NASDSE believes that the proposed data collection is too costly at a time when school districts are laying off teachers and states are facing severe budget shortfalls. To read the letters to Congress, click here.
NASDSE Comments on Proposed OSEP Data Collection - NASDSE recently submitted comments to the Department of Education on a proposed data collection: Notice of Proposed Information Collection Request: Report on IDEA Part B Maintenance of Effort Reduction and Coordinated Early Intervening Services. NASDSE's comments reflect the belief that this data collection is cost prohibitive and will not contribute towards improved outcomes for children. Click here to access NASDSE's comments.
NASDSE Comments on the Obama Administration's Blueprint for Reform - NASDSE recently submitted comments to the Administration on the Department's "A Blueprint for Reform". Click here to access NASDSE's comments.
NASDSE Releases Priorities for the Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act - NASDSE recently released its priorities for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Click here to access NASDSE's priorities.
NASDSE Urges Congress to Support H.R. 4247
NASDSE recently wrote to all members of the U.S. House of Representatives urging them to support H.R. 4247, the "Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act." Click here to read the letter.
NASDSE Government Relations Priorities for 2010
NASDSE's Board of Directors adopted Government Relations priorities for 2010. The new priorities include:
IDEA implementation (and work on reauthorization principles)
ESEA reauthorization
FY11 appropriations
Data issues (includes SPP/ARR issues)
ARRA (economic recovery, jobs bill)
Seclusion and restraint legislation
Reauthorization of Workforce Investment Act
Health care reform
School choice (charter school/virtual school issues/vouchers)
Early childhood
Autism
Medicaid (special ed-related concerns)
Foster care
NASDSE Members Elect New President and Secretary-Treasurer at 72nd Annual Conference and Business Meeting
NASDSE members elected Marcia Harding, Director of Special Education for the State of Arkansas, to be their President for 2009-2010 and Stephanie Petska, Director of Special Education for the State for Wisconsin, to be their Secretary-Treasurer at the 72nd NASDSE Annual Conference, which took place in Salt Lake City, October 16-20th.
Other individuals who will serve on the NASDSE Board of Directors for the upcoming year include:
Bambi Lockman (FL), President-Elect
Mary Watson (NC), Past- President
and Members-at-Large:
Peg Brown-Clark (WY)
Colleen Riley (KS)
Kathy Clayton (TX)
Joseph Fisher (TN)
The NASDSE Conference, “We’re Better Together: Leadership Through the Practice of Community” highlighted the work that NASDSE’s IDEA Partnership has undertaken with its general education partners in states to improve outcomes for all students with a focus on students with disabilities.
Highlights of the conference included a special, prerecorded keynote address by Alexa Posny, the new Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) at the U.S. Department of Education as well as presentations by Lew Feldstein, co-author of Better Together, Kathy Christie, Chief of Staff, Education Commission of the States and a panel of experts from the Autism community. The conference closed with a special message from LeDerick Horne, a young adult advocate, speaking eloquently for those on whose behalf NASDSE members work – children and youth with disabilities.
NASDSE also presented special awards at the conference:
- The Martha J. Fields Award of Excellence was presented to Debra Price-Ellingstad for her work on behalf of NASDSE’s IDEA Partnership;
- The NASDSE Heritage Award was presented to former NASDSE president Jacquelyn Thompson; and
- The NASDSE R. Elwood Pace Humanitarian Award was presented to NASDSE Executive Director Bill East.
- A special award of recognition was given to John Copenhaver who is stepping down from his role as director of the Mountain Plains Regional Resource Center.
NASDSE Statement on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and Maintenance Effort
NASDSE's Board of Directors recently released a statement regarding the Maintenance of Effort with respect to IDEA funds by local school districts under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Click here to read and download a copy of this.
NASDSE Submits Comments on Proposed Data Collections
NASDSE recently submitted comments to the Department of Education for the following proposed data collection:
- NASDSE vehemently opposes the proposed data collection for the Comprehensive Early Intervening Services provided with funding from the ARRA Act due to the cost and because it duplicates other reporting and tracking required by the ARRA by OMB. To read NASDSE's comments, click here.
- NASDSE supported some of the proposed changes to the IDEA 618 data tables and made one recommendation for a change. To read NASDSE's comments, click here.
NASDSE Works!
NASDSE is pleased to launch its new enewsletter, NASDSE Works! Our quarterly electronic newsletter will highlight current NASDSE projects and activities. To read the current issue, click here.
NASDSE's RtI: Policy Considerations and Implementation
To order a copy of NASDSE's popular and national best-selling book on Response to Intervention - Response to Intervention: Policy Considerations and Implementation, click here.
Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention (RtI) and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades
This guide offers five specific recommendations to help educators identify struggling readers and implement evidence-based strategies to promote their reading achievement. Teachers and reading specialists can utilize these strategies to implement RtI and multi-tier intervention methods and frameworks at the classroom or school level. Recommendations cover how to screen students for reading problems, design a multi-tier intervention program, adjust instruction to help struggling readers, and monitor student progress. Click here to download a copy of this report.
Coalition for Community Schools Community Agenda for America's Public Schools
As a longtime supporter of the Coalition for Community Schools (www.communityschools.org), NASDSE is pleased to announce that the Coalition has developed a Community Agenda for America’s Public Schools. The Community Agenda is an action plan to ensure that all children enter school healthy, ready to learn and succeed. It prepares students to pursue post-secondary education and become productive family and community members. NASDSE is one of more than 120 organizations that have endorsed the Community Agenda. For more information, or to download a copy, please go to: http://www.communityschools.org/CCSDocuments/tsa_org_list.pdf.
National Implementation of Response to Intervention: Research Summary
A new research document has recently become available on Response to Intervention. This research study investigated current and projected statewide RtI initiatives. Every state that responded indicated that some work on RtI was underway - either in current practice or under development. To read and download a copy of National Implementation of Response to Intervention: Research Summary, click here.
Response to Intervention Blueprint Series
NASDSE is pleased to announce that two documents in its Response to Intervention (RtI) Blueprint series are available for free download and/or purchase of print copies. The two Blueprints, Response to Intervention Blueprints for Implementation: District Level and Response to Intervention Blueprints for Implementation: School Building Level, provide step-by-step implementation guidelines, resources and tips from RtI implementers with many years of experience. The Blueprints are intentionally designed to provide a framework around which RtI implementation can be built.
The Blueprints were developed jointly by NASDSE and the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE). To download a free copy of the District Level Blueprint, click here. To download a free copy of the School Building Level Blueprint, click here. Print copies of the Blueprints are available for just $10 each plus a small shipping and handling fee. To order print copies, please click here.
Please note that the final document in the series, the State Level Blueprint, will be available in the near future.
NASDSE Partners with New TA Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children
The National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) was recently selected as a Primary Partner by the newly funded Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children, also known as TACSEI. NASDSE is one of seven national associations that were asked to serve in the Primary Partner role. TACSEI is a continuation and expansion of the work of the national Center for Evidence-Based Practice, Young Children with Challenging Behavior (CEBP). For more information on this project, please visit its website at www.challengingbehavior.org.
RTI Action Network
NASDSE is a founding partner with a new Response to Intervention initiative - the RTI Action Network - launched by the National Council on Learning Disabilities. The RTI Action Network is uniting the public and private sectors with representatives from general education, special education and family groups to support the implementation of Response to Intervention (RTI) in school districts nationwide. Its cornerstone is RTINetwork.org, a web-based source of research-based information and expert guidance on Response to Intervention. To connect to this new resource, go to: www.rtinetwork.org.
New Charter School and Virtual Charter School Documents
The TA Customizer Project at NASDSE has just released two new documents - one on charter schools designed for students with disabilities and one on special education in virtual charter schools. Click here to download a copy of Charter Schools Designed for Children with Disabilities: An Initial Examination of Issues and Questions Raised by Julie F. Mead of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Click here to download a copy of Demystifying Special Education in Virtual Charter Schools by Lauren Morando Rhim and Julie Kowal of Public Impact.
In addition to these new Special Reports, many other resources on special education in charter schools are also available on the Project's website at www.uscharterschools.org/specialedprimers.
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