APRIL 3, 2014: NASDSE's IDEA Partnership Publishes New Document on Leading by Convening: For more than 15 years, NASDSE's IDEA Partnership has been working across groups and building learning partnerships around critical issues. NASDSE is continuing to advance this work using this new tool from the IDEA Partnership, Leading by Convening: A Blueprint for Authentic Engagement.

This resource was developed by stakeholders for state education agencies and local districts to harness the incredible power of engagement. In the Blueprint, stakeholders have told us how they want to be engaged as allies in practice change. They invite us to involve them and use their deep and durable connections to make change stick!

The Blueprint can be downloaded from the IDEA Partnership's website at http://www.ideapartnership.org/building-connections/the-partnership-way.html. Information for purchasing hard copies of the document can be found here: http://www.ideapartnership.org/documents/NovUploads/Blueprint%20USB/Order%20Form%20Leading%20by%20Convening.pdf.

 

APRIL 3, 2014: NASDSE has written a letter to Rep. Kline, Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives' Education and the Workforce Committee and Rep. George Miller, the ranking member of the Committee, in support of new, bipartisan charter school legislation introduced on April 1st. NASDSE is particularly pleased that this bill calls on charter schools to work to both enroll and retain students with disabilities. This legislation represents a bipartisan commitment to this issue. For a copy of the letter, click here.

 

MARCH 25, 2014: Professor Perry Zirkel has updated one of his earier articles, Longitudinal Trends in Impartial Hearings under the IDEA. The new document includes an informative appendix in addition to the updated article. The new document highlights changes from the previous document for easy reviewing.

 

FEBRUARY 5, 2014: At its January 30-31 Board of Directors Meeting, the NASDSE Board appointed John Eisenberg, Director of Special Education for the Commonwealth of Virginia to the NASDSE Board of Directors to fill a vacancy made by the resignation of Cathy Boshamer.

 

FEBRUARY 5, 2014: At its January 30-31 Board of Directors Meeting, the NASDSE Board adopted a Government Relations Agenda for 2014. View the Agenda here.

  

JANUARY 21, 2014::Professor Perry Zirkel has updated an article that was posted to our webstie last year, Impartial Hearings Under the IDEA: Legal Issues and Answers. The new document highlights changes from the previous document.

 

JANUARY 3, 2014: With the end of 2013, came the end of NASDSE's long-standing Personnel Improvement Center, which has been a fixture here at NASDSE for the past 10 years. We are sad to announce the retirement of the Center's one and only director, Phoebe Gillespie, but we know that retirement will bring her new opportunities to focus on all those things that traveling around the country for the last ten years has left little time for. Phoebe, NASDSE thanks you for a job well done. For now, the Center's website, www.personnelcenter.org, will remain up, however, it will not be updated as it has been in the past. Even without regular updates, we believe that the website remains a great place for those interested in pursuing a career in special education to start their research.

Also check out the latest document published by the Center, The Federal Investment in Personnel  Preparation for Special Educatiors by clicking here.

 

JANUARY 3, 2014: NASDSE recently submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Education on two important issues:

(1)  Proposed priorities for charter school initiatives. Click here to read NASDSE's  comments.

(2)  The Office of Civil Rights (OCR)'s proposed school survey for 2013-14 and 2015-16. Click here to read NASDSE's comments.

 

OCTOBER 22, 2013: NASDSE recently submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Education on two important issues:

(1)  The Department's proposed rescission of the use of and alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (the '2%' assessment) and

(2)  The Department's proposed strategic plan.

To view the letters, click here.

 

OCTOBER 18, 2013: NASDSE's Board: At NASDSE's recently concluded 75th Annual Conference and Business Meeting, which took place in Atlanta October 5-8, members chose a new Board of Directors to lead the organization for 2013-14. The Board members are: