News from the IDEA Partnership   

The second major activity was creating CoP learning sites on five key shared issues that will be added to over time using the www.sharedwork.org wiki. Several key partners joined in creating and using this site to crosswalk transition issues with the agendas of their constituents.

News from Our Partner Organizations

Condition of Education 2011 

The report includes 50 indicators in five major areas -- education participation, learner outcomes, student effort and educational progress, the contexts of elementary and secondary education and the contexts of postsecondary education. 

U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights and

U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

Joint Dear Colleague letter of May 6, 2011 

The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice  released a joint Dear Colleague Letter reminding states and local education agencies (LEAs) of their responsibility under federal law to provide equal access to elementary and secondary public education regardless of citizenship or immigration status.  Pertinent federal laws are addressed and guidance is provided on proof of residency, birth certificates and social security numbers.

• ·Fact Sheet: Information on the Rights of All Children to Enroll in School 
• Questions and Answers for School Districts and Parents 

Office for Civil Rights (OCR)

Dear Colleague letters 

This guidance addresses the use of emerging technologies in elementary, secondary and postsecondary classrooms and answers questions generated by a June 2010 Dear Colleague letter regarding the use of electronic book readers and other technologies in educational settings.

• May 26, 2011 Dear Colleague Letter to elementary and secondary schools 
• May 26, 2011 Dear Colleague Letter to institutions of higher education 
• Frequently Asked Questions 
• June 29, 2010 Dear Colleague Letter 

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)

Q and A: Questions and Answers on Serving Children with Disabilities Placed by Their Parents at Private Schools 

This revised document addresses many questions associated with parental placement of children with disabilities in private schools.

NICHCY explains the use of tags on their new website

Many websites, blogs, and resource libraries organize content material using "tags," which are classification labels that help make searches useful. The www.nichcy.org website displays Tags on the upper right corner of each page of its website to aid users in finding what they are seeking. For example, the Children (3 to 22) page displays these tags: accommodations-classroom; child with a disability; effective practices; eligibility; evaluation; IDEA; IEP; Part B; placement; preschool; related services; special education; and transition to adulthood.

 

& Dissemination Network

Center on Instruction (COI)

Webinar: Taking a Look at the English Language Arts and Literacy Common Core State Standards: A COI Discussion 

This webinar provides an overview of the Common Core State Standards as they relate to English Language Arts and Literacy from kindergarten to college- and career-readiness.

National Center on Response to Intervention (NCRTI)

The Complex Ecology of Response to Intervention 

The NCRTI and the University of Kansas recently released a report with nine articles on various facets of RTI including its application at elementary, middle and high school levels. 

National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM)

The AIM Center has produced a series of videos to use in training families and practitioners on critical issues for effective student use of accessible instructional materials. They are available on YouTube.

• Introducing AIM to Students -- a 4-minute clip highlighting issues for teachers to consider when supporting students in the effective use of AIM
• Technology and Skills -- a 4-minute clip identifying how students and teachers can use technology to deliver accessible instructional materials  
• Self Advocacy and Postsecondary -- a 2-minute clip with tips for students on strategies for self-advocacy for technology and services to acquire and use AIM 
• Using AIM at Home -- a 3-minute clip where teachers and students discuss the benefits and challenges of using AIM at home and strategies and supports to overcome them

National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC)

The Importance of Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities and their Families: Fact Sheet 

This fact sheet provides a brief overview of the Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Program (Part C) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) program, quick facts from the research on early brain development, the importance of intervening early, the benefits of early intervention and current unmet needs for services. It is meant to be used as a tool to communicate with policymakers, pediatricians, families and community leaders about the importance of high quality services for infants and toddlers with or at risk for developmental delays and their families.

Center for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

Reducing the Effectiveness of Bullying Behavior in Schools 

This paper describes the challenge of implementing a positive behavioral interventions and support (PBIS) school-wide systemic frameworkfor the development of effective violence prevention strategies for all students.

Personnel Improvement Center (PIC)

The PIC has released four new Practice Briefs as part of its Spring 2011 Series: 

• What State Supply and Demand Studies Tell Us About Special Education Personnel Needs 

This brief describes how selected states are using personnel data collection, analysis and reporting to predict supply and demand needs for special education personnel.

• ·Information from National Data Sources Related to Personnel Shortages in Special Education and Related Services 

This brief describes national data sources that provide information on the supply and demand of special education and related service providers.

• Strategies for the Recruitment and Retention of Qualified Related Service Providers 

This brief describes the strategies states, local school districts and Part C programs are using to recruit and retain fully qualified related services personnel.

• Using Online Working Conditions Survey as a Means of Retaining Qualified Special  Education Personnel 

This brief describes how states and local school districts are using conditions surveys to both identify and address the issues that lead to personnel attrition in their schools.

News from Other Centers and Organizations

Alliance for Excellent Education

Engineering Solutions to the National Crisis in Literacy: How to Make Good on the Promise of the Common Core State Standards 

This policy brief describes how states and the federal govern­ment can work as partners in developing compre­hensive K-12 literacy plans aligned with the Com­mon Core State Standards in English/language artsand provide equita­ble resources and strong teacher training to local schools and districts.

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

• Child Nutrition Reauthorization 2010: Water Availability During National School Lunch Program Meal Service 
• Child Nutrition Reauthorization 2010: Nutrition Requirements for Fluid Milk 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has advised schools to start making free water and a variety of certain milk products available in conjunction with implementation of the  Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act, P.L. 111-296, which reauthorized  the National School Lunch Program.

Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services

Evidence-Based Practices for Children Exposed to Violence: A Selection From Federal Databases 

This report includes a matrix of 42 effective programs and 13 promising programs that address childhood exposure to violence. The matrix provides: a rating for each program; the age range for the children served; outcome indicators; and whether the program increased resilience, reduced trauma symptoms, or reduced incidence. A number of the programs target children under the age of 5.

Government Accountability Office (GAO)

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children: Federal Support for Developing Language and Literacy, GAO-11-357, May 25  

Full report 

Highlights  

In this report GAO examines the: (1) extent of hearing loss among children; (2) settings in which these children are educated; (3) factors that help deaf and hard of hearing children acquire language and literacy skills; and (4) challenges to providing appropriate interventions for these children.

Harvard Family Research Project and the National PTA

Teaching the Teachers: Preparing Educators to  Engage Families for Student Achievement 

This report is the third issue brief in a series about family engagement policy and practice. The report examines how teacher education programs can create the foundation for meaningful family engagement. It describes five core elements for a system of teacher training and professional development that support family engagement. The elements are distilled from case studies of five promising teacher preparation programs.

Urban Institute

Young Children of Immigrants and the Path to Educational Success 

The population of young children of immigrants doubled between 1990 and 2008, changing the demographic makeup of early childhood classrooms around the country. This new paper addresses the specific needs of young children of immigrants and looks at key questions about whether early childhood programs are doing a good job teaching these young children.