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The 8th National Community of Practice on School Behavioral Health and 16th Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health will be held in Charleston, South Carolina from September 21 to September 24, 2011. 

The Community meeting will take place on September 21 from 8:00 to 4:30. More than 100 participants are expected to attend, representing 15 states, 16 national organizations, and 9 technical assistance centers. This meeting will bring together key partners and coalitions that focus on mental health and education to work on their common agendas, build communication mechanisms and stimulate allied action. Watch for a summary of this meeting in the next edition of eNEWS .

This link will take you to the conference program for the 16th Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health.  

  News from Our Partner Organizations  

Education Commission of the States (ECS) 

• State-Set Limits on Superintendent Contracts
• This ECS report outlines state requirements for district superintendent contracts.
• State Anti-Bullying Policies: A National Landscape
• This presentation outlines anti-bullying policies in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
• Learning Time in America: Trends to Reform the American School Calendar
• This report by the ECS and the National Center on Time and Learning (NCTL) recommends revisiting the conventional school calendar in America and identifies federal, state and local initiatives to expand learning time for K-12 students.
• A State Policymaker's Guide to Expanding Learning Time
• This report provides a picture of successful efforts to expand or explore expansion of the traditional school calendar and recommended state actions. 
• Teacher Tenure or Continuing Contract Laws
•  This report updates a look at state teacher tenure and continuing contract laws. The document addresses modifications to state tenure or continuing contract policies.

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs' (OSEP): IDEA website

• IDEA Part B information 

Notice of proposed rulemaking (prepublication edition)

The U.S. Department of Education has released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRN) to amend the IDEA Part B regulations. The proposed change addresses when a state or local educational agency needs to obtain permission to use a child's or parent's public benefits such as Medicaid to pay for Part B services and administrative claiming. The NPRN will not be available for comment until it is officially posted in the Federal Register sometime in the next few weeks.

• IDEA Part C information 

The U.S. Department of Education announced the release of the final regulations for the Part C Infant and Toddler Program of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has announced an upcoming training opportunity on November 16th. More information about this training session can be found at http://idea.ed.gov/part-c/search/new 

 NOTE: The regulations will take effect 30 days from when they are published in the Federal Register, which the Department of Education says will occur within the next few weeks.

USA.Gov

The federal government's web portal, USA.gov, has a Back to School page that includes resources and tips to help students, parents and educators prepare for the new school year. 

DisabiulityConnect Application (APP)

This useful app, developed by NICHCY, can help find contact information for organizations that provide information on disabilities, special education, early intervention, support groups and much more. It is only available for Android smart phones.

 

& Dissemination Network

National Center for Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM)

AIM Center Website

AIM has produced a suite of products that provides basic information about accessible materials that parents, school personnel and other disability advocates will find useful.  

• AIM for Families and Advocates 
• AIM Factsheet for Parents  
• AIM Basics for Families  
• AIM for Families and Advocates  
• Provision of AIM via NIMAS and NIMAC    
• Right of Students to Receive AIM  
• AIM at School  
• AIM at Home    
• Assistive Technology     

AIM Navigator 

This is an interactive web-based tool that guides individuals step-by-step through the AIM-related needs of individual students.

National Center on RTI (NCRTI)

RTI for ELLs: Appropriately Using Screening and Progress Monitoring Tools to Improve Instructional Outcomes    

This brief from the NCRTI provides a framework for using response to intervention (RTI) with students who are English Language Learners from Hispanic backgrounds.

National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD)

NDPC-SD has released three new reports and a summary that examines issues related to school re-entry, some of the options available for youth to re-enter school, strategies for locating and re-enrolling out-of-school youth and the characteristics of some existing re-entry programs.   

Summary 

I. The Need for a Broad Range of Options

II. Strategies for Locating and Reenrolling 

III. Characteristics of Reentry Programs

National Early Childhood Technical Assistance center (NECTAC)

• The Outcomes of Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities and their Families 
• The Importance of Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities and their Families 

These fact sheets provide brief overviews of the Part C program and facts from the research on early brain development, the importance of intervening early, outcomes of early intervention and current unmet needs.

National Professional Development Center on Inclusion (NPDCI)

• Guide to Building Cross-Sector Professional Development Systems in Early Childhood

This updated guide was developed to support a cross-sector, state-level planning process that leads to a single, integrated, professional development system across early childhood.

• Competencies for Early Childhood Educators in the Context of Inclusion: Issues and Guidance for States

This concept paper identifies issues and provides guidance to states as they develop, revise and utilize early educator competencies in the context of inclusion.

Personnel Improvement Center (PIC) at NASDSE

• Special Education Personnel Preparation Partnerships: Collaborating for Success at the Local Level

This brief describes strategies and state-level supports that lead to successful collaboration between local school districts, Part C programs and personnel preparation programs.

• Special Education Personnel Preparation Partnerships: Program Features to Promote Recruitment and Retention

This policy brief describes programs that lead to successful recruitment and retention of personnel through preparation program partnerships.

• Recruiting Special Education Personnel Using Online Recruitment Systems

This brief describes how states and local programs are using online recruiting systems to attract, identify and select candidates that best fit their needs for qualified personnel.

Project Forum at NASDSE

• State Performance Plan Process and Indicators: A Policy Forum

This is a proceedings document from a policy forum conducted by OSEP in conjunction with NASDSE's Project Forum that brought stakeholders together to discuss potential revisions to the State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report indicators. The document includes a summary of the recommendations made at the forum.

• Systems for Reviewing Educational Data, including Special Education Information: Four State Approaches

This brief policy analysis describes how Kentucky, Missouri, New York and Virginia ensure a quality review process in their educational data systems.

News from Other Centers and Organizations

CASEY Foundation

2011 KIDS COUNT Data Book - How the Recession Has Impacted Children and Families  The 2011 KIDS COUNT Data Book provides current information about 10 key measures of child well-being over the last 20 years. This year's report looks at how the recession and the job and foreclosure crises have affected children and families, showing that the number of children living below the child poverty rate increased 18% between 2000 and 2009.

National Governors Association (NGA)

State Policies to Reengage Dropouts  

This issue briefidentifies four policy recommendationsto facilitate the re-engagement of out-of-schoolyouth:

• Set dropout reduction goals.
• Use data for dropout identification and development of targeted recovery strategies.
• Offer flexible school options for recovered dropouts.
• Consider financial incentives to focus on dropout recovery if resources are available.

National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention

School-Family Partnership Strategies to Enhance Children’s Social, Emotional and Academic Growth

This brief provides educators with strategies to promote children's social, emotional and academic development using school-family partnerships.

The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE)

The Common Core State Standards: Implications for Higher Education in the West

This brief outlines important challenges and implications of the Common Core State Standards for higher education.    

Think College

Emerging Scholars Program

This program will provide a $3,000 scholarship for up to five doctoral or post-doctoral students conducting research in the area of postsecondary education and intellectual disability. The link above provides complete information on the requirements of the program and how to apply.