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• Sharedwork.org website

After many months of collaborative research, design and testing, the IDEA Partnership is ready to launch its new Sharedwork.org website. This website provides all the tools for Communities of Practice at the state and national levels and associated practice groups to collaborate, produce and store their shared work. New features include wikis, blogs, calendar and polling.

• 8th National Community of Practice on School Behavioral Health  

The 8th National Community of Practice on School Behavioral Health and 16th Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health was held September 21 to September 24, 2011. More than 100 participants attended, representing 15 states, 16 national organizations, and 9 technical assistance centers. This meeting brought 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. 

  News from Our Partner Organizations  

AASA

Special Edition on Bullying at School and Online

Developed in partnership with Education.com, this document offers resources and tools to help parents take an active role in addressing bullying.

Autism Society of America (ASA) and many others

Autism Internet Modules

Developed by the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI) in partnership with the Autism Society of America (ASA), the Nebraska Autism Spectrum Disorders Network, the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders and Toronto's Geneva Centre for Autism, this series of free online learning modules includes information on assessment and identification of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), recognizing and understanding behaviors and characteristics, transition to adulthood, employment and numerous evidence-based practices and interventions.

ESEA Flexibility

ESEA Flexibility FAQs

This document describes what people can expect from ESEA flexibility if granted by ED in response to a request by a state educational agency (SEA). Guidance, forms and other documents available on the ESEA Flexibility website (see above).

U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services

State Issues and Innovations in Creating Integrated Early Learning and Development Systems: A Follow-Up to Early Childhood 2010 - Innovations for the Next Generation   

The report examines efforts to build state-integrated early learning and development systems for children across six themes: leadership; data usage; quality improvement; community partnerships; physical and behavioral integration; and children with multiple risks.

Institute for Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics

The Condition of Education 2011

The 2011 report summarizes 50 indicators on the status and condition of education in five areas: (1) participation in education; (2) learner outcomes; (3) student effort and educational progress; (4) the contexts (e.g., expectations for student performance, the climate for learning, and characteristics of teachers, principals and staff) of elementary and secondary education; and (5) the contexts (e.g., expectations for student performance, the climate for learning, and characteristics of teachers, principals and staff) of postsecondary education. The webpage provides the report in several different file formats, including those for e-readers.

Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)

• Q and A: Questions and Answers on Secondary Transition

OSEP updated its guidance on identifying postsecondary goals in training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, independent living.

• Creating Equal Opportunities for Children and Youth to Participate in Physical Education and Extracurricular Athletics

This OSEP policy clarification document is an official initial response by the Department to the June 2010 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO-10-519) report noted below. The 20-page report contains a summary of suggestions to increase physical education and extracurricular athletic opportunities for students with disabilities including: accessibility, equipment, personnel preparation, teaching styles, management of behavior, program options, curriculum and assessment strategies (e.g., assessment instruments that compare the individual against herself or himself are able to measure both attainment and growth).

• U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)

Students with Disabilities: More Information and Guidance Could Improve Opportunities in Physical Education and Athletics. GAO-10-519 June 23, 2010

Highlights Page

Full Report 

All About the IEP 

This webpage provides a wealth of information about the specific contents of the IEP and can help parents, teachers, special instructional support personnel and administrators review the members of the IEP team, when and how the team should meet.

 

& Dissemination Network

Project Forum @ NASDSE

Children Who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing: State of the Educational Practices

This brief policy analysis is based on surveys sent to two groups of state officials: directors of special education and IDEA Part C coordinators. Analysis indicates some significant variations between and within the school-age and Part C programs.

Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children

Issue Brief: Promoting Social, Emotional and Behavioral Outcomes of Young Children Served under IDEA 

This document addresses the connection between behavior and learning and discusses how educators can support children with behavioral challenges.

Parent Technical Assistance Centers

OSEP Spanish Glossary Project   

A new Spanish glossary of educational terms related to the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is now available online. It was developed by the network of Parent Technical Assistance Centers to ensure that IDEA terms used in documents for parents are translated in a uniform and comprehensible way across states, geographical regions and communities of Spanish speakers.

National Center to Inform Policy and Practice in Special Education Professional Development (NCIPP)

Program Descriptions (web page)  

NCIPP created program descriptions of three innovative districts with long-standing induction programs targeted at beginning special education teachers. The program descriptions were the result of extensive interviews with mentors, beginning teachers, principals and program administrators, as well as program data analysis and videos of mentoring sessions.

National Center on Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE)

• Educating Our Children Together: A Sourcebook for Effective Family-School-Community Partnerships

The sourcebook includes guiding principles for family-school-community involvement, tips for getting started, a self-assessment tool to determine current practices and program descriptions that have been organized around eight interrelated strategies.

• Effective IEP Meetings: Tested Tips

This brief document offers suggestions for convening successful IEP meetings. It includes preparation tips for parents and educators.

Center on Instruction

Webinar: Exploring the New National Research Council's "Framework for K-12 Science Education"    

The webinar description highlights instructional approaches that have implications for the implementation of science in every state and the development of a whole new set of science standards for K-12 education.

• Archived webinar 

• National Research Council: Source document: Framework for K-12 Science Education 

The Framework document is the first step towards creating new standards in K-12 science education and represents an evolutionary step forward for science teaching and learning.

• PPT: Exploring the New National Research Council's "Framework for K-12 Science Education" 

Center on Instruction, the National High School Center and the National Center on Response to Intervention (RTI)

Tiered Interventions in High Schools

This report provides a brief description of the RTI framework and the essential components of RTI, illustrates how the essential components of RTI are implemented at eight schools and highlights factors unique to high schools as well as how these factors can affect school-level implementation of tiered interventions.

Center on Innovation and Improvement

Handbook on Family and Community Engagement

The handbook delves into family engagement as it relates to positive school communities, social, emotional and academic learning, effective data sharing, community schools and successful school turnaround.

News from Other Centers and Organizations

Facilitating Individualized Interventions to Address Challenging Behavior: Toolkit 

Preschool Education: Delivering on the Promise for Latino Children 

The Standards for Mathematical Practice 

National Bullying Prevention Center