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MPACT ENews
July 31, 2012
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Greetings!
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Did you miss an issue of the MPACT ENews? Delete it by mistake? Wish you could find a past article? Well you can! To view current and past issues of the MPACT ENews visit our website at http://ptimpact.org/News.aspx |
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Online Trainings offered through MPACT
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MPACT has just added another online training to our resources, Extended School Year is now available along with:
- Special Education: What I Need to Know
- IDEA Transition Requirements
- Transition to Post Secondary Experiences (Part 1 & 2)
- Connecting Goals to Coordinated Activities and Services for Transition
- Transition Resources - Disability Disclosure
- Soft Skills
You can access them by going to our Training page and clicking on Online Training, or CLICK HERE .
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MPACT Parent Mentor Program
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MPACT Parent Mentors are available to offer support and guidance to parents of children with disabilities throughout the IEP process. Parent Mentors are volunteers who receive 24 hours of initial training, ongoing monthly training, and technical assistance from MPACT staff with regard to special education law, the IEP process, conflict resolution, and effective communication. Their goal is to help parents build a collaborative partnership with the school district so their child may receive an appropriate education. To view the list of current MPACT Parent Mentors, go to http://ptimpact.org/Volunteer/MentorList.aspx.
If your school district has had a MPACT Parent Mentor in attendance at an IEP meeting, please take a moment to complete a brief online survey located at http://ptimpact.org/Surveys.aspx if you have not already done so. A separate survey should be completed for each mentor who has provided services to parents in your district. These surveys assist MPACT and DESE with identifying and addressing areas of success and improvement with the Parent Mentor Program.
For more information about MPACT or if you have questions regarding the status of a Parent Mentor, please contact MPACT by telephone at (800) 743-7634 or by e-mail at info@ptimpact.org. You can also view the MPACT website at http://www.ptimpact.org.
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Check out What's New!
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Save the Date! 4th Annual MPACT Transition Summit
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October 9, 2012 at the Truman Office Building in Jefferson City, MO.
Registration will begin at 9am, Session and Keynote Speaker 10am-4pm. Lunch will be provided.
The Summit is a one-day learning experience designed for students who have disabilities, special education transition personnel and student teams, family members, case managers, VR counselors, and Centers for Independent Living personnel. Summit sessions are focused on the preparation of youth for transition to post-secondary education, employment, independent living and community experiences.
Cost:
- School teams of educator and student (each educator must be accompanied by at least one student) - FREE
- Family member with student - FREE
- Family member without student - $25.00 (limited to first 50 registered
- Professional only - $50.00 (limited to first 50 registered)
- Exhibitors - $75.00 (display table, lunch on your own or available for additional $10.00)
- Sponsorship: $125.00 (includes logo on t-shirt given to students, display table, and lunch)
- Organization logo on t-shirt: $75.00
Sessions presented will cover: Career soft skills development, self-determination, youth leadership, planning for college, as well as information about VR and CIL services, understanding ADA, Social Security and more...
Detailed agenda and registration information will be posted to our website soon.
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Proposed Changes to Part B State Plan
| The Office of Special Education, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, is proposing changes to the State regulations implementing Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The proposed changes are available for inspection until September 19, 2012, in the Office of the Assistant Commissioner, Office of Special Education, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 205 Jefferson Street, 4th floor, Jefferson Building, Jefferson City, MO 65102 during regular office hours and are also available on the office website at
http://dese.mo.gov/se/stateplan/proposedstateplan2012.html.
Public hearings will be held in August and details on date, time, and location will be posted when finalized. Written public comments on the proposed changes are being solicited and should be directed as follows no later than the close of business on August 31, 2012:
Bonnie Aaron, Director, Compliance
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
P.O. Box 480
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0480
Fax: 573-526-5946
Email: Idea.Comments@dese.mo.gov |
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Missouri Receives NCLB Waiver
| The U.S. Department of Education (USED) has approved Missouri's application for a waiver from key provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), commonly known as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The waiver will take effect with the 2012-2013 school year.
Missouri has long been a leader in education accountability. With the approval of the waiver, Missouri will now be able to focus on its own state-developed education standards and assisting schools in meeting those standards to successfully prepare students for the future.
Missouri's ESEA waiver:
- Implements more rigorous academic standards, more comprehensive teacher evaluation, and ambitious, but achievable, accountability measures.
- Creates one aligned system of accountability, reducing duplication and making more effective and efficient use of resources throughout the state.
- Eliminates the requirement of using 20 percent of Title I funds on supplemental educational services (SES) tutoring programs for students in low-performing schools and returns those funds for school improvement.
- Eliminates the adequate yearly progress (AYP) measure and ineffectual labeling of schools.
- Provides more accurate identification of schools in need of intervention and school supports.
- Improves the effective educational practices and professional development of teachers, principals and superintendents.
Obtaining the ESEA waiver is an important step for Missouri as it works to achieve its Top 10 by 20 Plan. The plan calls for Missouri to rank in the top 10 states nationwide in academic achievement by the year 2020.
More detailed information about Missouri's waiver, including the state's complete application, answers to frequently asked questions and a comparison between the requirements of the NCLB Act and Missouri's new accountability requirements, can be found at http://dese.mo.gov/qs/esea-waiver.html. |
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Missouri's Model Curriculum Project
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Model Curriculum units of study for English language arts and mathematics are now available to Missouri educators on the DESE website. These first units are designed to illustrate the needed shifts in instruction to support student success with the Common Core section of the new Missouri Core Academic Standards. The units posted represent the first phase of a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education curriculum project. The goal of this project is the development of a comprehensive curriculum in all content areas which addresses state and national standards.
The following information can be found at http://dese.mo.gov/ccr/modelcurriculum.html:
- Instructions for educator access to curriculum
- Opportunities to provide feedback
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Autism Spectrum Disorders: Guide to Evidence-based Interventions
| On July 11, 2012, the consensus publication Autism Spectrum Disorders: Guide to Evidence-based Interventions was formally released. This publication is the result of over 12 months of work from the Missouri Autism Guidelines Initiative, a group of 51 clinicians, professionals, state agency personnel, educators, and parents of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). The Office of Special Education and the Missouri Division of Developmental Disabilities in the Department of Mental Health along with Mercy Children's Hospital and the Missouri Foundation for Health partnered with the Thompson Foundation for Autism to develop these guidelines. This publication describes evidenced-based interventions for individuals with ASDs based on six recent nationally recognized systematic research reviews. The Guide provides information and tools to support individuals with ASDs and their families and to assist healthcare professionals, educators, and other community-based service providers in making informed decisions about selection, implementation, and monitoring of interventions.
The best practice guidelines may be ordered or downloaded at no cost by visiting: http://www.autismguidelines.dmh.missouri.gov/.
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New Meal Requirements for School Meals
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USDA has announced the new meal pattern and nutrition standards for school meals served through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. The new requirements are the first major change to school meals in 15 years. Information on the new standards is available at http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/Legislation/nutritionstandards.htm.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education School Food Services section will provide updates as they become available.
For additional information, please contact Karen Wooton, Coordinator, School Food Services, 573-751-3526.
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Prepare for 2012 National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) activities and observances. Held each October, NDEAM is a national campaign that raises awareness about disability employment issues and celebrates the many and varied contributions of America's workers with disabilities. This year's theme is "A Strong Workforce in an Inclusive Workforce: What Can You Do?"
For more information CLICK HERE.
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Updated IRIS Special Education Resources Now Available Online
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The IRIS Center provides high-quality special education resources for educators and other professionals about students with disabilities. The center's extensive collection of online Information Briefs has been completely updated and revised and many new categories are now available, including assistive technology, differentiated instruction, and reading strategies. http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/resources.html |
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Free MPACT Trainings
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MPACT trainings are provided free of charge to parents of children with disabilities. To sign up for an upcoming training, follow the links below, then click on the 'SIGNUP' button located next to the training name. Fill in your name, email address, phone number, the name ofthe training you wish to attend and the date it is being offered.
While registering for a training is not mandatory it does ensure that the trainer has an adequate amount of handouts. This also allows MPACT to contact you should a training need to be cancelled or rescheduled. To view a comprehensive list of all trainings provided by MPACT go to http://ptimpact.org/Training/Training.aspx.
Please be sure to double check the website training pages for any updates or changes to trainings offered.
Understanding the IEP Process for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
08/03/12 Joplin
Special Education Law
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Question? Comments? Suggestions? Send them to info@ptimpact.org or
contact the MPACT State Office at 1-800-743-7634. |
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