|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MPACT ENews
October 15, 2012
|
|
|
|
|
Greetings!
|
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 |
|
Online Trainings offered through MPACT
|
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 .
|
|
 |
|
|
|
MPACT Parent Mentor Program
| |
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.
|
|
Missouri State School Board Meeting
| |
The Missouri State School Board will meet on Tuesday, October 16th beginning at 8:30am, at 205 Jefferson St, 1st Floor, Jefferson City, MO 65101.
On the agenda to be approved are the proposed changes to the Missouri State Plan for B.
To view an outline of proposed changes CLICK HERE.
|
|
|
|
Change in Guidance for Bus Discipline for Students with Disabilities
| |
Information regarding a change in guidance for bus discipline for students with disabilities as a result of the June 21, 2012, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) policy guidance letter to Sarzynski, can be found through an Administrative Memo posted at http://dese.mo.gov/am/se/.
The memo says in part, "For students with disabilities who have transportation as a related service on the IEP, any day of bus suspension will be counted as a day of OSS even if the student attends school that day because the parent made alternative arrangements to get the student to school. The OSEP guidance letter makes it clear that when any service required by a student's IEP is denied because of disciplinary action, it is considered OSS."
Please review the memo carefully and contact the Special Education Compliance Section of the Office of Special Education at 573-751-0699 or secompliance@dese.mo.gov if you have any questions.
|
|
Special Education District Profiles
| |
The preliminary Special Education District Profiles containing 2011-12 data are now available on the Missouri Comprehensive Data System (MCDS) Portal. These profiles will be posted on DESE's public website soon; therefore, it is essential that districts review the data and make any necessary corrections immediately via MOSIS. Corrections must be made by October 19.
To access the district profile, Go to DESE's home page (http://dese.mo.gov/index.html) and click on the MCDS Portal button. On the MCDS Portal's home page, click on "Secured Content" on the top blue banner. You will then be taken to the DESE Web Application Logon screen. This web page provides restricted access based upon User ID and Password validation. Once you have entered in a valid user id and password, you will be returned to the MCDS Portal's home page. Click on the Special Education button, then on "Special Education Documents" in the Quick Facts section.
A Special Education Profile Review Guide is available to assist districts with understanding and using the Profiles. The Guide is available at: http://dese.mo.gov/divspeced/DataCoord/DataReports.htm.
If you have comments or questions, please contact the Special Education Data Coordination Section at 573-751-7848 or email SpedData@dese.mo.gov.
|
|
Partners in Policymaking Application
| |
Partners in Policymaking (Partners) is an innovative national model of leadership training designed for adults with developmental disabilities and parents of young children with developmental disabilities. The program teaches leadership skills and the process of developing positive partnerships with elected officials, school personnel and other individuals who make policy decisions about services that you and/or your family use.
Partners is about systems change -- creating, working towards, and achieving a vision of shared values about people with disabilities. It is based on the belief that the most effective and enduring public policy decisions are made by the people who need and use services in partnership with elected officials and other policymakers. It is about becoming confident in oneself, competent in knowledge and information received, and comfortable in sharing the life experiences and expertise one brings to the program.
2013 Partners Application
|
|
Parent - Teacher Communication
| |
Parents' Guide to Student Success
http://www.pta.org/4446.htm
On parent-teacher communication.
Two resources from Eduguide to help parents establish a good working relationship with their child's teacher.
Nine questions to guide parent-teacher communication.
These 9 questions will help you get ready to meet with your child's teacher at the beginning of the school year or any time!
Advocating for your child with a disability: 9 rules of thumb.
It can be very difficult for parents of children with special educational needs to advocate calmly and objectively for the educational and related services their children need. Here are a few rules of thumb from Wrightslaw.
http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/advo.9rules.crabtree.htm
|
|
Early Childhood Education Links
|
The brain science of early childhood.
The neuroscientific research on the early brain is one of the most compelling bodies of evidence for investing in young children. Conveying this message broadly is critical to building support for early childhood policies and programs. Here's a range of tools (PowerPoint, videos, and one-page information briefs) to help non-scientists present information on early brain development and the importance of investing in early childhood programs.
http://www.readynation.org/brainscience/
5-minute video | How the brain develops executive functions.
In the brain, executive functioning refers to a group of skills that helps us focus on multiple streams of information at the same time, and revise plans as necessary. Acquiring the early building blocks of these skills is one of the most important and challenging tasks of the early childhood years.
http://tinyurl.com/8fxtl4o
Ready for Success: Creating Collaborative and Thoughtful Transitions into Kindergarten
A new brief from the Harvard Family Research Project, Ready for Success: Creating Collaborative and Thoughtful Transitions into Kindergarten (September 2012), discusses ways of helping to make the transition into kindergarten a positive experience that will serve as a foundation to help children enter school ready for success. The brief highlights promising practices in six states that support a variety of initiatives to ensure successful transitions into kindergarten.
|
|
Instruction, Access, Accommodations and more!
| |
Instructing Students With High-Incidence Disabilities in the General Education Classroom.
An online handbook from ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development).
Access to the general curriculum: Two online curricula.
Check out the materials for educators at the National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum (NCAC), especially the two multi-part curricula available on (1) effective classroom practices and (2) curriculum enhancements.
Accommodations and modifications for students with disabilities.
Accommodations in the classroom are essential for supporting student access to the general curriculum. Here are resources to consult for what accommodations to make for students with different disabilities.
From AD/HD to visual impairments.
We mentioned this NICHCY resource above, but it's worthy mentioning again. Connect with educator guides and tips for teachers for educating students with AD/HD, autism, behavioral/emotional disorders, hearing impairment, deafness, intellectual disabilities, traumatic brain injury, and visual impairment (including blindness).
Learning disabilities.
An incredible wealth of information is available online to he
lp teachers understand LD and support the learning needs of students with LD. Find out the best sources at:
Visual impairment.
Find a great list of accommodations and modifications to help students with visual impairments access the general curriculum in the broad areas of: instruction, materials, assignments, classroom testing, assistive technology, and the environment.
|
|
Celebrating 39 years of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
| |
Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, held a panel discussion with other senior administration officials to celebrate the 39th Anniversary of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in federal programs. As part of the event the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a new report, Disability Rights: Enforcement Highlights, a document that reviews OCR's work over the past three years to enforce Section 504.
To read the press release CLICK HERE.
To download the report CLICK HERE.
|
|
| |
ODEP Unveils Workplace Flexibility Toolkit
This week ODEP, in partnership with DOL's Women's Bureau, unveiled the Workplace Flexibility Toolkit, an online collection of resources to help employees, job seekers, employers, policymakers and researchers learn more about workplace flexibility, including flexibility around job tasks.
Upcoming Webinar to Explore How States can Assist Businesses in Employing People with DisabilitiesOn October 18, 2012, ODEP's Employer Assistance and Resource Network (EARN) will sponsor a webinar on how states can help businesses hire and retain people with disabilities. The webinar is one in a series being held in celebration of NDEAM and will take place from 2-2:30 EDT.
My Health-My Decision For information on "informed consent" and health care for individuals with intellectual disabilities, click here. Users can access My Health-My Decision, a training module developed by a team of self-advocates with support from the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Administration, to teach individuals how to become more in charge of their healthcare decisions, an agency guide, and a workbook for participants. "Informed Consent for Healthcare Decisions," a related training for families and staff, is also available. NCWD/Youth Videos By and For Youth Discuss Disclosure and Personal Assistance Services NCWD/Youth has posted eight videos for and by youth with disabilities. The 411 on Disability Disclosure video features youth with disabilities discussing how their decisions to disclose their disabilities have affected them at school, at work, and in social situations. This video is a companion to the publication, The 411 on Disability Disclosure: A Workbook for Youth with Disabilities . Three shorter video clips from the full video are also available online. In the video, Making Your Move to Managing Your Own Personal Assistance Services (PAS), youth share how they use personal assistance services (PAS) and what's involved in finding and managing their own services. This video is a companion to the publication, Making the Move to Managing Your Own Personal Assistance Services (PAS): A Toolkit for Youth with Disabilities Transitioning to Adulthood. Three shorter video clips from the full video are also available. |
|
Free MPACT Trainings
|
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.
Steps to Success Series:
Understand the IFSP Process
Understanding the IEP Process
Disagreement Resolution
The Art of Effective Advocacy
How to Write Measurable Goals 10/20/12 Union Writing Post Secondary Goals for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders 01/28/13 St. Louis Is Your Child the Target of Bullying?
12/06/12 Kennett.
Parents Facilitate, Youth Take Action
|
Question? Comments? Suggestions? Send them to info@ptimpact.org or
contact the MPACT State Office at 1-800-743-7634. |
|
|
|
|
|
