NEA: Special Education-IDEA -- Other Resources
Wed, 03 Jan 2007 05:00:00 GMT
Other Resources
Access Center Offers Free Collaborative Teaching Module
The Access Center, a federally-funded project of the U.S. Department of Education, has created Improving Access to the General Curriculum for Students with Disabilities Through Collaborative Teaching, a free on-line professional development module. It explores the definition of co-teaching, how co-teaching looks in the classroom, scheduling and planning issues, and the challenge of supervising and evaluating a co-teaching team. It can be modified to accommodate audiences of teachers, supervisors, and/or administrators.
Center Offers Resources to Meet Needs of Adopted Children
Adopted children need the support of informed adults who can guide their peers' understanding and acceptance of adoption. Teachers are the critical link to that assistance and the Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) has resources to help provide it.
How does a classroom teacher respond to questions about adoption? Should educators adjust lessons that focus on families to accommodate for children in the class who may be adopted? Are there programs that equip adopted children to respond to insensitive inquiries about their adoption?
For information on resources developed especially for teachers, visit the C.A.S.E. Web site here. Information on training programs for foster and adoptive parents, mental health professionals and child welfare workers is available here.
C.A.S.E. is a private, non-profit adoptive family support center. Its programs focus on helping children from a variety of foster care and adoptive backgrounds to receive understanding and support which will enable them to grow into successful, productive adults.
Assistive Technology Planner Offered as Aid to IEP Teams
A new resource is now available to help educators plan and implement appropriate assessment and instruction for students with disabilities.
The Assistive Technology Planner: From IEP Consideration to Classroom Implementation is intended to help IEP (Individual Education Plan) team members effectively implement assistive technology with students. The kit includes a user's guide, assistive implementation planning tool, and three individual planners tailored for classroom teachers, families, and administrators.
The Assistive Technology Planner is an outgrowth of successful practices used in 60+ school districts in 10 different states and based upon research funded by the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). The kit ($35 plus shipping) can be ordered from the Technology and Media Division of the Council for Exceptional Children (TAM).
NEA Partners Work to Improve Services to Students
NEA has finalized partnership agreements with the National Alliance of Pupil Service Organizations (NAPSO) and the IDEA Partnership, both of which work to improve services to and the quality of education for students with disabilities. More information about both groups and how to learn more about what each offers is available here.
Group Offers Tools for Articlesecondary Success
The National Alliance for Secondary Education and Transition (NASET) offers a toolkit to help districts evaluate and improve secondary education and better prepare all students, including those with disabilities, so they can succeed in the future.
Youthhood.org Helps Secondary Students Plan for Future
Secondary students with or without disabilities and their parents are invited to explore a new "neighborhood" designed just for them.
The Youthhood is a Web site that young adults and their teachers, parents, and mentors can use to plan for life after high school. Grounded in the principles of universal design, the site addresses the future planning needs of all youth. The Youthhood is sponsored by the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition at the University of Minnesota which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs.
NEA special education expert Patti Ralabate, who serves on the advisory board of the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition, said the new Web site offers "great online resources for students and their families to use as they begin to consider post-secondary school options." The NEA Professional Library offers another set of resources, "My Future, My Plan," specifically for secondary students with disabilities.
GAO: States Need Help to Meet NCLB Special Ed Requirements
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) - "the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of Congress" – has issued a report on "Additional Assistance and Better Coordination Needed among Education Offices to Help States Meet the NCLBA Teacher Requirements."
The report includes:
a summary of state certification requirements for special education teachers, including alternative routes, and how they relate to requirements of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as the "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) Act;
factors that facilitate or impede state efforts to help special education teachers meet the ESEA/NCLB requirements; and
an analysis of how different offices within the U.S. Education Department (USED) assist states in addressing these requirements.
Materials Show Disabilities from Societal Perspective
The Center for Human Rights promotes the classroom examination of disability in relation to history, culture, and society. At its Disability Studies for Teachers Web site, educators can find lesson plans, essays, and teaching materials that show disabilities from a societal, rather than medical perspective.
These resources are designed to help teachers integrate disability studies into social studies, history, literature, and related subjects in grades 6-12. The plans and materials also can be adapted for use in Articlesecondary education.
Consortium Launches 'Accessible Technologies' Project
The nonprofit Consortium for School Networking has launched a three-year initiative intended to demonstrate how greater collaboration and increased communication between school technology leaders and special-education departments can deliver the benefits of a technology-rich education to all students, including those with disabilities.
Through its "Accessible Technologies for All Students" initiative, CoSN will host a series of educational resources and professional development opportunities intended to facilitate the effective use of educational technology for all students, regardless of ability or disability.
Group Offers New 'LD Advocates Guide'
It is important for parents and educators to work with their elected representatives to make sure that their voices are heard in Washington, D.C. and at the state and local level. To help further these advocacy efforts, the National Center for Learning Disabilities has developed an LD Advocates Guide. The LD Advocates Guide seeks to explain how best to engage policymakers and the media on issues affecting the LD community. In addition to this step-by-step guidance, the Guide also provides a primer on key issues affecting the fields of learning disabilities and special education.
IDEA Implementation Report Issued
The U.S. Department of Education has issued the 24th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It covers data from the 2000-01 school year and includes data on special ed teacher quality, special ed spending, an analysis of links between child poverty and special needs, discussion on the use of developmental delay as a classification category for students aged 3-9 years, supply and demand issues for speech-language pathologists, social and behavioral problems of elementary and middle school students, high school graduation rates for students with disabilities, and many other interesting facts and figures.
You can download its four-page executive summary or the full 475-page report from a Department of Education Web site.
Technical Center Helps Schools
with Capacity-Building, School Climate
The US Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEPS) has established the Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) to "give schools capacity-building information and technical assistance for identifying, adapting, and sustaining effective school-wide disciplinary practices."
National Referral Service for Families, Professionals
The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities is a national information and referral center that provides information on disabilities and disability-related issues for families, educators and other professionals. This center was formerly known as the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) and is providing the same information and services as previously available.
U.S. Dept. of Education's Office of Special Education
The US Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) provides programs, services, and information designed to support children and youth with disabilities from birth through age 21. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) authorizes formula grants to states, and discretionary grants to institutions of higher education and other non-profit organizations to support research, demonstrations, technical assistance and dissemination, technology and personnel development, and parent-training and information centers.
The Council for Exceptional Children
The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving educational opportunity for individuals with exceptionalities, students with disabilities and/or the gifted. CEC advocates for appropriate governmental policies, sets professional standards, provides continual professional development, advocates for newly and historically underserved individuals with exceptionalities, and helps professionals obtain conditions and resources necessary for effective professional practice.
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NEA: Special Education-IDEA -- Other Resources
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