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CASE
For most of us, today is a holiday. Presidents' Day started out as an honoring of the U.S. first president, George Washington's birthday — Feb. 22. The tradition began in 1800, the year after his death in 1799. There was a big celebration in 1832 at the centennial of his birth. It was in 1848 when the construction of the Washington Monument was begun. President Richard Nixon signed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act in 1968 which combined the celebration of Presidents Washington and Lincoln's birthdays on the third Monday of February, though on the federal calendars, it is still listed as President Washington's birthday. In some places, the day is used to celebrate all U.S. presidents but for most, it is another patriotic Monday holiday that creates those glorious long weekends!
Speaking of presidents, did you vote in the CASE election? The electronic ballots went out Monday, Feb. 13. The CASE election is for the office of secretary. Every office is an important office but this one is one that requires a great deal of attention to detail and can be grueling during our marathon executive committee and board meetings! According to the CASE constitution, "the Secretary shall keep accurate minutes of all meetings of CASE and of all meetings of the Executive Committee. He/She shall carry on correspondence as necessary in regard to matters delegated by the President and shall elicit, present and record proposals for establishing or revising the CASE Articles of Incorporation, CASE Constitution and By-Laws, CASE policies, and the CASE Policy Manual. The Secretary shall coordinate, maintain and disseminate amendments to and an updated copy of the Articles of Incorporation and CASE Constitution and By-Laws. The Secretary shall have the option of appointing Ad Hoc committees as needed to fulfill these responsibilities."
If you were a member of CEC/CASE on Feb. 7, 2017 then you should have received your ballot in your email Monday evening, Feb. 13, 2017. There are two candidates — Jenifer Cline (MT) and Butch Stevens (MS) for the one office. It will not take you long to read their bios and view their campaign flyers. Please take a few moments to check out this information and vote. If you cannot find your ballot and you believe you are a member of CASE/CEC, contact me as soon as possible so we can check on the reason you didn't get a ballot.
Speaking of member benefits — Stay Informed: Congress, the Trump Administration and now the Supreme Court — On March 1 from 7-8 p.m. Eastern, CEC is hosting a complimentary member-only webinar: How the Supreme Court May Change Your Practice. This informative webinar will provide a full understanding for the practitioner concerning the Endrew vs. Douglas County School District case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court. Learn more and register. But remember, it is a members only opportunity! Not a member of CEC/CASE? Why not join now!
Last chance to be a virtual site for the CASE Hybrid! The sessions for this year's hybrid are truly amazing! This year's hybrid is one that I think local districts really need to participate in. With all the changes occurring, local districts are going to need to collaborate to find the best solutions for your students and staff. Mental Health relief is probably not going to be on the radar for a while so it is up to us to create the safe environments needed for our students so all students can learn. We know it is difficult to get teams to travel and yet it is teams that are needed to catch the vision, create an action plan, and carry it out! The Hybrid is a perfect solution: you provide the place, you send out the invitations, we provide the experts! And who can beat the price — the cost of one registration! We already have over 30 states participating but there is no limit to how many virtual sites we can accommodate. Even if you only get 5 folks in the room — representing your mental health providers, your elementary, middle and high schools, and others — what a core to start the spark to start the fire! You do not have to do this alone! But we do need you to register so we can send you all the tools you will need to have a successful event! The Hints are a great way to see what is involved.
Tied up on Thursday and Friday, Feb. 23-24? Then why not get the DVD — it will be mailed to you in about 6-8 weeks after the event and then you can show it one section at a time throughout the year; check it out to individuals; or show it all in tact! It is yours to use as often and with whomever you wish! Of course if you choose the other two options, you can also get the DVD for just $39.95 ($30 and $9.95 for S & H) Our Speakers are the top in their field and will have great immediate take-aways for you! The detailed session descriptions might help you make up your mind! Don't miss this opportunity to make a huge impact on your school, district, region in the area of Mental Health and Legal issues!
CASE NIGHT tickets are going fast! It is so hard to believe it is already Feb. 20 and CASE Night tickets went on sale Feb. 1. We are so excited to be in Boston this year and know you are going to want to join your colleagues for a night of great food, fun, and excitement at the New England Aquarium. The tickets are just $65 because of the amazing contribution our sponsors are making! Special thanks go to Star Autism, Education Modified, C-8 Sciences and Winsor Learning! You do not want to let this event to sell out so get your tickets today! Early bird is over now for CEC but you can still get registered! The CEC convention in Boston is going to be amazing and a wonderful place to hear the cutting edge resources you need to take back to your district! Not only will CASE Night be wonderful but make sure you come in on Tuesday so you can join us for a fantastic breakfast on Wednesday morning just before our joint member/board meeting. We will catch you up on all the great things CASE is doing, ask for your input on our next steps, and of course we will also be announcing our new secretary as well as our unit and individual awards. You do not want to miss any of the CASE activities at CEC! Not a member of CEC? Why not join now!
The question last week was "my definition of political action is..." First place at 45 percent was at least 50 percent of the list. At second with 36 percent was all of the above. Third place was a tie at 9 percent between writing/emailing my representatives offices and answering Call to Actions from my association. It is great that so many of us are being politically active but we can all do better for our children and staff! Remember it is just as important to be involved at the local and state/provincial level as it is at the national level Just as a reminder, you can sign up to receive CEC Call to Actions!
Thank you again for all you do every day for so many!
Luann Purcell
Executive Director
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CASE
This regular update highlights new legal developments of major significance of special education leaders.
As a service to CASE members, this periodic legal alert provides, as a two-column table, highlights and practical implications of major new legal developments. Here are my top three items for this issue of the CASE Weekly Update.
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k12engagement.unl.edu
The Student Engagement Project provides information and resources for educators seeking evidence-based strategies for students, especially students with disabilities. The ultimate goal of the project is to assist educators in reducing school dropout, as well as the use of traditional exclusionary discipline strategies. To this end, the Student Engagement Project team has created over 80 strategy briefs and related documents to assist educators in working with students. Each strategy brief contains information culled from the voluminous educational research literature and distilled into short practitioner-friendly documents intended for the audience of teachers and school administrators. For example, the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports strategy brief outlines the literature supporting its use and includes guidelines for implementation in schools or districts.
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University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Early childhood teachers and caregivers encounter a wide range of behaviors in preschool-age children, with many public preschool programs serving children who are already at-risk for behavior problems due to a disability or low socio-economic status. Supporting the social and emotional development of preschoolers has gained significant attention in the past 20 years. Recently, researchers have found that expulsion rates of preschoolers are higher than that of elementary and secondary students. The Teaching Pyramid Model, more recently referred to as the Pyramid Model, is a comprehensive, multi-tiered framework of evidence-based practices that promote the social, emotional, and behavioral development of young children. The Pyramid Model focuses on promoting positive behavior and addressing challenging behavior.
Click on the following link for more information on The Pyramid Model of Early Childhood Education: (http://k12engagement.unl.edu/pyramid-model). Then click on the red button to download the pdf and read more. Find Strategy Briefs on over forty other topics at: http://k12engagement.unl.edu.
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CCSSO
In October 2015, the National Policy Board for Educational Administration adopted the new Professional Standards for Educational Leaders 2015 (PSEL 2015). These standards replace the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium Standards that have shaped the landscape of educational leadership for the last 20 years. PSEL 2015 defines leadership effectiveness in terms of the academic success and well-being of each student, drawing attention
to students whose needs may require a more intentional focus on leadership development.
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U.S. Department of Education
The sixty minute webinar, which has been pre-recorded for transcription purposes is available on the Office of Innovation and Improvement's website. In addition to the webinar, the transcript and presentation slides are also be available.
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Office of Special Education Programs
Happy New Year and all the best for a productive and rewarding 2017! We have shared a great number of releases with you over the past couple of months, which may have been difficult to keep up with around the holidays. For ease of reference, we have compiled the resources, guidance, and other documents in one place.
- The Department released several documents related to the rights of students with disabilities attending public charter schools, including a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), a Know Your Rights factsheet, and FAQ documents relating to Section 504 and IDEA. Stay tuned for details on a webinar presenting the guidance package, available next week!
- Alongside the charter schools documents, the Department released guidance and resources related to Restraint and Seclusion.
- The Equity in IDEA final rule was published. Visit the OSERS webpage for additional resources. OSERS has also created a mailbox to accept your questions on the regulations: SignificantDisproportionalityRule@ed.gov.
- The Department also made several announcements related to ESSA, including updates and resources on the Assessments final rule and peer review process. The Office of State Support debuted a webinar series on January 8th, which walks states through the ESSA Consolidated State Plan. The recorded webinars will be posted on ED's ESSA Resource page. The first in the series is available here.
- New ESSA guidance was released regarding the ESSA Consolidated State Plan, ESSA State and Local Report Cards, and ESSA High School Graduation Rate.
- Finally, we made you aware of a request for public comment on the Office of Civil Rights' initial proposal for the 2017-2018 Civil Rights Data Collection, which was published in the Federal Register on Dec. 30, 2016. The supporting statements and attachment, found here, layout the changes and ask directed questions related to 1) computer science; 2) student access to bandwidth; 3) adding Puerto Rico, Guam, and other territories to the collection; and 4) the treatment of students with disabilities placed in private settings. The comment period will be open through Feb. 28.
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Lehigh University
Lehigh University's intensive one-week institute provides a practical analysis of legislation, regulations, and court decisions relating to the education of students with disabilities. The symposium is designed for special education coordinators and teachers, principals, psychologists, parent advocates, charter school personnel, attorneys (on both sides), hearing officers, state education agency personnel, and other individuals interested in a thorough exploration of the special education legal landscape.
The program offers two parallel tracks, one for basic that offers in-depth foundation knowledge about the IDEA and Section 504: eligibility, FAPE, LRE, student discipline, and remedies. The other track is for advanced participants, offering brand new "hot topics," such as child find nuances, pending Supreme Court cases, the behavioral legal alphabet soup, current parental participation parameters, and settlement strategies.
Included in the symposium is a separable two-day (June 22-23) training for school district Section 504 coordinators, including the latest litigated Section 504 disputes, an in-depth comparison of the IDEA and Section 504, and a "nuts and bolts" how-to session about how to appropriately and effectively implement Section 504.
The experienced program faculty features attorneys Laura Anthony (Ohio), Maria Blaeuer (Maryland), Laura Gillis (Massachusetts), Michele Kule-Korgood (New York), Isabel Machado (New Jersey), Deborah Mattison (Alabama), Michael Stafford (Delaware), Jennifer Valverdi (New Jersey), Mark Weber (Illinois), and — from Pennsylvania — Jeffrey Champagne, William Culleton, Andrew Faust, Hollie John, Dennis McAndrews, Brooke Say, Gabrielle Sereni, and Dr. Perry Zirkel. Additionally, the 504 Institute features long-time Section 504 coordinator Lisa Hardcastle (Texas).
The symposium begins on Sunday evening with a dinner and keynote lecture, and it concludes on Friday with Dr. Zirkel's National Case Law Update and Crystal Ball.
The Symposium is offered with the options of graduate or continuing education credit for week-long participants. Shorter, including daily, registrations are also available. Click here for full information. For any questions, email or call Shannon Weber or Donna Johnson at specialedlaw@lehigh.edu or (610) 758-5557.
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MHS has been a leading publisher of scientifically validated assessments for over 30 years. We are proud of the high quality our assessments stand for.
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NFB
Program begins: Nov. 1, 2016
Deadline: Midnight, EST, March 31
- $12,000 Scholarship, "The Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship," and
- 1 scholarship for $10,000
- 2 scholarships for $8,000 each
- 4 scholarships for $5,000 each
- 22 scholarships for $3,000 each
- PLUS other gifts to our thirty scholarship finalists!
Are you a legally blind high school senior or college student?
Go to: www.nfb.org/scholarships
To Apply: During the five-month open period, read the rules and the Submission Checklist, complete the official 2017 Scholarship Application Form (online or in print), supply all required documents, and request and complete one interview by an NFB affiliate president. Read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page for more information.
Questions? Contact the NFB Scholarship Program; Chairperson Patti Chang, Esq., at:
Email: Scholarships@nfb.org
Office: (410) 659-9314, ext. 2415, (8 a.m.–5 p.m. EST)
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NCRTM
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities continues to be higher than for those without disabilities. In 2015, the unemployment rate for persons with disabilities ages 16 and older was 10.7 percent, compared to a 5.1 percent unemployment rate for persons without a disability ages 16 and older. However, recent employment data for Americans with disabilities does show signs of improvement.
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CEC Policy Insider
Jane Quenneville, CEC Board Member, was invited to a meeting at the White House for a parent-teacher listening session. Quenneville, among other attendees including parents and teachers, met with President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, and top advisor Stephen Miller in the Roosevelt room at the White House.
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CEC Policy Insider
Subcommittees for the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions and House Education and Workforce have announced their subcommittee members for 115th Congress.
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CEC Policy Insider
The Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education of the Education and the Workforce Committee recently held a hearing titled "Helping Students Succeed Through the Power of School Choice."
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CEC Policy Insider
The CEEDAR Center has two valuable resources to prepare principals to meet the needs of students with disabilities. The first resource, in collaboration with the Council of Chief State School Officers, PSEL 2015 and Promotion Principal Leadership for the Success of Students with Disabilities is designed to help State Education Agency personnel facilitate building inclusive school districts with the PSEL (Professional Standards for Educational Leaders) 2015 framework.
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CEC Policy Insider
Join us at the 2017 Special Education Legislative Summit! 2017 SELS will be held in Alexandria, VA and Washington, D.C. from July 9-12. Register today to make sure CEC's voice is loud and clear, this year more then ever. We hope to see you there!
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CEC Policy Insider
We're really stuck on the idea of you coming to CEC 2017 in Boston! So show yourself some love and register for CEC 2017 and maybe a convention workshop, too! The Convention & Expo has so much to offer from content-focused strands to Teacher2Teacher sessions.
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| | HOT TOPIC: SUBJECT LINE FEATURED STORY |
By: Savanna Flakes
 In a supportive, inclusive community, all students are valued members of a welcoming and responsive learning community. The teacher proactively cultivates community with and among students. Meaningful cooperative learning teaches students to be proactive learners, increases academic discourse and provides opportunities to build a positive classroom community. Try one of these three community-building and cooperative learning strategies today.
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Disability Scoop
Lawmakers are demanding answers from the U.S. Department of Education after a key government special education website went down. In a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said they want a "detailed explanation" about the failure of a federal website housing comprehensive information on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
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Education Week
As state legislative sessions forge ahead, you'll start to see states' Every Student Succeeds Act accountability plans vetted by lawmakers as the new law requires. Unlike for waivers from ESSA's predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act, or applications for the Race to the Top program, the federal government requires state boards of education to show that state education agencies have conducted "meaningful" consultation with state legislatures over their ESSA plans. In addition, governors have 30 days to review a plan before it's submitted to the federal Department of Education.
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THE Journal
On the same day that Betsy DeVos spoke to her staff as the new head of the United States Department of Education, a member of Congress from Kentucky who spent years living off the grid with his family and is a favorite of the Tea Party has introduced a bill to eliminate the department altogether.
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The Washington Post
A new survey of school district leaders across the country finds that they are deeply worried that Republican proposals to refinance Medicaid, if they become law, would hurt students who live in poverty and those with disabilities and in special education. A big cut in Medicaid spending would mean, the survey report said, that many districts would have to furlough or lay off school personnel, that the percentage of uninsured children could go from 12 percent to an estimated 21 percent or higher, and critical benefits could be eliminated. Furthermore, new local tax levies or requests for higher taxes could result in an effort to make up for lost funding to special education programs and health services for students in poverty.
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People For the American Way
During her confirmation hearing for secretary of education, Betsy DeVos was utterly unprepared to answer questions about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which covers nearly 6.5 million students across the country. Although DeVos is unqualified for the position, she is now in charge of IDEA and these students' learning. When misapplication of IDEA denies students with disabilities their right to education, concerned parents and students rely on judges to properly uphold the education law — unless the judge is Neil Gorsuch.
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THE Journal
As supporters and opponents of President Donald Trump's choice for education secretary decide what the department will look like with Betsy DeVos at the helm, a powerful Congressional committee is pushing forward with a rollback of new rules put in place as part of the Every Student Succeeds Act and the Higher Education Act. The U.S. House of Representatives Rules Committee met to consider "congressional disapproval" of two rules, one related to teacher preparation programs and the other related to accountability and state education plans. Both rules were put into place in the final days of the Obama administration under previous Education Secretary John King Jr. to clarify how to implement certain portions of those laws.
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Cronkite News
An Arizona legislator wants to create a dyslexia handbook to distribute to traditional public and charter schools. Rep. Jill Norgaard said students with reading disabilities are more likely to drop out of school. Dyslexics are nearly twice as likely as other students to drop out of school according to a 2012 study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Norgaard, a Republican representing Chandler, sponsored the bill. The Senate is now considering a bill passed by the House Education Committee that would mean more consistent help for students with dyslexia, a learning disorder making it difficult to read and interpret words.
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Medical Xpress
Children with a communication disorder such as autism have poorer sleep, compounding the existing language issues that result from such conditions, according to a new study from City, University of London. The study, which is published in the International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, is one of the first to document sleep behaviors in children with language impairment, and to look at the relationship between language and sleep.
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The Washington Post
Arlington County parent Ryan Donmoyer has two children at Williamsburg Middle School, one of the most affluent and high-performing public schools in Northern Virginia. Families are usually happy with such a favored place, but Donmoyer and several other parents are objecting to a planned block class schedule with no proven learning benefits. Usually such protests fail after a few heated meetings and angry letters to the school board, particularly if the principal and the superintendent support the change, as they do for Williamsburg.
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Education World
It's been about 10 years since the idea of flipping classrooms first gained its soaring popularity and good reviews — and in that time it's also apparently grown to help students with special needs. Greg Green, perhaps the best-known administrator advocating for flipped classrooms, discovered the process (providing students with lessons at home in videos and then homework and support in the classroom) as he began his career — working in special education.
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Edutopia
Over the last few decades, the use of comprehension strategies to help students read has become increasingly popular. Unlike traditional reading skills that support word reading, such as phonemic awareness and vocabulary, comprehension strategies help students become active, self-regulated thinkers about the meanings of texts that they are reading.
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MindShift
Michelle Manes has taught math in almost every setting. She taught public high school students, deaf elementary school students, and middle school girls at a single-sex school. But eventually, she couldn't fight the feeling that as much as she loved teaching math, she also loved doing math, so she went back to get her Ph.D. in mathematics and is now a professor at the University of Hawaii.
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Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)
Type: Notice
Summary: Personnel Development To Improve Services and Results for Children With Disabilities-Interdisciplinary Preparation in Special Education, Early Intervention, and Related Services for Personnel Serving Children With Disabilities Who Have High-Intensity Needs
Dates:
Applications Available: Jan.3.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 6.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 3.
CFDA#: 84.325K
Summary: Notice inviting applications for a new award for fiscal year (FY) 2017. Personnel Development To Improve Services and Results for Children With Disabilities—Interdisciplinary Preparation in Special Education, Early Intervention, and Related Services for Personnel Serving Children With Disabilities Who Have High-Intensity Needs.
The purposes of this program are to:
- help address State-identified needs for personnel preparation in special education, early intervention, related services, and regular education to work with children, including infants and toddlers, with disabilities; and
- ensure that those personnel have the necessary skills and knowledge, derived from practices that have been determined through scientifically based research and experience, to be successful in serving those children.
FR Link: https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2016-31838
Type: Grant Announcement
Program: Education Research and Special Education Research Grant Programs.
Date: Tuesday, March 8
CFDA: 84.305A, 84.305B, 84.305D, 84.305H, 84.305L, 84.305N, 84.324A, 84.324B, and 84.324L
Summary: The central purpose of the Institute of Education Sciences' (Institute) research grant programs is to provide interested individuals and the general public with reliable and valid information about education practices that support learning and improve academic achievement and access to education opportunities for all students. These interested individuals include parents, educators, students, researchers, and policymakers. In carrying out its grant programs, the Institute provides support for programs of research in areas of demonstrated national need.
Competitions in This Notice:
The Institute will conduct nine research competitions in FY 2017 through two of its centers:
The Institute's National Center for Education Research will hold six competitions, one in each of the following areas:
- Education research;
- Education research training;
- Statistical and research methodology in education;
- Partnerships and collaborations focused on problems of practice or policy;
- Low-cost, short-duration evaluations; and
- Research networks.
The Institute's National Center for Special Education Research will hold three competitions, one in each of the following areas:
- Special education research;
- Special education research training; and
- Low-cost, short-duration evaluations.
Deadlines: The dates when applications are available and the deadlines for transmittal of applications invited under this notice are indicated in the chart at the end of the FR notice.
Click here for more information.
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