Skip to main content

March 2008

National Technical Assistance Center:
PACER Center, 8161 Normandale Boulevard, Minneapolis, MN 55437 (888) 248-0822, www.taalliance.org

In This Issue:

Parent Center Update

  1. ASK Resource Center in Iowa is Awarded Disproportionality Grant
  2. PEATC in Virginia Launches Three Year Webinar Series on Transition

Announcements & News

  1. ALLIANCE Institutes 2008
  2. Early Childhood Recognition and Response Briefing Hosted by NCLD
  3. Upcoming Advocate Academy Webinar
  4. April is Autism Awareness Month
  5. Three Year Summary of National Part C Dispute Resolution Data Now Available
  6. National Council on Disability Says Let People with Psychiatric Disabilities Become Part of the American Dream

Resources

  1. New Documents from Project Forum
  2. New High School/High Tech Guide
  3. New Reading Curriculum for Students with Significant Disabilities
  4. Web-based SpecialQuest Multimedia Training Library Now Available
  5. Voting Laws & Regulations Update: Voting and Polling Place Accessibility
  6. RSA Quick Tables
  7. Letting Your Child's Wild Side Out - A New DVD

Technology

  1. 10 Steps to Being Found on Search Engines

Fundraising

  1. The Foundation Center

To find the Technical Assistance Center in your Region please visit www.taalliance.org/ptidirectory/

Parent Center Updates

ASK Resource Center in Iowa is Awarded Disproportionality Grant

The Iowa Department of Human Services has awarded a grant to the ASK Resource Center to address the issues of disproportionality, especially of African American students identified for special education, behavior interventions and suspensions and expulsions, by providing parent training in order to interrupt the “pipeline” from education, special education, suspension and expulsion to juvenile court involvement and eventual adult court involvement.

The grant will fund ASK’s work from April – June, 2008, in collaboration with the Des Moines Public Schools and the Education Brain Trust, a community group concerned with achievement of African American students in the Des Moines Public Schools to improve parent participation in their student’s education by increasing minority parental contact with schools and to help minority parents understand their student’s rights under the IDEA. The project will help parents address the overrepresentation of minority students in school expulsions and suspensions, which correlate with poorer outcomes, including higher drop-out rates. www.askresource.org

PEATC in Virginia Launches Three Year Webinar Series on Transition

Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC) in Partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University presents “Virginia’s NEXT STEPS Transition Program for Families, Youths, and Professionals: Building Effective Partnerships and Accessing Resources.” A three year webinar series for families, self-advocates, educators and adult service providers. PEATC is excited about this engaging information and training series devoted to Transition from high school to life for students in special education. www.peatc.org

Announcements

ALLIANCE Institutes 2008

The ALLIANCE is pleased to announce the 2008 Institutes for Parent Centers!

Transition Institute
July 9-11, 2008
Chicago, IL

Management/Leadership Institutes
September 22-24, 2008
San Diego, CA

Early Childhood Recognition and Response Briefing Hosted by NCLD

NCLD recently hosted a Recognition & Response briefing in Washington, DC titled, “RTI Goes to Pre-K: A Comprehensive System for Early Intervening to Promote School Readiness. Attendees asked in-depth questions about using Recognition & Response in the field, how to improve professional development, and how this system aligns with and is used in diverse early childhood settings. More information can be found at: http://www.recognitionandresponse.org/content/view/96/107/

Upcoming Advocate Academy Webinar

"Extended School Year (ESY) Services: What Special Education Advocates Need to Know" - This presentation will provide an overview of Extended School Year (ESY) Services including applicable federal law and regulations, important case law decisions, and various standards that may be applied when determining whether a child with a disability qualifies for ESY services. Practical advice and strategies for negotiating ESY services will also be offered. The webinar will be presented by Scott F. Johnson, Esq., Professor of Law with Concord University School of Law and an adjunct Professor of Law at Franklin Pierce Law Center where he teaches education law courses. He is also a hearing officer for the New Hampshire Department of Education. Prior to teaching, he practiced law and represented parents and students in education matters.

DATE: Thursday, April 17, 2008

TIME: 2:00 to 3:30 PM ET (1:00 to 2:30 PM CT, Noon to 1:30 PM MT, 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM PT)

More information about this event is available at http://www.advocacyinstitute.org/shop/spring08.html

April is Autism Awareness Month

All across America, the Autism Society of America and its partner organizations are staging special events throughout the month of April to increase awareness and advocacy, and promote early autism diagnosis and therapeutic research. www.autism-society.org

Three Year Summary of National PArt C Dispute Resolution Data Now Available

This summary contains three years of Part C dispute resolution activity nationally. The data were compiled from State Performance Plans and Annual Performance Reports. A Glossary of Data Elements from the reporting instructions for this data collection that defines each reported data element is also available. The summaries are of total national activities.

Review the summary and glossary of data elements here.

National Council on Disability Says Let People with Psychiatric Disabilities Become Part of the American Dream

The National Council on Disability (NCD) has released a brief entitled Inclusive Livable Communities for People with Psychiatric Disabilities, calling on Congress and the Administration to fully include and integrate people with psychiatric disabilities into America’s livable communities and let people with psychiatric disabilities become part of the American dream. According to NCD Chairperson John R. Vaughn, “For the promise of full integration into the community to become a reality, people with disabilities need safe and affordable housing; access to transportation; access to the political process; and the right to enjoy whatever services, programs, and activities are offered to all members of the community by both public and private entities. Although previous NCD reports addressed people across the full array of disabilities, a main focus of accessibility was on environmental elements that primarily apply more to the ‘obvious’ disabilities than to ‘hidden’ disabilities like many psychiatric disabilities and mental illnesses. Information about the six identified elements of livable communities, other elements, barriers, and promising practices for people with psychiatric disabilities needs to be broadened to achieve all-inclusive communities.”

This paper focuses specifically on expanding the livable communities framework and elements to people with psychiatric disabilities and supports full inclusion that leaves out no one. The paper can be read at http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2008/LivableCommunities.html

For more information, please contact Mark S. Quigley, NCD’s Director of External Affairs, at 202-272-2004.

Resources

New Documents from Project Forum

The following documents are now available from Project Forum, a project of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE):

Graduation Requirements for Students with Disabilities: Policy Recommendations
This Policy Forum Proceedings briefly discusses the federal, state and local roles that affect graduation requirements for all students, including students with disabilities. The purpose of the policy forum was to express issues related to graduation requirements for students with disabilities and develop policy recommendations to address these issues at the local, state and federal levels. Background research and a summary of panel and participant discussion are provided. Issues raised and recommendations with actions steps are provided.

State Support of Education-related Assistive Technology
This In-Brief Policy Analysis reports findings gathered from a survey of state special education staff. Findings are reported in the areas such as: staffing and funding for AT services at the state and local levels; state guidance; and professional development. Most of the responding states provide guidance and support to local education agencies regarding the general training about AT services and programs. Most states do not provide an AT certificate or degree program. Findings show much variability among states in the amount of staffing provided, the ways in which funds are spent for AT and the types of professional development provided. An appendix provides access to state websites for education-related AT programs and services.

Summary of Performance
This Brief Policy Analysis is based on a survey of all state education agencies (SEAs). Findings include information regarding the variation among states as they establish policy and staffing patterns for administering the summary of performance requirement in IDEA 2004. An SOP policy exists in 25 of the 40 responding SEAs. Staff with dedicated time to oversee the policy implementation are employed in 23 SEAs. Half of the SEAs report that overseeing this policy is a challenge. SEAs also show variability in who receives and when they receive the SOP. Most states also provide general technical assistance on the implementation of the SOP primarily for LEA staff. The survey protocol and individual state SOP websites are included in the appendix.

The documents can be downloaded at www.projectforum.org.

New High School/High Tech Guide

A new High School/High Tech (HS/HT) Program Guide, produced by Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability, reflects effective practices nationwide. The guide includes information on lessons learned as HS/HT has evolved from a locally-administered to a state-administered national program model based upon the Guidepost to Success. It also includes information and materials used by HS/HT programs throughout the United States. A PDF version of the Guide can be found at http://www.dol.gov/odep/documents/a6906418_b620_4d70_bcba_52ddc3ef35a9.pdf ; a Word version can be found at http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/publicat.htm#pubs

New Reading Curriculum for Students with Significant Disabilities

Don Johnston Incorporated, AbleNet and Dr. Karen Erickson, Center for Literacy and Disabilities Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, announced a 'first of its kind' reading curriculum to support students with moderate to severe/profound intellectual disabilities The MEville to WEville with Literacy Starters Program is a collaborative research-proven, multi-year literacy program to provide support and guidance to special education teachers. The program combines AbleNet's early learning MEville to WEville literacy curriculum with Don Johnston's emerging literacy content to support older beginning readers. MEville to WEville with Literacy Starters systematically integrates reading, writing, speaking, augmentative communicating and listening skills into lessons and activities designed to foster a classroom community. The program promotes a sense of belonging among students by offering new and different perspectives on themselves, their families and their school. For more information visit www.donjohnston.com

Web-based SpecialQuest Multimedia Traning Library Now Available

These easy to use training materials and award winning videos are now available for viewing and/or downloading at www.specialquest.org. This library was developed to support communities as they serve infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families in high-quality inclusive settings. The videos and training materials have been designed for use with and by early care and education staff and families. There is a strong focus on families as leaders throughout the materials. www.specialquest.org

Voting Laws & Regulations Updated: Voting and Polling Place Accessibility

The “Voting Laws and Regulations” Web site from disabilityinfo.gov provides information on the laws and regulations requiring voting accessibility for individuals with disabilities, including the right to vote privately and independently. http://www.disabilityinfo.gov/digov-public/public/DisplayPage.do?parentFolderId=238

RSA Quick Tables

The Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) Management Information System now provides reports and data based on submissions from RSA grantees. Many of the tables and forms available have state-specific information, while others provide more general national information. http://rsamis.ed.gov

A New DVD About a Young Girl Who is Blind

A new DVD has been developed by Grace Tiscareno-Sato, a mother of a child who is blind. The DVD is a 5 year case study on how they embraced early intervention services, applied them and laid the foundation for their daughter who is now a downhill skier and gymnast. The DVD is called "Letting Your Child's Wild Side Out: Raising the Wild and Confident Visually Impaired Baby, Toddler and Preschooler". The DVD is available for ordering now at www.babymilagro.org/DVD.

Technology

10 Steps to Being Found on Search Engines

A high placement on search engines like Google and Yahoo can help constituents, potential donors, volunteers, and clients find and connect with you. This article shows you ways you can understand and prioritize search engine optimization at your organization. http://ga0.org/ct/adS-qJ91Sr_D/

Fundraising

The Foundation Center

The Foundation Center offers an RFP Bulletin through a free weekly email that gives upcoming deadlines in all subject areas. You can also check particular subject areas by going to this page and selecting from the "RFPs BY CATEGORY". www.fdncenter.org/pnd/rfp/links.

Need Help? Call 952-838-9000 (8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. CST, M-F) Directions | Careers | Privacy | Accessibility | Site Map

Visit PACER's other sites: National Parent Center Network (ALLIANCE) | Kids Against Bullying | Project C3 | FAPE Project | Minnesota SEACs

Translated content: Hmoob/Hmong | Espaņol/Spanish | Soomaaliga/Somali

pdf icon PACER's site offers many PDF files for download, which require Adobe Reader to view. Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional   Valid CSS!   Level A conformance icon, W3C-WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 ©2008 PACER Center, Inc.