Deaf
Literacy | English Language Development/ESL
| Reading Instruction |
Social Skills and Discipline | Additional Topics | Online
Events
 News
Special
Education Rates Rise (Associated Press)
In
the Twenty-third Annual Report to Congress
on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act, released by the Department of Education, more special education
students are graduating with standard high school diplomas.
To
read more about this, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63320-2002May10.html.
To
download the report, go to: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/OSEP/Products/OSEP2001AnlRpt/
Instructional
Materials Accessibility Act of 2002
Recently
a bi-partisan legislation was introduced in the House and Senate
that would create a new infrastructure to promote the acquisition
of up-to-date materials by children who are blind or have visual
impairments. Sponsors of the Bill include Senators Chris Dodd (Democrat-
CT) and Thad Cochran (Republican-MS) and Representatives Tom Petri
(Republican- WI) and George Miller (Democrat-CA). After a two years
of efforts by the blind community, new legislation has been presented
that would improve the efficiency of text conversion to Braille
or other formats. Currently, this process is often lengthy and burdensome
resulting in a delay ,disrupting children’s educational opportunities.
This Bill offers a remedy to this problem. Key provisions of the
Instructional Materials Accessibility Act of 2002 include:
1.
Establish a national electronic file format to be used for the
conversation of text;
2. Mandate that publishers submit textbooks and supplementary
materials, in the national electronic file format, to a central
repository in a timely manner;
3. Establish and fund a national repository that would be charged
with the receipt, catalog, storage, and distribution of these
electronic file format texts; and
4. Require that states establish a state plan that ensures that
children who are blind or have visual impairments have access
to such materials.
Upon
this Bill being passed into law, it will be published in the Federal
Registrar. This begins the countdown until the law impacts children.
Three years from the publication, all publishers must comply with
the Instructional Materials Accessibility Act of 2002. In the interim,
a national repository center will be funded (year 1) and states
will develop their action plans (year 2). If you would like to learn
more about this or track the Bills progress though the House and
Senate, please see the following websites:
The
Center for Applied Special Technology, CAST, offers a nice discussion
of implications of this law at their website (http://www.cast.org/udl/index.cfm?i=2022).
No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the Use of "Scientifically
Based Research"
The
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which reauthorized the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act, calls for the use of "scientifically
based research" as the foundation for many education programs
and for classroom instruction.
On February 6, 2002, Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary
Education Susan Neuman hosted a seminar where leading experts in
the fields of education and science discussed the meaning of scientifically
based research and its status across various disciplines.
Please go to the website to view transcripts: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/esea/research/index.html
Visiting
Scholars Present Research
on Urban Education and Cultural Diversity
OERI
Visiting Scholars Conference: Meeting the Challenge: Urban Education
and Cultural Diversity
On
October 22, 2001, the Office of Educational Research and Improvement
(OERI) Visiting Scholars gathered to present their research on serving
culturally diverse students in urban schools. The scholars' research
is important to the topic of disproportionality because research
it provides greater insight into the unique needs of culturally
diverse populations. Greater knowledge of how to serve diverse populations
may prevent the misclassification of minorities and immigrants into
special education programs.
Read
a summary of each scholar's research
Here
is your opportunity to be heard!
The U.S. Department of Education has scheduled regional meetings
regarding the reauthorization of IDEA. The Office
of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) will
hold a series of public forums to solicit comments on the upcoming
reauthorization of IDEA. Three of these forums will be held in conjunction
with the Improving
America's Schools (IAS) conferences, while the other four are
scheduled in other cities. These meetings are designed to get initial
input on issues that should be considered for the development of
needed changes. Take advantage of this opportunity to share your
thoughts about IDEA. Here are the dates and locations
of the forums.
For those of you who wish to provide comments at these forums, please
focus on systemic issues and use the following format: what is the
problem, why is it a problem, and what solutions do you propose.
The following issues might be considered:
- What
were the biggest benefits of the last reauthorization?
- What
is not working?
- What
is working?
- What
are the lingering problems?
Please
come prepared to limit your remarks to 5 minutes. We want to hear
from everyone who has an interest in improving services for children
with disabilities and their families as we work towards reauthorization.
Stipends for the cost of childcare will be provided by the host
RRC at each site at each of these forums. In order to receive the
stipend, please contact the host RRC prior to the meeting for information
and procedures. Interpreters will also be available.
Promoting
Cultural Understanding in the Classroom
In
light of the recent tragedy, the National
Clearinghouse for Bilingual
Education, whose mission aligns with efforts to promote understanding
and
respect for cultural diversity, has compiled a list of resources
to assist
educators in this difficult time. These resources can assist teachers
and
others in preventing cross cultural misunderstanding and persecution
within
schools and communities as well as promote healing and respect for
differences. Broken down into three categories, the list includes
resources
on:
1)
the Middle East, Arab Americans, and Islam
2) talking to children and helping them cope with violence and death
3) challenging stereotypes, intolerance and racism, including lesson
plans
on community building and respect for diversity.
NCBE
will continue to update this resource list in the future and solicits
teaching tools, lesson plans, articles, and other resources from
educators
eager to promote cultural understanding in classrooms and communities.
Please submit your resources to Christy Loop at cloop@ncbe.gwu.edu
To
access "Promoting Cultural Understanding in the Classroom,"
go to:
http://www.ncbe.gwu.edu/library/tolerance.htm
Mnemonic
Instruction
The Division for Learning
Disabilities (DLD) and the Division for Research (DR) of the
Council for Exceptional Children recently published their summer
issue of Current
Practice Alerts. This issue focues on mnemonic devices, instruction,
and principles that can be used for a wide range of students. Different
types of mnemonic devices, such as pegwords, acronyms, acrostics,
and keywords are given. This four page document also provides additional
literature resources.
National
Institutes of Health
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
NIH News Release for Immediate Release
Wednesday,
August 22, 2001
Researchers
Find New Insights Into the Genetic Foundations of Autism:
In
collaboration with their European colleagues, scientists
funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have come
one step closer to determining the genetic basis for
autism. The researchers have identified regions of four
chromosomes that appear to be linked with the disorder.
For
more information, go to http://www.nichd.nih.gov/new/releases/genetics_in_autism.htm.
Or contact Melissa Braddock or Robert Bock: (301) 496-5133
back
to top
The U.S. Department of Education, Office
of Special Education Programs (OSEP) 22nd Annual Report to Congress
is fully online.
Included
in the report is:
- A
state by state analysis of the number of students receiving special
education services by age and disability.
- A
state by state analysis of the number of special education professionals
in the field, including related services professionals.
- An
analysis of the environment and context in which special education
services are provided.
The
publication preface reads:
This
Twenty-second Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation
of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
marks the 25th anniversary of the passage of P.L. 94-142, the
Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. The annual
reports published since that time have informed Congress and the
public of the steady progress made in implementing the Act and
reflect a history of persistent commitment and efforts to expand
educational opportunities for children with disabilities. The
25th anniversary of IDEA offers an opportunity to consider this
important law and its history, to acknowledge the progress that
has been made, and to look forward to the challenges ahead.
To access and download the entire publication link to http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/OSEP/OSEP2000AnlRpt/
back
to top
Making
Assessment Accommodations: A Toolkit for Educators
Do you know how well your students with disabilities are learning?
Curious to find out? This toolkit provides an overview of assessment
accommodations and modifications to practitioners, and answers the
following questions:
- What
are assessment accommodations and why do some students require
them?
- What
types of assessment accommodations are available?
- What
principles guide assessment accommodation decisions?
- How
can administrators support staff members in making assessment
accommodations?
This toolkit, comprised of a videotape, a practitioner's guide,
an administrator's guide, and staff development activities, is
the result of work conducted under the Aspiire and Iliad IDEA
Partnerships at the Council for Exceptional Children.
It can be obtained from:
The Council for Exceptional Children
1110 North Glebe Road, Suite 300
Arlington, VA 22201-5704
Tel:
888-232-7733
TTY: 703-264-9446
Fax: 703-264-9494
email: service@cec.sped.org
back
to top
Events
American Association of School Administrators (AASA) 135rd National
Conference on Education Returns
February 20-23, 2003
New Orleans, Louisiana
Contact American Association of School Administrators (AASA) Meetings
and Convention Department
1801 No. Moore Street
Arlington, VA 22209-1813
Tel: (703) 875-0748
Fax: (703) 841-1543
http://www.aasa.org/conferences/
back
to top
National
Clearninghouse for Bilingual Education
Conference Calendar
http://www.ncbe.gwu.edu/calendar/
back
to top
National
Conference on Dialogue and Deliberation
October 4-6, 2002
Alexandria, VA
Contact: Sandy Heierbacher
Phone: (802) 254-7341
Email: heierbacher@hotmail.com
http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/calendar/index.cfm
International
Symposium on Partnering,
Collaboration, and Cooperation
October 24-25, 2002
Winchester, VA
John Marsh Institute for Government and Public Policy
at Shenandoah University
Email: mediate@rmaonline.net
http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/calendar/index.cfm
Mediating
Disability-Related Disputes
Good Shepherd Mediation Program
November 7-9, 2002
Philadelphia, PA
Tel: (215) 843-5413
Email: shepherd@libertynet.org
http://www.phillymediators.org
Second
National Symposium on Dispute Resolution
in Special Education
November 21-23, 2002
Academy for Educational Development
Washington, D.C.
http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/index.cfm
Note: As the date approaches, additional details about the event
will be porvided.
back
to top
http://www.ideapractices.org
contains a vast amount of information on IDEA, such as calendar
of events, new briefs, on-line discussions, question and
answer about the law and effective practices, resources, spotlight
sites, and much, much more.
You can also read the online version of IDEAnews at http://www.ideapractices.org/ideanewsonline.htm
back
to top
National
Staff Development Council Annual Conference: Lighting the Way to
Revolutions in Learning
December 7-11, 2002
Boston, MA
Tel: (800) 727-7288
Email: nsdcoffice@aol.com
http://www.nsdc.org/educatorindex.htm
back
to top
2003
NCTM 81st Annual Meeting--"Building Mathematical Communities"
April 9-12, 2003
San Antonio, Texas
Contact National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
http://www.nctm.org/meetings/sanantonio/index.htm
back
to top
National
Association of School Psychologists (NASP)
35rd Annual Convention
April 8-12, 2003
Sheraton Centre Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tel: (301) 657-0270
http://www.nasponline.org/conventions/index.html
American
Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC)
11th Annual Colloquium
July
23 - 26, 2003
Hyatt
Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Tel: (405) 271-8202
Fax: (405) 271-2931
E-mail:tricia-williams@ouhsc.edu
http://www.apsac.org
111th
Annual APA Convention
August 7-10, 2003
Toronto, ON, Cananda
http://www.apa.org/convention/
back
to top
Closing
the Gap Computer Technology in Special Education and Rehabilitation:
20th Annual Conference
October 17-19, 2002
Preconference: October 15-16, 2002
Tel: (507) 248-3294
info@closingthegap.com
http://www.closingthegap.com
The International Technology Education Association 64th Annual
Conference: Positioning Technological Literacy in the Mainstream
of Education
March 13-15, 2003
Nashville, TN
Tel: (703) 860-2100
Email: iteaconf@iris.org
http://www.iteawww.org/D.html
back
to top
The 6th Annual Conference on Urban Education and 16th Annual Conference
for Students At-Risk: Challenging Learners with Untapped Potential
January 16 - 19, 2003
Hyatt Regency Hotel
500 Poydras Plaza
New Orleans, LA
Tel:
(800) 242-3419
Fax: (602) 778-1032
Email: gschneider@learning24-7.com
http://www.learning24-7.com/
back
to top
| Search
for Additional Conferences |
Search
the ERIC
Calendar of Education-Related Conferences.
Find more Events
in Special Education from the Curry School of Education, University
of Virginia.
Check out the Learning
Disabilities Calendar and see what's happening in the LD community.
Visit
the IDEA
Practices website for additional special education events
Look
at the Center
for Effective Collaboration and Practice's Calendar of Events.
back
to top
|
