June Newsletter

Have you taken a look lately at all of the resources the Access Center has to offer?  We have put together a comprehensive list of the Access Center's Information Briefs and Professional Development modules (like one on differentiated instruction). This list is periodically updated with new products, so check back often!

Over the past three years, various California stakeholder groups have collaborated to plan and hold “California Summits” as a mechanism for exchanging information and providing their various perspectives on key educational initiatives.  The Access Center has participated as an integral part of the process since its conception.  This year, the Access Center technical assistance (TA) liaisons for the Western Region continued the tradition in the planning and implementation of Summit3, which was held on May 20.  The focus of this Summit was Response-to-Intervention (RTI).  Participants included general and special education teachers, administrators, representatives of various educational organizations, and parents. The participants shared concerns, experiences, and challenges on a variety of issues related to RTI.  In addition to participating on the planning committee, Access Center liaisons developed and delivered a presentation on the “National Perspective of RTI,” assisted in the facilitation of group discussions, and produced a proceedings document.  We will continue to work with the California group on follow-up activities.

Response to Intervention - RTI
Looking for online resources on RTI?  Check out the Wrightslaw website for listings of articles and free publications on Response to Intervention.  Wrightslaw’s mission is to provide parents, advocates, educators, and attorneys with accurate, up-to-date information about special education law and advocacy so they can be effective catalysts.  

NCLD Guide on IDEA
The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) has just launched an innovative, online guide to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  The guide was designed to explain the federal laws that underpin special education in every state. Although created primarily for parents, the guide is also a valuable source of information -- in accessible language for classroom teachers who may not have a background in special education. Teachers can use the guide as a referral for parents or use it themselves to better understand the rights and requirements of their students who have special needs.

NCLB – How LEP Students and Those with Disabilities Impact AYP (PDF)
From the National Commission on NCLB: Children with Disabilities and LEP students: Their Impact on the AYP Determination of Schools.

NC and Tennessee First States Approved for Growth Model Pilot Projects
The U.S. Department of Education will allow North Carolina and Tennessee to change the way they assess student progress – and meet adequate yearly progress requirements – under the federal No Child Left Behind law.  Under a new pilot program, schools in these states will be allowed to measure the progress of individual students annually, instead of an entire grade of different students.  According to Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, these states were selected because they have a sophisticated data-collection system already in place for assessing students.

ED Reports on States’ Progress on Highly Qualified Provision
The Education Department has released the results of a state-by-state examination of progress that states are making toward the NCLB requirement that all teachers be highly qualified by the 2005-06 deadline. According to the Department, no state is likely to meet the 100 percent goal by the end of this school year, but 29 states are on track to meet it and have shown sufficient good-faith efforts. However, ED has also determined that 11 states risk federal sanctions because their progress has not been sufficient. The deadline for obtaining highly qualified status has been extended from the 2005-2006 school year to the 2006-2007 school year.

NCLB Congressional Hearing Highlights Innovative Teaching Methods
On May 17, the House Education and the Workforce Committee held the first in a series of hearings concerning No Child Left Behind (NCLB).  This hearing examined the impact of NCLB’s focus on reading and math instruction, as well as what creative educators are doing to incorporate a wide variety of subjects into their classroom instruction.  Congress is scheduled to reauthorize NCLB in 2007. 

Department of Education Releases Policy Letter on School Choice; Supplemental Educational Services
On May 15, Secretary Spellings issued a letter to all top state education officials highlighting the states’ underutilization of school choice options and supplemental educational services (SES).  She indicated that if these options are not properly offered, states could face enforcement action. Secretary Spellings has extended a pilot program into the 2006-2007 school year, which would make SES available prior to school choice, which has been successful in Virginia. Read the full guidance on school choice and SES.