January Newsletter

We at the Access Center would like to wish you and your families a very happy and healthy 2006!

The Access Center Research Continuum
To ensure that we have a common language for discussing our research base, we have compiled a short guide that defines Emerging Practices, Promising Practices, and Evidence-Based Practices, and provides resources for Scientifically Based Research. We hope this Access Center resource, as well as other guidelines (from the Council for Exceptional Children, Center for Implementing Technology in Education, and the National Center on Student Progress Monitoring), will clarify some of the ambiguity surrounding this topic.  

District Information Sharing Community (DISC) Webinar
The Access Center’s DISC Community, a group committed to promoting relationships among large urban school districts, will participate in a webinar on January 25, 2006 at 2:30 PM EDT. Dr. Stacia Rush of the Access Center will present, “Supervising Co-Teaching Teams: Whose Line is it Anyway?”  This webinar will explore how general educators and special educators view co-teaching, and discuss how general and special education supervisors can develop a common lens for supporting and evaluating performance. This event is scheduled for DISC Community members, but for others who are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please contact Jacki Bootel at the Access Center: jbootel@air.org.

This month, Access Center staff will participate in Seattle, Washington’s 13th Annual Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Conference.  The Access Center will make three presentations.  School administrators are the target audience for the first presentation, “Commonalities of Instructional Models.”  Two additional presentations will be given on “Standards-based Instruction and Differentiation . . . Is There a Conflict?”  Participants will be surveyed following these presentations to identify teachers who are interested in joining a Community of Practice related to differentiated instruction.

International Forum on Alternative Schooling
An International Forum on Alternative Schooling: Changing Perspectives and Emerging Best Practices for Children and Adolescents with Challenging Behaviors will be held in Norfolk, VA on February 10-11, 2006.  The Forum is sponsored by the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders, a division of the Council for Exceptional Children.  This is a pre-registration conference – the registration deadline is January 23, 2006.

ED Issues Proposed Regulations on Modified Assessments under NCLB
On December 15th, the U.S. Department of Education published proposed regulations on new state flexibility in assessing students with disabilities under the No Child Left Behind Act.  The proposal would permit states to develop modified achievement standards aligned with grade-level content standards for a limited group (2%) of students with disabilities who may not be able to reach grade-level achievement standards within the same time frame as other students, even after receiving the best-designed instructional interventions from highly trained teachers.   Read CEC’s Special Report on the Proposed Regulations.

ED Announces Multi-Year IEP Pilot Program
On December 19th, the U.S. Department of Education requested comments on a proposed pilot program that would allow up to 15 states to help the Department determine if a multi-year IEP would provide for better outcomes for students, reduce paperwork, increase teacher instructional time and increase collaboration of IEP team members. Under this demonstration project, the multi-year IEP cannot exceed three years, must include annual goals, and would be reviewed at least once per year.

GAO Report Cites Bumps in Transition from Part C to Part B of IDEA  
On December 14th, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued the report: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: Education Should Provide Additional Guidance to Help States Smoothly Transition Children to Preschool.

NCEO: More Students with Disabilities Achieving Proficiency on State Accountability Tests
Some of the reasons cited include:
* Clearly communicated participation policy
* Better alignment of IEPs with standards
* Improved professional development
* Development and provision of accommodation guidelines and training
* Increased access to standards-based instruction
* Improved data collection