Federal Budget Update

Nearly three months after the start of Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, Congress and the White House have reached an agreement on spending bills and begun to move forward with approving the measures. The 12 spending bills have been broken into two packages, or “minibuses.” The deal honors the $49 billion in increased funding that was agreed to under a bipartisan budget deal signed into law in July. Education spending will get a $1.3 billion increase, reaching a total of $72.8 billion in discretionary funding for the U.S. Department of Education (ED).

All of the programs that CASE and CEC advocates on behalf of saw an increase. Details are as follows:

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Grants to States Program (Part B) will receive a $400 million increase, for a total of $12.76 billion.
• IDEA Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Program (Part C) will receive a $7 million increase, for a total of $477 million.
• IDEA Preschool Program (Part B Section 619) will receive a $3 million increase, for a total of $394 million.
• IDEA National Activities (Part D) will receive a $6.5 million increase, for a total of $250 million.
• National Center for Special Education Research, within the Institute for Education Sciences will receive a $500,000 increase, for a total of $56.5 million.
• Title I will receive a $450 million increase for a total of $16.3 billion in funding.
• Title II-A will receive an increase of $76 million for a total of $2.1 billion in funding.
• Title IV-A will receive an increase of $40 million for a total of $1.2 billion in funding.

Additionally, the bill includes language that instructs the ED and other agencies on matters pertaining to CASE and CEC’s policy priorities. A few examples are:

Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Program: Congress requests ED to use funds to “increase the number of grants that assist schools in the identification of, and provision of services to, gifted and talented students who may not be identified and served through traditional assessment methods, such as children with disabilities, English learners, children of color, and economically disadvantaged students.”

Special Education Teacher Shortages: Congress requests a report from the Government Accountability Office on “…factors contributing to school districts' challenges with teacher recruitment and retention.” The report is to also include a review and analysis of challenges with recruitment and retention of “special education teachers, paraprofessionals, and teacher aides; the extent to which licensure requirements are waived or modified to address shortages; and geographic and demographic characteristics of districts facing the greatest challenges or shortages, including rural and urban areas,” and to make recommendations on “potential Federal interventions to improve teacher recruitment and retention.”

Medicaid: Congress advises the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to coordinate with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to provide technical assistance to reduce administrative barriers for providing health services in coordination with schools.

On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives advanced the two minibuses. The Senate is expected to clear the spending measures and President Trump is expected to sign them into law before the current spending deal expires at midnight on December 20.

Congratulations to the field for its continued pressure on appropriators to increase spending for students with exceptionalities. Your ongoing advocacy is critical, and we thank you for your hard work.

Read the Labor-H bill here.
Read the Labor-H report here.

CASE and CEC: Principles for SLD Eligibility: Practice & Policy Considerations for States and School Districts

On Monday, CASE and CEC jointly released Principles for SLD Eligibility: Practice & Policy Considerations for States and School Districts. The resources in this three-part series highlight policy and practice considerations that can support the implementation of previously released joint principles and encourage districts to move toward high-quality identification and evaluation processes. The topics include:

A Comprehensive Evaluation for a Child Suspected to Have SLD
Selective Use of Data on Cognitive Assessments Within an Evaluation
Effective Use of Instructional Response Data in an Evaluation

The resources offer strategies to states for improving identification of specific learning disabilities (SLD), without endorsing a single method. Regardless of the model they use, the papers encourage states and districts to engage in continuous evaluation and improvement of their practices and policies in an effort to eliminate inconsistency, decrease frustration, improve collaboration, and better serve students.

Other organizations collaborating on the papers include the National Center for Learning Disabilities, Council of Administrators of Special Education, Divisions for Learning Disabilities, the Council for Learning Disabilities, the National Association of School Psychologists, and the National Association of State Directors of Special Education.

The new resources can be found here.

Register Now - CEC in Portland, Oregon

We do hope you are making plans to attend CEC in Portland, Feb 5-8, 2020--and encourage your members to attend CEC. This is a great chance for you to send some of your teachers to an international conference. It could make the difference in them staying in the field! CEC has great resources on Teacher and Administrator attendance tool kits. Check them out and pass this information on to your members!

Registration for CASE Night will be going on sale soon. We have a tentative CASE Events list and the CASE Night Flyer for you to look at and share. I will let you know through my weekly update when the CASE Night tickets are on sale.

CASE and CEC Name New Executive Directors

As most of you know, our two national organizations, the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and the Council for Administrators of Special Education (CASE) have had searches underway for the position of Executive Director in their organizations.  The two organizations recently made announcements about these positions.

 CASE Names Phyllis Wolfram as Executive Director Beginning March 1, 2020

It is with great pleasure that we announce the next Executive Director for the Council of Administrators of Special Education, Phyllis Wolfram. Please join me in congratulating Phyllis as she assumes this important leadership role within our organization. She will leave her position as the Executive Director of Missouri CASE and assume this new role on March 1, 2020.  As many of you know, Phyllis has been at the heart of CASE's leadership for many years and also comes to us with many years of leadership experience at the local, state and national levels. 

Phyllis was selected as the next leader of CASE through a rigorous and competitive process facilitated by the Executive Committee of CASE.

This new appointment for Phyllis comes as  Dr. Luann Purcell announces her retirement after serving as the Executive Director for CASE for 17 years. While Luann leaves great shoes to fill, we have no doubt Phyllis will carry our organization to new heights into the future.  Her expertise in special education, professional development, non-profit association leadership, and organizations are essential to our future and she brings energy and dedication unmatched in our field.

CEC Names Chad Rummel as Executive Director Beginning January 1, 2020
As key leaders and volunteers in the field, it is my sincere pleasure to share with you the exciting news that Chad Rummel, M.Ed, CAE, a leading association executive, thought leader, and long-time member of the education community, will become executive director of the Council for Exceptional Children, effective Jan. 1, 2020.

Chad comes to us from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, where he has been executive director since 2013. You can read more about his distinguished career and professional credentials in our official press release.

ACTION NEEDED: Federal Appropriations

Last week, the U.S. Senate made the first procedural move to advance a number of non-controversial spending measures for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 as early as this week. At the moment, the grouping, or "minibus," includes Commerce, Justice, Science; Agriculture; Interior and the Environment; Transportation, Housing and Urban Development; and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs. While those bills are taking center stage, we learned that negotiations are active behind the scenes on the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-H) bill, which includes federal funding for education programs. A current likely scenario [in a fast-changing climate] is that the top-line number for the Labor-H bill will land somewhere between the Senate's level-funding approach and the House's proposed major increase, leaving some additional money for FY 2020. The most likely outcome is that the bulk of extra Labor-H funding would go toward the National Institutes of Health. Any other excess could go toward education and may likely increase the major formula grants to states, including special education.

CEC has developed a Call to Action so members can engage in a final push on FY 2020 spending through a letter-writing campaign. The template letter calls for spending increases to the following programs:

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Grants to States Program (Part B)
• IDEA Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Program (Part C)
• IDEA Preschool Program (Part B Section 619)
• IDEA National Activities (Part D)
• National Center for Special Education Research, within the Institute for Education Sciences

To join in this call to action, please follow this link.

CASE & NCLD Partner to Release Eligibility for Special Education Under a Specific Learning Disability (SLD) Classification

Our national organization, CASE, has been working with several other organizations and the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD), and we’re excited to announce that their efforts have officially been released as of July 31, 2019!

Together, 11 national organizations (including CEC, the Council of Administrators of Special Education, and the Division for Learning Disabilities) developed Eligibility for Special Education Under a Specific Learning Disability (SLD) Classification, which features 8 joint principles to guide the evaluation process for identifying students who have SLD and are eligible for special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) .

Visit NCLD’s website to learn more about this exciting work and help improve policies and practices—whether for your own child or for those you serve.

A Few Great Conference Opportunities

There is certainly not a shortage of great professional development coming up in the 2019 - 2020 school year!

CASE/NASDSE Joint Conference

October 27-29, 2019 - Louisville, KY

Join your special education administrative colleagues from the state and national level for the annual CASE conference in Louisville, KY.  We will partner with our National Director Colleagues (NASDSE) for a fantastic event.

Keynote Speakers include Marilyn Friend and Johnny Collett.

Hotel blocks and registration are filling quickly!  Register now at this site (link opens in a new window). 

CEC Annual Convention 

February 5-9, 2020 - Portland, OR  

The CEC Convention is the largest meeting of special education professionals in the world!  You will not want to miss this great event in Portland, OR!  Register by September 30, 2019 to receive a discount on registration! 

Keynote speakers include Sady Paulson and Randy Sprick!

Get registered now at this link.

Take Action Now: IDEA Full Funding

When our team was in Washington, DC a few weeks back, one of the things we were talking with people about was IDEA Full Funding.  The video below was put together by Senator Bernie Sanders with the help of CASE President-Elect, Erin Maguire to talk about the need for a fully funded IDEA.

There are two bills that are currently working their way through the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate - HR 1878 and S. 866.  Illinois currently has the following Members of Congress signed on as co-sponsors of HR 1878:

• Rep. Robin Kelley
• Rep. Dan Lipinski
• Rep. Chuy Garcia
• Rep. Mike Quigley
• Rep. Sean Casten
• Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi
• Rep. Jan Schakowsky
• Rep. Brad Schneider
• Rep. Mike Bost
• Rep. Rodney Davis

And while we have asked for their support, the following Members of Congress have not yet signed on in support of the measure:

• Rep. Bobby Rush
• Rep. Danny Davis
• Rep. Bill Foster
• Rep. Lauren Underwood
• Rep. Adam Kinzinger
• Rep. John Shimkus
• Rep. Cheri Bustos
• Rep. Darin Lahood

We also have asked for the support for Senators Durbin and Duckworth on S. 866, but have not heard back about whether they support the bill.

08/01/2019 - UPDATE:  We are thrilled to announce that Senator Duckworth has signed on as a co-sponsor of S. 866!

We need your assistance.  You can send a letter to your Member of Congress about this important issue by clicking here (link opens in a new window).  Imagine more money coming into local schools for special education.  That dream can become a reality.

Share Your Knowledge - Lots of Upcoming Opportunities

We know that our IAASE Members are talented presenters and professionals.  Several upcoming conferences have calls for programs currently available including the following:

CASE/NASDSE Joint Conference – October 27-29, 2019 The Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) and the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) are excited to be hosting our 2nd joint conference that reflects the desired collaboration between local and state special education directors and their stakeholders. Click here to find the call for programs and more information about this conference. 

Illinois Statewide Transition Conference - OctoberThe Illinois Statewide Transition Conference invites submissions of proposals to present at the 2019 Illinois Statewide Transition Conference, Stepping Stones of Transition to be held October 17-18, 2019 in Collinsville, Illinois. Each of you brings hope, education, and inspires change in people to find the courage to help those you work with fulfill their potential. Join a myriad of others interested in doing this and also gain new skills at innovative workshops. Submit a proposal to present and also network with colleagues, experts in other fields and families at this year’s Illinois Statewide Transition conference.  Click here to get started. 

Council for Exceptional Children - February, 2020The International Council for Exceptional Children will host its Annual Convention in Portland, Oregon in February, 2020.  Interested in submitting a workshop? Please use this link that will take you to the 2020 CEC Workshop Call for Proposals. Workshops provide practical, evidence-based information and are full- or half-day workshops.

Update from CASE/ CEC Conference - IAASE Recognized for Outstanding Achievement

At our CASE Board of Directors meeting in Indianapolis, IAASE has, once again, been recognized for its outstanding work! This year, we have achieved the award for Outstanding Achievement in the area of Policy and Legislation.

This award is thanks to our tracking of bills, legislative advocacy, continued and ongoing presence in Springfield, well-developed relationships with legislators, legislative roundtables, conference events, and strong delegations each year at the Special Education Legislative Summit (SELS) in Washington, DC. We have done so much work in this area during the past several years including adding a full-time lobbyist (Shannon Miller Bellini) and reconstituting the Legislative Committee with representatives from across the state thanks to Melissa Taylor and Judy Hackett. Really, however, this award is for all of us who work so hard on an every day basis to help every legislator understand schools (and why special education matters).

We also received recognition for increasing our membership year-over-year in CASE by 3%. It was a small increase, but an increase nonetheless. A few people who should be recognized here. First off - Melissa Taylor had the idea to create a more "unified" membership a few years back and we have increased our membership every year since then. Second - Christine Putlak and our region reps have been working hard to increase our membership in IAASE as well and we are currently at 1215 members - the highest point we have been at the end of January - EVER! Finally - we are growing because of all of you. THANK YOU for helping us to be better.

For those of you who are CASE regulars and are curious - these were the other award winners:

• Outstanding Award - Arizona
• Outstanding Communication - Minnesota
• Outstanding Member Development - Michigan
• Outstanding Professional Development - Missouri
• Highest Membership Growth - Mississippi CASE
• Exemplary Unit - Indiana CASE

CASE Activities at CEC

We hope you are planning on attending the CEC Convention in Indianapolis, January 29-February 2. Here is a preliminary CASE Events document to help you with planning your schedule. If you are attending, be sure you  arrive in time to attend our Member breakfast, sponsored by eLuma ...I don't have the room yet but it will be in the JW Marriott. The member meeting following the breakfast will be full of information and the opportunity to provide input. We will be giving our Unit Awards, sponsored by Master Teacher in the afternoon.  Please encourage all your members who will be attending CEC to join us for the member meeting-it is open to ALL CASE members! Houghton, Mifflin, and Harcourt will be sponsoring Julie Weatherly's 90 Tips in 120 minutes on Thursday.  We are so excited about CASE Night this year! It will once again be sponsored by StarAutism and it will be at the Hall  of Champions--which is in walking distance of the convention! So, if you haven't gotten your tickets yet, be sure and do that today!