Attract, Prepare, Retain: OSEP National Summit on Improving Effective Personnel for Children with Disabilities

The Office of Special Education Programs will live stream Attract, Prepare, Retain: OSEP National Summit on Improving Effective Personnel for Children with Disabilities virtually on March 19, 2020. Details related to live stream access will be available closer to the summit date.  

The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is hosting a summit focusing on strategies to attract, prepare, and retain effective personnel—general and special education teachers, early childhood personnel, and related services providers—who have the knowledge and skills needed to provide effective instruction, interventions, supports, and services to children with disabilities. This is a topic that is important for schools, states, communities, businesses, districts, and professional organizations. This topic disproportionately affects children with disabilities and their families due to the many unfilled positions and high attrition rates among special education teachers, early childhood personnel, and related services providers. The summit is an opportunity to bring together these various stakeholders and explore potential strategies and innovative approaches to address this critical need. OSEP is also taking this opportunity to bring together the many professional organizations across the country that are working to improve attraction, preparation, and retention of effective personnel.

The summit will take place from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. Eastern time and we encourage viewing gatherings and discussions. Improving how we attract, prepare, and retain effective personnel for children with disabilities is a critical need that will only be resolved by prioritized and collaborative efforts.

Click here for more information.

The IRIS Center - A Resource You Should Check Out

When Laurie VanderPloeg, Director of the Office for Special Education Programs was at our conference last week, she mentioned the free resources available to us through the IRIS Center.  We wanted to make sure that all of our members had access to these great resources.

Supported by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs and located at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College, the IRIS (Innovative Resources for Instructional Success) Center develops and disseminates free, engaging online resources about evidence-based instructional and behavioral practices to support the education of all students, particularly struggling learners and those with disabilities. These resources, designed to bridge the research-to-practice gap, are intended for use in college teacher preparation programs, in professional development (PD) activities for practicing professionals, and by independent learners. The array of IRIS resources includes modules, case studies, information briefs, course/PD activities, a high-leverage practices alignment tool, and an online glossary of disability-related terms as well as supporting products to enhance their use in coursework and PD activities.

Developed in collaboration with nationally recognized researchers and education experts, our free online resources address instructional and classroom issues of critical importance to today’s educators: classroom behavior management, secondary transition, early childhood, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and many others.

Click here to get started with all of these great resources from the Iris Center.

Department of Education Releases Annual IDEA Report to Congress

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education issued the 41st Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Since its enactment, IDEA has required an annual report to inform Congress and the public about implementation of the law in four main domains:

• providing a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) for students with disabilities and early intervention for infants and toddlers,
• ensuring that the rights of students with disabilities and their parents are upheld,
• assisting states and localities to provide IDEA services to all students with disabilities, and
• assessing the effectiveness of efforts to provide IDEA services.

Key findings [from 2017 state-reported data] include:

• 2 percent of special education teachers providing special education and related services for students aged 3 through 5 were highly qualified.
• 9 percent of special education teachers providing special education and related services for students aged 6 through 21 under IDEA Part B were highly qualified.
• 9 percent of students ages 6 through 21 served under IDEA Part B were educated in the regular classroom for at least some portion of the school day.
• In Illinois, we are serving 11 percent more students now (2017) than we were in 2008.

Click here to download the report.

OSEP Seeks Feedback on Attracting & Retaining Teachers

As part of its continued efforts to improve the ability to attract, prepare, and retain effective personnel for children with disabilities, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is seeking targeted input from many stakeholders across the State and local levels.

One of the most important stakeholder groups is people who work in schools (and especially people who work with students with disabilities - teachers, administrators, HR professionals, etc.)

Make your voice heard by filling out this 5-question survey to help support special educators and make a positive impact for our profession and for the children you serve. Your responses will be used to help inform and guide improvements in this critical area.

Click here to take the OSEP Survey

Office Of Special Education Programs Technical Assistance Network Directory

We hear the acronyms all the time - NCSI, IRIS, DASY.  It's easy to get lost in the maze of technical assistance centers offered by the federal department of education.  Thankfully, they have also created a helpful infographic to help all of us navigate the maze.  Check it out and learn about some of the great resources available to support students, schools, and states.

Educator Shortages in Special Education - Facilitators Guide

The Educator Shortages in Special Education Toolkit is organized around the guiding principle that short-term strategies to meet immediate demand must be intentionally paired with long-term, systemic strategies to attract, prepare, and retain effective special education teachers to create comprehensive shortage solutions. The Toolkit is organized around a Facilitator's Guide and three supporting sets of tools. The Facilitator's Guide is designed to lead state teams through a collaborative process to develop a comprehensive approach for addressing special education teacher shortages. Aligned with current efforts from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs, this process intentionally examines shortages across the entire career continuum — from attracting to preparing to retaining teachers — so that all students with disabilities have access to effective teachers.

Update on Significant Disproportionality - Court Rules Against Department of ED

CASE has been hard at work on behalf of its members on the issue of disproportionality.  After gathering feedback at the Board of Directors meeting in November, CASE submitted comments regarding the issue to Johnny Collett, the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS).  Many of you completed the survey we sent out and our Significantly Disproportionality Ad Hoc committee is taking all of that into consideration. 

Meanwhile, on Thursday, March 7, the US District Court for the District of Columbia announced its decision ruling the US Department of Education engaged in "illegal delay." CASE did immediately released a statement concerning this development.   

We are committed to continue working together on this very important issue through our AD HOC committee to figure out next steps for our members across the country. 

Here is an article from our legislative consultant that may help to clarify! 

Court Rules Regulation Delay Violates Federal Law

Myrna Mandlawitz, CASE legislative Consultant

Implementation of a 2016 regulation related to significant disproportionality in special education, promulgated by the U.S. Department of Education at the end of the Obama Administration, was put on hold by the current Administration in early 2017. The regulations would require states and local school districts to examine, report on, and address disproportionate identification and placement into more restrictive settings of students of color, as well as examining disciplinary actions for students with disabilities, including higher rates of suspension and expulsion.

After delaying the original regulation, the Department initially said it would issue a new proposed regulation in February 2019. That date came and went. While waiting for Department action, in July 2018 the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA), represented by the National Center for Youth Law, filed suit against the Department of Education alleging the Department's delay violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Specifically, the suit alleged the Department had taken actions that interfere with its obligation under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to ensure students with disabilities receive needed education services in the most appropriate setting without regard to students' race.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia announced its decision on March 7, ruling the U.S. Department of Education engaged in "illegal delay of a legal regulation." The court's ruling requires immediate implementation of the original regulations. Interestingly, a number of states continued to move toward implementation of the 2016 regulation, even though the Department suspended the regulation, so many states will not to have change their current activities.

In a letter to Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) on April 15, 2018, CASE stated "we strongly support addressing the issue of significant disproportionality, with special education eligibility as one factor. However, we also recognize this is a much larger systemic education issue that cannot be resolved solely through these regulations. That said, we are aware several states have made significant progress toward implementing these rules, with the original deadline close at hand. We do not want states that have followed the timetable to be penalized, while those that did not plan for the deadline are allowed greater flexibility than those that did. In addition, we believe delay may cause greater confusion in the field and continued wide variability in practice, exactly what these regulations are designed to avoid."

We are now waiting to see if the Department of Education will appeal the decision, or what their next move will be regarding this important regulation. In fact, this decision could have farther reaching consequences, since the Department has been moving to roll back other regulations across the various education programs they administer. It will be interesting to see if other organizations or stakeholders challenge other regulatory actions.

You can read the full decision in Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc. v. DeVos, Collett, U.S. Department of Education at https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2018cv1636-31.

Opportunity to Participate - OSERS Accountability Brainstorming Session

OSERS is committed to rethink anything and everything to ensure that we are in the best position to achieve our mission. Consistent with that commitment, we are beginning a process of rethinking Results Driven Accountability (RDA). This process, and any associated outcomes, will demonstrate our commitment to support states in their work to raise expectations and improve outcomes for children with disabilities, to provide flexibility within the constructs of the law, and to partner with parents and families, and diverse stakeholders.

This process cannot be successful without input from local administrators. Please join us Tuesday, December 4, to share your thoughts, experiences, and suggestions on rethinking RDA.

OSERS Accountability Brainstorming Session: Local Administrators

Date:                                     Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Time:                                    1:30pm to 2:30pm ET

Registration Link:            http://ems8.intellor.com/?do=register&t=1&p=810531

To join the call, please register using the link listed above. Once you are registered, you will receive an automated email containing the dial-in number and a personalized access code.

In preparation for this conversation, please find below a set of questions that will help frame our discussion. You may also submit input to RethinkRDA@ed.gov. OSERS will review and consider all input, but will not respond to messages at this time.