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Project Forum on LD

By JohnL on Aug. 6, 2008.

Over on LD Blog, I announced a new publication from Project Forum. The document examines the history of eligibility for special education of students identified as having Learning Disabilities and how US states are changing their eligibility procedures. Jump to the post on LD Blog.

RtI Poll on LDBlog

By JohnL on Aug. 5, 2008.

The second in a series of polls about readers’ views on response to instruction (or intervention; RtI) is now live on LD Blog. Jump directly to the post containing the poll.

Nominate early childhood interventions

By JohnL on Aug. 2, 2008.

The Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy has issued a call for nominations of “Social Interventions Meeting ‘Top Tier’ Evidence of Effectiveness” with a specific focus on early childhood interventions. The coalition is a non-profit and non-partisan organization that is affiliated with the Council for Excellence in Government. Its mission is “to promote government policymaking based on rigorous evidence of program effectiveness.”

Recent Congressional legislative provisions seek to focus funds in certain federal social programs on models and strategies (“interventions”) meeting Top Tier evidence of effectiveness – i.e., “that have been shown, in well-designed randomized controlled trials, to produce sizeable, sustained effects on important … outcomes.” To assist federal agencies, grantees, and others in implementing these provisions effectively, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy is launching an initiative to identify and validate interventions meeting this evidence standard. Here is a link [see end] to a 3-page Project Overview (plus appendices).

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CEC Public Policy Director

By JohnL on Aug. 1, 2008.

The Council for Exceptional Children (international) seeks a person to fill the position of Senior Director for Public Policy. Here’s the text of the announcement:

Purpose of Position:
Policy and Advocacy Services furthers the overall goals of CEC through improving policies affecting children and youth with exceptionalities, their families, and the professionals who work with them, at national and state/provincial levels of government. The Senior Director for Public Policy, under the direction of the Associate Executive Director for Policy and Advocacy Services, is responsible for providing leadership and direction for the Association’s governmental relations activities, including maintaining a network of units and members for advancing public policy.

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