Kimberly L. Bright, associate professor of special education at Shippensburg University, died the 30 June 2010 in Harrisburg (PA, US).

Born 26 June 1957, she held degrees from several institutions of higher education. She received a bachelor’s degree from Millersville University, a master’s degree from Shippensburg University, and a doctoral degree from the Pennsylvania State University.

Prof. Bright began her career as a special education teacher. Later she became the director of special education for a local education agency in Pennsylvania.

Prof. Bright served as treasurer for the Division for Learning Disabilities (DLD), an organization that she had previously served as the student representative, while completing graduate studies. In addition to her contributions to DLD, Prof. Bright also was active in the Pennsylvania chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children.

In addition to teaching courses about students with disabilities and effective teaching procedures, Prof. Bright also supervised many students during their practica. According to her colleague, David Bateman, “she is considered a mentor by many of the areas best teachers.” To review comments by some of those individuals, read the tributes posted on her Facebook page.

Link to the obituary published by Hoover Funeral Homes.

Writing in the New York Times, Sharon Otterman reviews some of the challenges encountered in providing educational services to students with multiple and severe disabilities. In her extended article, Mr. Otterman uses the case of Donovan Forde, a 20-year-old youth who is nearing the end of mandated educational services in the US, to explain how teachers must weigh provision of academic experiences and functional living needs.

And yet, because of his cognitive disabilities brought on by a traumatic brain injury at nearly 6 months old, it is almost impossible to know what he comprehends and retains. After 15 years in the New York City school system, he is less reserved and more social, but otherwise has shown almost no progress, his mother said.

Once predominately isolated in institutions, severely disabled students have been guaranteed a free, appropriate public education like all children since the passage of federal legislation in 1975. In the years since, school districts across the country have struggled to find a balance between instruction in functional skills and academics while providing basic custodial care.

Read to Ms. Ottermn’s article. It would be a worthwhile one for discussion in courses about teaching students with disabilities.

For those who can make it, I recommend attending the main Sprout Film Festival 30 April through 2 May at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. This is the parent festival for the touring versions, one of which has stopped in my neighborhood a couple of times. Well worth the time. See http://www.sproutfilmfestival.org.

A touring version of the Sprout Film Festival (SFF), which features films by and about individuals with developmental disabilities, stops in Charlottesville (VA) Friday 12 March 2010. There are to be two shows, one from 10:30 AM to 12:00 noon and the second from 7:00 to 9:00 PM; the former is free and a $10 donation is suggested for the evening screening. Both shows are at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Performing Arts
Center.

The theme for this year’s incarnation is “Making the Invisible Visible.” The spring 2010 SFF show follows screenings during the Virginia Film Festival in November of 2009. Learn more about the shows by visiting the Piedmont Regional Education Program and Parent Resource Center (PREP-PRC.ORG) and say “thanks” to the many sponsoring organizations, including Light House, The Virginia Institute for Autism, VSA Arts of Virginia, City of Charlottesville, the Piedmont Council of the Arts, and the Arc of the Piedmont.

SFF, which has a long and successful history of shows in New York City (some of which I’ve noted here previously and on LD Blog), will host its 8th annual event 30 April through 2 May at the Ruth And Herald D. Uris Center For Education of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Over on Squidalicious, a guest post by Lea Cuniberti-Duran about “Special Needs Children and Public Education” appears under the title “We Are Not Sparta: The Real, Justified Costs of Educating Kids With Special Needs.” Ms. Cuniberti-Duran recounts the argument that schools are hamstrung by the costs of providing special education services.

I have attended many school district budget meetings in which officials blurted to their audience, “We cannot pay for XYZ because of our financial responsibility toward children with special needs: to educate one special needs student can cost the district $100,000 a year.” I also hear about how the district has “an unfunded mandate to educate children with special needs, and how this results into an encroachment to the general fund.”

She then proceeds to provide a clear and powerful dismissal of the canard that special education’s costs harm others. Not only does she show how the costs argument leaks (at least with regard to the local education agencies in her geographic area of the US), but also she explains how beneficial special education has been to society as a whole over the past 35 years. Read it!

On the US radio show All Things Considered 24 November 2009, I heard a remarkable story about an individual who, after many years in a comatose state, reportedly began to communicate.

Twenty-three years ago, a Belgian car-crash victim [Rom Houben] was diagnosed as being in a vegetative state. But doctors now say he appears to have been conscious the whole time. The man is now communicating using a special touchscreen. Neurologist Steven Laureys, who leads the Coma Science Group at the University of Liege in Belgium, says people in non-communicative states are misdiagnosed up to 40 percent of the time.

The means of communicating sounds vaguely familiar: Communication by typing while someone (a “faciliator?”) supports one’s arm? Today the story is in the local newspaper (click image at right). Fortunately, some coverage of the story reveals skepticism about the source of Mr. Houben’s communications. See Professor Arthur Caplan’s comments in the Associated Press article linked in the image here and his comments from MSNBC. See, also, coverage by Brandon Keim in Wired and Rob Quinn in Newser.

I wish Mr. Houben and his family well, but I hope Dr. Laureys will test whether Mr. Houben can answer questions correctly when the people supporting his hand during typing cannot see the touch screen.

The US Senate confirmed Alexa Posny as assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services in the US Department of Education Monday 5 October 2009. US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan issued a press release congratulating Dr. Posny on the confirmation. Here’s a snippet from the press release:

Alexa E. Posny comes to the department from Kansas where she served as commissioner of education for the state. As commissioner, Posny was responsible for helping over 450,000 students meet or exceed high academic standards, licensing over 45,000 teachers and overseeing a state education budget of more than $4.5 billion. Prior to her work as commissioner, Posny served as the director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) for the U.S. Department of Education, a position in which she assisted state and local efforts to effectively educate all children and youth with disabilities. Posny has also served as the Kansas deputy commissioner of education, Kansas state director of special education, director of special education for the Shawnee Mission School District, director of the Curriculum and Instruction Specialty Option as part of the Title I Technical Assistance Center (TAC) network of TACs across the United States, and a senior research associate at Research and Training Associates in Overland Park, Kan. Posny earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, a master’s degree in behavioral disabilities and a doctorate in educational administration both from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Posny has also served on the Board of Directors for the Chief State School Officers, the National Council for Learning Disabilities, and chaired the National Assessment Governing Board’s Special Education Task Force. Posny has also been a teacher at the elementary, middle school, high school and university levels.

Link for the full press release. Catch coverage by Lisa Fine for On Special Education.

The US President Barack Obama announced that he plans to nominate Alexa E. Posny for the position of Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) in the Department of Education. Dr. Posny, who currently serves as commission of education for the state of Kansas, will return to US ED where she previously served as Director in the Office of Special Education Programs.

OSERS claims its mission is to “promote academic excellence, enhance educational opportunities and equity for all of America’s children and families, and to improve the quality of teaching and learning by providing leadership, technical assistance and financial support.” In the role of Assistant Secretary for OSERS, Ms. Posny will oversee policies related to achievement in schools, educational improvement, and financial assistance for local education agencies.

The White House press release provided background information about Commissioner Posny:

Alexa E. Posny currently serves as the Commissioner of Education for the state of Kansas. As Commissioner, she is responsible for helping over 450,000 students meet or exceed high academic standards, licensing over 45,000 teachers, and overseeing a state education budget of a little over $4.5 billion dollars. Prior to this, Posny was appointed as the Director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) for the U.S. Department of Education, a position in which she assisted state and local efforts to effectively educate all children and youth with disabilities. Other positions that Posny has held included the Kansas Deputy Commissioner of Education , Kansas State Director of Special Education, Director of Special Education for the Shawnee Mission School District, Director of the Curriculum and Instruction Specialty Option as part of the Title 1 Technical Assistance Center (TAC) network of TACs across the United States, and a Senior Research Associate at Research and Training Associates in Overland Park, KS. Posny earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, a master’s degree in behavioral disabilities and a doctorate in educational administration both from the University of Wisconsin Madison. Currently she serves on the Board of Directors for the Chief State School Officers, the National Council for Learning Disabilities, and chairs the National Assessment Governing Board’s Special Education Task Force. Most importantly, she has been a teacher at the elementary, middle and high school levels and remains a teacher today, serving as adjunct faculty with the University of Kansas.

Links for:

• The White House press release;
• More information about OSERS;
• Commissioner Posny’s background and resume (PDFs from Kansas State Department of Education; they may go 404 when she moves)

One of the on-going concerns about high-stakes testing and special education is whether scores of students with disabilities should be included in a school’s or local education agency’s average on tests. If they do, won’t they drag the average to lower levels? If they don’t isn’t that counter to the advocacy position of some organizations (e.g., National Center on Learning Disabilities)?

The issue’s complicated by the change in the US government. People are looking carefully at the records of the newly appointed officials in the US Obama Administration. And, low and behold, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s record is under the magnifying glass. As Christina Samuels reports in “Chicago Schools Come Under Fire for Special Education Progams,” the actions of schools that were under Mr. Duncan’s oversight are in the crosshairs.

Because U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan was the superintendent of Chicago Public Schools, I keep an eye out for special education news originating from the city. This article, in the Chi-Town Daily News, is about an accusation from a principal that students with special learning needs are barred from evaluations because it’s too expensive to educate them.

A Chicago Public Schools principal yesterday accused district officials of routinely denying disabled students access to specialized help, and at times even barring them from evaluation for learning disabilities.

As is common with Ms. Samuels’ report, this is a valuable recitation of the situation. I recommend it to folks who are concerned about high-stakes testing and special education. Link to the article.

The Division for Learning Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children will hold its annual conference in October of 2009 in Coronado (CA, US) near San Diego. There’s an all-star lineup of presenters who don’t just spray and pray; they conduct 3-hour workshops so that participants know how to implement practices in clinical and school settings.

Learn more: Click here.