Tag Archive for 'IDEA'

Sad story that echoes fears of malfeasance

Published on 7 May 2012 in Administration, News and Public Policy. Closed Tags: , , , .

In “Ex-principal: ‘Never really told the truth’ to special ed parents—
Ex-principal: I lied to parents of special-needs kids,” Shannon Mullen of the Ashbury Park (NJ, US) Press recounts a story about Sheldon Boxer, a former school administrator who says that, as a means to save funds, he misrepresented the needs of students with disabilities and the capacity of schools to serve them. Mr. Boxer accuses an attorney working with the local education agency of leading the effort without every actually issuing an edict that the purpose was to hold down costs.

Ms. Mullen captures some he-said, he-said in her story as well as some human interest (a case of a child with substantial special education needs whose parents contend say he was not provided appropriate services). You can read Ms. Mullen’s report of this sad special education story in its original form (or snag this single-page version).

Full US IDEA funding proposed again

Published on 23 July 2011 in Administration, News, Public Policy and The Press. Closed Tags: , , .

Over on On Special Education Nirvi Shah reported that Senator Tom Harkin and colleagues once again introduced a bill proposing that the US federal government pay its full (i.e., 40%) share of the costs of special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Read her post, “Bill Would Boost Federal Spending on Students with Disabilities.”

Milwaukee parents allege voucher program discriminates against students with disabilities

Published on 9 June 2011 in Administration, News, Public Policy and The Press. Closed Tags: , , , , , , .

Should students with disabilities get to use vouchers, too? Should private schools have to accept them? Some parents say some private schools aren’t taking vouchers from students with disabilities and they are complaining.

Journalists reported that the parents of children with disabilities in Milwaukee (WI, US) and the American Civil Liberties Union have complained to the US Deaprtment of Justice that a Milwaukee school program permitting parents to choose schools discriminates against students with disabilities. According to the complaint, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program “discriminated against students with disabilities and segregated those students in one portion of the publicly funded educational system.” The statistical basis for the argument is that 1.6% of students in the voucher-supported schools have disabilities, but nearly 20% of the students in the public schools have disabilities.
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Easter Seals campaigns for early intervention

Published on 9 December 2010 in Commentaries, News, Public Policy and The Press. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , .

Under the headline “Tell President Obama To Help Kids With Disabilities Realize Their Full Potential,” Change.org promoted a petition encouraging support for early intervention for children with disabilities. It’s got to be difficult to sell people on the idea of increasing government expenditures in a time of substantial concern about federal deficits, but the Easter-Seals-sponsored petition is seeking to accomplish just that end. Here’s the pitch.

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OSERS celebrates anniversary of IDEA

Published on 29 November 2010 in Administration, News, Public Policy and The Press. Closed Tags: , , , , .

The US Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services posted its official recognition of the 35th anniversary of the adoption of the signing of the landmark legislation, of Public Law 94-142, then called the “Education of All Handicapped Children Act,” but which we know now as the “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act” or simply “IDEA.” Interested readers can review OSERS’ tribute to this remarkable legislation by reviewing the Web site dedicated to it anniversary, “The IDEA 35th Anniversary.”

IDEA @ 35

Published on 19 November 2010 in News, Public Policy and The Press. Closed Tags: , , .

For those who haven’t done so already, it’s still a great time to take a look at the Web site celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Update: From perusing C. Samuels’ On Special Ed, I see I was pretty slow in noting this. She posted about it 8 November.

Conference on brain development and learning

Published on 24 March 2008 in Administration, Advanced training opportunities, Conferences and News. Closed Tags: , , , , .

From an advertisement I received….

The 2nd Biennial, International Conference on:

BRAIN DEVELOPMENT & LEARNING: MAKING SENSE OF THE SCIENCE

July 12-15, 2008 Sheraton Wall Center Hotel, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

One of the best conferences I ve been to in 20 years! (Inaugural Meeting Attendee)

Conference website: http://www.interprofessional.ubc.ca/bdl.html

This interdisciplinary conference is devoted to enriching and improving the lives of children by making cutting-edge research in neuroscience & child development available, relevant, & understandable to mental health professionals, educators, parents, & others who care about children.

This year ** ADHD** is one of the main topics of the conference.

World-famous researchers who are also outstanding speakers will present, including:

TORKEL KLINGBERG, who pioneered the role of computer games to improve working memory in children with ADHD (CogMed: www.drshred.ca/cogmed.php)

ROSEMARY TANNOCK, a pioneer in ADHD research and co- developer of integrated
multimedia resources on ADHD for teachers (www.teachadhd.ca).

In addition, famous speakers and researchers on Executive Functions and Prefrontal Cortex will be featured, including:

AMY ARNSTEN, BOB KNIGHT, BYRAN KOLB, BRUCE PENNINGTON, MIKE PETRIDES

And famous speakers and researchers on RESILIENCE in the face of Depression, Anxiety, Trauma, or Abuse, including:

WILLIAM BEARDSLEE, who will speak about his work with parents and families:
Hope, Meaning and Continuity: Lessons Learned from Developing and Adapting Preventive Interventions for Depression in Families

GIL NOAM, a Prof. in both the Education and Medical Schools of Harvard:
Resilience Development: Where Education and Mental Health Meet

A special feature of this conference:
Besides lectures, you ll have the opportunity to meet, speak informally with, and ask questions of, these world-famous speakers in a small, relaxed setting over a lunch with 2-3 speakers and no more than 30 conference participants.

For years I have seen people try to bring educators together with health specialists, or either with researchers. I have never seen any effort work as well as what you put together in Vancouver.

It was wonderful having different groups of professionals from different backgrounds and training come together in a truly collaborative way sharing research, knowledge, and experiences.

For more information and registration:

Conference website: http://www.interprofessional.ubc.ca/bdl.html

Or Call: Toll free in Canada or the US: 1-877-328-7744
From Overseas: 001-604-822-6156

Email: devcogneuro@gmail.com

Conference schedule: www.interprofessional.ubc.ca/BDL_subpages/schedule.html

More info on Speakers: www.interprofessional.ubc.ca/BDL_subpages/presenters.html

A website set up to help conference attendees find someone to share a hotel room with, a homestay, or a ride-share: http://www.devcogneuro.com/share/YaBB.pl

NCD on NCLB and IDEA

Published on 2 February 2008 in News and Public Policy. Closed Tags: , , , , .

The National Council on Disability (NCD) published a document entitled “The No Child Left Behind Act
and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: A Progress Report” that describes changes in student outcomes, professional practices, and policies across the US. Here’s an excerpt from the executive summary that provides an overview of the document.

In 2004, NCD issued a report called No Child Left Behind: Improving Educational Outcomes for Students with Disabilities, which examined the impact of NCLB and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) on improving educational outcomes for students with disabilities. The report drew its conclusions and recommendations from interviews with disability policy, education, and advocacy leaders and identified some changing attitudes and behavioral shifts in K–12 education as a result of the new legislation.

This report provides both a follow-up and a more detailed reporting of the trends and attitudes about NCLB and IDEA over the past several years. In this study we spoke to dozens of researchers, practitioners, and state administrators from across the country about NCLB and IDEA. In addition, we conducted a study of 10 of the largest states in the nation, representing approximately half the U.S. general population.

This report is divided into four sections. Part I provides a brief overview of trend data regarding students with disabilities. Part II describes conversations with state administrators and representatives about trends and issues related to NCLB and IDEA. Part III describes similar conversations with advocates, federal officials, and other stakeholders. Part IV provides recommendations based on our findings.

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