Updates

This month’s update concerns two issues that were subject to recent court decisions and are of practical significance: (a) contingent IEPs for students in third-party placements, such as Medicaid-provided residential treatment facilities; and (b) restrictions on parental communications to district personnel based on a previous pattern of excessive or intimidating e-mails, calls, and/or visits.  READ MORE

Last October, the National Association of State Directors of Special Education issued new guidelines for educating deaf and hard of hearing students titled: “Optimizing Outcomes for Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Educational Service Guidelines.” The Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf is collaborating with the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center (the Clerc Center) to offer a free all-day summit on the new guidelines as well as other salient topics related to the education of deaf and hard of hearing students in all educational settings. The summit will be held at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 26.

This summit is for special education directors and deaf education administrators/professionals in the areas of policy, best practices, and innovation related to educating deaf and hard of hearing students.

The summit is an opportunity to engage in discussion with school administrators from around the country whose schools serve large number of deaf and hard of hearing students about federally implemented programs based on laws impacting the education of deaf and hard of hearing students ages 0-21. The summit will also explore broader questions relating to early hearing detection and language acquisition and STEM programs at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

The summit is offered free of cost through a collaboration with CEASD and the Clerc Center. It will be conducted in American Sign Language and spoken English. Hotel accommodations are available on the campus of Gallaudet University. Please click here to view the flyer for details. Click here to register.

The midterm elections were good for supporters of expanding early-childhood education, with the majority of newly elected governors expressing support for programs targeted at teaching and caring for young people. Though there may be widespread support on the need for early-childhood education programs, there is no consensus over what those programs should focus on and look like.  READ MORE

Over this past year, lifestyle blogger Aileen Xu has kept a monthly gratitude list. Sometimes it was the big stuff: “I’m grateful that my family is so understanding. I’m grateful so many people care.” And sometimes it was life’s little blessings: “July 2018: I’m grateful for good hair after I shower.”  READ MORE

Children should have equal access to a high-quality education. It’s a popular talking point among both the left and the right because it’s non-objectionable — yet it’s far from the reality of American primary and secondary education. As the landmark Reagan-administration report, A Nation at Risk, put it 35 years ago, “If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war.”  READ MORE

Imagine if each school day every teacher arrived with a contagious, optimistic attitude. Research suggests that positive emotions can help solve problems, reinforce resilience, strengthen relationships and even improve educational outcomes. An important aspect of effective leadership is creating and supporting environments that cultivate optimism. Here are four practical strategies for creating a positive and optimistic school culture.  READ MORE

On Tuesday, the Federal Commission on School Safety released its report on how to prevent, mitigate and recover from acts of violence in schools. President Trump established the commission in March, following the horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.  READ MORE

Frustrated by little pay and better opportunities elsewhere, public school teachers and education employees in the United States are quitting their jobs at the fastest rate on record. During the first 10 months of the year, public educators, including teachers, community college faculty members, and school psychologists, quit their positions at a rate of 83 per 10,000, Labor Department figures obtained by The Wall Street Journal show.  READ MORE

Jessica Cabeen, a contributor for Edutopia, writes: “‘The moment you want to retreat is the exact moment you have to reach in.’ As an administrator, I use this mantra when the work feels too difficult or the feedback seems too tough, to remind myself that the challenge is also a moment of opportunity. For some school leaders, it is counterintuitive to think that they might need to ask for help. But in order to thrive, it’s vital that school leaders reach out and create pathways for support. How do they seek support?”  READ MORE

In September of 2018 the CEC Board of Directors approved a new policy concerning the prevention of and response to maltreatment (i.e., neglect & abuse). The policy is designed to improve the safety and well-being of all children with disabilities through enhancements in research, teacher preparation standards, professional development opportunities, school policies, advocacy programs, curricular resources, and instructional strategies. This policy was designed to expand the current professional focus upon recognition and reporting, to a focus upon prevention of and response to maltreatment. The change in focus is supported by a broad coalition of agencies and organizations, including the CEC Board of Directors, several CEC Divisions, IDC members and the CEC Representative Assembly. The new CEC policy is guided by data concerning the long term risks associated with child maltreatment and the fact that children with disabilities are three times more likely to be maltreated than their nondisabled peers.

CASE is collaborating with the IDC Maltreatment Work Group in the design, development and dissemination of K-12 policies, professional development opportunities and curricular resources. At this initial stage of the work CASE is seeking to identify “Bright Spots,” i.e., school leaders who have existing expertise concerning maltreatment as experienced by children with disabilities. CASE members with this expertise are asked to contact Dr. Harold Johnson/CoChair of the IDC Maltreatment Work Group (3hjohnson@nullgmail.com) or Jamie Hopkins (jamiehopkins777@nullgmail.com), member IDC Maltreatment Work Group. Dr. Johnson or Ms. Hopkins will then follow up to provide more information concerning the “Bright Spot” initiative.

Additional information and collaborative opportunities regarding the new CEC policy on maltreatment will be provided in subsequent CASE communications.  R