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Home | What's New | Articles Archive | Washington Archive | Resources Archive | Positions Archive | Reviews Archive | Links | Conferences | About Us |
CEC to Unveil New Assistive Technology Tool In August
On August 2, 2006, the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) will be hosting an event at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. to unveil the Assistive Technology Planner From IEP Consideration to Classroom Implementation. Not all students need Assistive Technology (AT), but for those students who do AT may change their lives. Individualized education program (IEP) teams have a major responsibility for ensuring that students with disabilities receive appropriate AT devices and/or services, and that AT is used effectively. The Assistive Technology Planner is a practical reference guide for IEP teams as they plan and implement AT as part of a student's IEP. The implementation planning kit contains a users guide, implementation planning tool, and individual planners for teachers, administrators, and families. This product was created by the National Assistive Technology Research Institute (NATRI) under an OSEP grant and will be sold through CEC and its' Technology and Media Division (TAM). The Council for Exceptional Children will be hosting the event to show our support for Assistive Technology as a valuable and necessary element of the IEP as well as to celebrate how AT can empower students with disabilities to access the general curriculum. For more information or to purchase the Assistive Technology Planner please call CEC at 1-888-CEC-SPED (232-7733).
Tell CEC Your Thoughts on No Child Left Behind
Next week, CEC’s Child and Youth Action Network (CAN) coordinators will come to Washington, D.C. to meet with Congressional offices and discuss public policy that affects students with disabilities and/or gifts and talents. One topic of discussion will be an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). As Congress prepares to reauthorize – rewrite – NCLB, CEC will be providing Congressional offices with its recommendations on how to improve the law. Take this opportunity to share with CEC your views on NCLB! To fill out CEC’s online NCLB form or to download the form, click here.
House to Hold Hearing on Impact of No Child Left Behind on Students with Disabilities
On Wednesday, July 12 the House Education and the Workforce Committee will hold the next in a series of hearings focusing on the No Child Left Behind Act. Next week’s hearing will focus on students with disabilities and English language learners. Look for a summary of the hearing in next week’s update!
Visit the House Education and the Workforce Committee website.
Commission on No Child Left Behind Holds Roundtable to Discuss Impact on Rural Schools
On June 28th, the Commission on No Child Left Behind – led by former Wisconsin Governor and Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson and former Georgia Governor, Ray Barnes – held a roundtable discussion to discuss the effects of NCLB on rural schools. The panelists – from Nebraska, Ohio, Kansas, and Arkansas, and a participant from the Rural School and Community Trust in Burlington, Vermont -- outlined major concerns they had with meeting the mandates of NCLB and described three primary concerns affecting their states; the concerns were directly or indirectly related to meeting the “highly qualified” teacher requirements of the Act. First, rural school districts are associated with lower teacher pay and lack a variety of social and community opportunities that can be found generally in more suburban districts. Secondly, rural districts are confronted with difficulties regarding the access to related service providers for special needs. Lastly, teachers of Special Education often have to teach multiple subjects to meet the needs of their students. The student numbers in rural districts do not allow for the hiring of teachers to cover individual subject areas – thus teachers in special education must teach multiple classes. In order for these districts to maintain in compliance with NCLB special education teachers would have to be certified in as many as four subjects.
The panelists requested that leniencies be established within NCLB for rural districts.
Participant List:
Ms. Polly Feis – Deputy Commissioner, Nebraska DOE
Mr. Joseph Long – Superintendent, Otsego Local School District, Tontogany, Ohio
Ms. Kara Chrisman – Math Teacher, Lamar High School, Lamar, Arkansas
Dr. Lorna Jimerson – Rural School and Community Trust, Burlington , Vermont
Ms. Carol Panzer – Educational Consultant, Southwest Plains Regional Service Center, Sublette, Kansas
More information on the Commission and ideas from the Rural School Districts panelists can be found at www.nclbcommission.org. The Commission will be hosting another round table discussion this August on Special Education. CEC will be at the Aspen Institute to listen and provide its members with an update of that discussion.