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CEC Offers IDEA Workshops Across the U.S.


  • CEC to Offer One-Day IDEA Workshops Across the Country
  • Department of Education Releases Notice for Request of Comments For Regulations on IDEA

  • Senate Holds Spellings Nomination Hearing

  • Senate HELP Committee Assignments

  • New Education Legislation Introduced on Hill

  • Secretary Paige Releases National Education Technology Plan



    • CEC To Offer One-Day IDEA Workshops Across The Country

    CEC will hold five one-day workshops around the country to provide information and implications of changes in the new IDEA law. CEC will be in Providence, Rhode Island on February 11; San Francisco on February 18; Chicago on February 23; at CECís Arlington, Virginia headquarters on March 4; and Miami on March 11. For more information on these workshops and to register, go to http://www.cec.sped.org/conventions/maryland_2005/pdfs/IDEA_workshops.pdf .

    Department of Education Releases Notice for Request of Comments For Regulations on IDEA

    On December 29, the Department of Education (ED) published a notice in the Federal Register soliciting comments and recommendations for regulations for the new IDEA law. The notice states that all comments and recommendations for regulations need to be sent into ED no later than February 28 of this year. You can submit your comments on IDEA regulations at http//:www.regulations.gov or email them to comments@ed.gov. The notice also says that ED will be holding informal meetings in six cities in early 2005 to gain input from the public on IDEA regulations.

    CEC is also seeking comments and recommendations on IDEA regulations from its members up until January 28. From the input we receive, CEC will develop its recommendations and, in the middle of February, make those recommendations available to its members who would like to forward them to the Department of Education. If you are and CEC member and would like to submit your IDEA regulation comments or recommendations to CEC, please email them to danb@cec.sped.org . Remember, the cut-off date for submitting your recommendations to CEC is January 28.

    Senate Holds Spellings Nomination Hearing

    Yesterday the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee held a hearing for the nomination of Margaret Spellings, President Bushís choice to succeed outgoing Secretary of Education Rod Paige. Because Spellings is viewed as a non-controversial figure whose nomination is essentially assured of being approved by the HELP Committed and the full Senate, the hearing was largely an opportunity for the committee to get to know Spellings. The questions posed to her from the panelís members were generally non-contentious and ranged from more funding and improvements for No Child Left Behind, more funding for Pell Grants, the Perkins vocational program, to the coordination of federal and state government roles in education. Spellings stated that she would be happy to work with committee members on a number of items, including fixing problems with NCLB. During the hearing, Senator Harkin of Iowa made a point of letting Ms. Spelling know that he would sound like a broken record whenever a discussion of NCLB came up, saying that he would always bring up the achievement of students with disabilities when discussing the achievements of other students.

    A full transcript of yesterdayís hearing was not available at the time of this writing. A statement made at the hearing by Chairman Enzi is available at http://enzi.senate.gov/spellnom.htm The full Senate is expected to confirm Ms. Spellings as Secretary of Education within the next few weeks.

    Senate HELP Committee Assignments

    The following Senators have been assigned to serve on the HELP during the 109th Congress:

    Republicans: Chairman Michael Enzi, Judd Gregg, Bill Frist, Lamar Alexander, Richard Burr, Johnny Isakson, Mike De Wine, John Ensign, Orrin Hatch, Jeff Sessions, and Pat Roberts.

    Democrats: Ranking Member Edward Kennedy, Chris Dodd, Tom Harkin, Barbara Mikulski, James Jeffords, Jeff Bingaman, Patty Murray, Jack Reed, and Hilary Clinton.

    The House will finalize its committee assignments in the middle of January.

    New Education Legislation Introduced on Hill

    The following education-related bills were introduced in Congress this week:

    Congressmen Rush Holt and Tim Bishop introduced legislation that would provide increased funding for Pell grants. Their bill would repeal rules changes that the Administration enacted late last year that recalculate how family income is determined. The Education and Workforce Committee Democrats claim that over 1 million students had their Pell grants reduced or eliminated due to the changes made by the Bush administration. To read the press release on this bill, go to http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/releases/rel1505b.html .

    Ted Strickland introduced the first piece of legislation in the 109th Congress aimed at reforming NCLB. The bill seeks to reform the way in which student progress is measured and is essentially identical to HR 3049, legislation Strickland authored in the last session of Congress.

    The full text of Stricklandís press release on his legislation follows, because it was not on his Website at the time of this writing.

    STRICKLAND INTRODUCES THE STUDENT TESTING FAIRNESS ACT
    Legislation will amend No Child Left Behind act

    WASHINGTON ‚ On the first day of the new Congressional session, Congressman Ted Strickland introduced the Comprehensive Learning Assessment for Students and Schools (CLASS) Act which addresses problems with the testing mandates contained in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.

    ìThe No Child Left Behind Act forces unfair and inappropriate decisions about our schools based on a single test score,î said Strickland. ìMy bill will change that.

    ìEffective and proper standardized tests can be used to measure student progress and target help where it is needed most. However, test scores alone cannot accurately reflect a schoolís success.î

    Stricklandís legislation will give schools credit for all student improvement, not just improvement that brings a group of students into the ìproficientî category. These improvements would include lowering drop-out rates, meeting state report card indicators and other measures based on individual students gains over time. It will also ensure that help is targeted where needed by focusing supplemental services on those groups of students that have failed to improve.

    Among other changes, the legislation will also allow student scores on retests to count toward data reporting, and allow students with disabilities whose instructional level is at least three years behind grade level to be tested at an appropriate level rather than forcing them to take grade-level assessments.

    ìItís not fair to severely disabled students to insist that they be evaluated using the same grade-level tests as other students,î noted Strickland. ìMy legislation will treat these students with the respect they deserve and allow them to grow and learn at a rate that is appropriate for their abilities.î

    The NCLB Act established two goals when signed into law in 2002. First, the law required schools to make all students proficient in reading and math by the 2013-2014 school year. Second, the law required schools to close the achievement gap between groups of poor and minority students and their more affluent non-minority peers. It also required annual testing in reading and math of all students in grades 3 through 8 and once in grades 10 through 12 beginning in the 2005-06 school year.

    ìStandardized tests can be useful tools in determining where an individual studentís weaknesses are, and which areas can be improved,î Strickland pointed out. ìBut other measures, such as student attendance, dropout rates, and the percentage of students taking Advanced Placement classes, all contribute to the overall picture of a schoolís success or failure. My legislation will make sure that these and other relevant measures in addition to standardized tests are used when determining which school systems are failing or succeeding.

    ìIf we do not make these changes, I believe more students will drop out of school, good teachers will leave the profession and our public schools will be unfairly penalized.î

    Please be assured that CEC will provide a full analysis of these and other pieces of education-related legislation and will report our positions to you.

    Secretary Paige Releases National Education Technology Plan

    Today Secretary of Education Rod Paige unveiled Toward a New Golden Age in American Education: How the Internet, the Law and Today's Students are Revolutionizing Expectation. The report focuses on the progress students are making in core academic subjects, improved academic results under No Child Left Behind, and how students are learning through the advances being made in technology. To read a press release from this event, go to http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2005/01/01072005.html .
    To view a copy of the plan, go to
    http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/2004/index.html

    © 2005ConnSENSE Bulletin