News & Events

Free Webinar on Individualized Supports Planning for Students with Intellectual Disabilities - September 27, 2010

The American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) is hosting the first of its best practices webinars based on Intellectual Disability: Definition, Classification, and Systems of Supports (Eleventh edition) on September 27, 2010 at 3:30 p.m. EDT. The webinar, Individualized supports planning in special education: Applications to students with intellectual disability, will focus on informing special education teachers and administrators on how individualized supports planning can be used to build on strengths, and address the challenges in social thinking that students with intellectual disabilities may experience in classrooms. Register online for this webinar.

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Funding to Improve Outcomes for Individuals Receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Served by State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Agencies

The purpose of this program is to expand and improve rehabilitation and other services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, or to support activities that increase the provision, extent, availability, scope, and quality of rehabilitation services provided under the Act. Eligible applicants include states and public or nonprofit agencies and organizations, including  institutions of higher education.  Application deadline is September 8, 2010.

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Report on General Education Teacher Requirements for Teaching Children with Disabilities in Northeast & Islands Region

The U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences has released a report on states and territories that have requirements for teaching children with disabilities as part of their certification requirements of teachers.  The full report and a summary are available in PDF format.

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Access Board to Undertake Rulemaking on Classroom Acoustics to Improve Learning Environment for Young Children

The way a classroom is built and how language and sounds are heard in it can be an educational barrier for children who have hearing loss, use cochlear implants, have speech impairments or learning disabilities. The Access Board will address acoustics in classrooms by referencing a voluntary consensus standard developed by the Acoustical Society of America with support from the Board. The Board's rulemaking will focus on adding scoping provisions to its ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines to apply specific technical standard to classrooms that are newly built or significantly renovated. The Board will gather information on cost impacts in preparation for a proposed rule that will be made available for public comment.

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Eight Reports on Multisensory Programs for Students with Learning Disabilities

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) has released eight new reports that review the research on Orton-Gillingham-based programs for students with learning disabilities. Orton-Gillingham teaching sessions are action oriented with auditory, visual and kinesthetic elements reinforcing one another. The Clearinghouse's review of the research on Project Read Phonology, a multisensory language arts curriculum designed for use in a classroom or group setting, found this intervention to have no discernible effects on general reading achievement for students with learning disabilities. WWC also reviewed studies on seven other programs.

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New GAO Report Finds Students with Disabilities Face Challenges in Participating in School Sports

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report on the participation of students with disabilities in school athletics and physical education. The report found that students with disabilities participated in athletics at consistently lower rates than students without disabilities. Some schools or districts provide opportunities by partnering with community programs or offering athletics designed specifically for students with disabilities, such as wheelchair basketball. School officials also indicated a lack of information on ways to expand athletic opportunities, lack of clarity regarding schools' responsibilities and budget constraints as key challenges. The report makes recommendations on actions that the U.S. Department of Education should take to improve access to PE and extracurricular athletics to students with disabilities. The complete report can be downloaded in Text or PDF format.

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Process & Criteria Used to Evaluate States' Requests to Waive Maintenance of Effort (MOE) Requirements under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) will consider states' requests to be excused from MOE requirements under IDEA, Part B for education of students with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Given the falloff in state revenues that has caused hardships for many states, some states are seeking to waive MOE requirements which would reduce the state's amount of financial support for special education and support services. Waivers will only be granted when a state demonstrates that it has experienced "exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances." This press release explains the factors being considered to grant a waiver. This link opens a PDF document.

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Eligibility for an Institution's Comprehensive Transition & Postsecondary Program (CTP) for Students with Intellectual Disabilities

The Higher Education Act, as reauthorized by the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), includes information on the eligibility of students with intellectual disabilities to participate in the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Work-Study (FWS), and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG) programs. Institutions that offer a CTP program can apply to have that program approved so that eligible students may receive Federal Pell Grant, FWS and FSEOG funds. To be eligible, an institution must already participate in the Federal student aid programs and offer an approved CTP program. For more information download Application for Title IV Approval of a Comprehensive Transition and Postsecondary Program in Word format.

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Statement from Secretary of Education on Common Core State Standards

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has issued a statement on the release by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers of a set of state-led education standards known as the Common Core State Standards. The Standards represent a set of expectations for student knowledge and skills that high school graduates need to master to succeed in college and careers, and include information about the importance of challenging, and supporting, students with disabilities to excel within the general curriculum and be prepared for success in their post-school lives.

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