I wanted to alert our readers to another interesting blog they may also want to follow. This academic year, the Council for Exceptional Children, a professional association for special educators, is featuring blogs by four "newly minted" special educators, all in their first, second, or third year in the field, to discuss their experiences in the classroom.
Parents of students with disabilities have filed a lawsuit against the Sumner County, Tenn., board of education, and a special education teacher who is charged with child abuse, the Associated Press reports.
Donna Weidenbenner, a teacher at Station Camp Elementary, was suspended without pay in April after allegations were made against her, the story said. She was arrested and charged with three counts of child abuse in August following an investigation by the Gallatin Police Department, the story said.
The lawsuit accuses Weidenbenner of abuse, including improper restraint, and force-feeding the children to the point of vomiting. The lawsuit claims the school board "failed to adequately and properly train" its teachers in "use of force" and proper restraint, the story said.
The improper use of seclusion and restraint has been the topic of Congressional hearings and of a Government Accounting Office report in May. The subject is expected to come up as part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act reauthorization.
The National Association of Secondary School Principals today released a set of recommendations for how lawmakers should change the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act when it's up for reauthorization in 2010.
The group formed a task force, made up of 11 acting middle and high school principals and assistant principals and four representatives from higher education institutions, in 2007 to study IDEA and how to improve it. These are the task force's nine recommendations, which touch on topics like assessments, paperwork, teacher shortages, and other issues that plague special education.
For more information on the following recommendations, check out the group's Web site .
NASSP said the new IDEA should:
*Assist states and districts in effectively recruiting and retaining highly qualified special education teachers.
*Expand professional development opportunities and technical assistance that aids teachers, school leaders, and support personnel to more effectively provide instructional and other services to all students with disabilities.
*Begin transition planning that includes measurable postsecondary goals and transition services by the time a student reaches the age of 14 or by eighth grade.
*Research and develop exemplary models in the areas of instructional and intervention strategies, assessment tools, development of individualized education programs (IEPs), and transition planning in order to meet the needs of students with disabilities.
*Ensure a linkage between states' data systems to streamline paperwork and increase consistent and appropriate access to services for students with disabilities who transfer between schools, districts, and states.
*Develop an assessment and accountability system for the purpose of calculating adequate yearly progress that allows for students with disabilities to be assessed at their current instructional level, as determined by the students' IEP teams.
*Provide incentives for highly qualified teachers to acquire dual certification in special education and general education.
*Create a common set of standards of care and assessments for each of the disabilities enumerated in IDEA.
*Fully fund IDEA.
What do you think the new IDEA should address? Please comment below.
Hawaii may have to lay off "thousands" of education department employees, if a cost-saving plan for furlough days is blocked by a federal judge, school officials said in an article in the Honolulu Advertiser.
Today is the second of 17 "furlough Fridays" when schools will close in the state. A judge on Oct. 22 refused a legal request for a last-minute halt before the first furlough day. A hearing is scheduled for Nov 5. on two lawsuits filed primarily on behalf of special education students, the story said.
A new study finds that 2- to 5-year-old children diagnosed with autism and autism-spectrum disorders had blood-mercury levels similar to those of typically developing children.
The study, published Oct. 19 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives shows mercury levels were mostly affected by the amount of fish children consumed. Those with autism and autism-spectrum disorders were less likely to consume fish, the study says. When adjusted for fish eating, the levels were about the same for both groups of children, it says.
The analysis was conducted through Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment, an ongoing study to identify and understand factors contributing to childhood autism, autism-spectrum disorders, and developmental delays.
The Ohio Department of Education must make sure the state's school districts comply with federal special education requirements, according to a partial settlement reached this week in an 18-year-old class-action lawsuit, the Columbus Dispatch reports.
On Tuesday, a federal judge approved the deal designed to end the disparities in services for the 280,000 special education students across the state. The issue left unresolved is whether the state is correctly funding special education, the article said.
Hawaii's plan to reduce costs by closing public schools for 17 "furlough" Fridays this year may prompt a federal class action on behalf of special education students, reports the Honolulu Advertiser.
"While we are not anxious to file a lawsuit," Eric Seitz, a Honolulu lawyer, told the paper, he will go to federal court this week seeking an injunction to halt the furloughs unless the Department of Education stops the plan. The article said that parents, worried about less classroom instruction and child-care issues, have protested the furlough plan.
In September, members of the Hawaii State Teachers Association ratified a two-year contract with the state that includes 17 furlough days a year for teachers on 10-month contracts and 21 days for teachers on 12-month contracts. The first furlough Friday is set for this week, the article said.
"During the past four weeks, the Hawaii State Department of Education has been working diligently to prepare students, parents, employees and the community for the upcoming furlough days," Superintendent Pat Hamamoto told the paper in a statement. "During this difficult economic period for our state, the department is utilizing the resources it has to provide classroom instruction and services for our students."
Teachers College at Columbia University is developing a residency program for teachers to work in high-needs schools in New York City while earning a master's degree.
The 14-month-long program will have a focus on teachers working with students with disabilities and students with ESL needs. The program, called Teaching Residents at Teachers College, will be funded by a $9.75 million, five-year federal grant, the university recently announced.
The program will recruit academically talented, diverse individuals from under-represented groups such as returning Peace Corps volunteers, veterans from the Armed Forces, and people making mid-career changes. Residents will receive a substantial scholarship to Teachers College, plus a $22,500 annual stipend and health insurance, according to the university.
"Students will be placed full-time in classrooms, but--unlike alternative-certification programs--not as the teacher of record," A. Lin Goodwin, Teacher College's associate dean for teacher education and school-based support, said in a statement about the program. "They will be apprentices, working alongside an experienced teacher for a year."
The residents will also do graduate coursework, professional study, and education activities that are closely connected to the classroom practice.
In honor of President Barack Obama having proclaimed October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services is featuring employment success stories on its Web site.
The site highlights projects and initiatives funded by the Office of Special Education Programs, the Rehabilitation Services Administration, and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitative Research that improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities.
"President Obama and I recognize the critical role that education plays in empowering the next generation of Americans with disabilities," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in a statement earlier this month. "Through education, we can help people with disabilities build a strong foundation of knowledge and marketable skills with expectations for employment and the ability to give back to others in their communities."
The U.S. Senate Monday confirmed Alexa Posny, the former Kansas education commissioner, for the role of assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services.
President Obama nominated Posny to the key federal post back in July. The job will mark a return to Washington for Posny. She served as director of the Education Department's office of special education in 2006-07. She has been the Kansas commissioner of education since June 2007.
Updated:The confirmation was good news for special education advocates.
"She understands special education research, policy and practice and she will be a proactive informed leader to the entire Department of Education," said Deborah Ziegler, associate executive director for policy and advocacy services for the Council for Exceptional Children, a professional association for special educators. "Her collaborative nature will allow her to work across all of the education department to bring to the table the necessary infusion of special education in all school reform initiatives."
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