Thirty-sixth Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Parts B and C.

1/2015

This is the 36th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2014. Section 664(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as reauthorized in 2004, requires that the Department of Education report annually on the progress made toward the provision of a free appropriate public education to all children with disabilities and the provision of early intervention services to infants and toddlers with disabilities.The 36th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2016 describes our nation’s progress in:

  • providing a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for all children with disabilities,
  • ensuring that the rights of children with disabilities and their parents are protected,
  • assisting states and localities in providing for the education of all children with disabilities, and
  • assessing the effectiveness of efforts to educate children with disabilities.

The report focuses on the children and students with disabilities being served under IDEA, Part C or B, nationally and at the state level.

Source: U.S. Department of Education

Available at: http://www2.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/osep/2014/parts-b-c/index.html

Early Intervention and Preschool Special Education Services for Children Who Live on Reservations with BIE Funded Programs: Q&A Guidance Document with sample Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Agreement

4/2013

This document seeks to provide clarity and guidance related to provision of early intervention and special education services for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers aged birth through 5 who reside on reservations in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It is intended for Part C Lead Agencies (LAs), Early Intervention Service Providers (EISPs), Local Education Agencies (LEAs), State Education Agencies (SEAs), Tribes, schools operated or funded by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), Family and Child Education (FACE) programs, Head Start Programs, and other agencies that work with this population of children.

This document is based on a similar document developed through the collaborative efforts of New Mexico Local Education Agencies, the Bureau of Indian Education (FACE Program), the New Mexico Public Education Department, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), and Mountain Plains Regional Resource Center (MPRRC). State or LEA specific information has been edited to ensure broader applicability. Additionally, information specific to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C services has been added. The document is the result of a combined effort of the Regional Resource Center Program (RRCP), the Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA Center), and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). The information presented in this document is for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as legal advice and should not be relied upon as, or substituted for, an informed opinion by an attorney based on a specific set of facts. This document does not offer formal policy guidance from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) at the United Stated Department of Education. OSEP endorsement is neither intended nor implied.

Source: Regional Resource Center Program (RRCP), the Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA Center), and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)

Available at: http://www.rrcprogram.org/cms2/images/_rrcpdata/documents/EC_services_children_on_reservations_2-28-13-aml-v9.pdf

Education Department Awards $11.5 Million in Grants for Training of Special Educators to Improve Services for Children with Disabilities

10/4/11

The U.S. Department of Education announced today $11.5 million in grants to help train educators to improve services and results for children with disabilities.

The Special Education–Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities Program provides funds that help address state-identified needs for highly qualified personnel in special education, related services, early intervention, and regular education programs that serve children with disabilities.

“Students with disabilities deserve the same world-class education as their non-disabled peers,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.  “These grants will move us closer to that goal by giving special educators valuable training.”

Funding will help train educators in such areas as: early intervention, early childhood; low-incidence disabilities; related services, speech/language and adapted physical education and secondary/transition services.

For more on the Special Education–Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities program, seehttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/osepprep/index.html.

Following is a list of the grant recipients.

 Office Of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Office of Special Education Programs

Personnel Development To Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities/Combined Priority  (CFDA 84.325K)

Focus Area A – Preparing Personnel to Serve Infants, Toddlers, and Preschool -Age Children with Disabilities:

    • AL — Birmingham — University of Alabama at Birmingham, Jennifer Kilgo, jkilgo@uab.edu, $248,930.
    • FL — Miami — University of Miami, Elizabeth Harry, bharry@miami.edu, $236,073.
    • FL — Tallahassee — Florida State University, Mary Frances Hanline, mhanline@fsu.edu, $249,937.
    • GA — Athens — University of Georgia,  Cynthia Vale, cvail@uga.edu, $244,622.
    • MO — Columbia — University of Missouri, Rebecca McCathren, McCathrenR@missouri.edu, $250,000.
    • NY — NYC — Teachers College, Columbia University, Mariana Soutu-Manning, ms3983@columbia.edu, $249,753.
    • NC — Chapel Hill — University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Harriet Able, hable@email.unc.edu, $236,371.
    • OR — Eugene — University of Oregon, Jane Squires, jsquires@uoregon.edu, $249,630.
    • PA — Pittsburgh — University of Pittsburgh, Louise Kaczmarek, kaczmk@pitt.edu, $250,000.

Focus Area B – Preparing Personnel to Serve School-Age Children with Low- Incidence Disabilities:

    • AZ — Tucson — University of Arizona, Shirin Antia, santia@u.arizona.edu, $249,890.
    • CA — Thousand Oaks — California Lutheran University,  Maura Martindale, mmartind@callutheran.edu, $238,197.
    • DC — Washington — George Washington University, Carol Kochar-Bryant, kochhar@gwu.edu, $249,935.
    • MT — Missoula — University of Montana, Gail McGregor, gmcgrego@selway.umt.edu, $250,000.
    • NY — Rochester — University of Rochester, Julia White, jwhite@warner.rochester.edu, $249,878.
    • NY — Rochester — RIT/National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Gerald Bateman,  $249,014.
    • NC — Charlotte — University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Fred Spooner, fhspoone@uncc.edu, $241,608.
    • OR — Monmouth — Western Oregon University, Elisa Maroney, maronee@wou.edu, $250,000.
    • TX — Lubbock — Texas Tech University, Nora Griffin-Shirley, n.griffin-shirley@ttu.edu, $249,999.
    • WA — Seattle — University of Washington, Carol Davis, cadavis1@u.washington.edu, $249,926.
    • WI — Milwaukee — University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Roger Smith, smithro@uwm.edu, $184,296.

Focus Area C – Preparing Personnel to Provide Related Services to Children, including Infants and Toddlers, with Disabilities:

    • CA — Chico — The California State University, Chico Research Foundation, Rebecca Lytle, rlytle@csuchico.edu, $250,000.
    • CA — San Francisco — San Francisco State University, Betty Yu, bettyyu@sfsu.edu, $249,272.
    • FL — Tampa — University of South Florida, Kwand-Sun Blair, kwangsun@usf.edu, $133,994.
    • HI — Manoa — University of Hawaii at Manoa, Nathan Murata, nmurata@hawaii.edu, $244,575.
    • KS — Lawrence — University of Kansas Center for Research, Inc, Jane Wegner, jwegner@ku.edu, $244,409.
    • NY — Syracuse — Syracuse University, Linda Milosky, milosky@syr.edu, $249,979.
    • NC — Chapel Hill — University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Elizabeth Crais, bcrais@med.unc.edu, $235,575.
    • PA — University Park — Pennsylvania State University, Janice Light, jcl4@psu.edu, $249,927.
    • UT — Salt Lake City — University of Utah, Hester Henderson, hester.henderson@health.utah.edu, $233,121.

Focus Area D – Preparing Personnel in Minority Institutions to Serve Children, including Infants and Toddlers, with Disabilities:

    • CA — Los Angeles — California State University, LA University Auxiliary Services, Cheryl Kamei-Hanna, $250,000.
    • CA — San Jose — San Jose State University, Research Foundation, June McCullough, June.McCullough@sjsu.edu, $250,000.
    • CA — Santa Barbara — The Regents of the University of California, Santa Barbara, George Singer, singer@education.ucsb.edu, $250,000.
    • DC — Washington — Gallaudet University, Amy Hile, Amy.Hile@gallaudet.edu, $142,746.
    • DC — Washington — Howard University, Kay Payne, kpayne@howaed.edu, $249,675.
    • FL — Tampa — University of Central Florida, Linda Rosa-Lugo,lrosa@mail.ucf.edu, $225,740.
    • MA — Boston — University of Massachusetts, Boston, Angela Stone-Macdonald, angela.stone@umb.edu, $186,355.
    • MA — Boston — University of Massachusetts, Boston, Debra Hart, debra.hart@umb.edu, $249,999.
    • MI — Detroit — Wayne State University, Suzanna Dillon, sdillon@wayne.edu, $233,594.
    • NY — Flushing — Queens College/ CUNY, Peishi Wang, $250,000.

Focus Area E – Preparing Personnel to Provide Secondary Transition Services to School-Age Children with Disabilities:

  • CA — San Diego — San Diego State University, John Johnson, johnson7@mail.sdsu.edu, $249,998.
  • DC — Washington — George Washington University, Pam Leconte, pleconte@gwu.edu, $249,742.
  • IL — Chicago — Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, Lisa Cushing, lcushing@uic.edu, $246,155.
  • MD — College Park — University of Maryland, Philip Burke,  pburke@educ.umd.edu, $249,920.
  • OK — Norman — Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma, Kendra William-Diehm, klwd@ou.edu, $238,108.
  • OR — Portland — Portland State University, Ann Fullerton, fullertona@pdx.edu, $241,759.
  • SC — Columbia — University of South Carolina, Anthony Plotner, plotner@mailbox.sc.edu, $157,217.

The OSEP Spanish Glossary Project

The right of parents to participate in educationaldecision-making regarding their child with adisability is an important underpinning of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).   However, for many parents, lack of understanding of education and legal terminology included in IDEA, may limit their ability to effectively accomplish this important role.  This is an especially significant challenge for parents of children with disabilities who are not native English Speakers.  This product, the OSEP Spanish Glossary, has been developed to ensure that educational terms related to the implementation of IDEA used in documents to promote and parents’ authentic participation are translated in a uniform and comprehensible way, across states, geographical regions and communities of Spanish speakers.

Source: NorthEast Parent Center Assistance and Collaboration Team

Available at: http://www.neparentcenters.org/glossary/index.html

State Performance Plan Process and Indicators Policy Forum

7/11

A policy forum held May 11-13, 2011 to provide input from stakeholders to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) focused on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) accountability reporting system known as the State Performance Plan/ Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) process. Participants discussed their assessment of the benefits and challenges posed by the SPP/APR requirements and made recommendations for revisions to improve the process and content of the system. No attempt was made to develop consensus recommendations and all input was accepted and documented. This executive summary provides a synopsis of the participants’ input on the positive and negative aspects of the SPP/APR system and their suggestions for changes.

Source: Project Forum

Available at: http://projectforum.org/docs/StatePerformancePlanProcessandIndicators.pdf

Letters from OSEP: Access to Records in Part C

This is in Response to the December 7, 2009 letter from the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) requesting clarification about whether FDOH must provide parents with a copy of a test protocol that contains personally identifiable information about their child as part of their child’s education records under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The letter also asked whether: (1) Federal copyright laws prohibit the copying and distribution of copies of the test protocol that contains personally identifiable information, if the protocol is copyrighted; (2) FDPH and its early intervention service (EIS) providers may provide parents with a copy of the test protocol that contains personally identifiable information if it is protected under copyright law; and (3) FDOH may provide an original or a copy of the test protocol that contains personally identifiable information to the local educational agency (LEA), with parental consent, upon a child’s transition at age three from the IDEA Part C program to the IDEA Part B preschool program.

Source: Office of Special Education Programs

Available at: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/letters/2010-4/price101310partcaccessrecords4q2010.pdf