NASDSE Testifies Before Congressional Committee on Appropriations
NASDSE President Mary Watson testified on March 18th before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies on the FY 10 budget on the need for increased funding for IDEA because the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) unds are temporary and short-term in nature. To download a copy of her testimony, click here.
NASDSE Works!
NASDSE is pleased to launch its new enewsletter, NASDSE Works! Our quarterly electronic newsletter will highlight current NASDSE projects and activities. To read the current issue, click here.
NASDSE Government Relations Priorities for 2009
At its February 2009 meeting, the NASDSE Board of Directors adopted Government Relations priorities for 2009. Click here to review and download a copy of the priorities.
NASDSE's RtI: Policy Considerations and Implementation
To order a copy of NASDSE's popular and national best-selling book on Response to Intervention - Response to Intervention: Policy Considerations and Implementation, click here.
Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention (RtI) and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades
This guide offers five specific recommendations to help educators identify struggling readers and implement evidence-based strategies to promote their reading achievement. Teachers and reading specialists can utilize these strategies to implement RtI and multi-tier intervention methods and frameworks at the classroom or school level. Recommendations cover how to screen students for reading problems, design a multi-tier intervention program, adjust instruction to help struggling readers, and monitor student progress. Click here to download a copy of this report.
Coalition for Community Schools Community Agenda for America's Public Schools
As a longtime supporter of the Coalition for Community Schools (www.communityschools.org), NASDSE is pleased to announce that the Coalition has developed a Community Agenda for America’s Public Schools. The Community Agenda is an action plan to ensure that all children enter school healthy, ready to learn and succeed. It prepares students to pursue post-secondary education and become productive family and community members. NASDSE is one of more than 120 organizations that have endorsed the Community Agenda. For more information, or to download a copy, please go to: http://www.communityschools.org/CCSDocuments/tsa_org_list.pdf.
National Implementation of Response to Intervention: Research Summary
A new research document has recently become available on Response to Intervention. This research study investigated current and projected statewide RtI initiatives. Every state that responded indicated that some work on RtI was underway - either in current practice or under development. To read and download a copy of National Implementation of Response to Intervention: Research Summary, click here.
Response to Intervention Blueprint Series
NASDSE is pleased to announce that two documents in its Response to Intervention (RtI) Blueprint series are available for free download and/or purchase of print copies. The two Blueprints, Response to Intervention Blueprints for Implementation: District Level and Response to Intervention Blueprints for Implementation: School Building Level, provide step-by-step implementation guidelines, resources and tips from RtI implementers with many years of experience. The Blueprints are intentionally designed to provide a framework around which RtI implementation can be built.
The Blueprints were developed jointly by NASDSE and the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE). To download a free copy of the District Level Blueprint, click here. To download a free copy of the School Building Level Blueprint, click here. Print copies of the Blueprints are available for just $10 each plus a small shipping and handling fee. To order print copies, please click here.
Please note that the final document in the series, the State Level Blueprint, will be available in the near future.
NASDSE Partners with New TA Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children
The National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) was recently selected as a Primary Partner by the newly funded Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children, also known as TACSEI. NASDSE is one of seven national associations that were asked to serve in the Primary Partner role. TACSEI is a continuation and expansion of the work of the national Center for Evidence-Based Practice, Young Children with Challenging Behavior (CEBP). For more information on this project, please visit its website at www.challengingbehavior.org.
RTI Action Network
NASDSE is a founding partner with a new Response to Intervention initiative - the RTI Action Network - launched by the National Council on Learning Disabilities. The RTI Action Network is uniting the public and private sectors with representatives from general education, special education and family groups to support the implementation of Response to Intervention (RTI) in school districts nationwide. Its cornerstone is RTINetwork.org, a web-based source of research-based information and expert guidance on Response to Intervention. To connect to this new resource, go to: www.rtinetwork.org.
New Charter School and Virtual Charter School Documents
The TA Customizer Project at NASDSE has just released two new documents - one on charter schools designed for students with disabilities and one on special education in virtual charter schools. Click here to download a copy of Charter Schools Designed for Children with Disabilities: An Initial Examination of Issues and Questions Raised by Julie F. Mead of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Click here to download a copy of Demystifying Special Education in Virtual Charter Schools by Lauren Morando Rhim and Julie Kowal of Public Impact.
In addition to these new Special Reports, many other resources on special education in charter schools are also available on the Project's website at www.uscharterschools.org/specialedprimers.
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