This section provides news about issues of importance to our partners and the field. It is updated weekly.

NEWS FROM THE.......

IDEA Partnership

5th National Transition Community of Practice Meeting, May 4-6, 2008, Charlotte, NC
The 5th National Transition Community of Practice meeting will be held at the Hilton Charlotte University Place, 8629 J.M. Keynes Drive, Charlotte, NC, May 4-6, 2008. This year the Community meeting will focus on the following issues: interagency collaboration, youth involvement, and high school redesign. In addition, the Community will spend a significant time on stakeholder involvement in support of transition. We are expecting around 100 Community members representing states, national organizations and technical assistance centers.

Many community members will stay to attend the National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center's (NSTTAC) Secondary Transition State Planning Institute: Building for the Future, May 7 – 9, 2008.
Read the pre-conference report: 5th National Transition Community of Practice Meeting 2008
Read the draft  Agenda: 5th National Transition Community of Practice Meeting May 2008.


U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
http://www.ed.gov/index.jhtml

Title III of NCLB - Notice Of Proposed Interpretation
http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2008-2/050208d.pdf
The Secretary of Education proposes interpretations of several provisions of Title III of the ESEA regarding the annual administration of English language proficiency (ELP) assessments to limited English proficient (LEP) students served by Title III, the establishment and implementation of annual measurable achievement objectives (AMAOs) for States and subgrantees receiving Title III funds, and State and local implementation of Title III accountability provisions.

The Department is accepting comments on this notice of proposed interpretations in order that the Department may provide additional clarification, detail, or guidance regarding these interpretations before issuing a notice of final interpretations.
Comments must be received on or before June 2, 2008.
Email: LEP.Partnership@ed.gov.
You must use the term ‘‘Comments on the Title III Notice of Proposed Interpretations’’ in the subject line of your electronic message.

Mail:
Richard L. Smith, Office of English
Language Acquisition, U.S. Department
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue,
SW., Room 10087, Potomac Center
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202,
Attention: Comments on Title III Notice
of Proposed Interpretations.


College Navigator – Spanish language versionhttps://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?md=1
The U.S. Department of Education announces the release of a new Spanish language version of its college search tool, College Navigator.   College Navigator is a free consumer information tool designed to help students, parents, high school counselors, and others get information about nearly 7,000 postsecondary institutions in the United States. It provides a wide range of information -- such as programs offered, retention and graduation rates, prices, aid available, degrees awarded, campus safety, athletics, and accreditation -- in a user-friendly tool.

Teacher-to-Teacher summer workshops
http://www.t2tweb.us/Workshops/Schedule.asp
Registration for the Department's Teacher-to-Teacher summer workshops opens April 30.  These workshops offer educators a free opportunity to participate in high-quality professional development.  

ED to hold regional meetings on draft Title I regulations
The Education Department is holding four public meetings on its proposed regulations for Title I.  See the next news item for links to the proposed regulations.  To speak at a meeting, e-mail specialevents@ed.gov at least one week before the date of the meeting in question.  Registration may be done on site, but e-mail registrations receive priority, meaning allowed speaking time may be limited.
The meetings are in:
• Boston on May 14.
• Dunwoody, Ga., on May 15.
• Kansas City, Mo., on May 19.
• Seattle on May 22.
Those who cannot attend a meeting can comment on the proposed regulations in normal fashion; the deadline remains June 23.  Call Zollie Stevenson at (202) 260-1824 for more information.


U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announces proposed regulations for Title I to strengthen NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/reg/proposal/index.html
On April 22, 2008, Secretary Spellings announced proposed regulations to strengthen and clarify No Child Left Behind. The proposed regulations focus on improved accountability and transparency, uniform and disaggregated graduation rates, and improved parental notification for supplemental educational services and public school choice. Below are documents that were released at the announcement.
Press release
http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2008/04/04222008.html
Secretary's prepared remarks:
http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/2008/04/04222008.htm

The following documents may viewed and downloaded at:
http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/reg/proposal/index.html
Proposed regulations:   Summary, Detailed summary, and Federal Register announcement
Fact sheets:
Accountability, assessments and transparency
Public school choice and supplemental educational services



IDEA Partnership New On-line Resource:
Together on RTI:  A Collection of Free Resources Selected by National Organizations for Their Members
http://www.ideapartnership.org/page.cfm?pageid=58
Working through the IDEA Partnership, national organizations have come together around Response-to-Intervention (RTI).  To help their members understand the basic concepts, engage in state and local discussions and become active in RTI Implementation;  they worked together to create a customized collection based in the research and training materials developed by national technical assistance centers.  In December 2007, states, technical assistance centers and national organizations came together in the National Summit on Response-to-Intervention.  Building on that event, national organizations are currently advancing their shared interest in RTI by disseminating this compilation of links to trustworthy sources of information that will be continually updated.  These resources have been developed and/or selected by practitioners and families. They provide tools and training materials for immediate use as well as links to websites that will continually produce high quality information.


TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE & DISSEMINATION NETWORK (TA&D)

New Upper Elementary Reading Strategy Module posted to IRIS website.
IRIS Center
http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu

CSR: A Reading Comprehension Strategy, a revision and detailed expansion of the CSR section of The Reading Blues: Strategies to Help Upper-Elementary Students Move from Struggle to Success.
http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/csr/challenge.htm.
IRIS invites you to learn about Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR), an approach that students with varying reading abilities can apply to improve comprehension while reading expository text in small, cooperative learning groups.


New policy brief from CAST
A NIMAS Policy Brief: Progress on Implementation of the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS)
http://nimas.cast.org/about/resources/policy_brief-2008-04.html
The purpose for this brief is to provide updated information about the NIMAS-related developments that may impact choices that are made within States and local education agencies. Recent developments should be of interest to anyone responsible for implementing IDEA 2004 and the regulations pertaining to the statute. The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), U. S. Department of Education, now provides support for maintaining and improving the NIMAS specification; technical assistance to States, publishers, and conversion houses; a consortium of States working together to implement NIMAS requirements; a national accessible materials production and distribution service at Bookshare specific to meeting the needs of qualified students; and ongoing support for Recording for Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D) and the American Printing House for the Blind (APH).


OUR PARTNERS

Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)
Special Education Resources for General Educators (SERGE)
http://serge.ccsso.org
CCSSO has launched a new section to their website designed to provide general classroom educators with quick access to information and professional development about addressing the needs of students who have disabilities and special education.

The IRIS Center and the PACER Center collaborate to develop online interactive module Collaborating with Families
http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/
http://www.pacer.org

Collaborating with Families
http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/fam/chalcycle.htm
Claire Morgan, principal of M. T. Watkins Middle School, and her staff have noticed that, although they enjoy good parental involvement from some families, they usually see the same core group at every volunteer opportunity or school event. They wonder why this is the case and how they might go about increasing involvement, especially among the families of students with disabilities. Join Principal Morgan and her staff as they work through the process of learning more about such families and develop ideas to engage all of the families in their school.


OTHER

Transition Training Institutes
http://www.transitioncoalition.org
The University of Kansas Department of Special Education and the Transition Coalition KU Summer Institute on Transition's  2008 Transition Summer Institute: "Transition Assessment" What's It All About:? How Do We Make it Happen? "

The Transition Summer Institute is a week-long conference held June 23 - 27, 2008 in Lawrence, KS. It is geared toward professionals and family members involved with secondary transition programs and services for students with disabilities. The Institute provides overview information for those new to transition services and provides updated information and research on effective practices in transition education and services.


2008 Georgetown Training Institutes
Developing Local Systems of Care for Children and Adolescents with Mental Health Needs and Their Families: New Directions to Improve Care
http://gucchd.georgetown.edu/programs/ta_center/TrainingInstitutes/TI2008/theinstitutes.html  
July 16 - 20, 2008.
Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center
Nashville, Tennessee
In-depth, practical information on how to develop and operate systems of care and how to provide high-quality, effective, clinical interventions and supports within them. Special focus on three "new directions" to strengthen systems of care and improve outcomes, each comprising a distinct track: Implementing a Public Health Approach, Partnering With Schools, and Partnering With Child Welfare.


New GAO reports
Residential Programs:  Selected Cases of Death, Abuse, and Deceptive Marketing, by Gregory D. Kutz, managing director, forensic audits and special investigations, before the House Committee on Education and Labor. http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-713T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08713thigh.pdf

Residential Facilities:  State and Federal Oversight Gaps May Increase Risk to Youth Well-Being, by Kay E. Brown, director, education, workforce, and income security issues, before the House Committee on Education and Labor.  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-696T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08696thigh.pdf