In response to a Government Accountability Office report exposing the inappropriate use of seclusion and restraint in schools, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA) and Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) have introduced legislation establishing minimum federal standards similar to those currently in place for hospitals and non-medical community-based facilities.

“Something is very wrong when our children are at risk in their own classrooms,” said Chairman Miller in a press release. “In some cases, the abuses these kids are suffering are nothing short of torture inflicted at the hands of the very staff we entrust with their safety. Today is a critical first step toward finally ending this nightmare of abuse and ensuring that all classrooms are safe for students, their teachers, and the entire school communities.”

Sen. Dodd agreed, stating, “We need clear standards for the use of tactics that lead to the physical and psychological abuse of children. This legislation will set clear guidelines so that children and educators alike can be sure of a safe learning environment.”

The Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (H.R. 4247/S. 2860) would prohibit the use of physical restraint or seclusion unless a student’s behavior poses an imminent danger of physical injury to the student, school personnel, or others. Only those school personnel who have been trained and certified by a state-approved training program could impose physical restraint or seclusion except in “rare and clearly unavoidable emergency circumstances.” Schools would also be required to notify parents after incidents when restraint or seclusion was used.

States would have two years to ensure they are in compliance with the federal standards and could apply for a grant to fund professional development, training, and certification for school personnel to meet the standards. They could also use the funding to develop training programs for implementing systematic approaches to schoolwide positive behavior supports.

The bill is expected to be considered by the House Education and Labor Committee early next year.

Posted by Amanda Karhuse at 08:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Nov. 3, 2009, NASSP released its Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Task Force Legislative Recommendations. The nine recommendations were developed by the IDEA Task Force, which is composed of 11 active middle level and high school principals or assistant principals and four representatives from institutions of higher education from across the country.

The mission of the task force was to study the effects of the federal IDEA law and regulatory language on school leaders and propose recommendations regarding the changes that should be incorporated into a newly reauthorized law.

Legislative Recommendations

Assist states and districts in effectively recruiting and retaining highly qualified special education teachers.

• According to the Center of Personnel Studies in Special Education, 98% of the nation’s largest school districts report shortages of special education teachers; more than 50,000 special education teachers are required to address this shortage.
• The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently noted that the number of special education teachers needed is expected to increase through 2014 at a rate faster than the average occupation. The reason for this demand is projected increases in the number of students requiring special education and related services and the number of current teachers who will transfer to general education, retire, or leave education for other professions.
• Some states and districts are successfully recruiting and retaining highly qualified special education teachers by offering targeted salary increases for hard-to-recruit positions, bonuses for critical subject-area shortages, housing incentives, tax credits, and loan forgiveness.
• Extension of the High, Objective, Uniform State Standards of Evaluation (HOUSSE); mentoring; induction programs; and financial incentives are all possible strategies that could help address the shortage of 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.

• While in the past, students with disabilities may have received special education and related services in alternative settings or classrooms, 52.1% of students in 2004 were educated for most of the school day inside the regular classroom.
• Many teachers and school leaders lack the coursework and field experience needed to lead local efforts to create learning environments that emphasize academic success for students with disabilities.
• The overrepresentation of English language learners in special education classes suggests that most educators have difficulty distinguishing students who truly have learning disabilities from students who are struggling for other reasons, such as limited English.
• Additional funding for professional development and technical assistance would allow providers to offer more effective instruction based on brain research and offer educators strategies on how to effectively teach students with disabilities.
• School leaders must have timely access to research on effective instructional strategies, assessments, and growth models, etc., provided by the Technical Assistance and Dissemination Centers, in order to comply with regulations and procedures required under IDEA and to provide a better education for 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.

• Quality transition planning and implementation is dependent upon coordination and partnering between all governmental agencies that may serve students with disabilities. The sooner those partnerships can be established, the likelihood of success increases for each student.
• Parents of students with disabilities experience substantial challenges with service delivery systems, day-to-day living, residential locations, and uncertainty about the future. Some parents view themselves as their children’s case managers, with responsibility for identifying and coordinating resources and supports, providing specialized nursing services and therapies, and finding little emotional energy and time to plan for the future.
• Introducing students with disabilities and their families to the opportunities available after high school and self-advocacy strategies at an earlier age (i.e. 14 instead of 16) will enhance students’ abilities to achieve their postsecondary goals.
• Focusing on post-high school transitions brings both relevancy and real world applications into the classroom thereby enhancing student motivation for learning.
• According to the National Longitudinal Transition Study, nearly eight in 10 young adults with disabilities engaged in some form of activity related to employment or postsecondary education after exiting high school.

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.

• For example, autism is the fastest growing serious developmental disability in the nation. Currently, one in 150 individuals are likely to be diagnosed with autism. However, very little research and development exists in regards to how best serve students with autism.
• Model IEPs and forms that are brief and effective must be researched and developed and made readily available to districts in order to reduce paperwork thereby increasing time available for instruction.
• In order to increase the quality and effectiveness of transition programming, model transition programs and forms that are aligned to the IEP and are brief and effective must be researched and developed, and made readily available to districts.
• Developing a model for transition planning, with emphasis on the Summary of Performance, would allow for enhanced communication between colleges, technical and training programs, as well as careers without college, regardless of where the student may choose to reside.

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.

• In 1999, the Government Accountability Office cited a correlation between academic disabilities and transience as a cause of the overidentification of migratory children who qualify for special education and related services. For this reason, Section 1308 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act requires districts to ensure the linkage of records pertaining to migratory children with a disability for the purpose of electronically exchanging, among the states, health and educational information for such children.
• Since students with disabilities who are transient may not be classified as migratory, this required linkage should be expanded to include all students who receive special services.

Develop an assessment and accountability system for the purpose of calculating adequate yearly progress (AYP) that allows for students with disabilities to be assessed at their current instructional level, as determined by the students’ IEP teams.

• A student’s IEP team is in the best position to know a student’s individual abilities as well as which assessments will accurately demonstrate that student’s individual growth toward meeting state standards and benchmarks.
• Districts should be allowed to assemble both formal and informal evaluations into a comprehensive portfolio for each student that includes standardized assessments, criterion referenced tests, cognitive tests, teacher and parent observations, course performance, and intervention strategies to determine the appropriate assessment for the student.
• Legislation (H.R. 4100) was introduced in the 110th Congress to establish a competitive grant program that would allow states to conduct pilot programs to determine the effectiveness of assessing students with disabilities who are achieving significantly below gradelevel proficiency at their instructional level.

Provide incentives for highly qualified teachers to acquire dual certification in special education and general education.

• Dual-endorsed teachers bring with them a skill set that allows them to better work with all students. For example, positive behavior supports work best when applied schoolwide.
• Incentives, such as loan forgiveness or tax credits, to general education teachers who pursue special education certification, may help recruit and retain more special education teachers.
• Currently in many school districts, special education teachers and teaching assistants are placed in regular education classrooms to provide individualized instructional support for special education students (i.e. inclusion). Dual-endorsed teachers require less external support thereby allowing special education personnel to be redistributed into more effective intervention services.

Create a common set of standards of care and assessments for each of the disabilities enumerated in IDEA.

• IDEA 2004 defined a child with a disability as “a child with mental retardation, hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual impairments (including blindness), serious emotional disturbance (referred to in this title as ‘emotional disturbance’), orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities; and who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services.” However, differences in the determination of these conditions have resulted in inconsistencies in the services provided to students within a state and between different states.
• Clarification of the standards of care would ensure that each student would receive “comparable” services within a particular school or district, and when the student transfers within the same state or outside of the state.

Fully fund IDEA.

• From 1995 through 2004, the total number of students ages 6–21 receiving special education and related services under IDEA increased from almost 5.1 million to more than 6.1 million, and the largest increase occurred for students in middle level and high schools.
• When Congress first passed IDEA in 1975, the federal government agreed to pay for the excess costs of educating a child with a disability compared to a general education student, which translates to 40% of the national average per-pupil expenditure (APPE).
• School districts were allocated $22.8 billion (34.2%) in federal funding under IDEA in FY 2009, which includes funding allocated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and regular annual appropriations.
• The IDEA shortfall increases demand on school districts’ general fund balance, forcing them to raise taxes or eliminate critical education programs and staff.

Posted by Mark Ames, NASSP Gov't Relations Mgr at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Schools could lose an estimated $635 million in 2008–09 and $3.6 billion from 2009-2013, if a new proposed regulation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) goes into effect.

Under the proposed rule, federal Medicaid payments would no longer be available for transporting students with disabilities to and from school. Medicaid funds would also no longer be available for outreach efforts aimed at identifying students who are eligible for Medicaid.

The proposed rule has raised the ire of several education groups representing children with disabilities, as well as lawmakers, who have introduced bills in both chambers to preempt the rule and allow schools to continue receiving reimbursements for transportation and related administrative costs.

In a statement introducing the legislation, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-MA) stated that with the enactment of the Individuals with Disabilities Act “in 1975, the nation made a commitment to guarantee children with disabilities equal access to education. For these children to learn and thrive in schools, the integration of education with health care is of paramount importance.”

NASSP strongly supports the Protecting Children’s Health in Schools Act (H.R. 1017/S. 578). Schools play a crucial role as a site for health care delivery for students during the day, and Medicaid reimbursement must be available to the schools that provide these important services.

Posted by Mark Ames, NASSP Gov't Relations Mgr at 09:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NASSP Executive Director Gerald N. Tirozzi and NAESP Executive Director Vincent Ferrandino met with U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings yesterday at the Department of Education in January to discuss reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), specifically focusing on the law’s effect on school principals.

“It is heartening to see the administration take principals’ concerns into account as we begin NCLB reauthorization,” Tirozzi said. “We hope this is only the beginning of a collaboration that will further our common goal: ensuring that every student achieves.”

To start the meeting, Spellings said that she had read the NCLB recommendations developed by both organizations and found that there is “a lot in common about the key issues” with the department’s own approach to reauthorization. First among those key issues are the growth model pilot projects, which allow states to calculate adequate yearly progress (AYP) by tracking achievement scores of the same students from one year to the next. Spellings said she hopes that Congress expands the growth model projects during reauthorization.

Tirozzi addressed the need for voluntary national standards, pointing out that there are currently 50 different definitions of “success” under the law and that many states are “lowering the bar” in order to meet proficiency targets. Spellings agreed that states are “watering down the standards” but she was quick to point out that Congress, not the administration, made the law more flexible by allowing states to establish their own standards and assessment systems. She also expressed her dilemma in arguing for excellence in high standards while so many schools are already having difficulties making AYP.

Pointing out that there is a sense among principals that the law is punitive in nature, Ferrandino argued for a better balance between sticks and carrots. Tirozzi suggested that schools be rewarded for making improvement even if they have not yet met their AYP goals.

With regard to special education students, Tirozzi and Ferrandino said that many teachers and principals are frustrated with the inconsistencies between NCLB and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In particular, IDEA requires students to have a detailed individualized education program, but the plan is not considered in measuring the student’s performance. Additionally, IDEA allows students with disabilities to be educated by and graduate from public high schools until age 21, but NCLB requires all students to graduate within four years.

Tirozzi turned the conversation to adolescent literacy, pointing out that students encounter a “different type of reading” when they reach middle level and high school. He also noted that many middle level and high school teachers don’t have the skills to teach reading to the 6-8 million adolescents reading below grade level. He argued that additional federal funding should be targeted for remediation, advancing literacy, and teacher training and expressed support for the Striving Readers program, which aims to enhance the overall level of reading achievement for students in grades 4-12. Spellings emphasized that the president requested $100 million for Striving Readers in his FY 2007 budget request, an increase of more than $60 million above the FY 2006 level, although Congress maintained FY 2006 funding levels for all education programs in FY 2007.

Highlighting the role of the principal in determining a school’s success, Tirozzi underscored the importance of the School Leadership program. The program is currently funded at $14.7 million, and Tirozzi said that this amounts to less than $17 for every principal in the country. Tirozzi and Ferrandino expressed their support for high-quality professional development for principals and teachers, pointing out the need for a “Marshall Plan” for urban schools. In order to attract more high-quality principals and teachers to urban schools, Tirozzi urged the administration to consider salary incentives, student loan forgiveness, and tax credits. He and Ferrandino also addressed the need for mentoring for new principals and teachers in their first three years in the position.

Spellings highlighted the Teacher Incentive Fund, which aims to improve student achievement by increasing teacher and principal effectiveness and rewarding teachers and principals for increases in student achievement. She noted that the administration recently awarded the first 16 grants, which account for $15 million of the $100 million appropriated in FY 2006. She expressed her concern that there was a need for more “high-quality proposals,” adding that ED will award the remaining funds in the spring.

Looking to the future, Spellings said she hopes that education “will get some real estate” in the president’s State of the Union address, January 23, and in his FY 2008 budget request, which will be submitted to Congress on February 6.

Posted by Bob Farrace at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

The impact of IDEA’s reauthorization just became a little clearer. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has released final IDEA regulations, which clarify some of the law’s provisions. The regulations go into effect this October.

Highly Qualified Teachers (HQT). Some welcome relief here. General education teachers can be hired to teach special education--as long as they are provided high-quality professional development while teaching and are on the path to become special education HQT. This includes satisfactory progress toward full state certification.

Disappointing, though, is ED’s determination that private school special education teachers do not need to meet the same HQT requirements as public schools. This is important when considering a student who transfers to a private facility. NASSP believes private schools receiving public funding should follow the same HQT rules as public schools.

Medicaid Alert. A new special education rule that should be of concern to school leaders is the requirement that parents be notified each time Medicaid insurance is accessed by the school or school district. Current IDEA regulations require notification to parents only one time. But the Bush administration—presuming schools can continue to do more with less--has proposed limiting schools’ access to these funds.

Alternative Assessment? Still no word from ED on whether schools will be allowed to use alternative assessments for up to 2% of special education students based on modified achievement standards. You may remember this was allowed on a limited basis under NCLB guidance.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) has scheduled a series of meetings to explain changes in the new regulations. In addition, ED has launched a new "living" Web site intended to be a "one stop shop" of IDEA information. More info on the regs and these meetings can be found at www.ed.gov/idea, ED’s IDEA Web site.

Posted by at 02:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Department of Education (ED) announced the new regulations for Part B of IDEA on August 3, 2006. An unofficial copy of the regulations has been posted at http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/idea-partb-regs-full.pdf. The final regulations will be published in the Federal Register on August 14, and will become effective 60 days after their publication. Part C regulations are expected to be released later this year.

In announcing the regulations, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said that “thirty years ago, America’s students with disabilities were for the first time assured access to a free and appropriate public education thanks to a new law passed by Congress, now called IDEA…Yet in those 30 years, too many students with disabilities have faced what President Bush calls ‘the soft bigotry of low expectations.’ Students with disabilities can meet high standards, as long as we adults have high expectations and hold them to these standards. Thanks to the No Child Left Behind Act, we are holding ourselves accountable for making sure students receive the education they deserve. And with these final regulations for IDEA aligned with No Child Left Behind, we are ensuring that students with disabilities are challenged and prepared for successful lives.”

Posted by Amanda Karhuse at 04:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In his fiscal year 2007 budget, President Bush proposed eliminating the Medicaid reimbursement that school districts currently receive for administrative and transportation services provided to children with disabilities. Schools could lose an estimated $3.6 billion over five years if the administration issues the proposed rule. That spending covers the cost of medical and health-related services that many of the nation’s 7 million school children with disabilities need in order to attend school.

Legislation was introduced in the House yesterday to ensure that schools continue receiving reimbursement for these vital services. The Protecting Children’s Health in Schools Act would set forward clear guidelines for states and local educational agencies (LEAs) to receive payment for expenses incurred for medically necessary services under Medicaid. LEAs may either bill directly for these legitimate expenses or contract with an outside entity for billing and claims services. For schools that bill directly, the state must follow a methodology approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services for appropriate expenditures.

In a press release announcing the bill’s introduction, House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member George Miller (D-CA) said that “children with disabilities should be able to stay in school with other kids…Denying children these services means denying them an opportunity to actively participate in the classroom and truly learn right alongside their peers. The Bush administration should never have even raised the idea of threatening funding for services as crucial as these.”

NASSP strongly supports the Protecting Children’s Health in Schools Act. Schools play a critical role as a site for health care delivery for students during the day and Medicaid reimbursement must be available to the schools that provide these important services.

Posted by Amanda Karhuse at 07:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)