Message From Director Laurie VanderPloeg
Hello Stakeholders!
We all know that it takes a team to ensure that infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities and their families improve outcomes. Teamwork, and the unique skills, knowledge, and abilities each team member brings to the work, is critical at the administrative level, as well. The U.S. Department of Education understands the importance of intra- and inter-agency collaboration around critical issues impacting children with disabilities and the schools that educate them. The effort promotes collaboration and coordination among the federal offices and agencies. The secretary is committed to placing OSEP staff in key discussions to ensure that that the needs of children with disabilities are represented.
Currently, OSEP participates in intra-agency workgroups on combating the opioid crisis and on combating human trafficking and exploitation of children. OSEP also participates in the inter-agency taskforce on trauma informed care.
In addition to the workgroup participation, OSEP supports its grantees as they navigate these difficult issues. Some OSEP technical assistance centers develop and disseminate strategies, toolkits, and new resources to assist states in meeting needs of children with increasingly high intensity and complex needs. OSEP also supports projects that develop infrastructure improvement strategies, leverage fiscal systems, design and implement professional development opportunities, and support states in their general supervisory responsibilities. Each month, the OSEP Update highlights two of these centers in the "There’s a Resource for That" section below.
OSEP will continue to invest time and resources to support the needs of its grantees.
Laurie
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As part of the U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ 2019 Back-to-School Tour, #EducationFreedomTour, U.S. Assistant Education Secretary Johnny W. Collett traveled to Kansas and Missouri the week of Sept. 16 to visit education programs designed to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities.
In Kansas, Assistant Secretary Collett visited the Levy Special Education Center in Wichita where he had the opportunity to visit various classrooms and the therapeutic pool, He then toured classrooms and met with staff at St. Thomas Aquinas in Overland Park to learn about its high school programs, including their career and technical education programs.
In Missouri, Assistant Secretary Collett visited Kentucky Trail Elementary School in Belton and had a chance to visit 2017– 2018 Belton School District Teacher of the Year, Ms. Elizabeth Hart’s special education classroom and her class’ year-round indoor garden. That afternoon, he visited the Propel program at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, where he had the privilege of announcing the U.S. Department of Education’s new Q&A document on Increasing Postsecondary Opportunities & Success for Students and Youth with Disabilities. Assistant Secretary Collett also visited Plaza Academy to tour the school. He met with students and staff to discuss their experiences and the school’s approach to creating what they refer to as an ownership-based environment designed to empower their learners. He also toured a music production studio where two students performed original pieces about their education.
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July 3: Letter to Zirkel addresses a series of questions regarding a state educational agency’s complaint procedures, in particular, resolution of state complaints and enforcement actions.
September 9: Letter to Anonymous addresses questions regarding: (1) the participation of children with disabilities in IEP team meetings and other meetings held to discuss the results of testing, the child’s evaluation or reevaluation, or the child’s identified disability category (particularly secondary transition-aged youth); and (2) provision of assessment reports to meeting participants, including the parents, prior to the meeting at which the assessment results will be discussed.
September 9: Letter to Rowland addresses a series of questions regarding the development of IEPs of children placed in certain preschool programs, including whether a public agency may restrict the provision of a specific related service based solely on the child’s placement in a particular program.
September 17: Increasing Postsecondary Opportunities and Success for Students and Youth with Disabilities describes how state educational agencies, local educational agencies, and state vocational rehabilitation agencies may coordinate to assist students and youth with disabilities, including students and youth with intellectual disabilities who are in high school and at postsecondary education institutions, through appropriate supports funded under the IDEA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by Title IV of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
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OSEP, directly and through its partners and grantees, develops a wide range of research-based products, publications, and resources to assist states, local district personnel, and families to improve results for students with disabilities. In this new OSEP Update section, OSEP will highlight the work of its funded projects by focus area with the hope that you will disseminate the resources within your circles, and they within theirs. OSEP supports great work. Help us ensure that everyone knows!
Focus Area: Systemic Improvement
The purpose of the State Implementation and Scaling up of Evidence Based Practices Center (SISEP) is to help to establish implementation and scaling capacity in state, regional, and district educational systems. SISEP provides content and technical assistance toward establishing large-scale, sustainable, high-fidelity implementation of effective education practices.
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Focus Area: Postsecondary Outcomes
The National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes provides evidence-based strategies to deaf individuals, family members, and professionals at the local, state, and national levels with the goal of closing education and employment gaps for deaf individuals.
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OSEP's Monitoring and State Improvement Planning division conducts many state-focused activities under the umbrella of Results Driven Accountability (RDA). You can read more about this innovative initiative to focus on educational results for children and youth with disabilities and their families here. Additionally, OSEP is examining RDA as a part of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services RETHINK framework.
OSEP Will Transition From the Current OSEP GRADS360°
OSEP will discontinue use of its current OSEP GRADS360° website on Jan. 1, 2020.
What this means for the public. All of the publicly-available information currently housed on the website will be transitioned by that date to other webpages including the IDEA webpage and the IDEAs That Work webpage. In the meantime, the OSEP GRADS360° webpage will continue to provide the public with access to the State Performance Plan and Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) and other resources.
What this means for state users: The SPP/APR online submission system currently hosted on GRADS360° has been retired. Beginning with the FY18 SPP/APR, due Feb. 1, 2020, states will submit using the Department's universal APR tool currently under development on the EDFacts Metadata Process System. In the coming months, OSEP will host several informational calls for states on the new system. Contact your state lead if you have questions.
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Did You Know?
In 2017, approximately 35 percent of 3-year-old children with disabilities received most of their services in the regular early childhood program. In that same year, approximately 52 percent of 5-year-old children with disabilities received the majority of services in the regular early childhood program. Source: 2017 Part B Child Count and Educational Environment Data File
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The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, in collaboration with OSEP and the State Support Network, are pleased to announce that a new Report Card Communications Community of Practice (CoP) will launch in October 2019.
The purpose of this initiative is to support state educational agencies in developing and using promising strategies to communicate the meaning, utility, and relevance of report-card data to various stakeholder audiences, especially parents and families. The CoP will address communication issues around financial transparency, Office for Civil Rights data, making report card data visible and actionable to various stakeholder groups, and other topics of interest to CoP members. This CoP will include five learning cycles, including one 90-minute virtual engagement per cycle.
Please email cmcclure@seiservices.com no later than Friday, October 4, if members of your state’s team are interested in joining the CoP, or if you have questions.
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 Connect With OSERS and Assistant Secretary Johnny Collett on Twitter
OSERS is on Twitter with the latest tweets from special education advocates, educators, families, and students. Follow us @Ed_Sped_Rehab and tell your friends. Follow Assistant Secretary Johnny Collett @JCollettOSERS. We'll see you in the Twittersphere!
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Visit the OSERS Blog and OSEP Update Archive
Visit our blog for powerful stories and useful information from parents, families, educators, and practitioners in the field. Be sure to bookmark sites.ed.gov/osers for future posts!
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This newsletter may reference and contain links to external sources. The opinions expressed in these sources do not reflect the views, positions, or policies of the U.S. Department of Education, nor should their inclusion be considered an endorsement of any private organization.
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