Welcome to the first in a series of blog posts on secondary transition from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS).
We are dedicated to working alongside families, students, educators, advocacy groups and policymakers to rethink transition services. We want students and families to have the tools and resources necessary for successful secondary transition experiences.
Tami Garcia has been with Prevent Blindness Wisconsin for more than 20 years and has more than 32 years of experience in the vision and healthcare field. Through her roles as Program Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer at Prevent Blindness Wisconsin, Ms. Garcia has high-level oversight and leadership experience coordinating, managing, and developing vision health programs spanning the state of Wisconsin.
OSEP Launches 200+ Resource Database to Support Reducing Exclusionary Discipline
Over the last seven months, this Discipline Discussions blog series has highlighted many of the most pressing issues in the discipline practices and behavioral supports for children with disabilities: informal removals, discipline disparities, suspensions and expulsions in early childhood programs, to name a few.
By Valerie C. Williams
Director, Office of Special Education Programs
But this blog series was never intended to admire a challenge we know exists. Instead, every month OSEP-funded technical assistance centers have provided concrete, actionable, turnkey resources for educators, families, early childhood programs, and administrators at the state and local levels to reduce exclusionary discipline.
By Sarah DeAngelo, Office of Special Education Programs
July is Disability Pride Month, and in celebration, the Office of Special Education Programs will highlight work being done in the field of special education that celebrates disability pride and promotes positive disability identity for students. Additionally, this July marks the 33rd anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
By: Emily Frake, Office of Special Education Programs
July is Disability Pride Month, and in celebration, the Office of Special Education Programs will highlight work being done in the field of special education and voices that celebrate disability pride and promotes positive disability identity for students.
Did you know that July is Disability Pride Month?
July 26 marks the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which became law in 1990. Because this ground-breaking legislation was signed in July, disability advocates around the country established July as Disability Pride Month.
By the Office of Special Education Programs
The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) released two new OSEP Fast Facts that take a closer look at the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Section 618 data submitted for School Year (SY) 2020-21 and fall 2021:
The Part C infographics looks at data related to infants and toddlers, birth through age 2, with disabilities, and the Part B infographic looks at data related to children and youth, ages 3 through 21, with disabilities.
In these infographics, OSEP highlights examples of state-submitted data notes that reference the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on these data collections.
Kodey Toney is the director of the Pervasive Parenting Center, an OSEP-funded Community Parent Resource Center in eastern Oklahoma that helps families support their children with disabilities. He is also the aRPy ambassador for Oklahoma. Most importantly he is a father and husband. He and his wife Jennifer have two sons, Konner and Kruz. Kodey has received multiple awards for his advocacy and has helped to train more than 3000 educators on autism behavior in the classroom and disability acceptance. Kodey has a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts from Rogers State University and a Master’s Degree in Education Administration from East Central University. He is also a graduate of the Oklahoma Developmental Disabilities Council’s Partners in Policymaking program and William and Mary’s Institute of Special Education Advocacy.
By Valerie C. Williams
Director, Office of Special Education Programs
Recently, I asked my sixth-grade son to complete this sentence: School is a place where I ______.
Without hesitation, Matthew responded, “School is a place where I go to learn and have fun.” Matthew is my 12-year-old son who happens to have Down Syndrome. His journey has been shaped by the dedicated educators and instructional support personnel who have held high expectations for his success and growth, and I see their efforts echoed in Matthew’s perspective about school.
By Kristen Kushiyama, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
The U.S. Department of Education welcomed Glenna Wright-Gallo as the assistant secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), May 15.
Wright-Gallo, confirmed by the U.S. Senate as OSERS assistant secretary, May 10, 2023, has spent more than 25 years supporting students and adults with disabilities.
Jonathan Stricklen
Jonathan Stricklen teaches Spanish at the Ohio State School for the Blind. He holds master’s degrees in Spanish and Special Education and is a certified Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI). Combining his specialized knowledge and skills with his lived experience as a person with visual impairment, an assistive technology user, and a braille reader, Jon is uniquely positioned both to teach and to be a role-model for his students. During the month of May, in recognition of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), OSERS has been highlighting challenges and successes related to digital accessibility. We met with Jon to learn more about his experiences with accessibility as an educator.