CEC Policy Insider

Secretary Duncan Speaks In-Depth on Special Education Policy Issues: Q&A with CEC Members Addresses Education Reform Agenda, Inclusion of Students with Disabilities

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan confronted difficult questions asked by special educators who are members of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), in a document released today. 

Ask Arne: A Conversation with CEC Members and the U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (found here) addresses the inclusion of students with disabilities and the professionals who work on their behalf in controversial education reform initiatives supported by the Obama Administration, including pay-for-performance and measuring student growth over time for accountability purposes.

“Thanks to the Secretary’s willingness to reach out to CEC members, our field has answers to some of its questions about how students with disabilities and special education professionals will fit into the Administration’s education reform agenda,” said CEC President Marilyn Friend.

 

HHS Announces New Flexibility for Medicaid

Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services announced four initiatives to give states more flexibility to adopt innovative new practices and provide better, more coordinated care for people with Medicaid and Medicare while helping reduce costs for states and families. 

CEC Participates in School Readiness Summit: Focus on Vision

Last week, CEC joined the American Optometric Association and numerous other national organizations and federal agencies, including the National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in confronting undetected or untreated vision issues as barrier to learning, which impacts an estimated one-in-four school-aged children.  

TALENT Act Charts New Course for Gifted, High-Ability Students; CEC-endorsed bill Focuses on Teacher Development, Closing the “Excellence Gap”

A bipartisan bill introduced on Friday in the U.S. Senate shifts the education debate in Washington, D.C., toward a focus on gifted, high-ability students—particularly those from low-income or minority backgrounds—who have been overshadowed in a federal educational system that concentrates on its struggling, low-achieving students.

This CEC-endorsed legislation, the To Aid Gifted and High-Ability Learners by Empowering the Nation’s Teachers (TALENT) Act, which, by amending the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), would provide teachers, school districts, and states with the support needed to better identify and serve students with gifts and talents through changes to assessment and accountability provisions, increased professional development, and the development and dissemination of evidence-based best practices in gifted education.  Click here to urge your Senators to co-sponsor the TALENT Act!

Tell Congress to Vote No on the Budget Resolution: Save IDEA and Education Programs!

Last week, Paul Ryan, Chairman of the Budget Committee in the House of Representatives, released the proposed a Budget Resolution titled the Path to Prosperity, setting forth proposed amounts to fund all sectors of the federal government.  If enacted, this Budget Resolution would dramatically reduce spending on education and place Medicaid services for thousands of individuals with disabilities at risk.  Therefore, CEC opposes it and urges you to oppose it also.