CEC Policy Insider

Waiting for Waivers...

States around the nation are anxiously waiting to see what the U.S. Department of Education’s waivers will hold for them. After years of Congress trying to pass a comprehensive reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) currently known as No Child Left Behind, the Department has stated it will step in this year to waive many of NCLB’s requirements before more than 80% of schools fail to make AYP.

Make Your Voice Heard! Participate in Monthly Disability Calls with the White House

Use your experience and knowledge to inform top policymakers about what children, youth and their families in your community, schools and early childhood programs need to be successful.  Join the monthly White House disability conference calls. These calls are meant to update the community on various disability issues, as well as, to introduce the persons who work on disability issues in the federal government. 

Are the numbers of students with ADHD changing?

A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that over the last 10 years the numbers of students between the ages of 5-17 in the U.S. with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) increased by 2%. The study examined about 40,000 households nationally.

U.S. Department of Education Announces CEC Member as New Commissioner of Special Education Research

Dr. John Easton, Director of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education, announced the appointment of Dr. Deborah Speece to become the next Commissioner of the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) yesterday.  Dr. Speece, a longtime CEC member, is a nationally recognized special education researcher and has an extensive professional career spanning both research and practice, as a former special education teacher and coordinator of early childhood programs.  For the last 27 years, Dr. Speece has served as a professor of special education at the University of Maryland.

States Ready to Apply for $500 Million for Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge

Just minutes after an earthquake shook Washington, DC, Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, announced the release of the final application for the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge, the $500 million State-level competitive initiative which seeks to support coordinated birth through five programs to support early learning.