CEC Policy Insider

Special Education Teachers Participate in NBC’s Education Nation in Detroit

Last weekend, in Detroit, Michigan, several CEC members including Ben White, Student Member of CEC’s Board of Directors, Joe DeMarsh, President-Elect of Michigan CEC, and Erin King, Kellie Taylor and Lela Davis, Special Education Teachers in Detroit Public Schools, attended at teacher town hall at the first of three education summits held by NBC’s Education Nation.

Topics on the agenda at the Detroit teacher town hall included Options for Education in Michigan, Common-Core Standards, and Teacher Evaluation. Overall, according to CEC member Erin King the discussion was engaging because “[t]he audience spoke from the heart.”

The town hall explored ways that Michigan is using education reforms to improve student achievement. In the area of school choice, teachers discussed Michigan’s experiment with state-run education as a remedy for chronically failing schools. Specifically, to address issues in failing schools, the state has created the Education Achievement Authority (EAA). The EAA is new to Michigan this year; it is essentially a statewide charter district. The EAA has taken over the lowest performing schools in Michigan in hopes to improve student achievement. Teachers on the panel and in the audience said they have seen student growth in their non-traditional environments – and attributed success to small class sizes and community involvement.

Teacher evaluation sparked the most intense discussion however. Teachers expressed concern with the emphasis on testing that evaluations including student achievement measures could bring. And teachers were even more concerned with methods for receiving meaningful and effective feedback from other educators. Educators in the audience agreed that teachers needed better ways to get constructive feedback and actually have opportunities to improve their craft with colleagues. Read CEC’s Position on Special Education Teacher Evaluation or want to join our CEC discussion about it? Then sign up for our Special Education Teacher Evaluation Community today!

Not much of the teacher town hall discussion, if any, however, focused directly on special education. According to Ben White, “I think the event went well for the most part. (But) There was no mention of special or gifted/education education with the exception of a brief mention of music programs, which was disappointing.”

The next two events are going to be held in New Orleans (April 12-19) and Phoenix May (3-10). It would be great to have more CEC members attend these events and speak out! We need to be sure that special education is front and center as an important component of any discussion. Check here for more information about how you can attend!

Representatives Chu and Hinojosa Introduce CEC Supported “Equal Access to Quality Education Act” in the U.S. House of Representatives

CEC is applauding Representatives Judy Chu (D-CA-27) and Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX-15) for introducing the Equal Access to Quality Education Act (H.R. 2902), legislation that ensures schools facing the greatest challenges are also staffed by the highest quality teachers.

Of particular interest to CEC and special educators, the Equal Access to Quality Education Act invests in expanding and strengthening programs that prepare special education teachers and bilingual teachers to meet the needs of diverse classrooms.

In 2011, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights found that schools serving mostly African-American students are twice as likely to have teachers with one or two years of experience than schools within the same district that serve mostly Caucasian students. Additionally, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) recently released a report that notes that bachelor’s degrees in education were awarded predominantly to white candidates (82 percent) with females making up more than 75 percent of graduates of teacher preparation programs.

This legislation would establish a grant program to help develop strong, high quality pathways into the teaching profession. In this way, Representatives Chu and Hinojosa hope to address the influx of young, inexperienced teachers into the schools with the highest needs.  Additionally, the legislation seeks to increase the diversity of teachers by addressing barriers that may prevent entry to teacher preparation programs, such as poverty. 

CEC supports this legislation and its approach to increasing diversity and access to high quality teachers and education for all students. For updates, stay tuned to the Policy Insider!

House Hearing Focuses on Mental Health of Children; Highlights Role of Schools and PBIS

Today, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Education held a hearing to discuss addressing the mental health needs of children, an issue that is often an afterthought in communities throughout the country.

Deb Delisle, Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education; and Pamela Hyde, Administrator of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration both testified on the important role of  identifying mental health challenges early, seeking treatment, and collaboration between communities and schools. 

In January, the Administration released Now is the Time an action plan for addressing school safety, a response to the Newtown, Connecticut school shooting which resulted in 26 children and educators killed by gunfire.  Today’s testimony highlighted many of the proposals put forth in the Now is the Time plan, including supporting a safe and positive school climate and increasing the number of mental health professionals who are trained to work with children.

Last month, CEC and its division, the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders, issued Congressional testimony that outlined four policy considerations for school safety plans:

1. School safety policy proposals should use an interdisciplinary approach that reinforces a partnership between education, juvenile justice, mental health, social welfare, and community engagement  systems;
2. School safety policy proposals should require implementation of evidence based practices that address prevention and response while ameliorating the stigma associated with  mental illness;
3. School safety policy proposals should focus on the impact of mental health challenges on students’ social, educational, and employment outcomes; and
4. School safety policy proposals should confront and remedy the national shortage of special educators and specialized instructional support personnel who are trained to address the complex needs of students with mental health difficulties.

Additionally, the CEC/CCBD testimony provides practical steps policymakers can take to put these recommendations into action, such as supporting increased professional development for all school personnel; embracing whole school reforms that reinforce the important role of having a positive school climate and the collection of data and analysis tools to study and respond to school climate information; and addressing the national shortage of special educators and specialized instructional support personnel.

Click here to watch today’s hearing.

Budget Battles Continue … Where will we end up this year and next?

Congress is busy! Right now, it is debating 2 budget measures. First, it has to decide how to fund the government through the end of this Federal fiscal year (Sept 30, 2013) called the continuing resolution. Next, and at the same time, Congress has to decide how to fund the government in the next fiscal year  - 2014! So yes, they actually are busy!

Federal Funding 2013 - Continuing Resolution

For now, sequestration is in place. Thus, this July the government will cut 5% from all federal education programs – unless Congress changes the law. So, it is disheartening, to say the least, that both the Senate and the House version of the continuing resolution (that is, the bill that will fund the federal government through September 30) includes the sequestration cuts. Unless they change this legislation, it appears the cut will occur.

CEC opposes these cuts. They will hurt children and youth with disabilities and/or gifts and talents and the professionals who serve them. We are advocating for a different solution. Want to join us? Send this letter to your members of Congress.

Federal Funding for FY 2014

In the midst of this discussion Congress is also debating its vision for how it should fund the federal government next year in 2014. So, last week, the House introduced its vision for the future of the budget, which CEC opposes because it will deeply cut education. You can read our letter of opposition here. And this week the Senate is debating its vision for the future of the budget, which would eliminate sequestration funding, and boost monies for education. Read our letter of support here.

Congress is busy and so are we! Join us – make your voice heard – send a letter today!

Comment Today: PROMISE Initiative Now Accepting Comments on Key Program Areas

PROMISE, or Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income, is a joint initiative of the Departments of Education, Labor and Health and Human Services along with the Social Security Administration. Its purpose is to better coordinate and increase use of services such as those provided under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants program, Medicaid health and home and community based services, Job Corps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Workforce Investment Act programs. 

A small number of competitive, multi-year grants will be awarded to states. Applications for these grants will be submitted by governors and will identify a lead agency that is tasked with managing the program. The grants and service coordination that comes as part of the PROMISE initiative is intended to improve outcomes for children and youth, and their families, from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Department of Education is requesting comments on key program areas of the PROMISE initiative in areas related to the program’s priorities, outreach, technical assistance, and evaluation, among other areas. For more information, and to provide your comments, please click here. Comments will be accepted until March 17, 2013.  

For more information on the PROMISE initiative, please click here.