| November 4, 2009 | News for special education professionals |
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| Curriculum & Instruction |  |  |
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- Virginia reviews updates to gifted-education programs
Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine is considering revisions to gifted-education guidelines that would require school districts to identify and track students who may be gifted as early as kindergarten while shifting responsibility for the approval of gifted programming from state control to local districts and advisory boards. Gifted-education expert Tracy Cross said Virginia already provides strong programs for gifted students and that the state may be the best in the country for gifted programs. Daily Press (Newport News/Hampton, Va.)
(11/2)
    
- Colorado district looks at redesign of special-education programs
A proposal to redesign special education is on the table in Colorado's Thompson School District. Emphasizing effective inclusion class time for students in special education, the plan represents the culmination of an effort that began last year and included collaboration from education and disability specialists and best-practices research. If approved by the school board, the Re-Imagining Special Education program would affect about 2,000 students. The Reporter-Herald (Loveland, Colo.)
(11/3)
- Struggling schools undertake intervention strategies
Administrators from two West Virginia schools targeted for improvement because of low test scores say strategies are already under way to help meet their goals. Techniques include an alternative method of identifying students who may need special education and early-intervention techniques, based on the Response to Intervention model, that provide specialized support to students who are struggling with reading. Charleston Daily Mail (W.Va.)
(11/3)
- Superintendent: Funding shortfalls create special-education inequities
 Special education is the largest underfunded mandate for Michigan school districts, argues Steve Cousins, the superintendent of Michigan's Reeths-Puffer Schools. While Michigan works to provide special-education services to a wider range of people -- from birth to age 26 -- than any other state, lack of funding from state and federal governments puts the burden on local districts and causes a pattern of inequities across the state, Cousins writes in this opinion article. The Muskegon Chronicle (Mich.)
(11/3)
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| Technology Trends | | |
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- Teachers use Skype for sign-language communication project
Some Florida students learning sign language are using Skype technology to communicate with students at another school who have hearing impairments. The technology allows the students to communicate through video and blog-style text messaging. Rhonda Leslie, who teaches American Sign Language to students who do not have hearing impairments, said the technology allows her students to "expand their vocabulary, enhance social interaction and develop respect for deaf culture." The Tampa Tribune (Fla.)
(11/1)
- Minn. organization seeks technology for locating children with autism
The New Hope Autism Center, a Minnesota nonprofit organization, is raising money to purchase equipment and training for a popular technology program that helps locate people who have memory impairments when they become lost. Project Lifesaver provides personalized bracelets that utilize tracking technology to help find missing people. "Autistic children wander off because they don't understand that it is unsafe," said the founder of the center, who has two children with the disorder. St. Cloud Times (Minn.)
(11/3)
| Policy News | | |
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- Obama to highlight education-reform efforts on election anniversary
At a speech today in Wisconsin marking the first anniversary of his election, President Barack Obama is expected to highlight steps some states are taking to become eligible for federal funding under the $4.35 billion Race to the Top program. With the money expected to be disbursed in January, a number of states have already adopted reforms, including changing laws to allow teacher evaluations to be linked to student test scores and removing caps on charter schools. Wisconsin's legislature is close to signing off on the use of test scores in teacher evaluations. The Washington Post
(11/3)
, USA TODAY
(11/4)
- Bill to expand autism insurance coverage is under review in Tennessee
A bill that would require insurance companies to expand their coverage of autism services is before state legislators in Tennessee. If approved, the law would provide for the length of coverage to be extended from age 12 to 17 and would include coverage for behavioral therapy. "Families are moving away from Tennessee to other states where they can get financial assistance," said one autism advocate. WSMV-TV (Nashville, Tenn.)
(11/3)
| Eye on Exceptionalities | | |
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- Children who survive brain cancer have more cognitive problems
Children who survive brain cancer report more cognitive problems than their siblings and those who survived other types of cancer, according to U.S. survey results. Children who survive brain cancer also tended to have lower levels of education, employment and earnings than the other groups. Memory and efficiency are the most common problems reported. Yahoo!/HealthDay News
(11/2)
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Diane Ravitch, a leading education expert, takes a critical look in this blog post at the nationwide push to tie teacher evaluations to student test scores. When Ravitch envisions what schools might be like under such policies, she sees teachers of math and reading -- which are regularly assessed -- being forced out at regular intervals only to be replaced by newer, untested teachers. 
