OSEP URGES STATES TO BETTER IDENTIFY DISTRICTS' IDEA NONCOMPLIANCE

OSEP URGES STATES TO BETTER IDENTIFY DISTRICTS' IDEA NONCOMPLIANCE
http://www.specialedconnection.com

BALTIMORE --

States must be more diligent in looking for signs of IDEA noncompliance and reporting every such problem -- no matter how small -- to OSEP as part of their State Performance Plan/Annual
Performance Report, department officials told attendees at the National Accountability Conference, held Aug. 24-26.

The officials' remarks came during a discussion of Indicator B-15, which seeks to
measure a state's ability to identify and correct noncompliance by LEAs in the Part B program. A similar indicator, C-9, measures states' ability to identify and correct noncompliance in the Part C
program for infants and toddlers.

There are at least two ways in which states can step up their efforts to identify noncompliance by LEAs, according to Greg Corr, associate director of OSEP's Monitoring and State Improvement Planning Division. First, states must review all due process hearing decisions for evidence that LEAs are not complying with the IDEA, Corr said. Second, states should monitor data coming in from LEAs and treat evidence of noncompliance from that source in the same way they would treat evidence discovered through any other route, such as a self-assessment, an on-site visit,
or a desk review of records, Corr said.

MORE DISTRICTS TAKE AUTISM COORDINATION INTO THEIR OWN HANDS

More school districts are seeking to hire their own full-time autism experts -- a departure from the traditional approach of hiring outside consultants to temporarily work with districts. The roles and backgrounds of autism specialists vary from place to place. But many educators agree every district needs a local go-to person -- or people -- when it comes to educating students with autism and
organizing training opportunities for staff.

"Schools are absolutely overwhelmed" with autism cases, said Mary Ann Winter-Messiers, coordinator of Project Preparing Autism Specialists for Schools at the University of Oregon. "School districts are desperate to have people who know what they are doing." The need to have a local
coordinator who organizes staff training in autism services for new and veteran teachers grows more dire as the number of students with autism keeps climbing.

According to the Education Department, 166,424 children ages 6 to 21 had autism in 2004, compared with 224,594 in 2006. There also is a sense of desperation among educators because
students with autism have a wide range of needs and abilities. This range makes teacher training and program development time-consuming and expensive.

** For access to the full articles above, sign up for a FREE Special
Ed Connection® trial subscription!

Go to http://www.specialedconnection.com/SEC/freetry.htm , complete
the registration form and click on SUBMIT.