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2015 IDEA APPLICATIONS
The FFY 2015 IDEA Part B and Part
C Application Packages contain the instructions and forms States need to complete your grant
applications. You must submit the completed application with supporting
information on or before April 21, 2015 for Part C and May 12, 2015 for Part B. Please note that OSEP will not be mailing States hard copy packages
this year.
States must submit an original signed and dated copy of
the Part B and Part C Applications to U.S.
Department of Education, Potomac Center Plaza, Mailstop 2600, Room 4139, 550 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20202. However, an unofficial copy may also
be sent electronically to the following mailbox: OSERS.bapp@ed.gov for PartB and OSERS.capp@ed.gov for Part C.
For
your convenience, a copy of the FFY 2015
applications and supporting documents will also be available on the Internet
at: http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/osep/2015apps.html.
LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
“All In: Achieving Results
Together”
The Call
for Proposals for the 2015 Leadership Conference is now open!
OSEP is soliciting proposals for Breakout sessions and the Poster session. The
deadline to submit proposals is Friday, April 30, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
Breakout sessions are one hour and
provide opportunities for participants to share and discuss innovative
approaches that are relevant to the target audience, include multiple
perspectives, and lead to improved outcomes for children with
disabilities.
Poster sessions provide opportunities
for you to share information on topics of interest with conference
attendees in an open format.
Toget started, click here and review the guidelines availableon the lower left-hand corner of the login page.
Part B State Directors, Part C Coordinators, Preschool Coordinators, Parent Training Center Directors, Part D Technical Assistance Providers and their respective staffs are encouraged to attend.
If
you have questions or comments, please contact the conference staff at osep-meeting@air.org or visit www.osep-meeting.org.
ACCESSIBILITY
On-demand Videos
The Department of Education recently
announced the availability of free, video-on-demand children’s television programming for thousands of students who are blind, visually
impaired, deaf, or hard of hearing. Students can now view dozens of
children’s and family television episodes online, featuring closed captioning
and descriptions through the agency’s Accessible
Television Portal Project. The
portal is part of the Described and Captioned Media Program, funded by the Department, which includes
video-on-demand content, provided at no cost by the major television networks
and producers and distributors like Cartoon Network, PBS Kids, Scholastic
Media, Sesame Workshop, and Sprout.
Benetech
Check out the new Blog featured this week on DISABILITY.GOV regarding the great work that Benetech is doing for individuals with disabilities!
Through four programs—Global Literacy, Human Rights, the Environment and Benetech Labs—Benetech works at the forefront of building human centered software-for-good tools for individuals with disabilities, human rights activists and environmental sustainability fieldworkers.
Cross-Post- OSERS BLOG here
Check out the Blog here!
TEACH
TO LEAD
Teach to Lead (see blog
post with video) is an initiative convened by the Department and the
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) to improve student
outcomes by expanding opportunities for teacher leadership -- particularly those
that allow teachers to stay in the classroom. The last year of work on Teach to Lead was culminated on stage at NBPTS’s
Teaching and Learning Conference. In front of thousands, Secretary Duncan
noted, “I was hopeful [about teaching leadership] last year. I am
convinced we are onto something really important and special now. Change
has to come from teachers who own it and lead it.”
The Teach to
Lead team, comprised primarily of teachers from the Department and NBPTS,
developed a web site that has over 2,000 members on the virtual “Commit to
Lead” community, where teachers can share their ideas and receive feedback from
colleagues. The web site is also a place to access resources from 70
support organizations and read the inspiring stories of teachers who are
leading change. Additionally, three teacher-led regional summits were
held during the winter in Louisville, Denver, and Boston. Over 350
teachers from 38 states came alone or in teams equipped with their ideas for
change. They left with more than 100 fully formed action plans to implement
at home and the skills to get them done.
The next
step is to get more “boots on the ground.” The team is choosing two to three ideas from each summit to develop through leadership labs. The labs are
opportunities for local teams to receive hands-on, targeted technical
assistance from the team and supporting organizations, convene key stakeholders
to discuss the status of plans and future actions, and develop approaches to
integrate teacher leadership into systems and structures within local contexts.
The 2020 Federal Youth Transition Plan: A Federal Interagency Strategy
The Federal Partners in Transition (FPT) is a workgroup with representatives of several federal agencies, including the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor, and the Social Security Administration, which was formed in 2005 to support all youth, including youth with disabilities, in successfully transitioning from school to adulthood. Working together, these agencies strive to achieve their vision: to promote the full inclusion, integration, and participation of youth and adults with disabilities in the workforce and beyond.
During the course of their work, as a way to provide information on the workgroups continued mission, they developed the 2020 Federal Youth Transition Plan: A Federal Interagency Strategy, which outlines how the partner agencies will:
- Enhance the overall vision of the workgroup;
- Support compatible outcome goals;
- Approach policy priorities; and
- Work to improve outcomes for youth with disabilities by 2020.
Click here to read the 2020 Federal Youth Transition Plan: A Federal Interagency Strategy
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Dear Leaders,
I recognize the work that goes into preparing the APR each year and appreciate your efforts to get them to us by the due date. This year was particularly unique because of the new SPP, the use of GRADS360 for submission, and the inclusion of the SSIP as a new indicator. I appreciate both your patience and understanding as this was a new process for all of us.
I look forward to reading more about the steps you are taking to improve results for infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities through your recent submissions.
Best,
Melody
Secretary Arne Duncan and Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Early Learning Libby Doggett stopped by Patrick Henry Elementary School in
Alexandria, Virginia, to highlight the importance of early learning with a group of parents, teachers,
administrators, and community leaders. The school has a preschool-through-fifth-grade program with eight preschool classes. Teachers shared
their enthusiasm for the benefits that preschool brings to their
classroom. “I’ve been teaching kindergarten for 19 years, and I’ve not
had a classroom like this – ever.” declared Lori Shabazz, a 2014 Agnes Meyer
Outstanding Teaching Award winner. “Each kindergarten teacher should get
this experience -- a class that’s ready for kindergarten.” (Note: In a blog post, Latoya Smith, chair of the District of
Columbia Public Schools’ Early Childhood Education Policy Council, reiterates
the importance of early learning of every child.
The end of third grade is the
point at which children transition from learning to read to using reading
skills to understand the content of all subject areas. To strengthen
third-grade reading proficiency for all students, particularly students of
color and students with disabilities, the My Brother’s Keeper Taskforce has established a dedicated early literacy Web site to provide educators with tools,
resources, and a learning community to help them improve reading instruction in
their K-3 classrooms.
Early Literacy Tools and Resources
http://www.ed.gov/earlyliteracy
List of Correspondence (October 1, 2013 through
December 31, 2013)
The Secretary published the following list of correspondence from the U.S.
Department of Education (Department) to individuals during the previous
quarter. The correspondence describes the Department's interpretations of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or the regulations that implement the
IDEA. This list and the letters or other documents described in this list, with
personally identifiable information redacted, as appropriate, can be found at:
http://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/index.html.
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-03-02/html/2015-04283.htm
Notice of Applications for New Awards
Technical
Assistance and Dissemination To Improve Services and Results for Children With
Disabilities--Model Demonstration Projects To Improve Adolescent Literacy for
Students with Disabilities in Middle and High Schools, 6-12 (CDFA 84.326M), was published in
the Federal Register on Wednesday, March 18, 2015.
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-03-18/html/2015-06273.htm
Reopening Notice for the OSERS/OSEP NIA-- Training and Information for Parents of Children
with Disabilities--Parent Training and Information Centers (CFDA No. 84.328M) was published in the Federal Register on Wednesday,
March 25, 2015.
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-03-25/pdf/2015-06744.pdf
Data
released earlier this year shows that U.S. students are graduating from high
school at a record rate (press
release). This week, new data shows the graduation rate for
African-American and Hispanic students increased by nearly four percentage
points from 2011 to 2013, outpacing the growth for all students.
Moreover, the data shows the gap between white students and African-American and Hispanic
students narrowed over that time (press
release). To view the data,
including a state-by-state breakdown, click here. Also, see the corresponding blog
post with an infographic.
Secretary Duncan and National Urban League President Marc Morial
held a press
call to discuss the importance of ensuring equity in education as part of
the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
They emphasized the need to make sure school
districts start with a level playing field, so that federal funds go to their
intended purpose of providing additional support for the students who need it
most. Failing to close the loophole allows inequity in state and local
school funding, resulting in wealthier schools receiving more local money than
less affluent schools.
“Nationwide,
according to our latest data, our highest-poverty districts spend 15.6% less
than our lowest-poverty districts in state and local funds,” the Secretary
stated in his remarks.
“And sadly, over the last decade, this divide -- this inequity -- has only
gotten worse. Since 2002, the gap between per pupil expenditures in high-
and low-poverty school districts has actually grown wider -- from a gap of
10.8% to a gap of 15.6% now. Especially at a time when wealth is so
polarized, it’s a profound injustice that we are creating educational haves and
have-nots.”
The
call highlighted 23
states where data shows 6.6 million students from low-income families are
being shortchanged when it comes to state and local school funding. In
those states, districts serving the highest percentage of students from low-income
families are spending fewer state and local funds per pupil than districts that
have fewer students in poverty. Similarly, in 20 states, districts
serving a high percentage of minority students are spending fewer state and
local funds than districts that have fewer minority students. (Note: The
Secretary delivered similar remarks
at the National Urban League’s Legislative Conference on March 18.)
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