Special Education Division
- May Special Education Directors' Forum
- Governor's Education Budget Proposal
- 2018-2019 Minnesota Mentor Program
- New Website Address for MDE
- Accessible Educational Materials
- Minnesota Autism Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network
- Statement on Teachers of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing
- Person-Centered Thinking Training
- Making Everyday Curriculum Accessible for All Learners
- PACER Transition, Surrogate Resources
- Kids Included Together
- New Health Care Provider Screening and Enrollment Portal
Compliance and Assistance Division: New Training on Reporting Student Maltreatment
Professional Educator License and Standards Board: Rulemaking
Special Education Division News
Director: Robyn Widley
May Special Education Directors' Forum
The last Special Education Directors' Forum of the school year will be held Friday, May 18, beginning at 9 a.m. in Conference Center B, Rooms 15 and 16, Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), 1500 Highway 36 W., Roseville, Minnesota 55113. The May Forum will feature large-group updates from MDE, the Special Education Division and Minnesota Administrators for Special Education, as well as detailed information on finance and professional licensing. Afternoon breakout sessions will highlight federal reporting, person-centered practices, mathematics supports, assistive technology, Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), dyslexia and Alternative Delivery of Specialized Educational Services (ADSIS). The forum will be available for remote viewing courtesy of MediaSite. Watch the Special Education Directors' listserv for more information. We look forward to seeing you.
For more information, contact Eric Kloos at 651-582-8570.
Governor Dayton Proposes More than $19 Million Per Year to Help Meet Rising Special Education Costs
Education
Commissioner Brenda Cassellius emphasized the urgent need for Governor Mark
Dayton’s proposed special education funding plan last month. The governor’s plan would
increase special education funding by $19 million for fiscal year 2019 and $22
million for 2020 to help districts cover the rising costs of special education
services.
Read the full press
release on the Governor's website.
2018-19 Minnesota Mentor Program
The Minnesota Mentor Program (MMP) will continue in the 2018-19
school year to provide research-based support to special educators.
During the 2017-18 school year, 25 mentors and 33 protégés in
licensure areas of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Blind/Visually Impaired
(BVI), Developmentally/Cognitively Delayed (DCD), Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHH),
and Physical/Health Disabilities (PHD) participated in the Minnesota Mentor
Program (MMP).
We are excited to announce that the MMP will continue in the
2018-19 school year. Educators who are licensed, or who are seeking licensure
in one of the five areas listed above are welcome to apply to the 2018-19
MMP.
We need your help in identifying mentors and protégés to
participate in the MMP next school year. Please pass this information on to the
ASD, BVI, DCD, DHH, and PHD teachers in your district, and forward participant recommendations to Becca Jackson.
Mentor applicants must:
Protégé applicants can be:
- Current students or recent graduates of teacher preparation
programs and working in Minnesota, or
- Licensed in one of the included licensure areas for less than three years, or
- A geographically isolated or experienced ASD, BVI, DCD, DHH, PHD
teacher who has specific skill set needs.
Protégé applicants must:
View information regarding the 2018-19 MMP or access
application materials on the MDE website.
New Website Address for MDE
MDE has changed the address of its website to https://education.mn.gov. Bookmarked links to MDE webpages that use the previous website address should be redirected for the time being, but please check to see if you have bookmarks to the MDE site that should be updated to use the new address.
Providing
Accessible Educational Materials to Students and Stakeholders
The Region 10 Low Incidence Project and MDE are sponsoring a summit on Providing Accessible Materials to
Students and Stakeholders June 14-15, 2018, at Augsburg University, 2211
Riverside Avenue in Minneapolis. Cost for the two-day summit is $75.00
for one day or $100.00 for two days. Register
and find more information about the summit online (https://www.regonline.com/minnesotaassistivetechnologysummit).
Join us on Thursday, June 14, 2018, to learn about Audio
Supported Reading (ASR), a technology-based approach to teaching reading that enhances a student’s access to text in print or in braille, with Karen Narvol. Christine Jones will present on Bookshare, the world’s largest ebook library for people who need to read
differently, free for all qualified U.S. students of any age thanks to federal funding.
On Friday, June 15, 2018,
attendees can choose from a variety of sessions on accessibility principles, design and techniques, including how to make materials accessible in a wide range of formats from PDFs to the latest in learning management systems.
Participants are encouraged to bring technology to the
training, such as laptops (Windows and Mac), Chromebooks, iPads, iPhones,
Android tablets, and Android phones, to
explore text-to-speech reading tools and other resources over the two-day
summit.
 Minnesota Autism Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network
The Minnesota Autism Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network (MN-ADDM) recently released data from its look at the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Minnesota children. Drawing on health and education records of children who were 8 years old in 2014, MN-ADDM noted variations in ASD identification for children from different genders, ethnic groups, IQ scores and other categories. MN-ADDM works with MDE and the Minnesota Departments of Health and Human Services, as well as other community partners. View the study and its key findings on the MN-ADDM website.
Contact Eric Kloos (651-582-8268) for more information.
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Council for Exceptional Children Statement on Teachers of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing
The Council for Exceptional Children's (CEC) Division for Communicative Disorders and Deafness recently released a statement recognizing credentialed teachers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing as "critical to the provision of
appropriate evaluation, educational programming and planning, and student-centered instruction" and "essential to students’ achievement of their academic, linguistic, and social–emotional
potential" who "enable schools to meet the
requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act...and the Americans
with Disabilities Act...while also securing
positive outcomes for students." MDE Special Education Division workforce specialist Rebecca Jackson served as one of the authors for this statement.
View the statement on the CEC website.
Person-Centered Thinking (PCT)
Training
Please join MDE and the Minnesota Department of Human Services for a free two-day person-centered
thinking (PCT) training June 25-26, 2018 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at MDE. During the two days of interactive
training, participants will learn how to discover and balance what is
"important to" and what is "important for" a person.
Participants also will learn how to use the information to write
person-centered descriptions and one-page summaries so new staff doesn't need
to relearn everything already known about that person for the person to be
successful.
Get more information and register for the training on the registration site or contact Amber Maki or Garrett Petrie. Contact MDE's Person-Centered Training team for other information.
Make
Your Everyday Curriculum Materials More Accessible for All Learners
Many students with disabilities experience barriers to using
curriculum materials due to physical, sensory or learning disabilities. Minnesota
is collaborating with the National Center on
Accessible Educational Materials on a free, online professional development
opportunity that will improve your students’ access to the
same curriculum materials as their classmates. Accessibility improves the quality of your curriculum for all
learners.
The online seminar will introduce a new topic once every seven weeks, with options for independent practice between them. Attendees will select activities
according to the time and effort they choose to commit. The time commitment will range from approximately one to three hours per topic. This multi-state initiative led by a national
center funded by the U.S. Department of Education will promote activities and recognizing participants through high-profile dissemination
strategies (with individual permission), including a website, conference
presentations, publications and webinars. You may be invited to actively
participate in these activities and to apply them to your record of professional
credentials.
Register online for one,
some, or all sessions:
Period 1, July 11 – August 29, 2018: Introduction to Accessible Educational Materials and Technologies. Learn the definition of accessible, examples of accessible materials and technologies, the benefits for all learners, and related legislation.
Period 2, August 29 – October 17, 2018: How to Make Your Documents Accessible. Simple changes to common documents in Word, Pages, Google Docs, PowerPoint, web pages and other formate make them more widely accessible to all learners.
Period 3, October 17 – December 5, 2018: How to locate captioned videos and make your own. Captions on videos have benefits that extend beyond learners who are deaf or hard of hearing. Learn how to find videos with captions, identify quality features and have the option to create your own.
Period 4, December 5, 2018 – February 6, 2019: How to find specialized formats of print materials. Learn how some students with disabilities experience barriers to print, sources of alternative (“specialized”) formats, how to acquire them and related supports.
Period 5, February 6 – March 27, 2019: How to select accessible digital materials. Learn how to identify products with accessibility features, ask vendors about accessibility and use best practices for ensuring that accessible products are procured for teaching and learning.
New PACER Center Transition Resources
Starting in 9th grade, or before if appropriate, Minnesota students on an IEP are included whenever transition is discussed. PACER has developed a webpage for transition age youth called "Transitioning to Life after High School." This provides information to transition age students on training and college opportunities, employment stories, Independent living, assistive technology, self-advocacy, , getting involved, getting connected and disability rights.
Other youth topics including youth workshops and tech for teens, summer recreation, sports and camps, and publications and downloads can be found on the PACER website’s students and young adults section.
Under MDE grants, PACER continues to provide information and support related to the topic of transition to parents and transition age youth. PACER resources include:
For this and more Information and support for parents and transition age youth, contact PACER (952-838-9000 or 800-537-2237).
Surrogate
Parent Resources from PACER Center
Surrogate
parents are trained community volunteers or foster parents who represent
students who are under state guardianship, or whose parents are unknown or
unavailable. PACER Center’s Surrogate
Parent Project provides vital information and resources for those who are
considering or are taking on the role of surrogates.
A video posted on our webpage, “The Parent Role in Special Education: Who
Takes this Role for Foster Children?” gives a brief overview of the special
education laws concerning who may act in the parent role for a child with a
disability if a biological or adoptive parent is not available to do so. View the video on the PACER website.
“Children in Need of Surrogate
Parents: Program Rules and Procedures in Minnesota” is a practical PACER
booklet that covers federal and state requirements, offers suggestions for
public agency procedures, answers frequently asked questions, and provides
resources such as sample forms.
View the “Surrogate
Parent: Frequently Asked Questions” publication on the PACER website.
Under a project with the Minnesota
Department of Education, PACER continues to provide information and support related
to surrogate parents within special education. Other PACER resources include:
For more information and support for
parents, school districts, and counties, contact PACER's Pat Anderson (952-838-9000
or 800-537-2237).
 Kids Included Together to Offer Inclusion Training
Kids Included Together (KIT), a nationally recognized, nonprofit inclusion training organization, will offer services to 20 Minnesota school districts beginning August 2018. The Minnesota Department of Education is sharing this information to help special education directors connect with resources and services that may help address strategic goals for greater inclusion of students with disabilities in the most integrated school and community settings.
KIT offers a blended learning model of job-embedded professional development for people who work with children and their families. The goal is to build a community of practice, sharing the energy and momentum of successfully teaching more children side-by-side with their brothers, sisters, neighbors and friends. Training topics include strengths-based IEP development and implementation, person-centered planning tools, addressing challenging behaviors, families as collaborative team members, and more. KIT also consults on policy development and implementation, strategic planning for inclusion and other areas.
Visit the KIT website for more information or contact Jennifer Sommerness or Torrie Dunlap.
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Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) New Provider Screening and Enrollment Portal (MPSE)
The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), Member and Provider Services Division, recently sent the following information to provider associations and provider organizations to make them aware of upcoming changes that will change processes for providers who are part of their membership or group.
We are reaching out to you to share information about the new Minnesota Provider Screening and Enrollment (MSPE) portal that we anticipate launching during the last quarter of calendar year 2018.
The new web-based MPSE portal will allow providers to manage their provider enrollment accounts and related requests online.
The MPSE portal will be available to Minnesota Health Care Program (MHCP) providers, managed care organizations, trading partners and other partners to do the following actions:
- Submit new enrollment requests.
- Add services.
- Update information.
- Change existing enrollments.
- View status of all enrollment requests.
- Manage all of the enrollment records under the same business structure from one portfolio location.
Providers can use the MPSE portal for all their enrollment business. It includes the following features and benefits:
- Providers will be able to securely enroll and validate their information online.
- Enrolled MHCP providers will have direct access to the MPSE portal from their MN–ITS account.
- MPSE is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so providers can start an application, save it and return to it on their own schedule.
- Providers can view all enrollment information for the same business within one portfolio by employer identification or Social Security number.
- Providers can track the status and progress of their enrollment requests.
- Providers can send secure messaging to MHCP Provider Enrollment electronically.
- The user has system guidance when completing enrollment requests.
If you are interested in hosting a meeting or have a conference opportunity and you would like DHS to present information about the portal and our implementation plans, please contact DHS (dhs.healthcare-providers@state.mn.us).
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