DEPARTMENT NEWS
TEA has three autism-specific mentoring guides on the Texas SPED Support website. These guides are designed to provide mentors of teachers with easy-to-follow course tracks and resources to facilitate the professional development of teachers in support of students with autism. The three mentor guides include:
Each guide provides the mentor with a suggested course scope and sequence, discussion questions, vocabulary, key points, and a "for the mentor" section that will help facilitate meaningful mentoring sessions with teaching staff.
The ECRP provides funding for current school staff members to further their education to become an Educational Diagnostician or a School Psychologist. Upon completion of the certification program, participants must commit to providing a minimum of 3 years of evaluation service in a small and/or rural LEA in Texas. The application window will open on October 2, 2023.
- See if you are in an eligible LEA HERE.
- Anyone interested in this opportunity can APPLY HERE.
Many children are struggling with mental health concerns and many parents have limited access to mental health assessment and treatment services. The Texas Legislature has ensured that every Texas public school has an opportunity to enroll in Texas Child Health Access through Telemedicine (TCHATT) at no cost to the school or parent.
Learning Ally is now providing two new incentives designed to help maximize the power of the Audiobook Solution - at no cost to your school or district! Make sure to sign up today!
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Learning Ally’s Texas Student Orientation: provides students with hands-on knowledge of how to use the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution. Students will explore how to search for age-appropriate books, add them to bookshelves, set reading goals, and begin reading.
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Learning Ally’s Educator Rapid Coaching Sessions: A 30-minute educator support class, a Learning Ally Coach will guide educators in a workshop-style environment through setting up educator dashboards, assigning books to students, and monitoring progress. Educators will have the opportunity to ask questions and get support. Limit 20 educators per session.
Texas LEA administrators are invited to visit the Instructional Leadership Tools for Inclusion, Early Childhood, and Behavior on the Texas SPED Support website. The Tools are intended to assist LEA administrators with information and evidence to support performance evaluations for teachers of students with disabilities served in inclusive classroom settings. They are not intended to supplant any documents or resources adopted by the LEA to support the employee evaluation process. The considerations and discussion points provided are designed to help administrators guide their own thinking, teacher thinking, and purposeful conversations. This tool is designed to align with Domains 1-3 of the T-TESS evaluation system. It is recommended for use in any stage of the T-TESS process, especially during the Pre-Evaluation Conference and Post Evaluation Conference meetings.
TEA is pleased to announce their continued partnership with the ATIA to offer unlimited access to ATIA online courses for all educators, support staff, and parents serving students across Texas. These online education programs include live and recorded versions by national experts on a variety of topics across the spectrum of the assistive technology industry sectors. Online courses are 60 and 90 minutes in length. In addition to the stand-alone sessions, Texas specific bundles have been created to guide users through learning pathways to meet professional or tool-specific needs. Complimentary CEUs are available for completion of these programs. Visit the Texas ATIA subscription webpage and use access code PD24INCLUSIONTX to start your learning.
New Resources on Using Diagnostic Data to Inform Intervention Planning
Within the data-based individualization (DBI) process, educators often have an overall sense of student needs, but it is important to use data to develop a hypothesis for why the student has not yet made sufficient progress. Diagnostic data can help make this process more systematic by providing the information necessary to develop a hypothesis that is accurate, specific, and actionable. This new brief from the NCII offers recommendations to support educators to efficiently collect, analyze, and use diagnostic data within DBI.
IRIS Module on Universal Design for Learning
The IRIS Center, in collaboration with CAST, has posted a significant revision to one of the most popular IRIS modules, Universal Design for Learning: Designing Learning Experiences That Engage and Challenge All Students.
This module examines the universal design for learning (UDL) framework and discusses how educators can apply UDL to design learning experiences that are flexible enough to challenge and engage all students and that promote learner agency. This self-paced, online module can be embedded in educator preparation courses and school or district professional development activities and learners can earn a free professional development certificate of completion.
New Video for Families on Why Assessments are Important
The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) recently published a video on why assessments are important, and why children with disabilities should participate in them. This resource is designed to help families understand why assessments are a good opportunity for their children to show what they know, and for schools to better understand their children’s needs. It also includes tips for families on how to better support their children when they take assessments. The videos are available in English and Spanish.
These videos are part of NCEO’s Empowering Parents Toolkit which includes additional videos, one-page flyers, and example social media posts on assessments and assessment-related state systemic improvement plans (SSIPs).
Ultimate Behavior Toolkit: What Works
Virginia’s personnel retention grant (325P) is grounded in the theory that special education teachers are more likely to stay in the profession if they are provided with the necessary training and support to meet the needs of their students.
In partnership with the Center for Implementation and Evaluation of Education Systems (CIEES) at Old Dominion University and the Virginia Tiered System of Supports Research and Implementation Center (VTSS-RIC) at Virginia Commonwealth University, the project created Ultimate Behavior Toolkit: What Works.
These modules are designed to support both pre-service and in-service teachers working with special education students, including general education teachers. The modules are framed for elementary school teachers and secondary teachers.
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