The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has launched a new website, Hurricane Help, that offers support to those affected by recent extreme weather events, including hurricanes Harvey, Maria, and Irma, and their aftermath. The site offers the most current updates on emergency efforts in the affected communities, contact information to receive direct support, and a large number of both (1) general hurricane and disaster resources, and (2) resources related to education. 

The Department has also issued a Q&A document for education stakeholders that addresses questions and concerns the public may have about the activities of and services currently provided by the Department.

Hello Leaders!

Fall is upon us, and OSEP is ramping up for a very busy season ahead. One of the events I look forward to attending is the DEC 2017 International Conference, on Oct. 4–6, 2017 in Portland, Oregon. I hope to see many of you there!

Also next month, countless activities across the education community will take place to honor and spread awareness for several disabilities. Stay tuned for more details on OSEP's plans to feature resources and events from our grantees, and to spotlight the perspectives of families, educators, practitioners, individuals with disabilities, and many more! 

The public comment period for the regulatory reform process ended earlier this month, and I want to give immense thanks to all of you who submitted comments. I am confident your input will be incredibly valuable as the process continues. 

OSEP's state performance plan/annual performance report (SPP/APR) information collections for IDEA Part B and Part C were approved for three years! We will roll out the documents formally during the October 12 TA (technical assistance) Call. OSEP is currently reviewing comments for the following information collection packages: (1) IDEA Part B Application, (2) IDEA Part C Application, and (3) State and LEA Record and Reporting Requirements.

Finally, we invite you to view the SPP/APR 2017 Indicator Analyses for IDEA Part B and Part C. These reports provide a national picture of the implementation of IDEA parts B and C, based on the state-submitted 2017 SPP/APRs. OSEP would like to thank all of the TA providers across the network for their individual and collaborative efforts in completing this year’s reports. Each of the Indicator Analyses can be found on the GRADS360 SPP/APR Resources website, and at the links below. 

·    Part C State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report 2017 Indicator Analyses

·    Part B State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report 2017 Indicator Analyses

This month the Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA), in partnership with the National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning, concluded their four-part webinar series, which addressed questions that frequently arise when local early childhood programs collaborate to implement high-quality inclusion. The final webinar, "Partnerships for Inclusion: Professional Development to Support Effective Inclusion Practices," focused on professional development and TA to support the workforce in implementing effective research-based inclusive practices. You can find more information on this and other ECTA webinars here.

Earlier this month in Washington, D.C., OSEP hosted an event with Benetech, an organization that runs two OSEP-funded initiatives, the DIAGRAM Center and Bookshare. During this "Image Slam" event, the Benetech team provided a hands-on demonstration to ED staff of the best practices for image description, using its newly updated Poet Training Tool (Poet). Poet is an interactive training and information hub that strives toward making educational materials accessible to all students with disabilities. This online tool (1) trains and provides a platform for publishers and others to practice creating descriptions for images in existing publications and online resources, and (2) encourages users to get behind the "born accessible" mission of developing publications that are completely accessible prior to their release. 

Poet has already begun to influence how publishers, including Pearson and the University of Michigan Press, and technology partners such as Microsoft, are creating "born accessible" content and tools. The Diagram Center has ensured that Poet is open source so that it may be used by anyone interested in image description. You can try it out today!

OSERS is on Twitter with the latest tweets from special education advocates, educators, families, and students. Follow us @Ed_Sped_Rehab and tell your friends. We'll see you in the Twittersphere!

Visit our blog for powerful stories and useful information from parents, families, educators, and practitioners in the field. Be sure to bookmark sites.ed.gov/osers for future posts!

We want to hear from you! Do you have suggestions for technical assistance opportunities? Parent resources? Webinar topics? Ideas for items to include in future newsletters? Send them to Charlotte Stein at charlotte.stein@ed.gov.