Message from OSEP Director,
Ms. Valerie C. Williams

Dear friends,

Happy summer. I’m looking forward to seeing many of you (virtually) later this month at our OSEP Leadership and Project Directors’ Conference. I’m really excited at the agenda and the vast array of topics to be discussed.

As a follow up to my message last month, in response to the two mass shootings in May, Congress passed Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and the bill was signed into law by President Biden on June 25. We’re still digesting what’s in the law, but here’s a one-pager from Senator Chris Murphy that discusses the contents, including the new investments for education. Secretary Cardona has shared that the Department will work diligently to invest more than $2 billion in this important law to improve mental health supports for students and expand access to school-based health services.

Upon its passage, this legislation took a step in reducing gun violence while making our schools a safer place for students and educators alike. During a White House event to commemorate its enactment, Secretary Cardona issued a statement regarding the passage of this bill. While this first step is significant, there is still much work to do.  School safety will always be a topic of the utmost importance and we owe it to the children and youth of this nation to do everything in our power to put an end to such senseless violence.

We have much to reflect on as a country, but I am optimistic in the direction we are heading because of the dedication of leaders like you who show up every day to improve outcomes for all students, in healthy, happy and safe learning environments.

In solidarity,

Valerie

Differentiated Monitoring and Support (DMS)

There will be no OSEP Technical Assistance (TA) Call on DMS this month. We hope you are able to watch our recorded session, “DMS Process Considerations and Tips,” during the Leadership Conference. This session will highlight some lessons learned and tips, in addition to a facilitated conversation with State panelists from Cohort 1.

To review other resources and documents related to our monitoring activities (e.g., DMS 2.0, DMS Reports, and older monitoring reports), please refer to the DMS section on our IDEA website.

The Center for the Integration of IDEA Data Revised and Improved Data Integration Toolkit

The Center for the Integration of IDEA Data (CIID) has released the newly revised and improved Data Integration Toolkit to plan and manage your data integration project. CIID’s Toolkit is your roadmap for managing a data integration project. It is a simple, concise package that SEAs can use with or without intensive TA providers to manage a data integration project. It provides instructions for your project staff as they prepare and execute a data integration project. Most importantly, it provides documentation and data governance best practices built into every step and task to support long-term sustainability.

New Product: Tools to Employ and Support Interveners

An important resource is now available that describes the work interveners do to provide one-to-one support for children who are deaf-blind and offers detailed information on employing and supporting them. Tools to Employ and Support Interveners describes intervener roles and responsibilities, how to navigate the employment process, and intervener training and certification.

Integrating Foundational Computational Thinking into Daily Routines and Activities

The ED-funded STEM Innovation for Inclusion in Early Education (STEMIE) team has developed a series of video demonstrations and a resource on how STEM, specifically foundational computational thinking can be integrated into children’s daily routines and activities. The resources provide examples of adaptations for young children with disabilities.

What New Special Education Directors Need to Know About Assessments

The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) recently published What New Special Education Directors Need to Know About Academic Assessments. The purpose of this toolkit is to provide easy access to information that will help state special education directors fulfill their role in ensuring the participation of students with disabilities in assessments. The highlighted information and resources can help support special education directors in ensuring that all students with disabilities are included in state, district, and school assessments and accountability systems in a manner that is appropriate for each student based on their specific instructional and assessment needs.

TIES Center’s “Inclusive Big Ideas” can be used to plan grade-level standards-based English language arts reading literature lessons for all students, including those with significant cognitive disabilities. The resource can spark ideas for developing instructional strategies and activities; identifying essential content, concepts and standards-based vocabulary; removing common student barriers to learning; and integrating cross-curricular connections and evidence-based practices that optimize engagement.

Research Highlights from the National Center for Special Education Research

The Institute for Education Science’s National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) funds research designed to expand knowledge and understanding of learners with and at risk for disabilities, from infancy through postsecondary settings. We share a report below on findings related to special education.

Improving Academic Achievement through Instruction in Self-Regulated Strategy Development: The Science Behind the Practice features an interview with Dr. Karen Harris on Self-Regulated Strategy Development, an evidence-based instructional approach to improve student writing that has been found to work for students at various grade levels with and without disabilities.

 Visit the OSERS Blog

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!