Message from Acting OSEP Director, Dr. David Cantrell

Hello Stakeholders!

Since Jan. 20, I am honored to serve in the role of Acting OSEP Director and lead a team of talented professionals dedicated to implementing IDEA. In this position, I promise to continue to be responsive to your requests for assistance and to listen to your suggestions for improvement. Since January, we’ve held several listening sessions with national stakeholder organizations, with more scheduled in the coming weeks.

With the inauguration of the Biden-Harris administration, our office has been working in support of President Biden’s Executive Order on Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation of Schools and Early Childhood Programs. This is an exciting time for our office to collaborate across the Department, with the Department of Health and Human Services, and with the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) in support of infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities and their families.

We’ve worked closely with the CDC to convey that schools should be the last to close and the first to open with a priority on learning. As a result of this partnership, we have developed the COVID-19 Handbook Volume 1: Strategies for Safely Reopening Elementary and Secondary Schools. Additionally, we recently released Guidance to States on Assessing Student Learning During the Pandemic.

Thank you for all that you do to support our infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities and their families! We are all in this together — OSEP is here to support you!

David Cantrell, Ph.D.
Acting Director
Office of Special Education Programs

NOTE: Beginning with this March edition, our newsletter will be published the beginning of each month. If you have any comments or suggestions for improvement, please contact Dr. Josiah Willey via email at Josiah.Willey@ed.gov. We want to hear from you!

Using Inclusive Technology During Distance Education

The TIES Center’s Collaboration in the Trenches: Lessons Learned about Inclusive Technology During COVID resource explores collaborative activities that can support continued use of assistive and educational technology during distance learning.

Impact of the Pandemic on Bilingual Education Webinar 

Region II IDRA EAC-South hosted the Impact of the Pandemic on Bilingual Education webinar Jan. 26, 2021. The session reviewed programming and instructional considerations for bilingual education and serving emergent bilingual students, as well as relevant applications for virtual and remote learning.

Toolkit for Assessing Learning Changes After Spring 2020 COVID-19 School Closures

This toolkit by the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest in partnership with the Ohio Department of Education helps public school districts better understand how their students are faring after widespread school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The toolkit is a step-by-step guide for districts that want to learn where learning changes may have occurred, understand how to use that knowledge to inform decision-making, and identify next steps for future analysis and planning.

Did You Know?

The number of infants and toddlers, birth through age 2, receiving early intervention services under Part C of IDEA increased from 409,315 in 2018 to 427,234 in 2019.

The number of children with disabilities, ages 3 through 21, receiving special education and related services under Part B of IDEA increased from 7,130,238 in 2018 to 7,278,380 in 2019.

Sources:

• 2018 to 2019 Part B Child Count and Educational Environments Data Files
• 2018 to 2019 Part C Child Count and Settings Data File

2021 OSEP Leadership and Project Directors’ Conference

OSEP will hold its annual Leadership and Project Directors’ Conference virtually July 19–22, 2021. This year’s conference will combine OSEP’s bi-annual Leadership and Project Directors’ conferences.

Sessions that are applicable to Leadership Conference and Project Directors’ Conference audiences will be offered. Conference attendance is expected of all OSEP grantees.

Registration and additional information on the event will be coming soon.

NCDB: National Deaf-Blind Child Count

Each year, the National Center on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB) publishes a National Deaf-Blind Child Count Report, a compilation of data from state deaf-blind projects across the United States. It provides information on demographics and other characteristics of children and youth with deaf-blindness that is used to inform technical assistance, personnel preparation, scholarship, and research.

Lead for Literacy Center

Webinars

Register for free professional development webinars for educators hosted by the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the Lead for Literacy Center.

Join Jess Surles, M.Ed., and Lauren Artzi, Ph.D. for the fifth and sixth instalments of the NAESP-Lead for Literacy Center series.

• March 25 at 2 p.m. ET. Leading for Literacy: Promoting Code-Based Literacy Skills in Early Elementary School
• April 1 at 2 p.m. ET. Leading for Literacy: Promoting Meaning-Level Literacy Skills in Early Elementary Schools 

Progress Center

Webinar

The PROGRESS Center will host a webinar, The IEP Team’s Pivotal Role in Promoting Progress for Students with Disabilities, March 16 at 12 p.m.ET.

Join the PROGRESS Center’s Timara Davis and Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center and Region B Parent Technical Assistance Center’s Terri Leyton as they provide an overview of the individualized education program (IEP) team’s key members, assigned responsibilities, and legal requirements. The presenters will also highlight the importance of developing collaborative teams and discuss considerations for the IEP team in the context of COVID-19.