1 / 22

What Else Is Happening in Washington?!

What Else Is Happening in Washington?!. That is one terrible title. EARLY CHILDHOOD/Early Intervention. SPP/APR. Changes Afoot Policy Forum, May 11-13, 2011 December, 2011 Dept. Accepts Comments on Changes Changes are very minor (CEC comments)

linda-bush
Download Presentation

What Else Is Happening in Washington?!

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. What Else Is Happening in Washington?! That is one terrible title.

  2. EARLY CHILDHOOD/Early Intervention

  3. SPP/APR • Changes Afoot • Policy Forum, May 11-13, 2011 • December, 2011 Dept. Accepts Comments on Changes • Changes are very minor (CEC comments) • April 2012 – Department Suspends Verification Visits • June 12 – Department Call! What to do next? • Shift to Outcomes, not process • But what will this mean??

  4. Workforce Investment Act (WIA) CEC Reauthorization Recommendations - CAN 2011

  5. History • Signed into law by President Clinton in 1998 • WIA marked the first major job training reform in over 15 years

  6. Goal : Workforce Investment System • Create a “Work First” employment system • Integrate welfare, unemployment compensation, employment services, and training into one seamless system of public assistance reform • WIA was passed to reform the nation’s job training system that formerly was fragmented, contained duplicative programs, and did not serve either job seekers or employers well. • Full implementation for all states was to be completed by July 1, 2000.

  7. Structure • Title I – Workforce Investment Systems • Title II – Adult Education and Literacy • Title III – Workforce Investment Related Activities • Title IV – Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 • Title V – General Provisions

  8. State Workforce Investment Boards

  9. WIA & Equality • How has WIA helped? • More Access to Facilities & Programs: • Architectural Access • Assistive Technology Devices • Directed Marketing • Updated Policies • Providing Needed Accommodations GAO Report 05-54 (Dec. 2004)

  10. Unemployment Rates • In May 2011, the percentage of people with disabilities in the labor force was 21.1. By comparison, the percentage of persons with no disability in the labor force was 69.7. • The unemployment rate for those with disabilities was 15.6 percent, compared with 8.5 percent for persons with no disability.

  11. Workforce Investment Act (WIA) • April 2011 - CEC Issues Updated WIA Recommendations • WIA is long overdue for reauthorization • Senate is currently working on a draft – could be introduced this summer

  12. Action Since April 2011? Oh My! • Senate Bill – STALLED • Sheltered Workshop Main Issue • House Bill(s) – Moving, Mark-Up, and Going No Where (very unlikely to move in the Senate.) • Concerning Provisions: • Allows Consolidation of Voc Rehab Funds into Title I of WIA, essentially eliminating Voc Rehab altogether. HR 4297 • Consolidates 27 (mostly youth) Programs into 1 block grant aimed at mostly adult services

  13. CEC Talking Points!! Talking Points • CEC Recommends: • Begin Transition Planning As Soon As Possible, No Later Than Age 14; • Require Representation of Disability Interests on State Workforce Investment Boards; • Create and Fund Research Priorities Designed to Address Individuals with Disabilities; and • Include and Emphasize Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

  14. Higher Education Act Negotiated Rulemaking & Potential Impact on Special Education

  15. What is the Problem?? Student performance lags far behind other nations

  16. What is the Problem?? • What is the Department saying… • “Teacher preparation programs are not always attracting the strongest candidates – only 24% of all teachers, and only 14% of teachers in high-poverty schools, come from the top third of college graduates” • “More than three in five education school alumni report that their educations school did not prepare them for “classroom realities” • “70% of superintendents and principals said teachers were not prepared to address the needs of students with disabilities.

  17. What is the Problem?? • States identified less than 2% of teacher preparation programs as “low performing” • Current HEA reporting requirements = 440 reporting fields for states; 250 for IHEs

  18. Shift to Effectiveness…Not Just in K-12 “The Department is interested in ensuring that teacher preparation programs, school districts and prospective students have access to meaningful, outcome-based as well as input-oriented indicators of program effectiveness that will promote improvements in those programs, and provide to potential employers and prospective students actionable information to guide their hiring and program application decisions.” • U.S. Department of Education http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2011/teacherprep.html

  19. Shift to Effectiveness…Not Just in K-12 • Rate every teacher preparation program on 1-4 scale (1 best, 4 worst) • Rating system as proposed by feds • K-12 student outcomes of program graduates based on value added scores; • Employment outcomes for graduates including placement and retention; • Customer satisfaction (graduate and principal surveys); • Professional accreditation OR state approval;

  20. Shift to Effectiveness…Not Just in K-12 Discussion: Tie ranking to financial aid eligibility !

  21. Impact on Special Education • High stakes decision based on student test scores • Will teacher preparation programs want to maintain special education focus? • Exacerbating the special education shortage

  22. What to Expect • Proposed regulations are expected out soon • Keep informed – stay tuned!!

More Related