CEC Members Raise Top Special Education Issues at White House Meeting

Today, in a meeting reserved solely for members of the Council for Exceptional Children and the National Center for Learning Disabilities, CEC members met with top officials within the Obama Administration to discuss critical issues confronting special education across the nation. 

At a time when the economy is impacting schools across the country and as the Obama Administration is pursuing reforms in education through the Race to the Top program and granting waivers from some of NCLB’s most stringent requirements, CEC members asked officials questions that are on the minds of many special educators, such as:

• how will the Administration’s initiatives support investing in special education;
• how will policies support teacher evaluation systems that accurately reflect the contributions of special educators;
• how do we better train future general and special educators to address the needs of students with disabilities;
• how can the Administration reinforce the importance of early intervention and preschool programs for children with disabilities, particularly during difficult budget times for states;
• why funding for special education research has decreased despite the requirement to implement evidence-based interventions.

Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President on Disability Policy; Dr. Alexa Posny, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; and Dr. Melody Musgrove, Director of the Office of Special Education Programs within the U.S. Department of Education fielded questions and provided insight into President Obama’s education agenda. 

While emphasizing the President’s commitment to students with disabilities, Dale explained that in this tough economic environment even programs that have long been championed by the President have received funding cuts.  While the President’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2013 did not cut IDEA’s programs for preschool and school aged children, it did propose a $2.5 million cut to IDEA’s personnel preparation grant program (Part D), the primary program dedicated to training future special education teachers.  Dale noted that though the President proposed this cut, it is more a reflection of the difficult economic environment than a reflection of the value of the program.  Notably, President Obama’s budget proposed a $20 million increase to IDEA’s early intervention program (Part C).  Additionally, Dale explained that because over 60% of students with disabilities spend most of their time in the general education classroom, funding increases requested for general education initiatives will also impact students with disabilities.

Dr. Posny shared with the group the U.S. Department of Education’s Disability Strategy which seeks to address the needs of students with disabilities across all offices within the Department and will focus on five areas:

1. Aligning early childhood delivery systems
2. Training teachers to address the needs of students with disabilities
3. Differentiating instruction
4. Accessible assessments
5. Transition services

Dr. Posny and Dr. Musgrove also addressed many of the issues raised by CEC members.  Both acknowledged the need for a greater investment in special education research, the importance of investing in and increasing the numbers of children served in early learning and intervention programs, and a need to look to states that are effectively implementing teacher evaluation systems that include special educators.

Every CEC member received an email invitation to participate in the meeting via conference call.  In person attendees included:

Sherry Beverly	Special Education Teacher, Loudoun County Public Schools, VA
Vivian Correa	Professor of Special Education, University of North Carolina, NC
Julie Farbman	Student of Special Education, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Mary Kealy	Assistant Superintendent Pupil Services, Loudoun County School District
Jim Lesko	Director, Early Development and Learning Resources Work Group, DE Department of Education, DE
Margo Mastropieri	Professor of Special Education George Mason University, VA
Maggie McLaughlin	Professor of Special Education, University of Maryland, MD
Matty Rodriguez-Walling	Special Education Teacher, Miami/Dade County School District FL
Donna Sacco	Special Education Teacher, Arlington County School District, VA
Lou Tutt	Executive Director of The Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired,  VA
Jenny Weaver	School Psychologist, Calvert County School District MD
Bruce Ramirez	CEC Executive Director
Deborah Ziegler	CEC Associate Executive Director, Policy and Advocacy Services
Lindsay Jones	CEC Senior Director, Policy and Advocacy Services

CEC appreciates the opportunity to engage in today’s dialog with Administration officials and looks forward to continuing to collaborate on initiatives that improve educational and developmental outcomes for children and youth with disabilities. For reactions from of our participating members, please see these videos.

If you weren’t able to participate in the meeting but still want to share your thoughts, please email CEC’s Public Policy Team at pubpol@cec.sped.org .

Comments

[Disabled Education]

It's encouraging to see these issues are being taken into consideration by such a high office.