CEC Policy Insider

U.S. Department of Education Sponsors Research Roundtable with CEC Members

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 29, 2012 — Today, leaders from the U.S. Department of Education convened a roundtable discussion with members of the Council for Exceptional Children to discuss the research needs of special educators who work daily to improve educational outcomes for the nation’s six million children and youth with disabilities.

House Committee Votes to Approve Key ESEA Bills; CEC Opposes Measures

On Tuesday, the House Education and the Workforce Committee voted to approve two bills central to the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, recently known as the No Child Left Behind Act, over the opposition of some education groups including CEC.

The Student Success Act (H.R. 3989) and the Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act (H.R. 3990)  seek to overhaul key elements of ESEA/NCLB  including the accountability and teacher quality systems by proposing a system of state-driven accountability and teacher evaluation systems linked to student test scores.

CEC opposed both bills, which if enacted, will lower standards for children and youth with disabilities.Of particular concern, the bill will

• Eliminate requirements that every student have a teacher who is fully prepared on day one.
• Fail to require and support ongoing professional development for teachers.
• Increase privatization and move resources away from public schools.
• Reduce, cap and eliminate funding.
• Eliminate important protections that ensure students with disabilities are held to high standards.
• Reduce accountability for students with disabilities.

President Obama to Governors: Invest More in Education

In a speech to the nation’s governors on Tuesday, President Obama urged states to increase funding for education.  Telling governors, “I know something about trying to deal with tight budgets”, the President outlined two areas of education that “demand our immediate attention” – getting more teachers in the classroom and increasing opportunities to access higher education. 

CEC White House Event Attendees Share Their Reactions

On Wednesday, February 22, CEC was invited to participate in a special White House event where our members met with top officials in the Obama Administration to discuss special education policy issues. To read more about CEC's visit to the White House, please click here.

Following Wednesday's event, several of the attendees volunteered to share their reactions with us. Check out the videos below or visit CEC's YouTube page to view.

 

Special education teacher and member of CEC’s Board of Directors Donna Sacco from Arlington, Va., on her participation in a White House dialogue on Feb. 22 with leaders from the White House Domestic Policy Council and the U.S. Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services.

 

CEC member Vivian Correa, professor of special education and child development at the University of North Carolina former member of CEC’s Board of Directors and current President Elect of CEC’s Teacher Education Division (TED), on her participation in a White House dialogue on Feb. 22 with leaders from the White House Domestic Policy Council and the U.S. Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services.

 

Special education teacher, member of the CEC Board of Directors, and former Clarissa Hug Teacher of the Year Matti Rodriguez-Walling, from Miami, Fla., on her participation in a White House dialogue on Feb. 22 with leaders from the White House Domestic Policy Council and the U.S. Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services.

 

CEC student member Julie Farbman, who is studying at the University of Maryland to become a special educator, on her participation in a White House dialogue on Feb. 22 with leaders from the White House Domestic Policy Council and the U.S. Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services.

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: