February 2014 – Special Educator e-Journal

Table of Contents

• Update from the U.S. Department of Education

• Calls to Participate and New Projects

• Special Education Resources

• Latest Employment Opportunities Posted on NASET

• Upcoming Conferences and Events

• Funding Forecast and Award Opportunities

• Acknowledgements

• Download a PDF or XPS Version of This Issue

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Update from the U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Departments of Education and Justice Release School Discipline Guidance Package to Enhance School Climate and Improve School Discipline Policies/Practices

The U.S. Department of Education (ED), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), today released a school discipline guidance package that will assist states, districts and schools in developing practices and strategies to enhance school climate, and ensure those policies and practices comply with federal law. Even though incidents of school violence have decreased overall, too many schools are still struggling to create positive, safe environments. Schools can improve safety by making sure that climates are welcoming and that responses to misbehavior are fair, non-discriminatory and effective. Each year, significant numbers of students miss class due to suspensions and expulsions—even for minor infractions of school rules—and students of color and with disabilities are disproportionately impacted. The guidance package provides resources for creating safe and positive school climates, which are essential for boosting student academic success and closing achievement gaps.

“Effective teaching and learning cannot take place unless students feel safe at school,”U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. “Positive discipline policies can help create safer learning environments without relying heavily on suspensions and expulsions. Schools also must understand their civil rights obligations and avoid unfair disciplinary practices. We need to keep students in class where they can learn. These resources are a step in the right direction.”

The resource package consists of four components:

• The Dear Colleague guidance letter on civil rights and discipline, prepared in conjunction with DOJ, describes how schools can meet their legal obligations under federal law to administer student discipline without discriminating against students on the basis of race, color or national origin;
• The Guiding Principles document draws from emerging research and best practices to describe three key principles and related action steps that can help guide state and local efforts to improve school climate and school discipline;
• The Directory of Federal School Climate and Discipline Resources indexes the extensive federal technical assistance and other resources related to school discipline and climate available to schools and districts; and
• The Compendium of School Discipline Laws and Regulations, an online catalogue of the laws and regulations related to school discipline in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, compares laws across states and jurisdictions.

“A routine school disciplinary infraction should land a student in the principal’s office, not in a police precinct,”Attorney General Eric Holder said. “This guidance will promote fair and effective disciplinary practices that will make schools safe, supportive and inclusive for all students. By ensuring federal civil rights protections, offering alternatives to exclusionary discipline and providing useful information to school resource officers, we can keep America’s young people safe and on the right path.”

The guidance package is a resource resulting from a collaborative project—the Supportive School Discipline Initiative (SSDI)—between ED and DOJ. The SSDI, launched in 2011, addresses the school-to-prison pipeline and the disciplinary policies and practices that can push students out of school and into the justice system. The initiative aims to support instead school discipline practices that foster safe, inclusive and positive learning environments while keeping students in school. The Department of Justice enforces Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race or national origin in public schools, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin by schools, law enforcement agencies, and other recipients of federal financial assistance.

The guidance package also results from President Obama’s Now is the Time proposal to reduce gun violence. It called on ED to collect and disseminate best practices on school discipline policies and to help school districts develop and equitably implement their policies. To both continue ED/DOJ efforts in connection with SSDI and fulfill the administration’s commitment to “Now is the Time,” the guidance package was developed with additional input from civil rights advocates, major education organizations and philanthropic partners.

To view the resource documents, visit www.ed.gov/school-discipline.

U.S. Department of Education and Cleveland Metropolitan School District Reach Agreement to Provide Equal Access to STEM Programs for Limited English Proficient (LEP) and Latino Students

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) successfully resolved today its compliance review of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, entering into an agreement to ensure the District will provide Limited English Proficient (LEP) and Latino students with equal access to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs offered at the high school level.

During the 2012-13 school year, only 130 of the district’s 5,586 Hispanic students enrolled in the district’s four STEM high schools. Although the district has designated nearly half (2,764) of its Latino students as English Language Learners (ELL), the district has neither regularly made STEM program information available in languages other than English nor made significant outreach efforts to the ELL student community regarding district STEM offerings. Geographic siting compounds the issue: only two of the district’s seven STEM-themed high schools or high school programs are located on the west side of Cleveland, where Cleveland’s Latino population is heavily concentrated. The district’s innovative, challenging STEM programs have had to turn away interested students at some locations and have been under enrolled at other locations, underscoring the benefits to be gained from promoting STEM education more equally among district students.

“The pipeline to educational opportunities in STEM fields must be open to all students,” said Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant secretary for the Office for Civil Rights. “We appreciate the district’s commitment to working with OCR to identify steps to promote and ensure equal access to STEM educational opportunities for all students, regardless of race or national origin. Increasing student interest and expertise in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics is critically important to developing more scientists, engineers, and innovators who will help our nation maintain its position as a global leader.”

Today’s agreement ends the unequal access to STEM offerings for Limited English Proficient and Latino students in the district. The district, which cooperated fully with OCR throughout the investigation, agrees to form a committee, including district and community members, to identify and assess barriers to Latino participation in STEM program; to develop and provide OCR, by the end of the current school year, with a plan to be implemented beginning in the 2014-15 school year to ensure equal STEM access district-wide; to promote STEM programs specifically to Latino students and their families; to make sure that information communicated to Limited English Proficient families about STEM programs is either translated or interpreted into their home language and specifically to provide written notice that ELL services are available for students who enroll in STEM programs; to annually monitor student enrollment in STEM programs and make changes as necessary to improve access for Latino and ELL students; and to improve academic counseling services and retrain district staff as necessary to improve equitable access to STEM programs in the district.

According to data obtained by OCR during its investigation to date, the district enrolled over 38,500 students during the 2012-2013 school year, including 5,586 (14.4 percent) Latino students. Spanish is the most frequent language other than English used by students and parents; 2,764 (7.1 percent) students enrolled in the district were enrolled in the district’s English Language Learners (ELL) program.

The district’s high school students enroll either in their home schools or the neighborhood school near their residence, or request to enroll in “city-wide draw” schools of their choice. Four of the district’s high schools are STEM schools: the Cleveland School of Science and Medicine, Metropolitan Cleveland Consortium STEM High School (MC2STEM), Design Lab- Early College at @ Health Careers, and Garrett Morgan School of Science. The district also incorporates STEM-themed training into the curriculum and academic programs at three other high schools.

OCR will closely monitor implementation of the agreement. A copy of the resolution letter can be found here:http://www2.ed.gov/documents/press-releases/cleveland-metropolitan-agreement.doc. A copy of the agreement can be found here: http://www2.ed.gov/documents/press-releases/cleveland-metropolitan-agreement.doc.

The OCR’s mission is to ensure equal access to education and promote educational excellence throughout the nation through the vigorous enforcement of civil rights. OCR is responsible for enforcing federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination by educational institutions on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, sex, and age, as well as the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act of 2001. Additional information about OCR is available at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html.

Fact Sheet: Education Datapalooza to Promote Innovation in Improving College Access, Affordability, and Completion

In August, President Obama outlined an ambitious new agenda to combat rising college costs and make college affordable for American families. As a part of this plan, the President called on the U.S. Department of Education to enlist entrepreneurs and technology leaders to catalyze new private-sector tools, services, and apps to help students evaluate and select colleges.

Today, in response to the President’s call, the White House, the U.S. Departments of Education and Treasury, and the General Services Administration are hosting an Education “Datapalooza”, highlighting innovators from the private, nonprofit, and academic sectors who have used freely available government data to build products, services, and apps that advance postsecondary education, empower students with information, and help colleges innovate in creative and powerful ways.

The program focuses on two areas directly responsive to the President’s call: empowering students and families with the information, apps, websites, and other tools to help them make informed decisions about going to and paying for college; and leveraging technology to increase the quality of online teaching and learning, which can lead to breakthroughs on college cost and quality.

Technologies like those being showcased at the Datapalooza can play important roles in support of President Obama’s plan to make college more affordable and accessible. That plan calls for measuring college performance through a new ratings system so that students and families have the information they need to select schools that provide the best value for them; enhancing competition and innovation to provide higher value at lower costs; and supporting new ideas in higher education through a limited number of experimental sites. The plan also proposes to cap Federal student loan payments at 10 percent of income for all borrowers, and directs the Department of Education to ramp up efforts to make sure borrowers are aware of, and can take advantage of, all available repayment options.

Key Administration Steps to Build Momentum for Innovation

As part of today’s Datapalooza, the U.S. Department of Education announced a series of next steps aimed at opening up resources that higher-education leaders, private-sector and philanthropic leaders, technology developers, and entrepreneurs can use to enhance affordability, access, and outcomes in higher education. These actions include:

Exploring the Use of APIs to Improve Access to Education Resources: The U.S. Department of Education will explore the use of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) as a way to help students and families access key education processes, programs, and data. The Department will issue a Request for Information (RFI) to gather ideas and feedback on potential development of APIs with key education data, programs, and frequently used forms—including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). These efforts will build on steps the Department is already taking to make data available to the public in API format from the National Center for Education Statistics’ Common Core of Data and Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Systems (viewable at www.ed.gov/developers).

Opening Targeted FAFSA Completion Data to High Schools and Guidance Counselors. The U.S. Department of Education is committed to responsibly sharing data with schools and guidance counselors about whether their students have applied for the FAFSA, as a tool to increase financial aid application rates. This effort can help spur the development of new resources for parents, school leadership, and guidance counselors to assist students applying for Federal student aid.

Pursuing Data-Driven, Targeted Strategies for Communicating with Student Loan Borrowers: Last fall, the U.S. Department of Education conducted a targeted outreach campaign to 3.7 million borrowers to inform them of their options to manage their Federal student loan debt. Building on these targeted outreach efforts, the Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid will continue to develop data-driven strategies for communicating with student-loan borrowers, tailoring communications to borrowers to maximize awareness of repayment options for Federal student loans.

By analyzing available student aid data, the Department will continue to develop more sophisticated approaches to communicating with students, such as targeting easy-to-understand information about Income-Driven Repayment plans to those borrowers who may benefit from such plans.

Considering the Integration of Third Party Apps into the Department’s Financial Aid Toolkit: Last month, the U.S. Department of Education launched the Financial Aid Toolkit at financialaidtoolkit.ed.gov as an online “one-stop shop” for financial aid resources, aimed at guidance counselors, community-based organizations, and others who help students select and finance their higher education. The Financial Aid Toolkit consolidates into one searchable online database a full range of financial aid resources covering the entire financial aid lifecycle—from applying for financial aid to repaying student loans. Going forward, the Department will study the potential benefits of integrating third-party apps, tools, and other services into the Toolkit, potentially making this resource even more accessible and user-friendly.

Continuing Engagement around Higher Education Innovation and Open Data: In the coming weeks, building on the innovations highlighted at the Datapalooza, the U.S. Department of Education will continue to engage with leaders in higher education, business, and philanthropy across the Nation to explore ways to further empower students with tools to make more informed decisions about college and to develop ways to improve teaching and learning. Additionally, the Department will continue to receive feedback and ideas from stakeholders on ways that it can make Department data sources, tools, or forms for students more open and accessible. Feedback can continue to be directed to datapalooza@ed.gov.

Calling for Ideas for Experimental Sites: The President has called for the U.S. Department of Education to support new ideas in higher education through a limited number of experimental sites. The Experimental Sites authority under Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA) allows the Secretary of Education to waive specific Title IV, HEA requirements of the Federal student financial assistance programs to test responsible innovations coupled with evaluations of their effectiveness. Experiments could include enabling colleges to offer Pell grants to high-school students taking college-level courses, allowing Federal financial aid to assist students seeking academic credit for prior learning, and combining traditional calendar-based and competency based courses into a single program of study. The Department is asking the public, the higher education community, and others to send their ideas for experimental sites that would support a better-educated workforce and citizenry. Ideas should be submitted by Jan. 31 to experimentalsites@ed.gov. For more information, please see the Department’s Dear Colleague Letter and Federal Register notice.

Streamlining Application Paperwork: The U.S. Department of the Treasury will explore opportunities to help consumers access their own Government-held financial records online. Federal student-loan borrowers need access to Government-held personal records, such as tax returns, to help apply for aid and scholarships, as well as to enroll in programs to help them repay their loans, such as Income-Driven Repayment programs. As a part of this overall effort, the IRS is launching Get Transcript, which will give taxpayers the ability to view, print, and download their tax transcripts—making it easier for student borrowers to access their own tax records needed for loan and grant applications.

Seeking New “Pull Mechanisms” to Support Development of New Learning Technologies: The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is seeking input on how incentive prizes and other “pull mechanisms” might be used to accelerate the development, rigorous evaluation, and widespread adoption of high impact learning technologies. Some of the advantages of pull mechanisms are that a funder can: (a) pay only for success; (b) set a goal without having to choose in advance which team or approach is most likely to be successful; and (c) increase the number and intellectual diversity of the teams that are working to solve a particular problem. Already, Federal agencies have offered almost 300 incentive prizes on Challenge.gov, providing opportunities for citizen solvers to offer novel solutions to a wide array of tough problems. OSTP intends to build on this pull-mechanism momentum with a specific focus on learning technologies, and has released a Request for Information (RFI) asking stakeholders (e.g., Federal agencies, philanthropists, employers, researchers, nonprofits, and state and local education agencies) what roles they would be willing to play in the design, funding, and implementation of pull mechanisms for learning technology. The full Request for Information can be found here and supplemental information on pull mechanisms can be found here. Comments are due by March 7, 2014, and can be sent to learning@ostp.gov.

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Calls to Participate and New Projects

Online Survey for Special Education Teachers
https://byu.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3BElz4DEMALlPvf
A researcher in the Special Education Department at Brigham Young University seeks participants in a short survey of special education teachers/practitioners for a research study about their preferences for professional development and the professional development they have received.

Online Survey of Parents/Guardians of Children Ages 12 or Older
https://msucoe.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_9XED9l2U9uwXZ2d
A researcher in the Special Education Department at Michigan State University seeks participants in a short survey of parents/guardians of children ages 12 or older for a research study about the social behavior of adolescents and adults with and without intellectual or developmental disabilities. The purpose of the study is to better understand the social behavior of people with and without disabilities, as perceived and reported by their parents/guardians.

Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity Call for Proposals
http://www.pacrim.hawaii.edu/about
The Center on Disability Studies at the University of Hawai‘i seeks proposals for presentations for the 30th Annual Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity, “Learn from Yesterday, Live for Today, Envision Tomorrow” which will be held May 19-20, 2014, in Waikiki, Hawai’i. Deadline for proposals: January 31, 2014.

I Care By Campaign Seeks Participants
http://tinyurl.com/kja27bv
Over two million young people in the United States have an emotional or behavioral disability. Stakeholders in the educational process (families, educators, administrators, and policymakers) struggle to find effective methods to help these students succeed. The new I Care By Campaign, inspired by the film “Who Cares About Kelsey?,” provides specific, regularly updated actions that anyone can take to make a difference in the lives of youth who are struggling with emotional or behavioral challenges.

Special Education Resources

Alliance for Excellent Education Archived Webinar: Assessing Deeper Learning: The Ohio Performance Assessment Pilot Project (January) 
Archived Webinar
http://all4ed.org/webinar/jan-16-2014/
The Alliance for Excellent Education, after hosting “Assessing Deeper Learning: The Ohio Performance Assessment Pilot Project,” a January 16 webinar on using curriculum-embedded performance measures to learn and demonstrate deeper learning competencies students need for college and a career, archives the event. The webinar focused on the Ohio Performance Assessment Pilot Project (OPAPP), which includes a system of learning and assessment tasks aligned with the Common Core State Standards. OPAPP includes sustained, collaborative professional learning through all components of the program, including formative assessment to support student learning, technical training, and writing and scoring of assessment tasks. It explores the use of performance tasks to elicit and assess complex thinking and communication skills and what this means for designing curricula and varied structures for professional learning to provide teachers with the knowledge and skills to help all students attain high-level cognitive and intrapersonal skills.

Community Works Institute’s Educators’ Network Web Site
http://cwinstitute.ning.com/
Community Works Institute (CWI) has launched an online Educators’ Network, a way for educators and administrators to connect with one another and share and collaborate in making place-based education, service learning, and sustainability a core part of their students’ learning experience. The site includes collegial support and dialogue, teaching and administrative resources, innovative curriculum ideas, and information on collaborations and partnerships.

Lessons of Reciprocity and Relationships (January 2014) 
Essay
http://tinyurl.com/n8jtnpd
“Community Works Journal,” an on-line magazine for educators, has posted “Lessons of Reciprocity and Relationships” as a featured essay on service learning and making sure that both the volunteers and the population they are working with feel the real benefits of their relationship, and that the activity is purposeful and empowers all those involved.

The Soul of a Teacher (January 2014) 
Essay
http://tinyurl.com/kdwt455
“Community Works Journal,” an on-line magazine for educators, has posted “The Soul of a Teacher” as a featured essay on the importance of keeping in touch with the unique experience of each teacher’s interactions with the students and with other educators. Each learning opportunity, each conversation, each perception, is worth taking the time to listen for it, and to allow and encourage it to be expressed, and not letting it be lost under the weight of standards, testing, scales, and standardized curricula.

Vera Institute Launches Status Offense Reform Center Web Site (December 2013) 
Toolkit & Resources
http://www.vera.org/project/status-offense-reform-center
The Center on Youth Justice at the Vera Institute of Justice has launched the online Status Offense Reform Center. This Website, supported by funding from the MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change Resource Center partnership, is a one-stop shop of resources for policymakers and practitioners interested in diverting youth engaged in noncriminal offenses – such as truancy or running away – from entering the juvenile justice system. This interactive site provides a toolkit for planning, implementing, and sustaining status offense system reforms; profiles of reform efforts nationwide; research briefs; Webinars; podcasts; a blog; and a help desk.

Career Readiness Assessments Across States: A Summary of Survey Findings Center on Education Policy (October 2013) 
Report
http://www.cep-dc.org/displayDocument.cfm?DocumentID=427
The Center on Education Policy (CEP) has published “Career Readiness Assessments Across States: A Summary of Survey Findings Center on Education Policy,” on how states are defining career readiness and which assessments states and districts are using to measure this attribute. The report is based on a survey administered in the summer of 2013 to state directors of career and technical education or their designees about career readiness assessments. A total of 46 states completed the survey, counting the District of Columbia. Also available on this site are four related papers containing additional details on the main topics covered in the summary report, including the responses of specific states and profiles of major career and technical assessments.

Closing the Expectations Gap (November 2013) 
Report
http://www.achieve.org/ClosingtheExpectationsGap2013
The eighth annual “Closing the Expectations Gap” report by Achieve shows how all states are aligning those standards with policies and practice to better ensure that all students are academically prepared for life after high school. The report details states’ policy progress on the CCR agenda, and efforts to implement those policies. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have adopted standards aligned to the expectations of college and careers.

Discussion Guide for the Campaign for Disability Employment’s Public Service Announcement “Because” (2013) 
Guide
http://promotions.usa.gov/odep.html
The Campaign for Disability Employment (CDE) has issued a free discussion guide to accompany its “Because” public service announcement (PSA). The “Because” PSA’s message is that youth with disabilities, like all youth, should grow up expecting to work and succeed, and parents, educators and other adults of influence in their lives should reinforce this expectation at every turn. The discussion guide (which comes with a DVD containing the PSA) can be used to facilitate a conversation about this topic among adults or youth in many settings. It is available in both English and Spanish. The CDE is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP).

Federal Partners in Transition National Online Dialogue: Participation Metrics (September 2013) 
Report
http://tinyurl.com/mgpoakv
The Federal Partners in Transition National Online Dialogue, held May 13-27, 2013 and hosted by the U.S. Departments of Labor, Education, Health and Human Services and the Social Security Administration, invited people to share their ideas and comments about federal legislative and regulatory barriers and other opportunities to improve transition outcomes for youth with disabilities. A report, “Federal Partners in Transition National Online Dialogue: Participation Metrics” has been released summarizing the dialogue’s results. The input received will be used by the Federal Partners in Transition to better align policies, programs and practices to promote successful transition outcomes. Available in pdf (600 KB, 22 pp).

Healthy Transitions: A Pathway to Employment for Youth with Chronic Health Conditions and Other Disabilities (2013)  
Policy Brief
http://www.dol.gov/odep/pdf/2013ODEPHealthyReport.pdf
In 2012, the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) commissioned a study on health care transition and the study’s key findings are now available in a policy brief, “Healthy Transitions: A Pathway to Employment for Youth with Chronic Health Conditions and Other Disabilities.” The purpose of the study was to better understand the relationship between disability (including chronic health conditions); health and wellness; and transition and employment outcomes for youth with disabilities; as well as the role health care providers play in establishing employment expectations. Available in pdf (582 KB, 13 pp).

National Center on Universal Design for Learning: New Resources Released (October 2013) 
Resources
http://www.udlcenter.org/implementation/udl_ccss
The National Center on Universal Design for Learning has added new resources on the intersection of UDL and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) to its website. These tools and links show how the CCSS identify what educators need to address in their instruction and how UDL guides design of their instruction. Key resources include a crosswalk on UDL and the Literacy by Design Collaborative (LDC) framework and video examples showing lessons illustrating classroom instruction addressing both the UDL guidelines and CCSS.

NCWD/Youth InfoBrief on Use of Social Security Work Incentives to Promote Work-Based Learning in Youth Employment and Training Programs (September 2013)
InfoBrief
http://www.ncwd-youth.info/social-security-and-work-based-learning
The National Collaborative on Work and Disability/Youth’s (NCWD/Youth) report, “Use of Social Security Work Incentives to Promote Work-Based Learning in Youth Employment and Training Programs,” examines AmeriCorps as a model that includes an income exemption that allows youth with disabilities who are Social Security beneficiaries to participate in work-based learning experiences and receive a living allowance or stipend without it impacting their benefits. It provides an overview of the importance of work-based learning experiences, including service learning, particularly for youth with disabilities, and the current state of policy and practice regarding the use of the AmeriCorps income exclusion and includes recommendations for increasing the scope and use of the existing AmeriCorps exemption and for expanding similar incentives to other youth employment and training programs serving transition-age youth with disabilities, such as those funded under the Workforce Investment Act.

NCWD/Youth Practice Brief on Youth Development and Leadership: Opportunities to Develop Connecting Competencies (September 2013) 
Practice Brief
http://tinyurl.com/mdhyvvy
The National Collaborative on Work and Disability/Youth’s (NCWD/Youth’s) Innovative Strategies Practice Brief, “Youth Development and Leadership: Opportunities to Develop Connecting Competencies,” provides practical examples from promising and exemplary youth programs for implementing youth development and leadership opportunities that help youth develop connecting competencies. Some of the youth programs featured in this brief have been recognized by NCWD/Youth as Innovative Strategies. NCWD/Youth Innovative Strategies feature programs and organizations that serve youth with disabilities either as a target population or as part of other youth populations.

New Financial Aid Toolkit Part of Department’s Efforts to Improve College Access and Affordability (December) 
Toolkit
http://tinyurl.com/m9djjld
The U.S. Department of Education’s “Ed.gov” has launched an online “one-stop shop” Financial Aid Toolkit aimed at guidance counselors and other advisers, such as staff or volunteers at community-based organizations, who assist students through the process of selecting and financing their higher education.

OJJDP’s Functional Impairment in Delinquent Youth (December 2013) 
Bulletin
http://www.ojjdp.gov/?width=80&height=80
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has released “Functional Impairment in Delinquent Youth,” part of OJJDP’s “Beyond Detention” series, which examines the results of the Northwestern Juvenile Project – a large-scale longitudinal study of youth detained at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in Chicago, IL. This bulletin presents findings on juvenile functional impairment in the school, work, home, and community settings; and in terms of behavior toward others, mood and psychiatric concerns, self-harm, substance use, and rational thought assessed three years after release from detention. The authors also assess youth functioning by gender, race/ethnicity, and age and discuss future implications.

Peer Advocacy Guide (2012) 
Guide
http://www.pacer.org/bullying/resources/students-with-disabilities/peer-advocacy.asp
The “Peer Advocacy Guide” developed by PACER Center offers a variety of intervention strategies that can be tailored for specific bullying situations. It explores how to address bullying of students with disabilities by engaging, educating, and empowering their peers with advocacy skills. Peer advocacy is an effective approach that enables students to speak out on behalf of others, and protect those targeted by bullying.

Performance of U.S. 15-Year-Old Students in Mathematics, Science, and Reading Literacy in an International Context-First Look at PISA 2012 (December 2013) 
Report
http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pisa/?newsflash=true
The U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences’ National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has released “Performance of U.S. 15-Year-Old Students in Mathematics, Science, and Reading Literacy in an International Context-First Look at PISA 2012.” The goal of PISA is to assess students’ preparation for the challenges of life as young adults. The assessment measures mathematics, science, and reading literacy of 15-year-old students around the world. In 2012, 65 education systems, including the 34 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), participated in PISA. In addition, three U.S. states, Connecticut, Florida, and Massachusetts, participated in PISA 2012.

Think College Learn Module on Universal Design for Learning and Conference Archive (November 2013) 
Module & Archive
http://www.thinkcollege.net/
Think College has released a new LEARN module, on “Universal Design for Learning” (UDL). The module includes videos, information about UDL strategies, and downloadable tools to help implement UDL in classrooms. Think College has also archived materials from its conference on “Inclusive Higher Education: Moving from Good Ideas to Great Outcomes,” held November 16-17, 2013. Copies of presentations, session handouts and transcripts from the morning and afternoon plenary sessions are archived on their website.

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Latest Employment Opportunities Posted on NASET

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Funding Forecast and Award Opportunities

Forecast of Funding Opportunities under the Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs for Fiscal Year 2013
http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/find/edlite-forecast.html
This document lists virtually all programs and competitions under which the U.S. Department of Education has invited or expects to invite applications for new awards for fiscal year 2014 and provides actual or estimated deadlines for the transmittal of applications under these programs. The lists are in the form of charts organized according to the Department’s principal program offices and include programs and competitions previously announced as well as those to be announced at a later date.

Forecast of Funding Opportunities under the Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs for Fiscal Year 2013-2014
http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/find/edlite-forecast.html
This document lists virtually all programs and competitions under which the U.S. Department of Education has invited or expects to invite applications for new awards for fiscal year 2014 and provides actual or estimated deadlines for the transmittal of applications under these programs. The lists are in the form of charts organized according to the Department’s principal program offices and include programs and competitions previously announced as well as those to be announced at a later date.

FY 2013 Discretionary Grant Application Packages
http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/grantapps/index.html
This site, from the Department of Education, provides information on grant competitions that are currently open.

FY 2013-2014 Discretionary Grant Application Packages
http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/grantapps/index.html
This site, from the Department of Education, provides information on grant competitions that are currently open.

Lowe’s Charitable and Education Foundation Announces 2014 Toolbox for Education Grant Program
http://www.toolboxforeducation.com/
Lowe’s Charitable and Education Foundation has announced the opening of its Spring 2014 Toolbox for Education grant cycle. The program supports projects that encourage parental involvement in local schools and build stronger community spirit. Toolbox for Education grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded in support of projects that have a permanent impact on a school community. Lowe’s will consider only grants for projects that can be completed within a year of receipt of the grant. A Toolbox grant can be used as part of a large-scale project like a playground as long as the grant is used to complete a phase of the project that can be completed within twelve months of the award. To be eligible for a grant, applicants must be a public K-12 school or nonprofit parent group associated with such a school. Parent groups that are applying (PTO, PTA, etc.) must have an independent EIN and official 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. The application process will be closed after fifteen hundred applications have been received. Deadline: February 14, 2014.

American Electric Power Applications for 2014-2015 PreK-12 Classroom Projects
http://www.aep.com/community/TeachersAndStudents/TeacherVisionGrants.aspx
American Electric Power (AEP) is accepting applications from preK-12 teachers for minigrants to support funding for classroom projects during the 2014-15 school year. Through the Teacher Vision grant program, AEP supports projects with an academic focus and a goal of improving student achievement. Priority will be given to projects that promote science, mathematics, technology, electrical safety, the balanced study of energy and the environment, and energy efficiency. Special consideration will be given to projects that incorporate matching funds, community resources, and interdisciplinary or team-teaching projects. Funds may not be used for stipends or meals. Grant awards range from $100-$500. Applicants must be pre-K-12 teachers in communities in the AEP service area or in communities with major AEP facilities. Deadline for submissions: February 28, 2014.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Planning Grants
http://beta.samhsa.gov/grants/grant-announcements/sm-14-001
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has announced the availability of System of Care Expansion planning grants to support state, community, and tribal efforts to develop, expand, and sustain a system of care that will provide mental health services for children and youth with serious emotional disturbances and their families and/or caregivers. Deadline: March 19, 2014.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Implementation Cooperative Agreements
http://beta.samhsa.gov/grants/grant-announcements/sm-14-002
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has announced the availability of System of Care Expansion implementation cooperative agreements to support state, community, and tribal efforts to develop, expand, and sustain a system of care that will provide mental health services for children and youth with serious emotional disturbances and their families and/or caregivers. Deadline: March 21, 2014.

ING Unsung Heroes Program Invites K-12 Educators to Apply for 2014 Class Project Awards
https://unsungheroes.scholarshipamerica.org/
Each year, the ING Unsung Heroes program selects 100 educators to receive $2,000 to help fund their innovative class projects. Three of them are chosen to receive the top awards of an additional $5,000, $10,000 and $25,000. ING Unsung Heroes Awards Program is administered by Scholarship Management Services, a division of Scholarship America. Scholarship Management Services designs and manages scholarship and tuition reimbursement programs for corporations, foundations, associations and individuals. Deadline: April 30, 2014.

Earthwatch Institute: Fellowships
http://earthwatch.org/education/teacher-fellowships/edfelfund/
The Earthwatch Institute offers educators fully funded fellowships for hands-on learning with leading scientists doing field research and conservation on projects around the world. Maximum award: fully funded fellowship. Eligibility: elementary, middle, and high school educators and administrators of any discipline. Deadline: two weeks after educator-interest application is submitted; ultimate deadline May 1, 2014.

Arthur Vining Davis Foundations Seeks Proposals to Strengthen Secondary Education
http://www.avdf.org/FoundationsPrograms/SecondaryEducation.aspx
The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations offers $100,000-$200,000 grants to support a wide range of innovative professional development programs that strengthen teachers in grades 9-12 and their teaching. For example, projects might be designed to improve professional development for in-service and pre-service teachers, strengthen teaching skills, support practical research in teacher and high school education, or encourage innovative use of technology and new techniques for presentation of classroom materials in high schools. Projects should aim to develop solutions with potential for wide application or replication by others. Requests to support well-established programs should be for initiatives with the potential to improve the program significantly. Special consideration will be given to projects in their early stages that address the concerns and problems of secondary education on a national level. In considering proposals to support high school teaching, sustained partnerships between the faculties of colleges (e.g., arts and sciences and education) and school districts, or collaborative efforts involving reform organizations, colleges/universities, and high schools are encouraged. Eligible institutions include but are not limited to public and private colleges and universities, graduate schools of education, and freestanding educational institutes. Ongoing deadlines.

Discover: Pathway to Financial Success Grant
http://www.pathwaytofinancialsuccess.org/get-a-grant
Discover is investing up to $10 million in financial education, and any high school can apply for a grant toward a financial education curriculum. Applying schools must have implemented or be looking to implement a financial education curriculum; have a measurement tool planned or in place to assess participation in and comprehension of the financial education curriculum; and agree to share overall results of the measurement tool’s pre- and post-curriculum testing with Discover upon the program’s completion to assess what worked and what didn’t. Maximum award: varies. Eligibility: high schools in the United States. Deadline: none.

Dollar General: Beyond Words Library Disaster Relief
http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/awards/166/apply
Dollar General, in collaboration with the American Library Association (ALA), the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and the National Education Association (NEA), is sponsoring a school library disaster relief fund for public school libraries in the states served by Dollar General. The fund will provide grants to public schools whose school library program has been affected by a disaster. Grants are to replace or supplement books, media and/or library equipment in the school library setting. Maximum award: up to $15,000 to replace or supplement books, media and/or library equipment. Eligibility: public school libraries Pre K-12 located within 20 miles of a Dollar General store, distribution center or corporate office that have lost their building or incurred substantial damage or hardship due to a natural disaster (tornado, earthquake, hurricane, flood, avalanche, mudslide), fire or an act recognized by the federal government as terrorism; or have absorbed a significant number (more than 10% enrollment) of displaced/evacuee students. Deadline: none.

Fender Music Foundation: Grants
http://www.fendermusicfoundation.org/grants/?sec=info
Fender Music Foundation grants of instruments and equipment are awarded to music academies, schools, local music programs and national music programs across America, particularly in-school music classes, in which the students make music; after-school music programs that are not run by the school; and music therapy programs, in which the participants make the music. Maximum award: up to 8 instruments. Eligibility: established, ongoing and sustainable music programs in the United States, which provide music instruction for people of any age who would not otherwise have the opportunity to make music. Deadline: rolling.

AASA: National Superintendent of the Year
http://www.aasa.org/content.aspx?id=3404
The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) National Superintendent of the Year Program pays tribute to the talent and vision of the men and women who lead the nation’s public schools. Maximum award: recognition; a $10,000 scholarship to a student in the high school from which the National Superintendent of the Year graduated. Eligibility: Any superintendent, chancellor, or top leader of a school system in the United States, Canada, or international school who plans to continue in the profession. Deadline: varies by state.

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Acknowledgements

Portions of this month’s NASET Special Educator e-Journal were excerpted from:

• Committee on Education and the Workforce
• FirstGov.gov-The Official U.S. Government Web Portal
• National Center on Secondary Education and Transition, an electronic newsletter of the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET), available online at http://www.ncset.org/enews. NCSET is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.
• National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth
• National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
• National Institute of Health
• National Organization on Disability
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
• U.S. Department of Education
• U.S. Department of Education-The Achiever
• U.S. Department of Education-The Education Innovator
• U.S. Department of Labor
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• U.S. Office of Special Education
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

The National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) thanks all of the above for the information provided for this edition of the NASETSpecial Educator e-Journal.

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