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Featured Items—2017
Pay for Success Toolkit: Considerations for State and Local Leaders.
ED has released a new resource, the Pay for Success Toolkit: Considerations for State and Local Leaders. Pay for Success (PFS) is an innovative financing strategy that leverages private investments to address societal problems and challenges that typically use only government funds. The new toolkit is an introductory guide for state and local governments and other stakeholders that are interested in exploring the possibility of a PFS project for education initiatives, or in addressing related challenges facing their communities and populations.
Pay for Success Toolkit: Considerations for State and Local Leaders. (PDF, 767KB)
OSERS' Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is excited to announce three new investments in early childhood. These technical assistance centers are not only used by states, but will offer a wealth of resources to practitioners and families.
The Early Childhood Systems Technical Assistance Center (ECTA) was re-competed and awarded to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This center will provide technical assistance (TA) to states to enable them to build and maintain high-quality systems with implementation supports to implement the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) consistent with its requirements and to provide high-quality IDEA services for young children with disabilities and their families.
The Early Childhood Personnel Center (ECPC) was re-competed and awarded to the University of Connecticut Health Center. This center will improve the quality of personnel who serve young children with disabilities and their families by providing TA to state IDEA Part C, and Part B Section 619 programs on implementing a high-quality comprehensive systems of personnel development and provide faculty of institutions of higher education TA on programs of study for providing high-quality services and inclusive programs for young children with disabilities and their families.
The National Center for Pyramid Model Innovation is a new investment and was awarded to the University of South Florida. This center will support young children's social, emotional, and behavioral development and reduce their challenging behaviors by developing an early childhood multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework, and supporting states, early childhood programs, and personnel in implementing this framework.
Hurricane Help Information & Resources
The U.S. Department of Education activated its emergency response contact center in response to the devastating impact of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. The Department's stakeholders who are seeking informational resources as well as those seeking relief from Department-based administrative requirements should contact the Department toll free at 1‑844‑348‑4082, or by email at HarveyRelief@ed.gov, IrmaRelief@ed.gov or MariaRelief@ed.gov.
More Hurricane Help Information and Resources
This resource, developed by the Early Learning Challenge Technical Assistance (ELC TA), describes how the six Phase 3 ELC states (Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Vermont) are leveraging ELC funds and other state funds to support inclusion. To address this request, ELC TA contacted the ELC grant coordinators in June 2017, and asked them to address five specific questions. This information will be helpful to other states as they consider how to continue to increase the quality of early learning for children with special needs.
Linking Early Childhood Data
The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)-funded Center for Early Childhood Data Systems (DaSy Center) released a Special Collection of resources related to Linking Data across programs. The collection was developed specifically for those interested in linking data between IDEA Part C early intervention and IDEA Part B 619 preschool programs, but other early childhood programs may find the resources helpful. The collection includes resources from:
- DaSy Center
- Center for the Integration of IDEA Data (CIID)
- Common Education Data Standards (CEDS)
- Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC)
- U.S. Department of Education, and more.
Newly developed resources from DaSy are also in the collection, including mini-webinars, infographics, blogs and materials.
Developed by ED and Ascend at the Aspen Institute, 2 Gen Tools to Help Children and Families Thrive: A Resource for Staff Implementing Federal, State, and Local Programs Serving Children and Families (PDF, 834KB), is a toolkit intended to support early learning stakeholders in embedding a two-generation (2Gen) approach in the work they do. The 2Gen approach applies to practice, policy, and research. It provides opportunities for, and strives to meet the needs of, children from families with low incomes, together with their parents, with the goal of creating educational success and economic stability for the family.
Read an interview of Brenda Van Gorder on OSERS Blog. Brenda is director of Granite School District Preschool Services in Salt Lake City, Utah, and in the interview shares the importance of high quality preschool programs, and strategies for overcoming barriers to preschool inclusion.
Visit the ED-funded National Center on Improving Literacy's newly launched website. The center is a partnership between literacy experts, university researchers, and technical assistance providers at the University of Oregon, Florida State University, and RMC Research Corporation. The center's mission is to increase access to, and use of, evidence-based approaches to screen, identify, and instructionally support students with literacy-related disabilities, including dyslexia.
Joint Statement on Collaboration and Coordination of the MIECHV and IDEA Part C Programs
This joint statement from the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services (HHS) sets a vision for stronger partnerships, collaboration, and coordination between awardees of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C Program.
Pyramid Equity Project—January 2017 Update
Pyramid Equity Project (PEP) is working in partnership with two Preschool Development Grant programs: Clifton Early Learner Academy in Clifton, New Jersey and Cambridge Early Learning Center in Antioch, Tennessee to implement the Pyramid Model to address inequities in early childhood discipline practices. Specifically the project is implementing the program-wide use of effective practices and procedures for promoting the social and emotional skills of all children, preventing challenging behavior of children at risk of challenging behavior, and providing individualized interventions for children with persistent challenging behavior. The goal is, in fact, to demonstrate how programs, children and families all thrive in an environment where no suspensions and expulsions occur.
Read more (PDF, 397KB).
Updated Dear Colleague Letter on Preschool Least Restrictive Environments.
OSERS' Office of Special Education Programs released an updated Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) related to Preschool Least Restrictive Environments (LRE). The policy guidance provided in the DCL covers:
- Key statutory and regulatory requirements,
- Preschool placement options,
- Reporting educational environments data for preschool children with disabilities, and
- Use of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B funds for preschool children with disabilities.
Much of the information provided is reaffirming our guidance from the past but we have included new clarification around definitions, data collection, and funding.
Download:
Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) related to Preschool Least Restrictive Environments (LRE) (PDF, 287KB)
The Department of Education released another resource to explore how educators might build on and sustain the positive effects of preschool. A new case study of five programs examined two types of promising strategies to support children's learning in early elementary school: 1. aligning instruction from preschool through grade 3, and 2. differentiated instruction.
