As Cuts To Special Education Loom, Congress Takes Break

Within days, severe budget cuts are slated to hit nearly every federal program — including special education and other disability supports — and there’s no sign of a deal on the horizon.

The sweeping automatic spending cuts will take effect March 1 unless Congress acts. For people with disabilities, the across-the-board reductions are expected to touch everything from employment assistance to housing programs, education, mental health initiatives and research dollars.

The funding chop is coming under a process known as sequestration, which was triggered in 2011 after Congress failed to reach a budget deal. The cuts were designed to be so dire that neither political party would want them to go through and the two sides would be forced to reach a deal. So far, however, that has not happened. Lawmakers already delayed the cuts once when they were were originally scheduled to take effect in January, but now hopes are dimming that another deal with be struck to avert the reductions.

Read more of Michelle Diament's Disability Scoop article HERE.

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Feds Pledge to Focus More on Quality of Special Education

Every year, the U.S. Department of Education spends lots of time and money visiting states to see how well they are complying with the requirements of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Those reviews haven't take into account what or how much students with disabilities are actually learning. But they will soon, Education Department officials said today.

The department said it is revamping the way it rates states to better address the achievement gap between students with disabilities and their peers.

"For too long we've been a compliance-driven bureaucracy when it comes to educating students with disabilities," U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a statement. "We have to expect the very best from our students—and tell the truth about student performance—so that we can give all students the supports and services they need. The best way to do that is by focusing on results."

Education Department officials said they will suspend annual visits to 16 states for the 2012-13 school year for annual compliance reviews (They'll still do the reviews; just by phone and so forth) and instead spend the year working out a new review system that takes a results-driven approach to assessing how states are educating students with
disabilities.

Already, the expansion of the department's focus has begun, officials said. States visited last year had to choose an education outcome on which to focus. For example, Mississippi chose to focus on improving performance rates for students with disabilities in 3rd grade reading. Nebraska concentrated on developing a reentry program for students with disabilities who have dropped out of school.

Some special education advocacy groups complimented the department's move.

"This is a much-needed step I think," said Laura Kaloi, public policy director for the National Center for Learning Disabilities. Right now, states can meet federal special education compliance standards, even if "student proficiency is nowhere near where it should be for reading." (Find your state's ratings here.)

The Council for Exception Children said they too look forward to the department's revamped monitoring process.

"While there aren't many details about how they will proceed, we applaud the department's focus on outcomes for students with disabilities and its willingness to work with all stakeholders," said Lindsay Jones, senior director of policy and advocacy services for the CEC. "We need to find more innovative ways for the department to work with states and local districts to ensure that we increase student achievement at every level."

The department's action comes at the same time the federal agency has given some states leeway on how they meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law, disappointing advocacy groups.

Read more of Nirvi Shah's On special Education article HERE.

Disability Programs In Limbo Following Supercommittee Collapse

The collapse of Congress’ supercommittee last week could lead to mandatory cuts among several federal programs benefiting people with disabilities, advocates say.

Last week, Democrats and Republicans on the so-called “supercommittee” said that they were unable to reach an agreement. The panel of a dozen lawmakers was tasked with developing a plan to reduce the nation’s deficit ahead of a Nov. 23 deadline.

Without a deal, automatic spending cuts to the tune of $1.2 trillion were triggered and are slated to begin in January 2013.

And that leaves several unknowns for the disability community, advocates say. While programs like Medicaid and Social Security will not be affected, other government programs assisting people who have disabilities with everything from housing to transportation to employment could be in jeopardy.

“Because the committee was unable to enact a thoughtful, balanced and collaboratively developed deficit reduction package, we now face devastating mandatory cuts to many critical programs,” said Donna Meltzer, chair of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, a coalition of some 100 national disability groups.

See more of Michelle Diamente's Disability Scoop article HERE.

Feds Allocate Millions To Train Special Educators

Federal education officials are doling out over $19 million across the country in an effort to better prepare teachers to work with students who have disabilities.

The majority of the funds — $11.5 million — will go to universities in 24 states to train educators to address everything from early intervention to speech and language needs as well as transition.

Meanwhile, $7.7 million is headed to state officials in Connecticut, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon and Wyoming in order to enhance professional development for special educators.

“The quality of education our students with disabilities receive is dependent on how well the workforce is prepared to address their needs,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. “These grants will support states’ efforts to improve their training systems for staff, and better serve students with disabilities as a result.”

Read more of Michelle Diament's Disability Scoop article HERE.