LD News Updates

LDA 53rd Annual International Conference Bring family, friends and co-workers to the 2016 LDA Conference in Orlando, FL, for a time of learning and discovering how we can advocate and work together to create new opportunities for children and adults with learning disabilities.  Online Registration is Now Open! FEBRUARY 15-18, 2016
NAEP scores for students with disabilities show wide achievement gap

The math and reading scores for students with disabilities on the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed little movement between 2015 and the last time the test was administered two years ago. Considering the NAEP score decreases seen for the overall student population, holding steady could be seen as a neutral or even positive result, especially because more students with disabilities took the test this year. Exclusion rates from the test, also known as the "nation's report card," have dropped significantly over the past two test administrations. But the lack of movement on scores means that students with disabilities gained no ground on closing the wide achievement gap between themselves and students who do not have disabilities.  READ MORE…

Drawing is an integral learning tool

In schools, the act of drawing is often pigeonholed to specific areas of academics and instruction. It is observed in lower elementary grades as a constant, but less and less as students progress through higher level grades. As writing begins, drawing use is often reduced as the printed word takes the place of the illustrated word. However, drawing needs to be emphasized in instructional methods, and drawing is an important tool for students with learning disabilities.  READ MORE… 

Open educational resources — Opening up a world of difference

Teaching children about the world requires access to a vast and varied resource bank. Prior to the digital age, teachers like me relied on limited primary source and dated secondary source materials. By the time a social science textbook arrived at the classroom, it was outdated. Open educational resources, however, changes the landscape of the classroom as teachers can access rich current materials of varied genres for students of all ages and abilities.  READ MORE…

Classroom biases hinder students' learning

There is perhaps no more critical question for a disadvantaged student entering an advanced class, none more likely to rattle in the back of even the most gifted student's brain. And when coming from a teacher or student, it's also just one example of a "microaggression," an incident of everyday discrimination that students encounter that may contribute to lower performance and disengagement. But educators and researchers are fighting back, with efforts to both curb microaggressions and buffer students against them and help them cope.  READ MORE… 

Obama administration calls for limits on testing in schools

Faced with mounting and bipartisan opposition to increased and often high-stakes testing in the nation's public schools, the Obama administration declared Saturday that the push had gone too far, acknowledged its own role in the proliferation of tests, and urged schools to step back and make exams less onerous and more purposeful. Specifically, the administration called for a cap on assessment so that no child would spend more than 2 percent of classroom instruction time taking tests. It called on Congress to "reduce over-testing" as it reauthorizes the federal legislation governing the nation's public elementary and secondary schools.  READ MORE…

Increased flexibility urged for special education funding

A strict requirement that schools keep up their spending on special education year to year may have unintended consequences, federal investigators say. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, states and schools in most cases must maintain or increase their funding for special education services each year. Those that do not meet the spending requirement known as maintenance of effort without obtaining an exemption from the U.S. Department of Education can lose out on federal dollars. The mandate has been in the spotlight in recent years as states struggled during the recession to keep up with their commitments from prior years.  READ MORE… 

Occupational therapy: An important support

Many students with learning disabilities have attention and sensory processing issues that can be assisted and improved by occupational therapy. Occupational therapy focuses on functioning in daily life. In the school, the focus is on attention and performance of skills in the classroom. Educators have begun to realize the importance of the services offered by the therapist to assist a child in being ready to learn and remain on task.  READ MORE…  

Raising awareness on specific learning disabilities

Michael Yudin, the assistant secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, writes: "Last year I learned about Jade, a dynamic 8th grader who struggled to learn to read when she was in elementary school. In recalling her challenges, Jade described trouble recognizing letters and difficulty linking them together to form sounds. She just couldn't read. The worst feeling in the world, Jade said, was starting to believe the names her classmates called her. For a long time Jade kept her struggle to herself, feeling alone, and like she had to find her own way to deal and cope with this challenge. Fortunately, Jade's family and teachers stepped in to help her get special education services."  READ MORE…

Districts may use the term dyslexia in qualifying child with SLD, according to new Education Department guidance

States and districts should not feel reluctant to use the terms dyslexia, dyscalculia or dysgraphia when describing a particular child's learning needs, says guidance by the U.S. Department of Education. For those outside of the special education field, such guidance may seem obvious. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act names dyslexia as an example of a disability that would be included in the broader term "specific learning disabilities." About 40 percent of the students who are covered under the IDEA are classified as having a specific learning disability.  READ MORE… 

Under stress, students find calm in meditation

On the first day of the new school year, the schools chancellor, Carmen Fariña, stood in an elementary school classroom in Queens beaming at a hushed room full of fourth-grade children sitting cross-legged on the floor. "Please let your eyes close," said a small boy named Davinder, from his spot on the linoleum. Davinder gently struck a shallow bronze bowl. Gong! "Take three mindful breaths," he said, and the room fell silent. "Do you do personal visits?" Fariña asked after the exercise was over. "Like to offices?" In schools in New York City and in pockets around the country, the use of inward-looking practices like mindfulness and meditation is starting to grow. Though evidence is thin on how well they might work in the classroom, proponents say they can help students focus and cope with stress.  READ MORE… 

How to spark curiosity in children through embracing uncertainty

In the classroom, subjects are often presented as settled and complete. Teachers lecture students on the causes of World War I, say, or the nature of matter, as if no further questioning is needed because all the answers have been found. In turn, students regurgitate what they've been told, confident they've learned all the facts and unaware of the mysteries that remain unexplored. Without insight into the holes in our knowledge, students mistakenly believe that some subjects are closed. They lose humility and curiosity in the face of this conceit.  READ MORE…

What's the state of play on ESEA reauthorization?

The pending departure of Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, the speaker of the House, seems to have lit a fire under negotiations on reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. In fact, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said Monday that it could actually "help" ESEA's chances if Boehner stuck around for a few more weeks. Aides for all four of the lawmakers that will be involved in crafting a "conference report" (that's Congress-speak for a compromise bill developed after both the House and Senate have passed competing versions) have been working very, very hard behind the scenes to reach agreement. The key lawmakers here are: Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Reps. John Kline, R-Minn., and Bobby Scott, D-Va.  READ MORE…

Individual learning plans in high school could use tune-up

Although most states mandate the use of individual learning plans for their high school students, according to a new study, school personnel in charge of ILPs don't get the training they need to optimize those efforts, and few schools track what happened to the student upon graduation to understand whether or not the ILP was effective. The survey was undertaken by the National Association for College Admission Counseling and Hobsons, a company that sells Naviance, a "college and career readiness" application. Similar studies were done by Hobsons in 2009 and 2011.  READ MORE… 

ADHD in school: Finding the right learning environment for your child

If your child has been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, one of your top priorities is finding a school that matches his learning style. It may seem like a scavenger hunt, but armed with the right tools, you can find the prize: a school that understands ADHD. The key to finding the right school is to start early and to do your research. If you know what to look for in a school — and the right questions to ask — you'll be up to the challenge. Here, we tell you everything you need to know to find the right school for your ADHD child. Consider it a little help with your homework.  READ MORE… 

Education Department approves more state teacher-distribution plans

The U.S. Department of Education announced that it has given 17 additional states the greenlight on plans to bolster teacher quality and make sure that low-income kids get their fair share of effective teachers. The states are: Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, California, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. That's in addition to the 16 states approved last month.  READ MORE...  

Other Interesting News from AASEP:

ADHD May Have Different Effects on Brains of Boys and Girls

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) manifests itself differently in the brains of girls than in the brains of boys, new research suggests. The results may help scientists better understand how ADHD affects boys and girls in unique ways, the researchers said. "The findings showed differences in the white matter microstructure between boys and girls," said study co-author Lisa Jacobson, a pediatric neuropsychologist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, in Baltimore. White matter helps different regions of the brain communicate with each other. "These structural differences were associated with observed behavioral differences," Jacobson said. "Taken together, our findings provide preliminary evidence for unique differences in the brain's white matter structure and function between boys and girls with ADHD." To read more, click here. Graduation Rates Rise For Students With Disabilities The majority of states are reporting improvement in their graduation rates for students with disabilities. Preliminary data released this week by the U.S. Department of Education indicates that graduation rates for children with disabilities increased in 34 states for the 2013-2014 school year. At the same time, most states also saw their overall graduation rates rise, the agency said. "The hard work of America's educators, families, communities and students is paying off, particularly after several years of intense work by educators transitioning to new, higher standards," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. To read more, click here. Mulitasking And The Human Brain: Prefrontal Cortex Determines Concentration Level During Multiple Activities We are all guilty of doing it, and some of us pride ourselves for it. We text while we walk, send emails during lunch, and talk on the phone while we shop, making us self-proclaimedmultitasking masters. But how exactly does the brain choose what visual and auditory stimuli to suppress when it comes to performing these various tasks? According to a recent study published in the journal Nature, the brain's prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decision-making and complex behaviors like planning, saves information sent to the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) in order to choose how much visual or auditory information to process at a single time. The study's results show how the brain uses the TRN " as a switchboard to control the amount of information the brain receives, limiting and filtering out sensory information that we don't want to pay attention to," said Dr. Michael Halassa, senior study investigator and neuroscientist, in the press release. To read more, click here. Study Challenges Theory That Birth Order Determines Personality Forget what you're heard about birth order determining your adult personality, a new study suggests. Birth order does not influence any of the "big five" personality traits -- extroversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness or openness to experience, said lead researcher Julia Rohrer, a graduate student at the University of Leipzig in Germany. She and her colleagues reviewed data on more than 20,000 adults from the United States, Great Britain and Germany to arrive at their conclusions. Firstborns did score higher in intelligence, but Rohrer said she believes this stems more from social interactions within a family than from birth order. To read more, click here. Antibiotics Might Cause Weight Gain in Kids Repeated antibiotic use is linked to greater weight gains in children, and it could affect their weight for the rest of their lives, a new study suggests. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore analyzed data from nearly 164,000 youngsters in the United States, and found that about 21 percent of them received seven or more prescriptions for antibiotics during childhood. At age 15, those who took antibiotics seven or more times at earlier ages weighed about 3 pounds more than those who took no antibiotics. This weight gain among those who frequently took antibiotics was likely underestimated due to lack of complete data, the researchers said. To read more, click here

Food For Thought.......... One never learns by success. Success is the plateau that one rests upon to take breath and look down from upon the straight and difficult path, but one does not climb upon a plateau.                                            Josephine Preston Peabody

Update on S. 1177, the new No Child Left Behind (ESEA)

After over a 3 hour delay, the U.S. House at 7:21 PM voted 359 to 64 to approve the Conference Committee Report on S. 1177. All Democrats voting voted YES. You can get the vote at house.gov "Floor Proceedings" - Roll no. 664.

NOW S. 1177 MOVES TO THE U.S. SENATE. We need to call both of our U.S. Senators from each of our States and begin to teach staffers about Pay for Success.

We were able to educate the staff of many Representatives on Pay for Success as most were simply not aware of it. One Committee staffer who had actually worked on the Pay for Success language in S. 1177 finally admitted she had worked to keep Pay for Success out of the bill.

Most Committee staffers (whose job it is to defend the bill) were telling other staff that Pay for Success did NOT have anything to do with special education, that IDEA would have to be changed, that the definition of Pay for Success in S. 1177 would prevent another Utah, etc.  NONE OF THAT IS TRUE BUT IT KEPT SOME REPRESENTATIVES FROM MENTIONING PAY FOR SUCCESS DURING DEBATE OR ONE MINUTES.

THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT ON S. 1177: (new law defining Pay for Success) PAY FOR SUCCESS INITIATIVE.
—The term ‘‘pay for success initiative’’ means a performance-based grant, contract, or cooperative agreement awarded by a public entity in which a commitment is made to pay for improved outcomes that result in social benefit and direct cost savings or cost avoidance to the public sector.
Such an initiative must include—
(1) a feasibility study on the initiative describing how the proposed intervention is based on evidence of effectiveness;
(2) a rigorous, third party evaluation that uses experimental or quasi-experimental design or other research methodologies that allow for the strongest possible causal inferences to determine whether the initiative has met its proposed outcomes;
(3) an annual, publicly available report on the progress of the initiative; and
(4) except as provided as under paragraph (2), a requirement that payments are made to the recipient of a grant contactor or cooperative agreement only when agreed upon outcomes are achieved.

Unfortunately NOTHING in this definition would have stopped what is happening in Utah and in Chicago. The Utah program was approved and implemented by a researcher at Utah State University.

As we just passed its 40th birthday, special education faces perhaps its greatest threat since the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA), now the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), was signed into law.

The new No Child Left Behind bill, S. 1177, as reported by the Conference Committee between the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House includes the permissive use of Federal funds by States AND by local school districts FOR Pay for Success.

Funded by Goldman Sachs, Pay for Success in Utah denied special education to over 99 percent of the students that were in the early childhood Pay for Success program.

Goldman Sachs has received a first payment of over $250,000 based on over 99 percent of students NOT being identified for special education.

Based on these results, Goldman Sachs may receive an over 100 percent return on its investment as it will receive yearly payments based on students continuing to NOT be identified for special education (multiple yearly payments for one student).

If special education is reduced to less than 1 percent of students, for all practical purposes it will cease to exist.

Goldman Sachs has also funded a Pay for Success program for the Chicago Public Schools based on paying Goldman $9,100 for each student, each year, NOT identified for special education, but results for Chicago from that program are not yet available.

Success is not the elimination of special education. Success is not failing to identify students as needing the specialized and individualized instruction required by IDEA.

We simply cannot expect the general education teacher to do it all, to know it all, and to achieve academic excellence for each and every student.

Pretending we can eliminate disability, pretending that almost every student with a disability and their parents will benefit WITHOUT the legal rights of IDEA which are only granted when a student is identified for special education, is to turn us back over 40 years to the time before we had State laws and then the Federal law requiring special education for each and every student with a disability.

On December 2, the Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education (IAASE) sent its members an email stating:

"Pay for Success as it currently exists in one other state will not be an allowed.

"Utah used a single measure (in this situation, the number of students who did not need special education after receiving early intervention services) to determine the success or failure of a program.

"The law will require the use of multiple measures of student success to determine if a funded program has been effective."

Unfortunately there is NOTHING in S. 1177 that would prevent any other school district from doing what has happened in Utah (the Utah process was approved and implemented by a researcher at Utah State University).

In my reading of the entire 1,059 page bill, there is NOTHING in S. 1177 requiring "multiple measures of student success".

IAASE (as do other special ed administrators) endorses Pay for Success:"When implemented correctly, initiatives like Pay for Success could highlight outstanding and innovative programs that are evidence-based and that have helped to prevent students from falling behind."

"Students with disabilities deserve to have programming that has been shown to be effective in improving student achievement and this portion of the bill has the potential to create a new funding stream for such programs."

Of course there is NO data to support that Pay for Success is "effective in improving student achievement" or that Pay for Success is an "outstanding and innovative program" that is "evidence-based" or "helped to prevent students from falling behind."

WHICH NATIONAL DISABILITY AND SPECIAL EDUCATION GROUPS ENDORSED S. 1177?

Over 100 national organizations are member of CCD. Please see below what appears to be the statement of the members of CCD, but is in fact only the statement of the 5 people who signed the letter. CCD used to require that each individual organization sign on or not sign on to any CCD position, and ONLY those that signed on would be listed in any letter or communication from CCD. 

December 1, 2015 (on CCD letterhead)
The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) is writing to thank you for your leadership and significant efforts to assure students with disabilities are fully included in S. 1177, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

We believe the ESSA makes important strides to support all students in having the opportunity to receive a quality education.

On behalf of the six million students with disabilities attending public school across the nation we write to support final passage of the bill. 

CCD recognizes that the ESSA is the result of many compromises. As such, we urge you to remain diligent in your efforts to support the funding and regulatory processes necessary to ensure schools can follow through on the promise of ESSA which is: ‘to provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps.’

As we all know and agree, every student with a disability deserves this opportunity.

CCD thanks you for your commitment to ensuring federal law continues to provide meaningful access to rigorous standards for all students and fully includes students with disabilities in state assessment and accountability systems.
[signed by 5 people representing Easter Seals, National Center for Learning Disabilities, Association of University Centers for Disability, Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, and National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities]

~Beverley Holden Johns