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Free webinar – presented by the LRE Part B Community of Practice When: Friday, May 14, 2010 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. Mountain What: Disproportionality and Inclusion in the Least Restrictive Environment In this webinar, the Executive Director of Iowa’s Parent Training and Information Center, ASK, will provide an overview of their efforts and outcomes and will share "lessons learned" on disproportionality and Inclusion in the Least Restrictive Environment.

Click here to register for this event What: Linda James Myers, Ph.D. will present "The Challenges of Cultural Congruence: What Every Advocate Should Know" on Thursday, June 16, from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. Dr. Myers is a professor at The Ohio State University, past president of the Association of Black Psychologists, and chair of the Board of Trustees for the National Association for the Education of African American Children with Learning Disabilities (AACLD). This webinar will focus on the importance of cultural congruence, one of the most challenging and often least discussed issues central to the success of Black families as they seek to provide a quality education for their children. As a member of a cultural group whose ethnic and racial heritage is congruent with and supported by that dominant in this society, Euro-western white, one may assume that this prevailing cultural worldview and the subsequent educational and other social institutions created by it are universally suitable and acceptable. The assumption is often made that the prevailing cultural worldview is universally adopted and held by all Americans, particularly those who have been in this country for generations and for whom English is believed to be their first language. This webinar will explore how these assumptions have hurt non-immigrant African Americans and their progeny, particularly in terms of education, their potential for educational achievement, and the current disproportionality we see in special education. Emphasis will be placed on how advocating for a culturally congruent educational experience on behalf of Black students and their families has the potential to transform the negative educational outcomes that have plagued this population for decades. This is the first in an Equity and Ethnicity in Special Education four-part series of webinars hosted by COPAA, a non-profit organization that works to protect special education rights and secure excellence in education on behalf of the 7.1 million children with disabilities in America. When: Thursday, June 16, 2011 - 12:00 pm Mountain If you would like to register for this event or any of the four-part series, please click here. COPAA non-member registration is $65.00 for one session or $195.00 for all four sessions. The full four-part series includes: Thursday, June 16, 2011 - 2:00 pm Eastern The Challenges of Cultural Congruence: What Every Advocate for Black Students Should Know Presenter: Linda James Myers, Ph.D. Tuesday, June 21, 2011 - 2:00 pm Eastern Addressing Legal Issues of Disability and Race Discrimination Presenters: Matthew Engel, Esq., Ron Lospennato Esq. Wednesday, June 29, 2011 - 2:00 pm Eastern Representing Parents Whose Dominant Language is Other Than English Presenter: Gabriela Ruiz, Esq., Southern Legal Counsel, Inc. Thursday, July 14, 2011 - 2:00 pm Eastern Disproportionality: What are we doing about it? Presenters: Sonja Kerr, Esq. Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia (PILCOP)

Compared with youth with other disabilities, young adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) face a disproportionately difficult time navigating work and educational opportunities after high school, finds a new study by Paul Shattuck, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

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.

As Secretary Duncan has noted, the Department of Education is committed to making sure that all of our young people grow up free of fear, violence, and bullying. Bullying not only threatens a student’s physical and emotional safety at school, but fosters a climate of fear and disrespect, creating conditions that negatively impact learning—undermining students’ ability to achieve to their full potential. Unfortunately, we know that children with disabilities are disproportionately affected by bullying.

In the United States, caring for a child with special health care needs usually means higher medical expenses for a family - particularly for low-income families, who spend a disproportionally large share of their income on their child's care. Yet the amount of financial burden for these families also depends on their state of residence, according to Paul T. Shattuck, PhD, professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis [Pediatrics, 124: S435-S442]. "The percentage of low-income families in a given state with out-of-pocket expenses that exceeded 3 percent of their income varied considerably according to state and ranged from 5 percent to 25. 8 percent (District of Columbia and Montana, respectively). Families living in states with more generous Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) benefits report less financial burden," Dr. Shattuck said.

Research has shown that families raising children with disabilities face exceptionally high rates of financial hardship, which can have a negative effect on the children's well-being.

ScienceDaily (Dec. 4, 2009) — In the United States, caring for a child with special health care needs usually means higher medical expenses for a family -- particularly for low-income families, who spend a disproportionally large share of their income on their child's care. Yet the amount of financial burden for these families also depends on their state of residence, says Paul T. Shattuck, Ph.D., professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis.

"The percentage of low-income families in a given state with out-of-pocket expenses that exceeded 3 percent of their income varied considerably according to state and ranged from 5 percent to 25. 8 percent (District of Columbia and Montana, respectively). Families living in states with more generous Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) benefits report less financial burden," Shattuck says.

In accordance with the requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),  the state must report annually to the public on the performance of each local educational agency located in the state on the targets in the State's Performance Plan. Because baseline data and/or performance targets have not been established for all of the performance indicators, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), has informed states that they are only required to report district performance for students with disabilities on indicators 1-5 and 8-12 this year. These performance indicators address the following: Graduation, Dropout, Assessment, Suspension/Expulsion, Least Restrictive Environment (ages 6-21), Parent Involvement, Disproportionality As A Result Of Inappropriate Identification, Child Find Timelines, and Early Childhood Transition (transition from Part C to Part B). The district's performance data is 2008-2009 data that was submitted by the district to the OPI as a part of its child count, exiting, student discipline collections and/or collected during a compliance monitoring record review. Performance data for performance indicator #8, Parent Involvement, is based on parent survey data. The Parent Involvement Survey was distributed to districts that were compliance monitored in school year 2008-2009. Districts were asked to provide a copy of the survey to all parents of IDEA-eligible students receiving special education and related services through an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The District Public Reports can be found on the OPI Web site at:  http://data.opi.mt.gov/SPEDReporting/ .

oday, Hart continues to challenge status quo assumptions about the frequency of addiction and how drug use affects people. He’s even held Eric Holder to task for calling heroin use in the country “an epidemic.” Instead, Hart argues that the number of true addicts is much smaller, and when addiction does occur, it’s often because of environmental factors, rather than hardwired doom in the brain. His conclusion: Much of what we’ve been taught about drugs is wrong. With more than $40 billion being spent on anti-drug efforts a year, it’s not a message that many people want to hear. But when mass incarceration, often for misdemeanor drug possession charges, affects communities of color so deeply that health studies can’t conduct statistically sound surveys on the population not in prison, it’s a message that could disrupt the social order. We spoke to Hart about how he reached his conclusions and what it takes to speak truth to power in the scientific community.

Quick, name the most common chronic disease of childhood in the United States. I bet you didn't say dental caries, or as any kid who has heard the ominous whirring sound of a dentist's drill would call them, "cavities." Fifty-nine percent of kids between 12 and 19 have at least one cavity, and poor and minority children are disproportionately affected, according to this study by the American Academy of Pediatrics.