Friday, October 31, 2008

Advocacy and the State of Special Education

This is from a notice I receive via email. There are changes occurring the will directly affect special education more so than most changes over the past 10-15 years or so.

This Week's Live Chat
The State of Special Education in the U.S.

When: Monday, Nov. 3, 3 p.m. Eastern time. | Where: http://www.edweek-chat.org

Submit questions in advance.

EPE Research Center director Christopher Swanson will moderate a wide-ranging discussion among leading experts on the critical issues shaping special education in the nation's schools.

The nation's schools educate more than 6 million students with disabilities, about nine percent of the school-age population. Nearly one-third of those disabled students are of traditional high school age. A new report from the EPE Research Center, to be released Monday November 3, examines a variety of challenges central to understanding special education in the nation's high schools, including the types of educational settings in which services are provided, the diagnosis of disabilities, overrepresentation of particular student groups, school discipline, academic achievement, high school completion and transitions into adulthood.

This is the first in our monthlong series of online chats in which leading experts in the field will engage in a lively, in-depth dialogue on critical issues facing special education today.

More information on the monthlong chat series and the new report is available here.

About the Guests:


Candace Cortiella is director of the Advocacy Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with disabilities.

Patricia Guard is the acting director of the Office of Special Education Programs, the division of the U.S. Department of Education serving the needs of children and youth with disabilities.

Patti Ralabate is a professional associate for special needs at the National Education Association, the nation's largest teachers' union.

No special equipment other than Internet access is needed to participate in this text-based chat. A transcript will be posted shortly after the completion of the chat.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I missed these. Did you listen? I wondered how much they would be generic special education and how much specific to categorical issues. I 'spose I should sidle over there and look for transcripts.

--JohnL

ldtchr said...

Arg, I don't remember anymore. I'm going to have to sidle that way also...