SCATP Helpful Resources

1. 2007 NCSL Child Care and Early Education State Legislative Update
National Conference of State Legislatures; January 24, 2008
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/cyf/legupdec07.htm
Thirty-nine states enacted substantial legislation that affects child development and early education in the 2007 legislative session. Bills addressed prekindergarten programs and school readiness, child care, quality initiatives, early intervention, and task forces and governance. Additional actions that were taken through the state budget appropriations process are not included in this document. The bills highlighted in this document are stand-alone bills.

2. New NCSER Report: Facts From NLTS2: Orientation and Mobility Skills of Secondary School Students With Visual Impairments National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER); January 23, 2008
http://ies.ed.gov/ncser/pubs/index.asp#20083007
This report presents information on the percentages of students with visual impairments who receive orientation and mobility services, including percentages for different segments of the population (blind vs. partially sighted, regular vs. special school placement, and demographic groups). It also discusses the levels of orientation and mobility skills in this population, and factors associated with their skill levels. Data are from The National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2), funded by the National Center for Special Education Research at the Institute of Education Sciences, U. S. Department of Education. NLTS2 was initiated in 2001 and has a nationally-representative sample of more than 11,000 students with disabilities. For further information please contact David Malouf at 202-219-1309 or david.malouf@ed.gov

3. Revisiting Graduation Requirements and Diploma Options for Youth with Disabilities: A National Study (NCEO Technical Report 49)
By D. R. Johnson, M. Thurlow, and K. Stout
A document reporting on National Center on Educational Outcomes¹ (NCEO) fourth study of state graduation requirements for students with disabilities. This national study was designed to describe current variations across states in high school exit exam practices and the use of alternative diploma/credentialing options. The study also examines the intended and unintended consequences for students when they are required to pass exit exams to receive a high school diploma, and the intended and unintended consequences of using single or multiple diploma options for students with disabilities. Published by the Institutes National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). (2007)
http://cehd.umn.edu/NCEO/OnlinePubs/Tech49/TechReport49.pdf

4. Impact: Feature Issue on Direct Support Workforce Development University of Minnesota Institute on Community Integration (Fall/Winter 2007/08; Vol. 20, No. 2)
A publication offering a timely exploration of the issues facing the Direct Support workforce, and
impacting the quality and availability of Direct Support services for individuals with disabilities. In its pages are strategies, resources, and personal stories from across the country that offer service providers, advocates, policymakers, families, and individuals with disabilities ideas that they can use to help ensure that people with disabilities continue to have access to the supports they need to live the lives they choose. To be published the week of January 28.
http://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/202

5. New Handbook on Developing and Evaluating Interagency Collaboration in Early Childhood Special Education Programs January 14, 2008
The California Department of Education's Special Education Division recently published a new handbook entitled, Handbook on Developing and Evaluating Interagency Collaboration in Early Childhood Special Education Programs, by Kathleen C. Sadao and Nancy Robinson. The handbook is meant to assist early intervention professionals and agencies develop and implement interagency agreements that support an efficient and seamless delivery of services. It is available online at http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/fp/documents/eciacolbrtn.pdf
To order a hard copy call 916-445-7608 or go to http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/pn/rc/

6. New book: Worlds Apart? Disability and Foreign Language Learning
January 28, 2008; Yale University Press
Offers critical and practical essays with insights applicable across the language-teaching spectrum. Written in English, Worlds Apart? brings together scholars and teachers from around the world who examine foreign language education from general requirements through advanced literature and film courses to study abroad, showing how to enable the success of students with disabilities at every step of the way. Chapters explore the nature of language itself, the best avenues toward acquiring proficiency, and the lives of disabled people at home and abroad. Worlds Apart? Disability and Foreign Language Learning offers fresh, new perspectives on the inquiries into culture and diversity undertaken in the academy today. Edited by Tammy Berberi, Elizabeth C. Hamilton, and Ian M. Sutherland.
http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300116304

7. IOM Releases Research Priorities In Emergency Preparedness January 28, 2008; National Academies Press
The Institutes of Medicine is releasing Research Priorities in Emergency Preparedness and Response for Public Health Systems: A Letter Report that defines a set of near-term research priorities for emergency preparedness and response in public health systems that will be used by the Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response to help develop a research agenda that will in turn be used to inform research funding opportunity announcements. Authors: Bruce M. Altevogt, Andrew M. Pope, Martha N. Hill, and Kenneth I. Shine, Editors, Committee on Research Priorities in Emergency Preparedness and Response for Public Health Systems, Institute of Medicine. To get a free PDF or read online, visit http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12136