The President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education

• Federal Regulations, Monitoring, Paperwork Reduction, and Increased Flexibility

• Accountability, Flexibility, and Parental Empowerment

• Teacher and Administrator Preparation

• Special Education Finance

• Assessment and Identification

Federal Regulations and Monitoring, Paperwork Reduction and Increased

Flexibility.• Replace Federal Monitoring Practices with a Focused

Approach

• Improved Utilization of Staff and Resources to Implement Federal Special Education Law

• Intra-Agency and Inter-Agency Coordination

• Recommendation: Focus on Student Results

Special Education Finance

• What We Currently Know About Special Education Finance

• Excess Special Education Costs

• The Most Expensive Special Education Students

• Threshold Percentage of Excess Costs

• Increased Federal Funding Should Hold SEA’s More Accountable

Accountability, Flexibility, and Parental Empowerment

• Set High Expectations For Special Education

• Hold LEA’s Accountable for Results

• Increase Parental Empowerment and School Choice

• Prevent Disputes and Improve Dispute Resolutions

Teacher and Administrator Preparation

• Issues with Teacher Preparation Programs

• Teacher Recruitment and Retention

• Training Methods

Assessment and Identification

• Identify and Intervene Early

• Simplify Identification

• Evaluation and Assessment

• Other Health Impairment and Specific Learning Problems

• Minorities in Special Education

• Universal Design Principles

Final Questions

• Should IDEA be changed to meet the goals of “No Child Left Behind?” What would be the benefits? What would be the challenges?

• Will state special education funding decrease as federal funding increases?

• What will constitute new training initiatives for the LEA’s?

• How will limited assessment and identification effect due process rights of individuals?