Week 1 – December 3rd, 2020 Theme: Assistive Technology and the IEP
Would you or the families you serve like more information on how to incorporate assistive technology (AT) into an IEP? Check out this resource for understanding AT needs, AT evaluation information and much more: https://www.readingrockets.org/article/assistive-technology-and-iep
Week 2 – December 10th, 2020 Theme: Internet Access is a Civil Rights Issue
When you think about equity and access, internet access may not be the first barrier you identify, but the pandemic has made this barrier more visible. Check out this article to learn more about how lack of internet access impacts underserved students and transcends to post-secondary, employment, and healthcare: https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/09/23/internet-access-is-a-civil-rights-issue.html
Week 3: December 17th, 2020 Theme: ELLs with Special Needs: Effective Instructional Strategies
The overrepresentation of English language learners (ELLs) in special education classes (Yates & Ortiz, 1998) suggests that educators have difficulty distinguishing students who truly have learning disabilities from students who are failing for other reasons, such as limited English. For more information on how schools can support ELL families, consider the following resource: http://www.ldonline.org/article/5622/
Week 4: December 23rd, 2020 Theme: Disproportionality in Special Education Placement
Are you familiar with significant disproportionality based on race and ethnicity? Would you like to better understand the factors impacting significant disproportionality? Being equipped with the information from this article could help parents better grasp under-, over-, and misidentification of students of color with disabilities. https://ldaamerica.org/core-principle-disproportionality-in-identification-for-special-education/