IDEA Research, Training, Grants Next Up / Miscellany

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IDEA Research, Training, Grants Next Up / Miscellany

Wednesday, January 26, 2000

[From Special Education News http://www.specialednews.com ]

A new year brings new opportunities for educators and organizations to

put the federal government's budget to work. The U.S. Department of

Education this week released three new grant notices for programs for fiscal

year 2000 funded under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The

grants provide funding for programs under Part D of IDEA, which defines

seven federal programs designed to supplement the state-run special ed.

systems. As reported, the 2000 budget includes slightly more than $6 billion

for IDEA programs, but more than 80 percent of that money goes to the

states. About $281.5 million goes to Part D programs.

27 Research and Innovation Grants

The purpose of the first set of grants, tagged as " Research &

Innovation to Improve Services & Results for Children with Disabilities "

grants, is fairly self-explanatory. Through improved knowledge, the theory

goes, IDEA services and the practices of professionals involved in

delivering those services can be improved. The specific focus of this set of

grants is on directed research projects, for which the department set a

maximum award of $180,000 per year. Applications for research and innovation

grants are available Jan. 26 and are due March 20.

An estimated 27 research and innovation grants will be awarded for

programs with maximum lengths of 36 months. Approximately three awards will

be for projects that focus on inclusion of students with disabilities in

large-scale assessment programs. At least one of these assessment awards

will focus on low-incidence disabilities, " for which a small number of

personnel with highly specialized skills and knowledge are needed in order

for children with that impairment to receive early intervention services or

a free appropriate public education, " the department said.

Twelve awards will go toward projects that investigate one or more

issues related to providing instruction in the general education curriculum

for children with disabilities. Such issues can include instructional

interventions for core subjects and second languages, the impact of

contextual variables like classroom design and student grouping, the

relationship of inclusive preschool practices and child-family transition

practices to child development and other topics. The grants will be

distributed among programs for preschool, elementary, middle and high school

grade levels, with at least two grants to each.

Early and prescriptive assessment programs for children with learning

or emotional disabilities will be assigned three research and improvement

grants. Noting that research shows early intervention for LD and ED children

has been effective, the department says the number and scope of assessment

programs for those children still lags behind assessment programs for

children with physical, sensory, speech and significant cognitive

disabilities. " Attempts to explain the late identification patterns for

children with learning or emotional disabilities have targeted weaknesses in

assessment practices and the reluctance of schools to engage in potentially

stigmatizing erroneous identification, " the department says. " This late

identification problem has resulted in many young children not receiving

appropriate services at the age when they would obtain the greatest benefit

from targeted interventions. "

Three awards will go to the exploration of the influences of gender on

special education referral, placement and services for students with

disabilities. Though both genders are represented evenly in school

enrollments, males account for approximately two-thirds of all students in

special education. " In many cases, it is not clear if females are

under-identified for special education, if males are over-identified, or if

real differences exist in the prevalence of disability between males and

females, " the department says.

The last six awards will be for projects that research ways to improve

literacy of children who are unresponsive to classroom or school-wide

programs in grades K-3 and to improve reading comprehension for students in

all grades. Inclusive reading programs in the early grades are not

necessarily effective for all students with disabilities, the department

notes. " These programs may include explicit and intensive instruction within

or outside the classroom in small groups and, in the most difficult cases,

with individualized one-on-one tutoring. The hope has been that all children

would succeed in these circumstances; however, there are a small number of

children who do not benefit from these interventions and who are at the

highest risk for academic and social failure. "

A Dozen Teacher Training Grants

A second set of grants will fund approximately 12 programs to promote

training for special ed. teachers, paraeducators and related special ed.

service providers. The programs must help address the need states have

identified for qualified personnel in special ed., early intervention and

regular ed. to work with students with disabilities. In addition, eligible

programs must be based on practices that have been established through

research and experience to be successful, the department says. The maximum

award per year will be $200,000 per project. Applications are available Jan.

26 and due March 10. Personnel preparation programs have been identified as

a national priority in light of the current teacher shortage in public

schools around the country. As reported, special ed., math and science

teachers are in the shortest supply, with many school systems reporting they

employ underqualified teachers in those subjects to make sure there is at

least a body in every classroom.

Though all applications will be considered, the department said it

will give special attention to projects that address one of seven training

needs:

new ways to make licenses and certifications transferable across state and

local jurisdictions for people serving infants, toddlers and children with

disabilities, greater quantity, quality and diversity of educators through

new recruiting practices, employee retention plans that use " innovative,

multi-year developmental induction models, " collaborative training of

regular and special education personnel, including paraeducators, case-based

or problem-based training modules, improved teaching and learning through

the use of assistive, instructional and communication technology, and

decision-making methods for individualized education programs, " particularly

with regard to a child's participation in assessments, " the department

says.

Three Technical Assistance Grants

The final set of grants spells out three specific programs needed

under IDEA's " Technical Assistance and Dissemination " provisions. All three

grants are for programs that specifically address the goals of effecting

system-wide change in the implementation of IDEA's programs and including

all people affected by the programs in that process. Such implementation " is

dependent, in part, on the active participation of educational and

professional associations, parent organizations, advocacy groups and other

entities concerned with the early intervention and education for children

with disabilities, " the department says. Applications for each of these

grants are available Jan. 26 and due March 10.

The first grant will award $1.5 million to one program that helps

education policy makers implement the IDEA amendments. The grant is designed

to either renew the current Policy Maker Partnership, whose grant expired in

1999, or fund a new, similarly oriented project. Such a group would " inform

and provide support to the partnership's members and constituents in

understanding the law, the implications of the law for their respective

roles in improving results for children with disabilities and how

research-based best practices can be used to implement the law, " the

department says.

The PMP is one of four partnerships the Department of Education

established in 1998 to help families, advocates, policy makers, local

administrators and services providers work together. The other three -- the

Families and Advocates Partnership for Education, the IDEA Local

Implementation by Local Administrators Partnership and the Association of

Service Providers Implementing IDEA Reforms in Education -- are funded

through fiscal 2000.

The second grant will distribute $400,000 to one program that will

give state and federal decision makers access to valid statistics, research

findings and policy options, plus information on trends in providing special

education and related services. The program must also improve communication

between the Department of Education and state and local administrators of

IDEA and " to synthesize national program information that will improve the

management, administration, delivery and effectiveness of programs and

services, " the department says.

The third will award $700,000 per year for up to 60 months to

establish a " Center on Achieving Results in Education for Students With

Disabilities. " Under the 1997 amendments to IDEA, states must promote

participation of students with disabilities in state and district-wide

assessments, providing accommodations or alternate assessments where

appropriate. States must also report on the performance and participation of

students with disabilities in these assessments and must establish goals and

indicators to address that performance. " States are making progress in

implementing these assessment and accountability requirements. However, a

number of technical and policy challenges must be overcome before the

requirements can yield all of their potential benefits for students with

disabilities, " the department says.

* * *

Miscellany

Mercury Testing

[Directly from the Autism & Mercury website.]

http://tlredwood.home.mindspring.com/mercurytesting.htm

Over the past week I have had many requests from parents wanting to

know how to go about testing for mercury in their children. My experience in

this issue comes directly from what I have learned in investigating mercury

exposure in my own son. The information presented [on mercury testing]

represents general information available and does not in any way constitute

a health care provider-patient relationship. For further information and

testing, you must consult with a health care provider who is experienced in

the fields of environmental medicine or heavy metal toxicity and chelation

therapy.

When FDA released information that some children may have been exposed

to mercury in excess of Federal Guidelines I contacted several labs

concerning testing for mercury. I was told that blood testing for mercury

would only be valid if the exposure was recent or ongoing. After

approximately 50 to 70 days after exposure a majority of the mercury will be

bound in the tissue and not detected on a routine blood screening for heavy

metals. The same holds true for hair. There have been consistent reports in

the literature that hair levels fall to background over a period of about 1

year once exposure has stopped.

I was fortunate to have a sample of my son's baby hair for analysis.

If you don't, another method routinely used to detect mercury in the body is

to administer a chelating agent. Chelating agents will bind with the mercury

and heavy metals and pull them from the tissue so they can be detected in

the blood, urine, or feces. These same agents are also used in the treatment

of heavy metal toxicity. The use of these medications will require the

expertise of a medical doctor who is well versed in heavy metal toxicity

diagnosis and treatment. These would include specialist in Environmental

Medicine, toxicology [ask your county health department for a referral] or

DAN Practitioner http://www.autism.com/ari/danlist.html who has experience

in this area.

* * *

Errata: The article 'Significant Levels of Mercury in Autistic Kids' which

was posted last Saturday was incorrectly titled. The abstract text provided

on the subject states only that " Significant differences were noted between

normal males and females for calcium, magnesium and mercury. " [Thanks to

Mady Horning.]

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editor: Lenny Schafer schafer@...

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