Fw: September 15, 2009 - District sends boy with autism and service dog to another school

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September 15, 2009

News for special education professionals

Curriculum & Instruction

District sends boy with autism and service dog to another schoolAlthough a judge issued a temporary court order allowing a 5-year-old boy with autism to bring his service dog to his pre-kindergarten special-education class, his district has transferred him to another school. Kalbfleisch and his dog, Corbin, will attend the Illinois Center for Autism, which is eager to include a service dog in its instruction. 's parents still want him to attend neighborhood schools. The district has argued that another student in the class has severe allergies to animals and that a service dog is not part of 's Individual Education Plan. St. Louis Post-Dispatch (9/14)

Pennsylvania school district looks to improve gifted educationThe Hollidaysburg Area School District in Pennsylvania is upgrading its gifted-education program to offer students emotional support as well as academic challenges. Educators have developed a five-year plan to improve gifted education. This year, teachers implemented differentiated learning for gifted students, and upcoming changes include a student-to-student mentoring program and integrated planning among gifted-program teachers. The Altoona Mirror (Pa.)

(9/15)

Canadian special-education program to continue for current studentsA program for children with special needs will be phased out instead of abruptly closed, staving off legal action by parents against the Toronto Catholic District School Board. The program costs $175,000 per year and offers cognitive exercises for students at seven schools. A new schools supervisor justified the original decision to end the program, but the change will keep the school open until June 2012 and not allow new students. The Toronto Star

(9/14)

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Educational Leadership

Educators visit Africa with science tools for students who cannot seeTwo New Jersey educators recently visited Kenya to instruct educators there in techniques to teach science to students who cannot see. Marilyn Winograd, who has taught students who are visually impaired and is a consultant, and Lillian Rankel, a science teacher, paid their own way to Kenya. They brought a kit they developed that enables students who cannot see to engage in laboratory experiments and determine results by touch. "My big goal is to raise expectations for blind people because they can do pretty much what others can do," Rankel said. Home News Tribune (East Brunswick, N.J.) (9/11)

Other News

Teach For America shifts to provide more professional developmentEducation Week (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org) (9/16)

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Technology Trends

Toys with technology help teach sign language to young childrenA system that outfits toys with radio-frequency identification tags may help preschoolers who are deaf learn American Sign Language. Developed by researchers at Southeastern Louisiana University last year, the project encourages children to scan the tags on toys. A computer program reads the tag and instructs the children in the sign for that particular toy. The program, being used in Louisiana and Texas, has received a $390,000 federal grant to expand. RFID Journal (9/11)

Emergency texting system is tested in EnglandA text-based emergency services contact system is undergoing trials in England. Users, who must register with the service, can send a text to a voice-relay assistant that allows communication between the texting person and emergency services personnel. The British government has launched an initiative to make the service permanent by early next year to accommodate people with disabilities. BBC (9/14)

Policy News

California gears up to compile and track education dataCalifornia is moving to implement complex database technologies to track education data, a tactic to improve the state's qualifications for federal Race to the Top education money. CalPADS, a database tracking student performance, was implemented last month. CalTIDES, a database to compile teacher and administrator information, is expected in 2011. A 2006 state law preventing the use of such systems to connect student performance with teacher evaluations was nullified by lawmakers last week. Los Angeles Times (9/14)

New techniques are needed to uncover gifted studentsFlorida's gifted students deserve more attention and an assessment system that detects their abilities, according to an editorial. Figures in one region of the state show a decline in the number of gifted students, which illustrates misguided policies, according to the editorial. That, the board argues, is unfair to students. TCPalm.com (Fort

Pierce, Fla.) (9/15)

Other News

All teachers in California district required to take part in special-education training Hill Times (Calif.) (9/14)

Eye on Exceptionalities

Autism behaviors may be detectable weeks after birthA study at Australia's Flinders University suggests that signs of autism may be recognized within a baby's first weeks. The research focused on infants who had a higher risk of developing autism because they had an older sibling with an autism spectrum disorder. Observations from 10 days through 18 months after birth found that the babies' behaviors differed from that of infants from families without a history of autism. Researchers said that the early

signs did not necessarily signify the later development of autism, but that autism spectrum disorders are present throughout family members to varying degrees. The Australian (9/14)

Deaf Life magazine may offer Japanese versionDeaf Life magazine founder may take the publication international by launching a Japanese version, although the process is still under negotiation. , who is deaf, founded the magazine in 1987. Deaf Life's purpose is to "show what the deaf community can do and what's happening," he says. A book based on a collection of columns from the magazine is commonly used in classes on deaf curriculum, he says. Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (N.Y.) (9/14)

Other News

Babies born with unusually small heads may be at risk for learning disabilitiesYahoo!/HealthDay News (9/14)

CEC Spotlight

Weekly policy updates are available from CEC Now more than ever, special educators need to keep up with what's happening in Washington. With CEC's Policy Insider, a free e-newsletter, the latest developments in special- and gifted-education policy are delivered straight to your inbox weekly. Find out more.

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