On this day 48 years ago, President Gerald Ford signed into law the Education for All Handicapped (EHA) Children Act, which later became known as the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA.

To read more about the Individuals with Disabilities Act, click here.

Last night the Interdisciplinary Training for Early Intervention Professionals Specialist Program (EISP) Cohort had their final class! Congratulations all!

The American Institutes for Research (AIR) is launching a federally funded center that helps leaders to establish and maintain inclusive learning environments and improve outcomes for students who receive services and support under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). AIR and five partners have been awarded a five-year, $15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to establish and develop the Lead IDEA Center. 

AIR will lead the center in partnership with the University of Connecticut (UConn), True North Evaluation, University of Illinois Chicago’s Center for Urban Education Leadership, Boston University, and the National Association of Elementary School Principals. Abby Foley, senior researcher at AIR, will lead the center as project director. In addition to Bateman, co-principal investigators are Lynn Holdheide, AIR managing technical assistance consultant, and Mary Beth Bruder, UConn professor of pediatrics.

To learn more about this, please click here.

UCEDD staff and students attended the AUCD conference “Emerging Leaders: Shaping the Future” in Washington DC this week.

Presentations:

• OSEP Model Demonstration Project – Developing Identification, Screening, Referral and Tracking Systems for Infants and Toddlers

Posters:

• The use of Intelligence Quotient as an Eligibility Criterion for Intellectual and Developmental Disability Services: A Review of the States
• Accommodations and Accessibility of COVID-19 Vaccinations for People with Disabilities in CT
• Local Health Departments Inclusion of Persons with Disability: Results from a Training Needs Assessment in Connecticut
• The Availability of Information on Accomodations for Students with Disabilities on Medical School Website

Staff and Students also visited Capitol Hill for the Address for Closing Plenary, speakers included Senator Tammy Duckworth, Assistant Secretary Katy Neas, Peter Mills, Chief Legal Aid at Senator Murphy’s office and Senator Bob Casey.

Connecticut has created the CT Transition Community of Practice (CoP) to centralize all activities, resources, and initiatives related to secondary transition and to provide information and support to students, families, and professionals. The CoP is comprised of multiple stakeholder groups that have come together with a single focus: enhancing the transition of youth with disabilities to adult life. Come learn what we are all about! See how your ideas fit into Connecticut’s overall plans and help us plot our course for improving student outcomes. To learn more visit CT SDE or  SERC

 

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