February 5, 2010 - Bill on restraint and seclusion advances in Congress

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----- February 5, 2010 - Bill on restraint and seclusion advances in Congress

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February 5, 2010

News for special education professionals

Curriculum & Instruction

Bill on restraint and seclusion advances in CongressA House committee voted to advance the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act that would provide federal oversight of the practices in schools. The bill would prohibit the use of mechanical restraints or any actions that restrict a student's breathing, and it would limit the use of seclusion and restraint to trained staff and to situations where staff or students are in imminent physical danger. The bill must be approved by the full House and Senate. Disability

Scoop (2/4)

School provides specialized instruction for students with dyslexiaA private school in Germantown, Tenn., provides specialized instruction for students with dyslexia and other reading disabilities. Educators at The Bodine School use teaching methods that include reinforcing the learning of vowel sounds by having students repeat the sound, draw it in the air and write it on paper. "With good remediation, [students] can actually learn to reprocess words and use the part of the brain the nondyslexics do,"

the school's executive director said. WHBQ-TV (Memphis, Tenn.) (2/4)

Parents, advocates call for more emphasis on ASL in Alaskan schoolsParents of students with hearing impairments in Alaska are seeking an increased emphasis on American Sign Language instruction in schools. Members of the Deaf Bilingual Coalition and other advocacy groups say more teachers need to be trained in ASL so that students who cannot hear can become bilingual -- proficient in English and ASL -- with the ability to communicate easily and maintain their identity as a person with hearing impairments. KTUU-TV (Anchorage, Alaska) (2/4)

Other News

Connecticut school for students with disabilities is subject of complaintThe Hartford Courant (Conn.) (2/3)

Seeing is believing. The premier writing solution in schools offers powerful assistive features to help students with special needs improve confidence and accelerate learning. Now only $149. Learn more.

Educational Leadership

Special educators are trained to use defibrillatorEducators at a school in England for students with special needs are being trained to use an automated external defibrillator that was donated to the school. "The aim is that all staff members will be trained to use it," one teacher said. "We hope that we will never need to put it into action, but it is good to know that we would be able to bring a child or adult round in an emergency. They really can make the difference between life and death." Sunderland Echo (U.K.)

(2/3)

Other News

Student who cannot hear is legislative page in MississippiWLBT-TV (, Miss.) (2/4)

Technology Trends

Web-based program offers intervention for struggling readersOne Missouri school district is using a Web-based reading-intervention program to help provide additional help to students who struggled to improve their reading skills. Educators began using Scientific Learning's Fast ForWord program in 2006 with students who were not making timely progress with traditional interventions. They found that the program, combined with guidance from para-educators, helped students improve test scores, spelling skills and homework completion. T.H.E.

Journal (2/4)

Washington state to pilot online standardized testsSome Washington state schools will soon administer standardized tests online, and the goal is to transition to testing all middle-school students online in reading, writing and math by 2012. Teachers and students are preparing for the change by studying sample tests and viewing online tutorials. The Olympian (Olympia, Wash.) (2/4)

Other News

California county sets up autism registry for law enforcementThe Sacramento Bee (Calif.) (free registration) (2/4)

Policy News

Comment highlights campaign against derogatory languagePublicity surrounding the use of language that is offensive to people with disabilities by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and his subsequent apology is highlighting efforts by advocate groups to remove such derogatory language from legal and medical terminology. Because of these efforts -- by groups as well as an increasing number of people with disabilities acting as self-advocates -- states have begun to remove the language from their legal codes, and many have removed it from the names of human-service agencies as well. The Washington Post (2/5)

Inclusion to begin for young students in New Jersey districtOne New Jersey district is taking steps to integrate preschool and kindergarten students who have special needs into the district's mainstream programs. The district's plan is based on state recommendations and will begin with students with special needs, teachers and paraprofessionals making weekly visits to Head Start classrooms. NorthJersey.com (Hackensack, N.J.)/Suburban Trends (N.J.) (free registration) (2/3)

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Eye on Exceptionalities

Students with hearing impairments enjoy "Wicked" performanceStudents from a Florida school for children with hearing impairments recently attended a performance of the musical "Wicked," with the dialogue and lyrics translated into sign language courtesy of a nonprofit. The Open Doors program provides sign-language translation for people who cannot hear as well as audio descriptions for people with visual impairments in an effort to make performances more accessible. The Tampa Tribune (Fla.) (2/4)

Autism struggles include picky or obsessive eatingParents of children with autism often find meals challenging, because excessively picky or obsessive eating are common traits of people with the disorder. Some research suggests that children with autism are more likely to have nutritional deficits of certain vitamins and minerals because of their eating habits. HealthDay News (2/3)

CEC Spotlight

Life-skills education that works For special and general educators alike, CEC's Life Centered Career Education curriculum is a comprehensive program to guide students toward future successes in life, work and relationships. Lesson plans are universally appropriate and reflect today's technological advancements. Pricing discounts available for CEC members. Find out more.

Envisioning the future of learning disabilities at CEC 2010 Response to intervention, No Child Left Behind ... what's next for students with learning disabilities? Led by Lou son of the American Institutes for Research and presented by four national leaders, this town hall meeting will showcase current trends in research and policy and envision what educational interventions and teacher training could look like in the future. It's a new format for a new decade. Join the dialogue at CEC 2010.

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