Technical Assistance for Excellence in Special Education
FOR OVER 30 YEARS,
the Center for Technical Assistance for Excellence in Special Education (TAESE) has been the technical assistance division of the Center for Persons with Disabilities at the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University. TAESE administers a variety of State and federal contracts and technical assistance agreements. OUR MISSION IS CLEAR: Help State agencies, schools, early intervention providers, and families improve outcomes for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities. We are guided by this simple charge: Keep the main thing, the main thing infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities and their families. COLORADO NORTH DAKOTA WYOMING MONTANA SOUTH DAKOTA ARIZONA UTAH NEW MEXICO NEBRASKA KANSAS OKLAHOMA IOWA GEORGIA ARKANSAS ALASKA A LA B A M A In 2011, 7 school districts in New Mexico received the designation of Needs Intervention for at least the third year in a row. TAESE provided intensive technical assistance to these districts through trainings, site visits, and conference calls to help themmeet the requirements of their Corrective Action Plans. Due to the TAprovided, these low-performing districts in New Mexico are on track to reaching compliance for the majority of issues identifed and providing better services for the students in their schools. The DRSE Consortium provides ongoing professional development opportunities for Complaint Investigators, Due Process Hearing Offcers, Mediators/IEP Facilitators, State Education Agency staff, and Lead Agency staff. Through teleconferences, webinars, and trainings35 in 2012the Consortiumprovides a way for states to ensure staff and dispute resolution specialists are properly trained and current on legal issues in special education, thereby ensuring the needs of families and students with disabilities are met. SpecialEducationStateAdvisory Panels (SAPs)and Interagency Coordinating Councils (ICCs) are key stakeholder groups inefforts toimproveeducational opportunities for students with disabilities. TAESE provided training for 275 members of SAPs and ICCs nationwide in 2012. TAESE: MAKING CONNECTIONS WITH FAMILIES & EDUCATORS Areas served by TAESE Visit us at www.taese.org Martin E. Blair John Copenhaver Amanda Davis 600 EVALUATIONS RESOURCES: While TAESE clients tend to be state agencies and staff, resources are also available directly to parents and families. The TAESE website offers information for download, including videos to help parents understand their role in their childs education. 35 TELECONFERENCES WEBINARS TRAININGS 7 NEW MEXICO SCHOOL DISTRICTS TASK12 is a multi-State consortium providing evaluations measuringtheskills of school-basedsign language interpreters. The program also oversees a comprehensive training initiative for K12 school interpreters called the Training of Interpreters in Public Schools (TIPS) program. During FY 20112012 and so far in FY 20122013, TASK12 has evaluated just over 600 interpreters to help the states within the consortiumensure children with hearing disabilities have full access to the general curriculum. 275 SAP & ICC MEMBERS Indicator 8 of the IDEA State Performance Plan requires that states gatherdataonparent satisfaction with their special education experience. The most common way to collect this data is through a survey. This year, TAESE assisted 8 states with the distribution, collection, and analysis of over 67,000 surveys. The data collected helps states and LEAs provide effective special education services for students with disabilities. 67000 SURVEYS IN 8 STATES