Coordinating Early Childhood Systems

Adults and a young child collaborating in an early learning classroom
While early childhood providers and families prioritize activities that optimize interactivity with peers and the natural environment, print and digital materials and technologies are commonly present in early learning settings, including the home and community. If and when they are determined to be appropriate, interactive materials and technologies need to be accessible if children with disabilities are to benefit from inclusive settings. Examples of accessible materials and technologies in early learning settings can include:

Tactile books that include a combination of print and braille
Video that includes captioning of sounds and audio description of visual elements
Mobile apps that are compatible with a child’s assistive technology (AT)
Ensuring that children with disabilities in early childhood programs can participate in all range of activities in early childhood programs is effectively achieved through a coordinated approach requiring collaboration between a number of agencies, federal, state, and local service providers, and families and caregivers.

Coordinating Workforce Development Systems

Adults in a workplace environment collaborating
Career training and other workforce development activities take place across a variety of settings. For example, students with disabilities transition to a range of postsecondary programs, including two- and four-year colleges, career training programs (e.g., pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships), and directly to employment or to seeking employment. The Critical Components of the Quality Indicators for Workforce Development are designed to assist in the development of coordinated systems that result in the timely provision of accessible materials and technologies for all students and job seekers with disabilities who need them, regardless of the setting where services are provided to them.

Creating Accessible Websites

Illustration of website icons surrounding a computer monitor
Creating a website is not as difficult as it used to be. Today, most websites are created by entering information into a form, not by writing lines of code. A number of publishing systems are available for creating a website or a blog, and many of them have options for making the content accessible.

This resource is to educate others on the importance of cultural competence in special education and the lack of cultural awareness that is currently in special education classrooms. It includes history of special education and the laws surrounding it, the importance of cultural awareness and competence, what the current system is doing and why it does not work and what the future will hopefully look like for culture in special education.

This resource from the Washington Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth  provides guiding questions and resources to help student reach their full potential as they work towards their post high school and transition goals.

This page provides information about opportunities in the United States for teachers and related service providers to learn about deaf-blindness and instructional practices for children and youth who are deaf-blind. Available opportunities come in a variety of forms—online courses, webinars, and self-study modules. These are organized topically below. Some have opportunities to obtain CEUs or credits. Please note that NCDB does not host modules or offer CEUs or credits, so be sure to contact the relevant sponsoring agencies for more information.

An explanation of what it means to say educational materials are "accessible" and why accessibility is important.

Practical tips for implementing the four principles of accessibility that are the foundation for the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Who Needs AEM?
If a student is...

unable to read or use grade level materials at a sufficient rate and with adequate comprehension to complete academic tasks with success relative to same-age peers or
cannot do this independently or across environments or tasks,
then the student may need AEM. For example, students with visual impairments may not be able to see a textbook, students with physical disabilities may not be able to turn a page, and students with learning disabilities whose decoding abilities are significantly below grade level may require support - all these students may require AEM.

Contact the AT & AEM Center to discuss your student's need

Are we teaching what we think we are teaching?""Are students learning what they are supposed to be learning?""Is there a way to teach the subject better, therefore promoting better learning?"In problem based learning, assessment needs to not only reflect the learning process but the content being learned as well.This online learning module will explore the following learning targets: •Identify how formative and summative classroom assessments are integral to instruction.•Recognize and develop high-quality performance assessments for evaluating student work.•Recognize and develop high-quality rubrics for evaluating student work.

Are we teaching what we think we are teaching?""Are students learning what they are supposed to be learning?""Is there a way to teach the subject better, therefore promoting better learning?"In problem based learning, assessment needs to not only reflect the learning process but the content being learned as well.This online learning module will explore the following learning targets: •Identify how formative and summative classroom assessments are integral to instruction.•Recognize and develop high-quality performance assessments for evaluating student work.•Recognize and develop high-quality rubrics for evaluating student work.

This source is intended for pre-service teachers to learn about typical v. atypical development in children and teens and the effects of disabilities and abuse or neglect. 

Developmental Dyscalculia (DD) is a learning disorder affecting the ability to acquire school-level
arithmetic skills, affecting approximately 3-6% of individuals. Progress in understanding the root causes
of DD and how best to treat it have been impeded by lack of widespread research and variation in
characterizations of the disorder across studies. However, recent years have witnessed significant growth
in the field, and a growing body of behavioral and neuroimaging evidence now points to an underlying
deficit in the representation and processing of numerical magnitude information as a potential core
deficit in DD. An additional product of the recent progress in understanding DD is the resurgence of a
distinction between ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ developmental dyscalculia. The first appears related to
impaired development of brain mechanisms for processing numerical magnitude information, while the
latter refers to mathematical deficits stemming from external factors such as poor teaching, low socioeconomic status, and behavioral attention problems or domain-general cognitive deficits. Increased
awareness of this distinction going forward, in combination with longitudinal empirical research, offers
great potential for deepening our understanding of the disorder and developing effective educational
interventions.

On March 13, 2017, the Department released a revised template for the consolidated State plan under section 8302 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The purpose of the consolidated State plan is to provide parents with quality, transparent information about how the ESEA, as amended by the ESSA, will be implemented in their State.

Even though a State Educational Agency (SEA) submits only the required information in its consolidated State plan, an SEA must still meet all ESEA requirements for each included program. For any program not included in a consolidated State plan, the SEA must submit individual program State plans that meet the statutory and regulatory requirements of each respective program.

This is a template for creating an accessible, mobile-friendly e-text using other openly licensed content. It can be customized and re-branded to work for any subject area at any institution. A working knowledge of HTML and CSS is required.

In inclusive early childhood programs and settings, social and learning activities are designed for the participation of all children. Objects, tools, and materials that are selected for inclusive activities provide options for engaging through multiple sensory, physical, and perceptual means. The Quality Indicators for Early Childhood describe how agencies, programs, and services can work together to improve the accessibility of early learning environments for children with disabilities.

Explore this resource guide with links and handouts detailing inclusionary resources in an Early Learning setting.  

OSPI and DCYF collaborated to compile resources useful to the Preschool Development Grant Transitions initiatives including:100 Schools Reach Initiative: local community early learning- elementary school partnerships pursuing Wildly Important Goals in strengthened transitions for children birth through kindergarten.Transitional Kindergarten (TK) Partners in Transition: Scaffolding for districts to implement all five pillars of TK in collaboration with community-based early learning programs to support an array of options for four-year-olds to best meet individual needs.PreK to 3rd Grade Outdoor Learning and Since Time Immemorial: Early learning collaboration to support high-quality outdoor environmental and tribal cultural learning.

This lesson includes procedures ensuring the full participation of students and staff with special needs and disabilities through the planning and implementation of preparedness, response and recovery strategies as part of the overall management of school bus emergencies and disasters with special needs students.Students with special needs are those who cannot comfortably or safely access and use the standard resources offered in disaster preparedness, relief and recovery, whether their disability is chronic or temporary.