New Webinar on Student Progress Monitoring Data Utilization
Join us for our next webinar! On April 28 from 2:00-3:30 PM EDT, Dr. Erica Lembke will present "Data Utilization within a CBM Screening and Progress Monitoring System."  This webinar will provide information on how to utilize Curriculum-based Measurement (CBM) screening and progress monitoring data to make instructional decisions. Data decision rules will be discussed, along with questions to help guide problem-solving teams as they discuss data. The importance of data-based discussion surrounding instructional decisions at the school, grade, classroom, and individual student levels will be emphasized. Dr. Erica Lembke is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Missouri, as well as one of our Center trainers.  Click here for participation instructions. 

Save the Date for Our Expert Chat on Response to Intervention
Please mark your calendars on May 1 from 3:00 to 4:30 PM EDT for our upcoming expert chat called, "Determining the Response in RTI."  Join us for this technically focused discussion on response criteria in a tiered Response to Intervention (RTI) model. This session will be particularly useful and relevant to practicing school psychologists and others who are responsible for establishing RTI decision-making criteria at school and district levels. Three subject area experts will be participating in this interactive chat session: Dr. John Hintze, Professor of Student Development and Pupil Personnel Services at the University of Massachusetts Amherst; Dr. Pamela Radford, Problem Solving Services Coordinator for the Northern Suburban Special Education District in Illinois; and Dr. Matt Burns, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Hintze will be leading the discussion. More details coming soon! 

Department of Education Releases Peer Review Guidance for Differentiated Accountability Pilot
On April 3, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) unveiled peer guidance to review state proposals for differentiating their accountability systems under a new pilot program. The goal of the 10-state pilot, according to the guidance, is to provide states with flexibility to create a more nuanced way of distinguishing between schools in need of intensive intervention, and those that are closer to meeting their goals, so that they can direct limited resources to the schools that need them the most. In order to be eligible to participate in the pilot, states must meet the following criteria:

• The state's standards and assessment system be fully approved;
• The state has no significant findings related to program monitoring under NCLB or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act;
• The state's "highly qualified teacher" plan has been approved; and
• The state agrees to provide timely and transparent information on AYP to ED and the public.

For more information, go to: http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/secletter/080320.html

NIUSI Develops UDL Professional Learning Module
The National Institute for Urban School Improvement has released a new module on Universal Designs for Learning (UDL). The module was developed for the networks of schools engaging their faculty, staff, families, students, and community members in ongoing renewal and systemic change. While initially defined as a method to minimize barriers students may experience when learning new concepts, the learning module presents UDL as an approach to providing access to robust opportunities to learn for a diverse range of learners in inclusive educational environments. This module leads participants through UDL activities and short informational presentations that focus on applying UDL across the curriculum, designing inclusive classroom learning environments, assessing students' ongoing progress, adjusting instruction, and addressing legislation that impacts curricula and assessment utilized in schools.

Find this module, and many more online at http://urbanschools.org/professional/module_4.html.

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