Mark Your Calendars!!!  New SPM Webinar on Using SPM in an RTI Model
On September 26, 2007 from 2:00 to 3:30 PM EDT, Dr. John Hintze, will present a webinar entitled “Using Student Progress Monitoring in a Response to Intervention Model.”  The webinar will provide an overview of a 3-tier Response to Intervention (RTI) model. In addition, specifics about how to use Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) in reading and math will be explained for identifying whether students are responding to instruction in each tier. Applying CBM decision-making to formulate effective individual intervention plans will also be discussed.  Dr. Hintze is an Associate Professor in the School Psychology Program at the University of Massachusetts. He is also one of our Center Trainers and Technical Review Committee members.  Click Here for details on how to participate in this exciting webinar!

Did you Miss Our Web Tour Webinar Last Month?
Last month’s webinar, which was held on August 30, was a rousing success!!  “What the NCSPM Can Do for You,” included a tour of the resources on the Center’s web page and an orientation to the tools review process and Tools Chart. The participants indicated through the webinar’s polls that the majority were not currently using an SPM tool but were looking for one to adopt, so we hope that the Tools Chart is a helpful resource. Participants were also interested in finding financial resources for SPM implementation, and we encourage districts with similar questions to contact staff in their State departments of education and special education about their interest. In case you missed it, you can view the webinar recording.

House Education Committee Staff Issue Discussion Draft of NCLB Reauthorization 
Late last month, leaders of the House Education and Labor Committee released a draft of their plan to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, now called the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The draft states that all students with disabilities will be included in all assessments, and the draft bill also codifies the "2%" regulations for those students who take modified assessments based on modified achievement standards.According to the Committee’s website, this draft was developed through input received at nearly two dozen Congressional hearings and many discussions with education organizations and concerned citizens.   
*  View the Miller, McKeon, Kildee, and Castle letter concerning this draft  
*  View the text of this draft
* View the summary of this draft

NICHCY Releases New Professional Development Module on “Highly Qualified Teachers”  
This module looks in detail at IDEA’s new provisions requiring special educators to meet certain standards of  “highly qualified teachers,” or HQT, for short. HQT is seen as integral to helping States to meet NCLB’s requirements for adequate yearly progress (AYP) and, above all, to improve results for our children with and without disabilities.  http://www.nichcy.org/training/contents.asp#HQT

Implementing the No Child Left Behind Teacher Requirements
The Center on Education Policy released a report that examines how states and school districts have implemented the No Child Left Behind Act's teacher quality requirements. The report finds that, according to state and district officials, the NCLB highly qualified teacher requirements have had minimal or no impact on student achievement and have not had a major impact on teacher effectiveness. The report also discusses state and district implementation of the federal requirements to equitably distribute experienced, highly qualified teachers among higher and lower poverty schools.

If you would like to subscribe to this newsletter, click here. If you've received this newsletter in error, or if you wish to unsubscribe, please email us and write "unsubscribe" in the subject line.