New Affordable Care Act Resource Available from The Arc – Capitol Insider – Week of February 3, 2014

The National Disability Navigator Resource Collaborative has released the first of several fact sheets entitled “Comparing Health Plans’ Benefits and Coverage Summaries.” This fact sheet is intended to inform navigators and other enrollment specialists about what people with disabilities need to look for in the Summary of Benefits and Coverage. The entire list of upcoming fact sheets is also available on their website. This information complements the earlier publication by the collaborative, “Guide to Disability for Healthcare Insurance Marketplace Navigators”, designed to inform navigators and other enrollment specialists about special considerations people with disabilities may face as they shop for healthcare coverage. The Collaboration is a project of the American Association on Health and Disability and is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Arc is one of the seven national organizations participating in the collaboration. The Arc encourages chapters and members to share the availability of the guide and other resources with Affordable Care Act navigators in their community.

Education

Department of Education Releases Charter Schools Program Non-Regulatory Guidance
from The Arc – Capitol Insider – Week of February 3, 2014

The US Department of Education released Charter Schools Program Non-Regulatory Guidance for charter schools that receive federal funds allowing them to use weighted lotteries in admissions in favor of disadvantaged students as long as lotteries are permissible under a state’s charter school law. “Disadvantaged” students include students who are economically disadvantaged, students with disabilities, migrant students, limited English proficient students, neglected or delinquent students, and homeless students. Federal startup funds are provided to charter schools in order to evaluate and expand the number of high quality charter schools across the nation.

CEC Unveils New Evidence -Based Practice Standards
from CEC’s Policy Insider – January 29, 2014

The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) has released its CEC Standards for Evidence-Based Practice in Special Education, a report commissioned by the CEC Board of Directors.

For the past five years, a work group comprised of seven special education researchers developed, vetted, and piloted the new standards for determining evidence-based practices (EBPs) in special education. CEC’s goal is that the standards will be applied to better understand the effectiveness of a range of practices for learners with disabilities.
CEC President Robin D. Brewer acknowledges CEC’s deep appreciation to its expert members in the workgroup including Bryan Cook, Chair, Virginia Buysse, Janette Klingner, Tim Landrum, Robin McWilliam, Melody Tankersley, and Dave Test.
Download the CEC Standards for Evidence-Based Practice in Special Education report.