CEC Joins White House Dialogue on Education of Students with Disabilities
A group of Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) members met Feb. 22 with leaders from the White House Domestic Policy Council and the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) to discuss President Obama's State of the Union Address and his 2013 budget initiatives related to children and youth with disabilities and their families.
“CEC is delighted to have been asked to share our expertise and to learn more about the president’s initiatives,” said CEC Executive Director Bruce Ramirez in a news release. “We look forward to ongoing collaboration with the White House and the U.S. Department of Education.”
Among the topics discussed were
- How to fairly and accurately incorporate student performance measures into teacher evaluations
- Funding for research, teacher preparation, preschool programs and early intervention
- How to better train future general educators and special educators to address the needs of students with disabilities
CEC’s special educators met with Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy Kareem Dale, Assistant Secretary for OSERS Alexa Posny and Director of the Office of Special Education Melody Musgrove to discuss a series of ideas on special education and early intervention.
CEC members listened in on the conversation via conference call and submitted questions about issues facing special education and early intervention during a question-and-answer session with the White House and U.S. Department of Education leaders.