CCSSO has partnered with the Access Center at the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to help states and local districts expand access to the general education curriculum for students with and at-risk of developing disabilities. This partnership builds on the Council’s earlier work (from January 1999 to September 2002) with AIR’s Elementary and Middle Schools Technical Assistance Center (EMSTAC) to support training and other activities for school- and district-based professionals around enhancing learning opportunities for students with disabilities. In keeping with EMSTAC’s mission to develop a national comprehensive technical assistance approach to best meet the needs of elementary and middle school students with disabilities, CCSSO conducted a study to analyze existing technical assistance systems in special education and the level of coordination between the delivery of technical assistance in general and special education. The findings from this research are contained in the report State Systems of Technical Assistance Delivery in Special Education: Key Survey Findings (June 2002).

A second survey was completed in 2005.  The findings from this survey can be found at State Systems of Technical Assistance Delivery in Special Education: Key Survey Findings
(August 2005)

The purpose of the Council’s current effort with the Access Center is to create communities of practice among state directors responsible for curriculum and instruction, school improvement and special education and among local administrators. Focusing on four key areas--literacy, mathematics, accommodations and supports, and alignment of individualized education programs to state standards--the project attempts to scale up effective practices that promote access and enable all students to meet challenging standards.

The CCSSO-Access Center partnership facilitates peer- and researcher-based technical assistance, resource sharing, and knowledge exchange among the 15 states and territories comprising the Access Network. In the fall of 2003, two conferences were held to provide Network members an opportunity to hear from other states regarding challenges and successes in expanding access to the general education curriculum. The ongoing work of the Access Network draws upon the four community of practice areas to inform a host of other activities, including

• maintaining a listserv and developing web-based tools for sharing effective practices
• coordinating conference calls among state teams for information sharing, problem solving, and providing mutual support
• convening annual meetings for network collaboration
• developing written articles, proceedings documents, and case studies of effective efforts to address access issues

The ISC (Information Sharing Community) has met several times, most recently in the fall of 2005. That conference provided Network members an opportunity to hear from other states regarding challenges and successes in expanding access to the general education curriculum. In addition, participants heard presentations on specific topics such as multi-tiered models, middle school and high school improvement programs, and IDEA and NCLB integration. The ISC is also supported through conference calls every other month that allow participating states to discuss issues of concern with each other and with experts on specific topics. Following the conference calls resources on the topic discussed are made available on the Access Center website.

CCSSO and the Access Center have recruited additional states to form a new Information Sharing Community that will meet in the fall of 2006.

For information on the 2003, 2004, and 2005 meetings, follow the link below.

Conference Proceedings:  Access Center ISC State to State

Several resources including powerpoint presentations, handouts, and research-to-practice tools are also available on the Access Center’s Information Sharing Communities website.