The IDEA Partnership is dedicated to improving outcomes for students and youth with disabilities by joining state agencies and stakeholders through shared work and learning. Housed at the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, the IDEA Partnership is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). The IDEA Partnership joins policymakers, administrators, service providers and families to promote collaborative work across state and organizational boundaries.
CCSSO serves as a leveraging partner with the IDEA Partnership whose membership includes 55 national organizations. Our current work builds off of the partnership between CCSSO and NASDSE with the Policymaker Partnership previously funded by OSEP. As sponsoring organizations, CCSSO and NASDSE bring the perspective, expertise and reach of national organizations to state educational agencies to help meet their need for capacity building, ongoing professional development and family education.
Ongoing activities of the IDEA Partnership include
- sustaining "communities or practice" in and across states to promote cross stakeholder interaction around shared issues, including the Title I and IDEA Collaboration Network at CCSSO
- grant-making to states to facilitate the implementation of cross-stakeholder professional development and state implementation pilots
- hosting national web conferences/telecast events
- developing "dialogue guides" and informational materials for diverse audiences
For additional information regarding the IDEA Partnership, please visit their website.
IDEA and NCLB Collaboration Community of Practice
The IDEA and NCLB Collaboration Community of Practice began as the Title I and IDEA Collaboration Network in 1999. CCSSO, in partnership with the Policymaker Partnership at NASDSE, co-hosted meetings in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006 to enable state teams to update one another, share successes, discuss challenges, and consider how collaboration between compensatory and special education could be achieved. State teams typically included state educational agencies, districts, schools and practitioners, and parents of students eligible for compensatory or special education services. Nineteen states and territories sent teams to one or more of the four Title I and IDEA collaboration meetings held between 2000 and 2004: Alaska, American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
In 2004, the Title I and IDEA Collaboration Network reformed as the IDEA and NCLB Collaboration Community of Practice as part of the IDEA Partnership at NASDSE. At this time, a number of organizations also joined this national community of practice. They include the Council of Administrators of Special Education, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the American Occupational Therapy Association, and the National Association of Elementary School Principals. The fifth annual meeting of this community was held from November 29 – December 2, 2005, in Arlington, VA, with participation from several national organizations, federal partners, federally funded technical assistance providers and 10 state teams. This included the participation of four new states: Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, and Pennsylvania.
Developing individual state agendas and a common agenda for furthering IDEA and NCLB collaboration with a focus on school improvement served as the main of objective of the meeting. Conference session topics included state support to low-performing schools inclusive of special education, early intervening services and response to intervention, 2 percent flexibility in testing students with disabilities, the braiding and blending of IDEA and NCLB resources, disproportionate representation in special education, supplemental services for students with disabilities, highly qualified educators in general and special education, and stakeholder involvement.
Tools for Transformational and Informational States:
What are Transformational and Information States?
Transformational States have State teams inclusive of general and special education and are creating an in-state network of policymakers, practitioners, and families. In particular, Transformational States are putting together a team across Title I, IDEA, and school improvement. They are committed to holding discussions with stakeholders, including families, about what this means for them, laid out in a Dialogue Guide tool or template that can be customized for States. The IDEA Partnership will provide $2,000 to support someone to facilitate an in-state meeting of stakeholders or for sponsorship of the meeting. States in this category are poised to take substantive effort. They include: Idaho, Michigan, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Informational States want to get to the transformational level but are not ready. For example, some if these states may lack sufficient participation from all agencies or have other competing commitments. They want to move toward getting an action initiative going in the State and remain engaged in the NCLB and IDEA Community at an informational level. They include: Alaska, Georgia, Hawai'i, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Washington.
Staff Contact
Tolani Adeboye, 347-663-4265, tolania@ccsso.org
