In-person: October 31, 2023 and February 15, 2024
During the 2023-24 school year, the council will meet twice in person and focus on The Taxonomy for Transition Programming 2.0 (Kohler, Gothberg, Fowler, and Coyle, 2016) which builds upon earlier work and provides research-based practices for implementing transition-focused education.
The model has five primary practice categories:
10/31/23 - Student-Focused Planning, Student Development,
2/15/24 - Interagency Collaboration, Family Engagement,
and Program Structure (to be embedded in October and February sessions).
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Use the month to kickoff an ongoing disability awareness initiative. Kickoff events can range from large-scale, multi-day celebrations to small brown bag lunches about disability issues.
Host a Disability Mentoring Day which promotes career development for youth with disabilities through hands-on programs, job shadowing and ongoing mentoring. The nationwide observance is the third Wednesday of each October, but employers may choose to host events any day of the year.
Display Posters Promoting Disability Inclusion
Offer American Sign Language training classes to your employees.
Host a Disability 101 Event for Employees using resources from the Job Accommodation Network, www.askjan.org
Incorporate Disability Into Your Onboard Processes. Educate new employees on your company's policies and practices related to disability inclusion. This will help new employees feel good about the organization and may encourage self-identification among people with hidden disabilities
Every day, people with disabilities can and do make important contributions to America’s businesses. They have the drive to succeed in employment, and the skills and talent they need to deliver value and results for their employers.
These are messages that bear repeating far and wide. And that’s what the Campaign for Disability Employment (CDE) is all about.
New
Perkins V Course
Ohio’s Learning Management System
A new Perkins V course is now available on the department’s Learning Management System. This course was developed to provide training to new personnel and technical assistance/support for those who require assistance with understanding the various elements of the Perkins Decision-making Framework.
To access this course or any course on Ohio’s Learning Management System, go to:
https://education.ohio.gov/ and find the login at the top of the home page.
Sign in with your OH/ID or MyOhio Account
Find and click the Learning Management System Link -> Course Catalog -> scroll toward bottom to find tile pictured above. No additional password required.
New! Graduation Decision Making Tool
Students with Individualized Education Programs and Graduation Requirements
To graduate with a regular diploma, students in the classes of 2023 and beyond must follow a typical pathway to meet Ohio’s graduation requirements in addition to any requirements adopted by their district of residence for the student’s four-year graduation cohort. This includes earning all required credits, demonstrating competency, and earning two diploma seals. All students in Ohio can follow a typical pathway to graduation. However, students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) may also graduate via other options based on the IEP team’s decision per Ohio Revised Code 3323.011 .
It is important that the IEP team carefully consider the use of these options so as not to lower expectations and limit student opportunities for post-school engagement. The Students with IEPs Graduation Decision-Making Tool will assist an IEP Team to answer these two questions:
- Has the student with an IEP followed a typical pathway to meet graduation requirements?
- When must the student with an IEP exit secondary school? (see video guidance on use of the new Graduation Decision Making Tool)
Now Recruiting!
We are now recruiting a diverse group of Ohio parents and caregivers of Ohio children from birth to grade 12 to be members of our advisory council beginning in January 2024!
Applications are due by November 30, 2023.
Our State Advisory Council is made up of a diverse group of representatives. This includes parents, grandparents, foster parents, adoptive parents, and other caregivers from urban, rural, and suburban areas. The council also includes middle and high school student delegates, school leaders, representatives of community organizations, and ambassadors from businesses and other community agencies. In total, there are approximately 60 members on the council.
Council members…
- Attend about 4 meetings per year (virtual or in Columbus, Ohio) to learn from others and share their experiences from their own communities and organizations.
- Participate in Council discussions and activities, guiding and informing the work of the Center with their rich and diverse perspectives. Our council members, especially parents/caregivers, have consistently brought up mental health of students in Ohio as a priority, and as a result, we are working hard to develop more and better “family engagement in mental health” resources.
- Create new resources for families and schools, like the Family to Family Videos series, which was the idea of one of our council members!
- Engage with their community and are enthusiastic ambassadors for the Center.
DO you REALLY Specially Design Instruction for Each Student?
Sessions will deconstruct all of the components that go into the instruction IDEA requires us to specially design starting from the Evaluation Team Report (ETR) to how we monitor and report progress. How do you know what to teach? How it should be written and who is responsible? How do you really make it special for each student? How does SDI work in a co-taught classroom? While we'll address compliance and technical components of SDI, these sequential sessions will also provide opportunities to immediately practice and apply learning within a cohort model.
One hour virtual sessions will be held for seven consecutive weeks. Choose either the AM Cohort or the PM Cohort and register here for the series.
In Person Career Readiness Leaders Network Meetup
November 14, 2023, 1 - 3:30 pm | ESC of Central Ohio 2080 Citygate Dr, Columbus, OH 43219 The Department, in partnership with the educational service centers of Northeast and Central Ohio and the Building Bridges to Careers Network, are hosting Career Readiness Leaders Meetups again this school year. These meetups connect leaders across the state to discuss and share best practices for engaging students in career-connected education and advising. Join us November 14 for an in-person meetup! This meetup will take place from 1 - 3:30 pm at the ESC of Central Ohio. There will be a panel discussion, networking opportunities, and more! Sign up here!
The Writing Revolution is coming to Ohio in a BIG way! This exciting opportunity kicks off the week of November 14th with the first of six two-hour learning sessions to be offered live and virtual.
Why The Writing Revolution? TWR employs explicit instruction through the Hochman Method. This is not a curriculum, but rather a means to adapt and embed writing with any subject at any grade level.
Is there a cost for participants? NO! The tuition and materials are provided for all participants.
Who may enroll? P12 teachers, administrators, literacy coaches, and central office leaders serving grades 4-12, staff from Ohio SSTs and ESCs, and Ohio university/college faculty, chairs, and deans are encouraged to join. All are welcome!
Does this tie to the Ohio Standards? The new literacy licensure standards will include writing. TWR aligns with Ohio’s redesigned literacy content standards, which now includes writing.
Registration Details: To secure your spot, register by November 8th through our online registration portal https://www.thewritingrevolution.org/uc.
Back by Popular Demand!
The National Resource Center for Paraeducators, Related Service Providers and Interveners (NRCP) is offering "Saturday Mornings with the NRCP". Each month will feature a new topic based on the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Core Competencies for Paraeducators! Learn more and register here.
Offerings from OCALI
Introductory Series on Deafness and Blindness
Explore the Introductory Series on Deafness and Blindness: Assessments page. Learn about assessment tools and strategies that can support learners who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or visually impaired.
The Journey Webinar Series - November 20th at 2:30 p.m.
Do you find yourself as an educator or other school professional not knowing where to start when it comes to transition? Don't worry. The Journey suite of resources has you covered, you will walk away with a tool or resource designed to meet you where you are in the journey of helping students and families with complex needs transition to adulthood. Register now!
Improving Outcomes Series - October 24th at 12:00 p.m.
Join our virtual roundtable series for health care professionals, which builds on the foundation established in Improving Outcomes 2022. This year will focus on population health, social determinants of health, and people with disabilities. Register here.
Register Now!
Join colleagues from across the nation and around the world for the premier autism and disabilities conference.
Video series highlights benefits of taking ownership of learning
The 2023-2024 academic year has begun, and it’s always a good idea to remind students about the benefits of time management and goal setting.
Middle school and high school is a time of transition for students where they are learning to be more independent and learning skills that will be needed to be successful in life. Students need guidance and assistance in developing skills that allow them to take ownership of their learning and growth.
The Taking Ownership of Your Learning series includes three, 3-5-minute videos featuring students from the Toledo School for the Arts. In the videos, students share the ways that best practices and habits positively impact their academic and personal lives. Watch the series to learn more about how to develop interests, set goals and balance academic and personal commitments.
The video series was created by the Broadcast Educational Media Commission, the Department and WGTE as a part of the Multimedia Grant project.
What if every young adult with intellectual disability in the United States saw college as an option?
The “Think Higher. Think College.” campaign is designed to build awareness and expand access to college for students with intellectual disability. Our goals are to increase knowledge of inclusive college options, share information about the benefits and outcomes of students with intellectual disability attending college, and offer people ways to spread the message: “Think Higher. Think College.”.
