On August 1, 2016, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) issued a “Dear Colleague Letter” (DCL) on the requirement that schools provide positive behavioral supports to students with disabilities when needed.
Category: Special Education
Maine DOE has ended all open placement notifications (EF-S-01 forms) as of June 30
To ensure data quality Maine DOE has ended all open placement notifications (EF-S-01 forms) in the NEO data system as of June 30, 2016 and will continue to end notifications annually.
Districts asked to designate assessment coordinator
The following Priority Notice was distributed on Wednesday, Sept. 7 to superintendents requesting they identify a district assessment coordinator to coordinator and ensure a successful administration of the 2016-17 State assessments.
Dear Superintendents,
As we begin another school year, your district will again identify individuals in key roles in the NEO Staff System. On behalf of the assessment team, I am asking you to consider carefully your choice of the individual designated as the District Assessment Coordinator (DAC). While the DAC may not be directly responsible for all the details associated with the various assessments, the Maine DOE will count on this individual to be familiar with all State assessments in order to help address any issues that may occur.
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Maine DOE and UMaine system to provide professional development for Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS)
This fall the Maine DOE and three campuses from the University of Maine system (University of Maine, University of Southern Maine and the University of Maine at Farmington) will begin providing professional development and technical assistance to school administrative units who commit to developing, implementing and evaluating a Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) program in their respective schools.
USDOE releases guidance on civil rights of students with ADHD
The U.S. Department of Education has issued guidance clarifying the obligation of State and local educational agencies, including charter schools, to provide students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with equal educational opportunity under Federal civil rights laws, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and implementing regulations that it enforces (29 U.S.C. § 794; 34 C.F.R. Part 104). Read the letter here.
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Notice of proposed rule changes to Chapter 101: special education
The Maine Department of Education is proposing a refinement to two sections of Rule Chapter 101: Maine Unified Special Education Regulation Birth to Age Twenty.
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MSAA report window opens earlier
The MEA Alternate Mathematics and ELA/Literacy (MSAA) reporting window will open two months earlier than last year’s operational (NCSC) reporting window.
Math teaching improves for students with disabilities
The Maine Department of Education provided three of its five days of intensive Foundations of Math training last month to some 30 educators in the Lewiston-Auburn and Turner areas. The rest of the training will take place in early August. The training is an integral piece of Maine DOE’s “Math4ME” special education initiative, designed to improve math achievement for Maine students with disabilities.
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Improving math achievement for Maine’s students with disabilities
AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Education will provide five days of intensive Foundations of Math training to 35 educators in the Lewiston-Auburn and Turner areas this week and in early August. The training, which begins today, is an integral piece of Maine DOE’s “Math4ME” initiative, designed to improve math achievement for all Maine students.
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Certification requirements for special education teachers update
On May 16, the Maine Department of Education issued a Priority Notice about the federal requirement under ESSA that all teachers of students with disabilities be fully certified. Maine DOE estimates approximately 300 to 400 teachers may be affected by this requirement.
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Maine DOE Newsroom 