This paper is available in alternate formats: | Download Word | Download pdf |
CONTRACT NO. HS97017002
May 8, 2001
Prepared by:
Lizanne DeStefano
Don Dailey
Keith Berman
Maurice McInerney
This project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education under contract number HS97017002. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. government.
This report summarizes the discussions of participants who attended the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Scaling Up Work Group meeting. The Work Group met in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 2001. The report synthesizes both the commentary and the recommendations about the scaling up process that were offered by the Work Group Members for consideration, as appropriate, by OSEP policymakers.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - Part D (IDEA-Part D: National Programs) has a core objective of bringing research-validated practices to scale. IDEA-Part D, administered by OSEP's Research to Practice Division (RTP), not only supports the generation of new research-based knowledge about validated practices, but also supports training and technical assistance activities to help educators and families use these practices to improve results for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities. In addition, RTP, as part of OSEP's Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Plan for FY 2001, is evaluating the extent to which IDEA-Part D investments (a) are responsive to the most critical needs of children with disabilities and their families, (b) are used by practitioners and policy-makers, and (c) result in improved outcomes for children with disabilities. Thus, both IDEA and GPRA mandates support for using research-validated practices to improve results for children with disabilities in states and localities across the country.
The Scaling Up Work Group was appointed and charged with determining an appropriate role for the Federal government in bringing research-validated practices to scale. Specifically, Work Group members were asked to address the following questions:
The Work Group considered the policy implications of an OSEP-sponsored scaling up process that supported the use of research-validated practices in special education classrooms, as well as in the general education classrooms in which most children with disabilities are educated.
This report documents the process for conducting the Work Group meetings and presents the Work Group members' responses to the policy questions posed by RTP. Specifically, the next section describes the procedures to recruit Work Group members and conduct the meeting. The third section describes the Work Group deliberations, including presentations, group-wide discussions, and small group recommendations. The report concludes with a presentation and analysis of a summary chart that outlines the final recommendations for which there was consensus among the Work Group members.
This section gives an overview of the Work Group meeting and how the group developed its recommendations.
Lizanne DeStefano (University of Illinois) assisted RTP in planning the Work Group meeting, including recruiting participants, developing the agenda in conjunction with Lou Danielson and Renee Bradley of RTP, and preparing materials and presentations. AIR hosted the meeting, handled logistical arrangements, and helped prepare this report for consideration by RTP policymakers.
Information about the meeting participants, the meeting agenda and proceedings, and descriptions of supporting materials is provided next.
The Work Group consisted of eleven external members and eight from RTP. External members were selected to represent various constituents of the scaling up process, including researchers, developers, local educational agency administrators, state directors, and technical assistance providers. External Work Group members and their affiliations are listed below:
In addition, the following staff from RTP attended the meeting:
Attachment A contains contact information for each of these members of the Scaling Up Work Group.
The agenda for the Work Group meeting consisted of the following activities:
Renee Bradley of RTP facilitated the meeting and solicited the input of the Work Group members in responding to policy concerns articulated by the agency.
The following materials were disseminated to the Work Group for their review prior to the meeting:
In addition, Lizanne DeStefano, University of Illinois, and Don Dailey, AIR, conducted a thorough literature search on scalability, reviewed several scores of abstracts, and assembled a series of the most relevant articles into a briefing booklet for use at the meeting. Attachment B contains the full list of citations for the documents assembled for the meeting.
Funding for NRCLD is provided by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special
Education Programs. Award No. H324U010004. Opinions expressed herein are those of the National
Research Center on Learning Disabilities and do not necessarily represent the position of the U.S.
Department of Education.
© 2007 National Research Center on Learning Disabilities
Last Updated: November 19, 2007
Contact: nrcld@ku.edu