Indicator 6: Percent of children aged 3 through 5 with IEPs attending a: A. Regular early childhood program and receiving the majority of special education and  related services in the regular early childhood program; and B. Separate special education class, separate school or residential facility.

The New Hampshire Department of Education IDEA Part B Special Education State Performance Plan (SPP) For 2005-2010

PTAN works collaboratively with the Supporting Successful Early Childhood Transitions Project (SSECT) at the Parent Information Center to support the NH Department of Educations’ efforts to address Indicator 6.  The SSECT project is available to provide technical assistance to districts around Preschool LRE issues.

Related NH DOE Memos and Documents:
FY’13 Memo #9: Preschool LRE Requirements and Data Reporting
2.29.12 OSEP Letter re: preschool LRE
NH DOE FY’10 Memo #19

Links to related websites:
 The NH Council on Autism Spectrum Disorders
The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC)

Helpful Resources:

Just Released – New On-Line Module!
Understanding Preschool Special Education Settings, Program Placement and Data Reporting Requirements
The Federal Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is requiring a new measurement for reporting data on education environments for children aged 3-5 with IEPs. The Supporting Successful Early Childhood Transitions (SSECT) project has created an on-line module to provide Special Education Administrators, Preschool Special Education Coordinators and staff an overview of the new reporting requirements related to Preschool Special Education Settings, how to enter data in NHSEIS and information about Preschool Least Restrictive Environment. For more information or specific questions, please contact Michelle Lewis, SSECT Project Director at mlewis@picnh.org.
To View the module click here. The module can also be found on the front page of the SSECT website:  www.nhssect.org

New Paper on Response to Intervention (RTI) in Early Childhood Released
On February 12, 2013, the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and the National Head Start Association (NHSA) announced the release of their jointly-developed paper, Frameworks for Response to Intervention in Early Childhood: Description and Implications (2013). The joint paper was developed to: (1) provide clarification and guidance on the relationship of RTI frameworks to the unique context of early childhood programs serving children from birth until school entry; (2) help to dispel misunderstandings and misconceptions related to RTI in early childhood; and (3) promote a broader understanding and discussion of the topic.

Fact Sheet: President Obama’s Plan for Early Education for all Americans
On February 13, 2013, the White House released a fact sheet providing information on President Obama’s plan to significantly expand access to preschool for all 4-year-olds from moderate- and low-income families. The plan proposes that the federal government provide matching dollars to states to provide public preschool for four-year olds whose families earn up to 200 percent of the poverty level, as well as extra funds to expand public pre-kindergarten programs for middle-class families who could pay tuition on a sliding scale. The plan includes an emphasis on high quality programs, to ensure they provide the greatest benefit for children. It also proposes expanding Early Head Start and the Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting program for infants and toddlers. See Fact Sheet: President Obama’s Plan for Early Education for all Americans.

On February 14, 2013, the President spoke about his plan in Decatur, GA, explaining why he believes high-quality preschool is the best bang for our education bucks. See also, a related post on the U.S. Department of Education’s official blog: Making High-Quality Early Learning a National Priority (February 14, 2013).

NH Preschool Program Models Survey Summary Report
The NHDOE Bureau of Special Education, in collaboration with PTAN and SSECT (Supporting Successful Early Childhood Transitions) recognized and responded to preschool special education coordinators and administrators need for descriptive data about preschool service delivery and classroom models to support program development within their districts. With assistance from the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC), a statewide survey was developed to provide detailed information about program models that allow districts to support preschool children with disabilities, not yet in kindergarten. This report summarizes the survey findings and provides an overview of the early childhood programs supported by school districts across NH for preschool children with disabilities. Information gathered through this survey reflects district program model or models in place when the survey was completed in September, 2012.
NH Preschool Program Models Survey Summary Report

The Common Core State Standards: Caution and Opportunity for Early Childhood Education
On November 26, 2012, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) released a new paper, The Common Core State Standards: Caution and Opportunity for Early Childhood Education (November 2012). Currently, 45 states have adopted the Common Core State Standards for English language arts and mathematics. NAEYC’s paper attempts to provide a framework for the early education field to consider “not only the aspects of the Common Core that may pose threats to early childhood education, but also those aspects that may provide early childhood education with the opportunity to exert its collected research and experience upward into K–12 education.” The aim is to ensure that learning standards for young children, before they enter school and in the early elementary years, are consistent with evidence-based approaches to supporting the development of young children.

Implementing Tiered Instruction for Diverse PreK Learners: Effective Teacher Decision Making at Tier One. A CEC/DEC Collaborative Webinar
This 1-hour webinar training was offered on May 3, 2012.  Our registration cost allows us to use it as a training tool and post it to our website.  To view the webinar click here.

Training Description: Creating effective learning opportunities is a challenge in teaching preschool-aged children with diverse abilities.  This webinar will provide guidance on how to plan, implement, and evaluate evidence-based teaching sequences at tier one.  Participants will increase their knowledge of effective instructional efforts and skills in applying evidence-based instructional practices during daily classroom routines and activities.

Quality Indicators of Inclusive Programs/Practices: A Compilation of Selected Resources Available resources and indicators of high quality inclusive practices are presented in this compilation. Assembling many different resources in one place allows for easy comparison of potential indicators of quality. Excerpts and adaptations of the resources are intended to provide some familiarity with the content of each resource and encourage further examination via links to more complete information. National and state-developed resources contained within this document have been designed for a variety of audiences, and may be useful for families, practitioners, program administrators, technical assistance personnel, researchers, and state administrators.  Available online at www.nectac.org/~pdfs/pubs/qualityindicatorsinclusion.pdf

PTAN Partnerships for Preschool Inclusion: Self-Evaluation Tool – This self-evaluation tool provides a framework for discussion that promotes partnerships that benefit young children with special needs and their families. A team that includes representation from preschool special education, child care and families is assembled to consider and discuss each of the tool’s items. Once completed, the team reviews their responses and decides which item(s) to work on to improve the quality of services they provide. The selected items are developed into an action plan that guides the team’s future work together.

Self Evaluation Tool

Self Evaluation Action Plan

Response to Intervention (RTI) in Early Childhood  – Response to Intervention (RTI) refers to a process of intervening with children who are at-risk for learning disabilities to:

• Identify learning difficulties earlier and more reliably
• Decrease the number of inappropriate referrals to special education
• Decrease the disproportionate representation of minority children in special education

While the RTI model has typically been used with school-aged children, RTI resources are being developed to meet the unique needs of very young children. Click here to go to the NECTAC website for resources

Early Childhood Inclusion: A Joint Position Statement of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

Early Childhood Inclusion: A Joint Position Paper from NAEYC and DEC

New Research Synthesis on Early Childhood Inclusion -  The National Professional Development Center on Inclusion (NPDCI) has published a summary of key conclusions drawn from a review of the literature on early childhood inclusion. For more information and to download the synthesis go to http://www.fpg.unc.edu/news/highlight_detail.cfm?ID=713

2009 NAEYC Position Statement on Developmentally Appropriate Practice -  The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has released its 2009 Position Statement on Developmentally Appropriate Practice for teachers and others in the field of early childhood education. To learn more and to access the position statement, go to http://www.naeyc.org/dap/

New Podcast Answers Basic Question about Inclusion -  The director of the FPG Child Development Institute’s Partnerships for Inclusion project, Brenda Dennis, discusses inclusion in the 7th episode of FPG Voices. To learn more and to listen to the podcast go to http://www.fpg.unc.edu/news/highlight_detail.cfm?ID=796

Preschool Curriculum Decision-Making: Dimensions to consider -  The educational effectiveness of preschool relies on the content of what children learn and how it is taught. This new policy brief from the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) provides a framework for preschool program decision-makers to use in determining the content of what children should learn, as well as how they will best learn it in their specific program. For more information and to access the full policy brief go to http://nieer.org/docs/index.php?DocID=142

Impact – Feature Issue on Early Childhood Education and Children with Disabilities -  The Institute on Community Integration, a federally designated University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), has recently published a feature issue of its newsletter, Impact, focused on inclusive early childhood education for young children with and without disabilities. In this issue, parents share their experiences with early childhood inclusion, researchers and practitioners discuss strategies for supporting quality early education experiences for young children with disabilities, and innovative inclusive early childhood programs from around the country describe their strategies and outcomes. To learn more go to http://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/221/default.html