eNotes
July 31, 2015In this Issue:
- OSEP Memo - Maintenance of Effort Questions and Answers Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs - July 27, 2015
- What Does the Research Say About Head Start and School Readiness? Source: What Works Clearinghouse - July 29, 2015
- New Parent Portal at ZERO TO THREE Source: ZERO TO THREE - July 29, 2015
- Early School Readiness Report Source: Child Trends - July 30, 2015
- Forthcoming Journal of Early Intervention Abstract Available Online Source: DEC's Journal of Early Intervention, Online First - July 29, 2015
- Spanish Language Video on Early Hearing Screening Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1. OSEP Memo - Maintenance of Effort Questions and Answers
A new Memorandum (July 27, 2015) from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) answers questions on the final regulations that were published in the Federal Register on April 28, 2015 governing the requirement that local educational agencies maintain fiscal effort, known as "maintenance of effort." regulations became effective on July 1, 2015. OSEP Memos, Dear Colleague Letters and Policy Letters are made publicly available online. A subset of OSEP guidance documents related to the early childhood provisions of the IDEA (Part C and Part B, Section 619) can be accessed on the ECTA Center Web site.
2. What Does the Research Say About Head Start and School Readiness?
A WWC Intervention Report on Head Start (July 2015) was released this week summarizing the research on Head Start and its impacts on 3- to 5- year-old children who are not yet in kindergarten and are attending a center-based Head Start program with a primary focus on cognitive, language, and behavioral competencies associated with school readiness. Based on this review, Head Start was found to have potentially positive effects on general reading achievement and no discernible effects on mathematics achievement and social-emotional development for 3- and 4-year-old children. Download the full report here.
3. New Parent Portal at ZERO TO THREE
A new Parent Portal from ZERO TO THREE offers resources grounded in science to help parents and caregivers have the most positive impact on their young child's development during the first critical 1000 days of life. Resources are available in the following categories: Ages and Stages, Play, Sleep, Social-Emotional Development, School Readiness and Early Learning, Challenging Behavior, and Positive Parenting Approaches.
4. Early School Readiness Report
An updated early childhood report on Early School Readiness (July 2015) from the Child Trends Data Bank finds that Hispanic children are less likely to be able to recognize the letters of the alphabet, count to 20 or higher, or write their names before they start kindergarten when compared with white or black children. Black children are similar to white children on these measures, but are more likely than white children to be reading words in books.
5. Forthcoming Journal of Early Intervention Abstract Available Online
An abstract of the following new forthcoming article is now available at http://jei.sagepub.com/content/early/recent. OnlineFirst provides access to articles before they are scheduled to appear in print.
Naturalistic Instructional Approaches in Early Learning: A Systematic Review (July 29, 2015)
Patricia A. Snyder, Salih Rakap, Mary Louise Hemmeter, Tara W. McLaughlin, Susan Sandall, and Mary E. McLean
6. Spanish Language Video on Early Hearing Screening
A new Spanish language video, ? Que tan bien oye su hijo? Lo que los padres deben saber (How well can your child hear? What parents need to know) (Running Time: (8:34), features Spanish-speaking families describing their experiences when they received "did not pass" or "refer" results for their babies' hearing screening. The families describe how they felt and what they did next. Their stories provide facts and encouragement to help other parents seek out the follow-up services their baby needs.