eNotes
January 9, 2015In this Issue:
- 36th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2014 Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs - January 02, 2015
- Early Care and Education 2014 Legislative Action - Annual Report Source: National Conference of State Legislatures - January 5, 2014
1. 36th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2014
The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is required to report annually on the progress made toward the provision of a free appropriate public education to all children with disabilities and the provision of early intervention services to infants and toddlers with disabilities. OSEP's 36th Annual Report to Congress (2014) is now available online. National and state-level exhibits about infants and toddlers, children, and students with disabilities served under IDEA Part C and Part B are based on data collected from July 2011 through December 2012. In addition, the report provides summaries of:
- findings and determinations resulting from OSEP reviews of state implementation of IDEA,
- special education research conducted under Part E of the Education Services Reform Act of 2002,
- national special education studies and evaluations conducted under IDEA section 664(a) and (c), and
- extent and progress of assessment of national activities related to determining the effectiveness of IDEA and improving its implementation.
Previous editions of the Annual Report to Congress are also available at http://www2.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/osep/index.html
2. Early Care and Education 2014 Legislative Action - Annual Report
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) recently published its annual report on early care and education bills enacted during the 2014 session. Early Care and Education 2014 Legislative Action (December 2014), finds that in 2014 state lawmakers in 49 states introduced more than 900 bills addressing an array of policy issues related to young children. Of those, 111 were enacted or adopted into law in 35 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Enacted laws address issues such as the quality of child care, expanded and improved prekindergarten programs, early literacy development, school readiness, early childhood governance, and data collection. The report does not reflect all bills enacted during the 2014 session. For a complete list, go to the NCSL Early Education and Child Care Bill Tracking Database.