ECTA
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eNotes
A News Service from the Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center
Current and past issues of eNotes can be viewed and searched online at http://www.ectacenter.org/enotes/enotes.asp
ECTA
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eNotes
John H. Hager, the Assistant Secretary of Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), recently announced OSERS' new long-term goals. To read them online please go to http://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/goals.html
The Institute for Education Sciences invites comments on the following proposed information collection request:
Type of Review: Revision.
Title: Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study (PEELS).
Abstract: PEELS will provide the first national picture of
experiences and outcomes of three to five year old children in early
childhood special education. The study will inform special education
policy development and support Government Performance and Results Act
(GPRA) measurement and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA) reauthorization with data from parents, service providers, and
teachers.
For complete information please go to
http://www2.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2006-3/072606a.html
In recent months the ZERO TO THREE Policy Network has been gathering information about new infant-toddler legislation and campaigns taking place in a number of different states across the country. A recently published article provides summaries of these state efforts. It is available online at http://www.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_statepolicy_updates
The Committee for Economic Development (CED) recently released a new report, The Economic Promise of Investing in High-Quality Preschool: Using Early Education to Improve Economic Growth and the Fiscal Sustainability of States and the Nation, which describes how children, the U.S. economy and society as a whole can benefit from improved early childhood education programs. It is available online at http://www.ced.org/library/reports/41/203-the-economic-promise-of-investing-in-high-quality-preschool
Updated training modules from the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) are now available online. These modules were designed based on input gathered during focus groups with program administrators, T/TA providers, early educators, and family members about the types and content of training that would be most useful in addressing the social-emotional needs of young children. For more information go to http://www.csefel.uiuc.edu/modules.html
The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics recently released its latest annual report, America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-being, 2006. The report is a compendium of statistics from 21 federal agencies with the latest available data on 26 key indicators related to children's economic security, health, behavior and social environment, and education and on 9 background measures related to population and family characteristics. It is available at http://www.childstats.gov/pubs/pubs.asp?PlacementID=2&SlpgID=3
This year, Parental Reports of Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties, first presented as a Special Feature in the 2005 report, has become an annual indicator. Go to http://www.nichd.nih.gov/news/releases/americas_children05_bg_parents.cfm?renderforprint=1 to learn more.
For the first time in large, multicenter clinical studies, a therapy has been shown to significantly lower the risk of lung and brain damage in some very low birthweight premature infants. Results from two randomized clinical trials demonstrate that when given within the first few weeks of life, inhaled nitric oxide helps prevent chronic lung disease in some low birthweight premature infants. In addition, when used within 48 hours after birth, treatment appears to protect some premature newborns from brain injury. To read the complete news release go to http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/new/press/06-07-26.htm
A new paper from the Urban Institute describes the U.S. child care subsidy system, variations in policies and programs across states and challenges facing the system. It discusses efforts of various states to improve the quality of child care through quality rating systems and to coordinate child care with early education systems. The paper includes five questions to think about related to domestic child care policy. Available at http://www.urban.org/publications/311347.html