Technical Assistance for Excellence in Special Education

FOR OVER 30 YEARS,

the Center for Technical Assistance for Excellence in Special Education
(TAESE) has been the technical assistance division of
the Center for Persons with Disabilities at the
Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services
at Utah State University.
TAESE administers a variety of State
and federal contracts and technical assistance agreements.
OUR MISSION IS CLEAR:
Help State agencies, schools, early intervention providers,
and families improve outcomes for infants, toddlers,
children, and youth with disabilities.
We are guided by this simple charge:
Keep the main thing, the main thing
infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities and their families.
COLORADO
NORTH DAKOTA
WYOMING
MONTANA
SOUTH DAKOTA
ARIZONA
UTAH
NEW MEXICO
NEBRASKA
KANSAS
OKLAHOMA
IOWA
GEORGIA
ARKANSAS
ALASKA
A
LA
B
A
M
A
In 2011, 7 school districts in New Mexico received the designation of Needs Intervention for at least the
third year in a row. TAESE provided intensive technical assistance to these districts through trainings,
site visits, and conference calls to help themmeet the requirements of their Corrective Action Plans. Due
to the TAprovided, these low-performing districts in New Mexico are on track to reaching compliance for
the majority of issues identifed and providing better services for the students in their schools.
The DRSE Consortium provides ongoing professional development opportunities for Complaint Investigators, Due
Process Hearing Offcers, Mediators/IEP Facilitators, State Education Agency staff, and Lead Agency staff. Through
teleconferences, webinars, and trainings35 in 2012the Consortiumprovides a way for states to ensure staff and
dispute resolution specialists are properly trained and current on legal issues in special education, thereby ensuring
the needs of families and students with disabilities are met.
SpecialEducationStateAdvisory Panels (SAPs)and
Interagency Coordinating Councils (ICCs) are key
stakeholder groups inefforts toimproveeducational
opportunities for students with disabilities. TAESE
provided training for 275 members of SAPs and
ICCs nationwide in 2012.
TAESE: MAKING CONNECTIONS WITH FAMILIES & EDUCATORS
Areas served by TAESE
Visit us at www.taese.org
Martin E. Blair John Copenhaver Amanda Davis
600
EVALUATIONS
RESOURCES:
While TAESE clients tend to be state agencies and staff, resources are also available directly to parents and
families. The TAESE website offers information for download, including videos to help parents understand their
role in their childs education.
35
TELECONFERENCES
WEBINARS
TRAININGS
7
NEW MEXICO
SCHOOL DISTRICTS
TASK12 is a multi-State consortium providing
evaluations measuringtheskills of school-basedsign
language interpreters. The program also oversees
a comprehensive training initiative for K12 school
interpreters called the Training of Interpreters in
Public Schools (TIPS) program.
During FY 20112012 and so far in FY 20122013, TASK12 has evaluated just over
600 interpreters to help the states within the consortiumensure children with hearing
disabilities have full access to the general curriculum.
275
SAP & ICC MEMBERS
Indicator 8 of the IDEA State Performance Plan
requires that states gatherdataonparent satisfaction
with their special education experience. The most
common way to collect this data is through a
survey. This year, TAESE assisted 8 states with the
distribution, collection, and analysis of over 67,000
surveys. The data collected helps states and LEAs
provide effective special education services for
students with disabilities.
67000
SURVEYS IN 8 STATES