CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Sept. 27, 2006 – The impact of recent improvements to the Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004 was the theme of a public forum conducted by high-level federal education officials at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

The meeting Tuesday evening in the Cone University Center’s McKnight Hall was hosted by John Hager, assistant secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the U.S. Department of Education. He was joined by Alexa Posny, director of the Office of Special Education Programs.

“There is a new focus on ensuring that students with disabilities achieve to high standards,” Hager said. “We are excited about moving from concerns with writing the regulations, to seeing the regulations used as a vehicle to substantially improve services to all children.

Designed to help protect individuals with disabilities, IDEA establishes the right of students with disabilities to a free and appropriate public education. UNC Charlotte was the first of eight sites chosen by the Education Department for public forums to discuss recent revisions to the statute.

“The reauthorized statute created a paradigm shift that will allow us to articulate new approaches to identifying and teaching children with learning difficulties,” Hager said. “We must think of children with disabilities as general education students first and use proven approaches to assessment."

Dr. Mary Lynne Calhoun, dean of UNC Charlotte’s College of Education, said the visit to the campus by the education officials sig­nified the importance of research on educational opportunities for students with disabilities.

During their visit, Hager and Posny also attended presentations by UNC Charlotte faculty who are currently involved in related federally funded research projects.

Calhoun said important work is being done at UNC Charlotte in the field of special education.

“Special education researchers in UNC Charlotte’s College of Education are examining questions including: What reading interventions in the early grades will prevent reading problems in the future? How can behavior prob­lems be prevented through school-wide discipline planning? How can students with disabilities access and learn from the general curriculum? What state policies should be in place to support the transition of young people with disabilities from school to successful adulthood? How can young people with disabilities increase control over their own futures?” added Calhoun. “These research efforts are funded through grants from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services of the U.S. Department of Education.”



About UNC Charlotte
A doctoral/research intensive university, UNC Charlotte celebrated its 60th anniversary in September. It is the fourth-largest of the 16-constituent University of North Carolina system and the largest institution of higher education in the Charlotte region. The university comprises seven professional colleges and currently offers 17 doctoral programs, 59 master’s degree programs and 85 programs leading to bachelor’s degrees. Enrollment exceeds 21,500 students, including more than 4,400 graduate students.

                                         

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Media contact: Paul Nowell, (704) 687-2393