What's New

ML Enrollment Scenarios Flowchart

It is the Administrative Unit's responsibility under Child Find to locate and identify all students with disabilities including Multilingual Learners (MLs) with disabilities.   School teams must not identify MLs with disabilities when linguistic and cultural differences or lack of instruction in literacy and math are the determinative causes for their difficulties in school.  When parents or staff members report concerns about a student's academic, social-emotional, functional, or behavioral concerns, IEP teams including educators who are knowledgeable in language acquisition and acculturation should work to investigate these concerns before the special education evaluation referral.

Special Education Teacher Shortage Grant

The Colorado Department of Education’s (CDE) Office of Special Education is offering 2024-2025 IDEA grant funding to administrative units and local education agencies to reduce the critical shortage of special education teachers.  McVey and Trinidad (2019) noted that the lack of special education teachers has been the most frequently cited shortage since the late 1990s. This funding aims to assist a cohort of special education teacher candidates in fulfilling the requirements to achieve full licensure. CDE is asking Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and Administrative Units (AUs) to serve as fiscal agents in partnership with university educator preparation programs to recruit, employ, and support teacher candidates from preservice to induction. By fostering partnerships at the state, regional, and district levels, we can create a robust support system that ensures every student, regardless of location, has access to qualified and dedicated educators. Visit here For more information on the Special Education Teacher Shortage Grant

10/17/24