The Learning Disabilities Association of America believes that every person with learning disabilities can succeed in school, at work, in relationships, and within the community when provided the right supports and the right opportunities.
Committed to the study of learning disabilities through all stages of life, this journal provides the most current information on research, practice, theory, issues, and trends to broaden understanding and improve quality of life.
That’s right – we’re heading back to Orlando and looking for amazing speakers for the 57th Annual International Conference. Click the link to get your submission in before the May 1, 2019 deadline! We’ll see you in Orlando!
Learning Disabilities Association of America created the Healthy Children Project to raise awareness, promote policies and practices, and to build a nationwide network of LDA members to protect children’s health and reduce toxic exposures.
Sen. Udall, Senate Leaders Introduce Bill to Ban Chlorpyrifos Nationwide
MEDIA CONTACT: Maureen Swanson, Healthy Children Project Director, Learning Disabilities Association of America, 724.813.9684 Sen. Udall, Senate Leaders Introduce Bill to Ban Chlorpyrifos Nationwide Legislation endorsed by Learning Disabilities Association of America, one of the plaintiffs fighting Chlorpyrifos in the courts Washington, DC (March 28, 2019) – A day after President Trump’s EPA once again argued for delaying its own ban of chlorpyrifos in court, Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) introduced the Protect Children, Families and Farmworkers from Nerve Agent Pesticides Act, legislation that would ban the dangerous chemical. The Learning Disabilities Association of America calls on Congress to act swiftly to pass… Read More »
LDA Applauds Bipartisan Bills to fully fund IDEA
For decades a LDA legislative priority has been the full funding of IDEA. LDA wants to recognize and applaud Senators Van Hollen (D-MD) and Roberts (R-KS) and Representative Huffman (D-CA), Senate and House bill sponsors, as well as their co-sponsors, who have just introduced bipartisan bills to fully fund the IDEA (S. 866 and H.R. 1878). Call or email your Senators and your Representative. Tell them you are a constituent and a member of the Learning Disabilities Association of America, and that you support these bills! If your senators and representative have not yet signed on as co-sponsors, ask them… Read More »
LDA Condemns Fraud in College Admissions Testing Accommodations
Pittsburgh, PA, March 12, 2019. Today the FBI announced an investigation, code-named Operation Varsity Blues, that uncovered a network of wealthy parents who paid thousands of dollars to a college-admissions private counselor to boost their children’s chances of gaining entrance into elite colleges. The U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling stating, “There can be no separate college admission for wealthy, and I will add there will not be a separate criminal justice system either.” The investigation also revealed that the counselor facilitated the cheating by instructing parents “to seek extended time for their children on college entrance exams, which included having the… Read More »
Colorado school districts will get more money for students with more serious disabilities under a Public School Finance Act that received initial Senate approval. State Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, an Arvada Democrat, successfully amended Senate Bill 246 to add $22 million in increased funding for students with autism spectrum disorders, visual and hearing impairments, traumatic brain injuries and certain other conditions that require more services to meet their educational needs.
Special needs students get boost in Colorado school finance bill
chalkbeat.org
The Colorado Public School Finance Act gives more money to special needs students and rural schools. The bill received initial approval in the Senate.Bullying, violence, crime and drug use in schools continue to decrease, as they have for much of the last two decades, despite public perception that schools have become less safe over the past 20 years. New federal data published by the Departments of Education and Justice show that 20% of students ages 12 to 18 reported being bullied at school during the 2016-2017 school year, the lowest since the federal government began collecting the information in 2005. The percentage of public schools that reported that student bullying occurred at least once a week also decreased, from 29% in the 1999-2000 school year to 12% in the 2015-2016 school year.
20 Years After Columbine Shooting, Data Show Decreasing Rates of Bullying and Violence in Schools
usnews.com
Despite perceptions that schools are less safe, data show that bullying, violence and crime have decreased in the 20 years since the Columbine High School shooting.Nationwide, about 13 percent of students qualify for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. But that number varies significantly from one state to the next, government investigators say. At the low end, 6.4 percent of school children ages 6 to 21 in one state were served under IDEA in the fall of 2016 compared to a high of 15.1 percent in another. Those are the findings of a Government Accountability Office report.
Wide Disparities Found In Special Ed Enrollment
disabilityscoop.com
A new government report indicates that students who qualify for special education services in one state might be considered ineligible in another.Annotating texts is not the most exciting tactic for reading comprehension. In my classroom experience, even the mention of the word annotate was met with looks of confusion or boredom. Traditional annotations have been students' only interactions with the text. When students are asked to underline important parts of the texts, they will usually pick the first line that seems appealing or attempt to highlight the whole page of text with pretty-colored highlighters. Simply underlining the text will not meet the needs of our 21st-century learners.
More Than Highlighting: Creative Annotations
edutopia.org
Active strategies for annotation like collaborative work and illustration increase students’ comprehension and retention.It's widely accepted that there is a crisis in reading in this country, but there is also a writing crisis that requires our attention. Regardless of where one stands on the education reform spectrum, we all must do everything possible to find the best, most comprehensive solutions to address this crisis. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, 25 percent of students nationwide are writing on grade level, and 3 percent are considered advanced. This suggests that the problem is widespread and more than simply an issue of poverty. We are just not teaching writing in this country.
Writing is thinking, and that makes strategic inquiry a solution for students
hechingerreport.org
There's a writing crisis in American education. Strategic inquiry can help solve it by ensuring that writing is thinking.
