Serving Lake &
Geauga Counties

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Staff Recommended Read: October. Culturally Proficient Leadership. Book reviewed by Liesl Blackwell. Background fall woods with colorful leaves on the trees and ground.

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Industry Recognized Credential Fair virtual event to be held on October 24, 2022.

Latest News

Are you interested in being a surrogate parent?

Are you looking for a way to give back to your community? Have you considered serving as a surrogate parent for a school district? You may be wondering, what is a surrogate parent?

A surrogate parent represents a student with disabilities in all special education matters relating to the identification, evaluation, educational placement and provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to the child.

For more information on surrogate parenting check out this short presentation on InspirED: Surrogate Parent OCALI Surrogate Parent for a Child with a Disability.

If you decide to serve, please complete the training at https://ohiosurrogateparent.org/

For more information please contact Karen Johnson or Chrissy Cline with questions.

It's GO TIME! The NEW! Ensuring Access to the General Curriculum for ALL Learners - With an Emphasis on Language and Literacy website has launched.

Ensuring Access to the General Curriculum for All Learners, a new video-based learning series, has just been released by our friends at OCALI! This FREE learning series provides educators and other specialists with the strategies, research and support resources to effectively design instruction and assessment in a way that provides universal access across courses, lessons and learning activities.

What makes this series even better is that it was created for educators, by educators and is grounded in research and evidence-based practices. There are lots of practical, easy-to-use strategies and resources that are designed to ensure ALL learners have access to the general curriculum. You can access the website at the following address, literacyaccessforall.org.

Supporting the Whole Child

Ohio’s strategic plan for education, Each Child, Our Future, puts the whole child at the center, where each component of the plan works harmoniously to support a whole-child approach. Likewise, Ohio’s Whole Child Framework also places the whole child at the center, with district, school, family and community supporting the needs of the whole child using a comprehensive approach. A whole child approach broadens district and school focus beyond academics to include meeting students social-emotional, physical and safety needs. The Whole Child Framework provides a blueprint to meet these whole child needs, which are foundational to a child’s intellectual and social development and necessary for students to fully engage in learning and school.

Planning Guide for Ohio Schools and Districts

Now Available

(Click Picture for Guide)

Ohio's Learning Standards-Extended (Revised September 2018)

On September 18, 2018, the State Board of Education adopted the revised grade-level Ohio's Learning Standards-Extended for students who are assessed using the Alternate Assessment for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities (AASCD). Ohio's Learning Standards-Extended are specific statements of knowledge and skills linked to the expectations in Ohio's Learning Standards. The extensions build a bridge that provides grade-level access for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities to the content of Ohio's Learning Standards. Ohio's Learning Standards-Extended can be found on the Department's website.

Updated Evaluation Team Report and Individualized Education Program (ETR/IEP) Forms Now Available Online

The Ohio Department of Education's Office for Exceptional Children has revised the ETR and IEP forms. The new forms now have tool tips throughout, providing guidance in completing the forms. The new forms are required to be used beginning in Autumn of 2018 for the 2018-19 school year. To access the new forms, please click here.

Universal support materials are also available for basic IDEA guidance. The support materials are available here.

Professional Development Calendar