Links to Massachusetts and Other Regional Resources

Our web site contains a number of links you might find useful and informative. They are organized into the following categories:

Professional Resources: Check out this section to find information on professional topics from positive behavioral intervention to the national activities of C E C to the often provocative topics contained in L D Online.

Licensure Resources: See links to the D O E web sites which contain the most helpful information for people seeking to become licensed, renew licensure, or just learn more about this fascinating part of our world. Consult these sites frequently – new information is posted here.

Disabilities Specific Resources: Interested in a particular disability? This section might lead you to just the information you want.

Government Resources: Keep track of the latest developments in policy – and their impact on our practice. Some will lead you to the latest developments in No Child Left Behind.

Paraprofessional Resources: Connect to organizations that address the very real needs of our paraprofessional partners.

Technology Resources: Use this technology to connect you to sites that can increase access for all students.

Advocacy Resources: Links in this section lead you to groups that support educators and parents interested in actively supporting effective education for children with disabilities. From The Federation for Children with Special Needs to Wrightslaw, these offer insight and advice.

Professional Resources

Council for Exceptional Children – cec.sped.org: The Council for Exceptional Children is the largest professional organization for special educators in the world. The site is a great resource for information on public policy, training and development, and research.
IDEA Partnerships – www.ideapractices.org: The IDEA Partnerships are four national projects funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to deliver information about the 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports – www.pbis.org: The Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) gives schools capacity–building information and technical assistance for identifying, adapting, and sustaining effective school–wide disciplinary practices.
Massachusetts Administrators for Special Education (ASE) – www.asepage.org: The Massachusetts Administrators for Special Education (ASE) is the lead association representing the Commonwealth's special education administrators. The ASE web site includes current news, job vacancies, and links to the association's regional representatives.
NASDSE – www.nasdse.org: NASDSE is dedicated to continuously improving educational services and outcomes while ensuring a balance of procedural guarantees for our children and youth with disabilities and their families. It provides supports to all states in the delivery of quality education to children and youth with disabilities through training, technical assistance, research, policy development.
Federal Resource Center for Special Education – www.dssc.org/frc: The Federal Resource Center for Special Education supports a nationwide technical assistance network to respond to the needs of students with disabilities. The FRC provides a national perspective for establishing technical assistance activities identifying and synthesizing emerging issues and trends.
National Clearinghouse for Professions in Special Education – www.special-ed-careers.org: The National Clearinghouse for Professions in Special Education (NCPSE) is committed to enhancing the nation's capacity to recruit, prepare, and retain well qualified diverse educators and related service personnel for children with disabilities.
MAAPS – www.spedschools.com: The Massachusetts Association of 766 Approved Private Schools (MAAPS) is a non–profit association of Chapter 766 approved private schools dedicated to providing educational programs and services to students with special needs throughout Massachusetts.

Licensure/Certification Resources

Educator Services for the Massachusetts Department of Education – www.doe.mass.edu/educators: The Department of Education uses this site to post the latest and most comprehensive information about teacher licensure – from regulations to online applications to MTEL information to open positions.

Disabilities Resources

Schwablearning – www.schwablearning.org: An information resource on learning disabilities, this site offers a variety of information on learning disabilities to parents, students, and professionals.
Special Education Resources on the Internet – seriweb.com: Special Education Resources on the Internet (SERI) is a collection of Internet accessible information resources of interest to those involved in the fields related to Special Education. This collection exists in order to make on–line Special Education resources more easily and readily available in one location.
Learning Disabilities Online – www.ldonline.org: Learning Disabilities Online is an interactive site designed for parents, teachers and other professionals. This web site includes research and development articles, information on different forms of learning disabilities, and resources and links to other informational sites.

Government Resources

No Child Left Behind – www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml: This government web site on NCLB provides all the foundation information on this important law. Pull down menus lead to information on specific topics.
What Works Clearinghouse – www.whatworks.ed.gov/: Established in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) to provide educators, policymakers, researchers, and the public with a central and trusted source of scientific evidence of what works in education.
CEC’s Public Policy and Legislative Information – www.cec.sped.org/pp: This is CEC’s Public Policy and Legislative Information link. It will enable you visit the legislative interaction center to send email messages to your members of Congress, find out about legislative action and get the latest information on public policy updates.
Mass Department of Education – www.doe.mass.edu/sped: This is the site of the Massachusetts Department of Education, Special Education department. It offers information on Massachusetts special education regulations, compliances and complaint information, IEP forms and other topics of interest to special educators and their families.
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services – www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers: The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) is committed to improving results and outcomes for people with disabilities of all ages. In supporting President Bush's No Child Left Behind agenda and the New Freedom Initiative, OSERS provides a wide array of supports to parents and individuals, school districts and states in three main areas: special education, vocational rehabilitation and research.

Paraprofessional Resources

National Resource Center for Paraprofessionals – www.nrcpara.org: The National Resource Center for Paraprofessionals addresses policy questions, provides technical assistance and shares information about management practices, regulatory procedures, and training models that will enable administrators and staff–developers to improve the recruitment, deployment, supervision, and career development of paraprofessionals.

Technology Resources

Center for Applied Special Technology – www.cast.org: The Center for Applied Special Technology, CAST is an educational, not–for–profit organization that uses technology to expand opportunities for all people, including those with disabilities.

Advocacy Resources

Federation for Children with Special Needs – www.fcsn.org: The Federation for Children with Special Needs is a center for parents and parent organizations which represents children with a variety of disabilities and offers a variety of services to parents and others interested and concerns with children with special needs.
PACER Center – www.pacer.org: The PACER Center was created by parents of children and youth with disabilities to help other parents and families facing similar challenges. The center expands opportunities and enhances the quality of life of children and young adults with disabilities and their families.
Wrightslaw – www.wrightslaw.com: Wrightslaw provides parents, advocates, educators, and attorneys accurate, up–to–date information about special education law and advocacy for children with disabilities.
Yes I Can! – yesican.cec.sped.org: The Yes I Can! Foundation for Exceptional Children designs and implements programs that help improve the quality of life for children and youth with disabilities and/or gifts and talents. They help hundreds of children with special needs attain their greatest potential every year through awards, scholarships, mini–grants and other exciting programs.