Living a Life of Choice: The Power of Inclusive Policies and Practices

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month

A kindergarten student stands with his backpack in front of a sign, with words in different colors, that reads Welcome, All Abilities, All Religions, All Orientations, All Cultures, All Colors. Love lives here.

Then-kindergarten Drew outside of his elementary school.

By: Valerie C. Williams, OSEP Director

Last month, I was looking for a great back-to-school message and came across a sign posted outside an elementary school in California. The sign painted in different colors on wooden boards read:

WELCOME
ALL ABILITIES
ALL RELIGIONS
ALL ORIENTATIONS
ALL CULTURES
All COLORS
LOVE lives here

The sign was shared four years ago by the mom of a then-kindergarten student named Drew.

Read More

A Parent’s Journey with Assistive Technology Part II: A Message of Value  

Jessica and Eva are sitting smiling at the camera. On the table beside them is a small screen communication device

An interview with Jessica Chambers.

A Parent’s Journey with Assistive Technology: A Message of Value, is the second part of a three-part blog series told from one mother’s perspective about the joys and challenges she and her daughter have faced over the last fourteen years.

In January 2024, OSEP together with the Office of Education Technology, published Assistive Technology Guidance to tackle some of the most common myths and misconceptions about assistive technology (AT).

Read More

Collaboration, Inclusivity and Ingenuity Creates Growth Opportunities

October is Blind Awareness Month and Oct. 15 is White Cane Safety Day

By Leslie Lugo, Office of Special Education Programs Intern

October 15 is White Cane Safety Day and Blind Americans Equality Day and October is Blind Awareness Month. Three images show a five-year-old student with an adapted white cane walker. The first image shows the boy outside with an adult behind him. The second image shows the boy with two adults next to him and a banner that reads National White Cane Day. The third image shows the boy navigating through a school.

Santiago uses his adapted white cane walker to navigate the world around him.

October is Blind Awareness Month and last Tuesday, Oct. 15, was White Cane Safety Day, a nationally recognized event established by Congress and signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Oct. 15 is also known as Blind Americans Equality Day. Around the country, local education agencies, state agencies, nonprofits and foundations, infants, toddlers, students, families, teachers, and administrators came together to celebrate the importance of the long cane used by individuals who are blind or visually impaired.

The cane is a paramount tool that helps people with visual impairments live independently; it also serves as a symbol that recognizes the talents, skills, and achievements of those who are blind or visually impaired.

Read More

A Parent’s Journey with Assistive Technology Part I: Meet Eva

Jessica and Eva are sitting on a haystack smiling for the camera. Behind them is a sign that says Hay Ride.

Jessica and Eva are sitting on a haystack smiling for the camera. Behind them is a sign that says Hay Ride.

An interview with Jessica Chambers.

Understanding assistive technology (AT) is just as important for parents and families as it is for educators of children with disabilities. Unfortunately, the misconceptions about AT can limit their use.

In January 2024, OSEP, together with the Office of Education Technology, published Assistive Technology Guidance to tackle some of the most common myths.

“A Parent’s Journey with Assistive Technology” is a told from one mother’s perspective about the joys and challenges she and her daughter have faced over the last 14 years. In telling Jessica’s story, we hope families and educators alike will find community, build understanding, and think creatively to expand AT use.

Read More

New OSEP 2024 Discretionary Grant Awards

In fiscal year 2024, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services provided $80,810,917 under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to fund new programs that help educate children and youth with disabilities to assist states and local districts to improve results for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities ages birth through 21. Read about these programs below (ALN# | Title). Please note that all amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.

Read More

New RSA 2024 Discretionary Grant Awards

The Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services provided nearly $277 million in fiscal year 2024 to fund programs that help to assist state and other agencies in providing vocational rehabilitation (VR) and other services to individuals with disabilities to maximize their employment, independence and integration into the community and the competitive labor market.

Read More

Launching into a Lifetime of Literacy with Braille and Talking Books from the National Library Service

Logo: National Library Service

By: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled at the Library of Congress

This blog post was contributed to Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) by the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled at the Library of Congress as part of our recognition of October as Dyslexia Awareness Month and Blindness Awareness Month.

Read More

RSA Success Story: A Real Job with Real Wages Through the Disability Innovation Fund

Jenna weighing grapes on a kitchen scale

By: North Carolina’s Division of Employment and Independence for People with Disabilities

In a February 2024 Dear Colleague Letter, Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) Commissioner Danté Allen prioritized elevating community expectations for competitive integrated employment by showcasing success stories of individuals with disabilities who receive services from RSA Programs. This is the fifth RSA Success Story in a series that will run through November 2024.

Read More

Sami & Brooke Best Buddies

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month

Sami Woodcock, OSEP Director Valerie Williams, and Brooke Helgesen

Sami Woodcock, OSEP Director Valerie Williams, and Brooke Helgesen

By: Sami Woodcock and Brooke Helgesen

Best Buddies, International, is dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people worldwide with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Their programs empower people with IDD to form meaningful friendships with their peers, secure jobs, improve communication and advocacy skills, and live independently, while also offering support for their families.

Read More

Voices From the Field: Interview with Yolanda Lusane

National Physical Therapy Month

Yolanda Lusane

Yolanda Lusane is a pediatric physical therapist who currently works in the Research to Practice Division at the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in the U.S. Department of Education where she is a project officer for personnel preparation and parent center grantees as well as model demonstration projects focused on child find. Yolanda received her Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy from Howard University, Master of Arts in Education and Human Development from The George Washington University and Doctor of Philosophy in Infant and Early Childhood Development with an emphasis in Mental Health and Developmental Disorders from Fielding Graduate University. She has over twenty-five years of experience supporting children and families in a variety of capacities.

Read More