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The forum was attended by 72 folks from diverse backgrounds - Directors of Special Education, school superintendents, special education advocates & lawyers, school board members and parents, private providers and more - and was very well-received. Presentations were on target as to data impacts of various approaches to special education funding and program equity. The recently formed coalition of GSCS & the Special Education Coalition for Funding Reform were entrusted by their members to pursue certain principles that were explored at the forum, and will present recommendations to their boards in the near future. The forum featured Bruce Baker, national school finance expert currently at Rutgers, "A Current Look at State Funding Formulas Nationally: The Impact on Special Education" and Robert Pasternack, former Undersecretary of Education/Office of Special Education & Rehabilitative Services, "Best Practices in Special Education" Funding Policies to Support Excellence", the half-day forum was held at Rutgers Busch Caompus. Our thanks to co-sponsor, the Rutgers Institute for Improving Student Acheivement(RIISA)and its Director,Bill Librera, for providing the University setting.
Rutgers University Institute for Improving Student Achievement (RIISA) joins
The Garden State Coalition of Schools & The New Jersey Coalition for Special Education Funding Reform
In Co-Sponsoring:
Promoting Excellence:
Best Practice in Special Education & the Funding Frameworks to Support it
featuring
Bruce Baker, Ed.D.,
University of Kansas
Robert Pasternack, Ph.D.,
former Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), USDOE
Tuesday, October 7, 2008, 9:00 – 12:30
Busch College Campus Center, Piscataway NJ
You are cordially invited to join us in a unique collaboration that brings together key stakeholders in New Jersey to help build a foundation of shared information and a national perspective on best practices in special education service delivery and the funding frameworks that support them.
Make Checks Payable $15.00 to RIISA.
Registration is limited.
Send to: Garden State Coalition of Schools, c/o Joanne D'Angelo
74 Springcress Dr, Delran, N.J. 08075
Name___________________________________________________
Title & Affiliation___________________________________________
Address_________________________________________________
Phone___________________________________________________
e-mail___________________________________________________
( ) Check enclosed
( ) Cash or check accepted at registration desk the day of the forum
Parking forms and directions will be available at: www.gscschools.org
Our guests:
Bruce Baker, Ed.D.
A Current Look at State Funding Formulas Nationally: The Impact on Special Education
Bruce Baker is Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Kansas, where he teaches courses on school finance policy. Since 2000, Dr. Baker has published over 30 peer reviewed research articles in leading academic journals and law reviews. Baker is author of the recently published Financing Education Systems, from Merrill/Prentice-Hall. He has consulted for state legislatures on the design of state school finance policies in Texas, Missouri, New Jersey and Wyoming, for independent groups in Washington and Illinois and has testified in school finance related constitutional challenges. Dr. Baker's work focuses on costs associated with differences in student educational needs and the design of school funding formulas to meet those needs. Dr. Baker has conducted research on racial disparities in school funding and the intersection between school funding disparities and desegregation.
Robert Pasternack, Ph.D.
Best Practices in Special Education: Funding Policies to Support Excellence
Robert Pasternack is the senior vice-president for special education at Voyager Expanded Learning, a leading provider of in-school reading and math intervention programs, and professional development programs being used in more than 1,000 school districts throughout the United States, including New York City, Philadelphia, Richmond, Dallas, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Washington, D.C., resulting in dramatically improved student performance. Prior to that, he served in the Bush Administration as assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services. He is a nationally certified school psychologist, certified educational diagnostician, licensed special education teacher for grades K-12 and licensed school administrator. He served as director of special education for the New Mexico State Department of Education. Pasternack has lifelong personal experience with people with disabilities. For nearly 20 years, he has served as the legal guardian for his brother, who was born with Down syndrome.
For more information, contact:
Charity A. Leonhardt, Ed.M. Rutgers Institute for Improving Student Achievement
(732) 932-7496 Ext. 8120 Email: Charitya@rci.rutgers.edu
•
Brenda Considine, Coalition for Special Education Funding Reform
609-466-0694 Email consid@comcast.net
•
Lynne Strickland, Garden State Coalition of Schools
609-394-2828
Email gscs2000@gmail.com
