SEELS Task Force Membership and Plans

October, 1998

	SPECIAL EDUCATION ELEMENTARY LONGITUDINAL STUDY (SEELS)

	Propsed Task Force Membership, Meeting Plan, and Agenda



	SRI Project 3421

SPECIAL EDUCATION ELEMENTARY LONGITUDINAL STUDY (SEELS)

Task Force Membership and Work Plan

The value of the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS) will be maximized to the extent that it meets the diverse information needs of the multiple audiences that will have keen interest in it. To articulate these information needs, the Office of Special Education Programs is seeking input regarding the studyís research questions and conceptual framework from a diverse group of individuals who represent several interested audiences, including parents, special and regular educators and administrators, related service personnel, state and local education officials, and national organizations. These representatives will comprise the study task force and will be convened early in the SEELS design phase in order to set design activities on a solid conceptual footing.

Task Force Members

The list of task force participants is attached.

Work Plan

The task force will meet at SRI Internationalís Roslyn, VA offices on November 23, 1998. The purpose of the meeting will be to develop and prioritize the research questions SEELS should address and to elaborate and refine a conceptual framework to guide the study in answering those questions. To spark thinking in advance of the meeting, SRI will prepare a brief paper that contains a draft conceptual framework, discussion of its domains, and potential research questions and will provide the paper to the task force members 2 weeks before the meeting.

The meeting will commence with opening remarks about OSEPís plans and objectives for SEELS, and the current design process. SRI staff will facilitate introductions of task force members, the dayís objectives, and activities. The day will be organized into discussions of specific domains (e.g. student characteristics, outcomes), within which each of the following areas will be addressed:

Key issues. An essential starting point will be to assess the key research issues for each substantive area. The group will identify issues (e.g. academic and social outcomes) and consider whether they are included in the conceptual framework, or if additions or deletions are to be made. In addition, conceptual relationships between issues will begin to be identified.

Research questions. Research questions pertaining to each study domain will be identified and listed. The group will evaluate questions suggested by SRI and make recommendations for changes, additions, deletions, and substitutions.
Information source. Information in many of the SEELS research domains could potentially be collected from several sources. The group will consider the pros, cons, and logistics of obtaining information from particular sources (e.g. parent, teacher, records).
Priorities. The study must balance the numerous interesting topics and subtopics that could be included in the studyís conceptual framework with the need to assign some research topics higher priority than others due to limited resources. The task force will be asked to prioritize the questions that are most important for the study to address.

SRI will report on the dayís discussions and include them in a revision of the SEELS conceptual framework.

Task Force Members

	Name	Organization	Address	Numbers
TF	Raymond Bryant	Montgomery County Public Schools	850 Hungerford Road Rockville, MD 20850	phone: 301-279-3135 raymond_bryant@fc.mcps.k2.md.us
TF	Kevin Dwyer	National Association of School Psychologists	4340 East West Highway, Suite 402 Bethesda, MD 20814	phone: 301-657-0270 fax: 301-657-4156 kdwyer@naspweb.org
TF	Douglas Fuchs	Vanderbilt University	Peabody College for Teachers Nashville, TN 37203	phone: 615-343-4782 doug.fuchs@vanderbilt.edu
TF	George Griffin	Riverside High School	3218 Rose of Sharon Road Durham, NC 27712	bus phone: 919-560-3965 home phone: 919-933-8672
TF	Margaret McLaughlin	University of Maryland	Institute for the Study of Exceptional Children and Youth; College of Education, College Park, MD 20742	bus. phone: 301-405-6495 bus. fax: 301-314-9158 mm48@umail.umd.edu
TF	Virginia Roach	National Association of State Boards of Education	1012 Cameron Street Alexandria, VA 22314	phone: 703-684-4000 fax: 703-836-2313 virginia@nasbe.org
TF	Diane Sydoriak	Arkansas Department of Education	#4 Capitol Mall, Room 105C Little Rock, AR 72201	phone: 501-682-4221 fax: 501-682-4313
TF	Martha Thurlow	National Center on Educational Outcomes	350 Elliott Hall 75 E. River Road Minneapolis, MN 55455	phone: 612-624-4826 fax: 612-624-0879 thurl001@tc.umn.edu
TF	Madeline Will	Community Options	1130 17th Street, NW, Suite 430 Washington, DC 20037	phone: 202-721-0120 fax: 202-721-0124 home office: 301-951-3461 codc23@aol.com
TF	Zeddie Gibbs	Virginia Beach Public Schools
PO	Judith Holt	Office of Special Education Programs U.S. Department of Education	Switzer Building, Room 4622 330 C. Street, SW Washington, DC 20202	phone: 202-358-3059 fax: 202-205-8971 judith_holt@ed.gov
PD	Jose Blackorby	SRI International	333 Ravenswood Ave. Menlo Park, CA 94025	phone: 650-859-4210 fax: 650-859-2861 blackorb@unix.sri.com
PD	Mary Wagner	SRI International	333 Ravenswood Ave. Menlo Park, CA 94025	phone: 650-859-2867 fax: 650-859-2861 mwagner@unix.sri.com

TF = Task force participant PO = Project officer PD = Project co-director

SEELS Task Force Meeting

Draft Agenda

November 23, 1998

Time	Activity
8:30	Assemble. Continental breakfast provided.
8:45 - 9:00	Welcome, introductions, and review of the agenda -Judith Holt, OSEP.
9:00 - 9:15	SEELS in its policy context-Lou Danielson, OSEP.
9:15- 9:45	Overview of the Task Force process and SEELS design-Mary Wagner, SRI.
9:45- 10:15	Components of the conceptual framework-Jose Blackorby, SRI
10:15 - 10:30	Break
10:30 - 12:00	Student outcomes. What questions do we need to answer about how students do? What kinds of evidence of outcomes are needed? (Performance domains, questions, measures and measurement strategies)-Mary Wagner
12:00- 12:30	Lunch (buffet provided)
12:30-1:45	Studentsí schools and school programs. What questions do we need to answer about studentsí educational experiences in school and the supports they receive in order to understand special education and the outcomes students in special education achieve? (E.g., setting, goals, instruction, services, curriculum.)-Jose Blackorby
1:45-2:45	Non-school experiences. What questions do we need to answer about studentsí noneducational experiences in order to understand the outcomes they achieve? (E.g., extracurricular activities, family support for education, parental expectations.)-Mary Wagner
2:45- 3:00	Break
3:00 - 3:45	Individual and household characteristics. What questions do we need to answer about students and their households in order to understand the outcomes they achieve? (E.g., abilities and disabilities, family resources.)-Jose Blackorby
3:45- 4:15	Priority-setting-Mary Wagner
4:15 - 4:30	Wrap-up-Judy Holt