Southeast Regional Consortium for Low Incidence Disabilities SERCLID AL AR FL GA LA MS OK PR TX USVI Addressing the pervasive, critical shortage of qualified educational personnel to serve individuals (early childhood through 12th grade) who are deaf/hard of hearing, blind/visually impaired, and deaf-blind.

Understanding the unique challenges… Pervasive, critical shortage of qualified educational personnel in low incidence disabilities Sporadic, but immediate, local needs for qualified personnel Need for on the job training for uncertified personnel Not a priority of institutes of higher education (IHE) Downsizing of low incidence programs at IHEs NCLB and HQT constraints on teacher training Barriers to interstate mobility of personnel Recruitment and retention challenges (i.e., personnel isolation; competing state/local priorities) National concerns r.e. outcomes for students with low incidence disabilities Graduation rates for low incidence disabilities, k-12 outcomes are low

Documenting personnel shortages… The Needs Assessment in the Low Incidence Disabilities D/HH Teachers Educational Interpreters B/VI Teachers O & M Specialists DB Teachers Braille transcribers

Map of D/HH Teacher Training Programs in the Southeast Region TEXAS Lamar University, Beaumont, TX University of Texas health Science Center at San Antonio San Antonio, Texas Baylor University Waco, TX Stephen F. Austin State University Nacogdoches, TX Texas Christian University Fort Worth, Texas Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX (CED) Texas Women’s University Denton, Texas OKLAHOMA University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma Chickasha, OK University of Tulsa Tulsa, OK ARKANSAS University of Arkansas – Little Rock Little Rock, AR LOUISIANA University of New Orleans New Orleans, LA MISSISSIPPI University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, MS ALABAMA University of Montevallo Montevallo, AL GEORGIA Georgia State University Atlanta, GA Valdosta State University Valdosta, GA FLORIDA University of North Florida Jacksonville, FL Flagler College St. Augustine, FL PUERTO RICO US VIRGIN ISLANDS

Map of BVI & DB Teacher Training Programs in the Southeast Region TEXAS Stephen F. Austin State University Nacogdoches, TX (CEC) Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX (CEC) VI/Deaf-Blind OKLAHOMA Northeastern State University Tahlequah, OK ARKANSAS University of Arkansas at Little Rock Little Rock, Arkansas (CEC) LOUISIANA University of New Orleans New Orleans, LA (CEC) MISSISSIPPI University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, Mississippi (CEC) Severe/Deaf-Blind Jackson State University Jackson, Mississippi ALABAMA University of Alabama, Birmingham Birmingham, AL (CEC) GEORGIA FLORIDA Florida State University Tallahassee, Florida (CEC) PUERTO RICO US VIRGIN ISLANDS

Certification & Licensure Standards Program Approval Standards & IHE Personnel Preparation Programs Professional Development Recruitment & Retention SERCLID Consortium & Steering Committee Certification & Licensure Standards Program Approval Standards & IHE Accreditation Assessment of Qualifications System of interlocking systems involved in making change needed to address complexities of regional shortages Issues include: limited availability and flexibility in and across personnel prep programs, barriers to collaboration among colleges in universities, challenges in regional reciprocity in certification for people who wish to work in other states, inconsistencies in methods of assessing personnel qualifications, limited and uncoordinated efforts at recruitments, retention, and professional development. In the spirit of interlocking gears, when one part of the model changes it must do so in alignment with and respect to changes occurring in all other systems of the design model. At the hub of the systems change is the ongoing dialogue, learning and designing efforts of the SERCLID and guidance of the steering committee SERCLID Systems Design Model

Program Approval Standards & Certification & Licensure Standards IHE Personnel Preparation Programs Program Approval Standards & IHE Accreditation Certification & Licensure Standards SERCLID 2005 – 2006 MOU Recruitment & Retention Since the design task is far to complex for all systems to be addressed at once, initial efforts have focused on building innovative and collaborative personnel preparation models across colleges and universities. It is agreed that the most leveraged or influential starting point for change is the target to increasingly limited availability of personnel prep programs. An integral part of this is the certification and licensure standards in states. The consortium is focusing on aligning these certification and licensure standards with personnel prep programs across states Emphasizing personnel preparation and, in turn, certification and recruitment

Regional Personnel Preparation Models Promoting our traditional higher education programs and supporting the development and/or expansion of RPPMs IHE Personnel Preparation Programs Regional Personnel Preparation Models Multi-state models via distance technology with ease of interstate mobility Certification & Licensure Standards

SERCLID Composition Individuals with Low Incidence Disabilities Families Advocacy Organizations State Education Agencies Local Education Agencies State Certification Officers Higher Education Faculty Higher Education Administrators Resource Persons Regional and National Partners

Southeast Regional Consortium for Low Incidence Disabilities SERCLID AL AR FL GA LA MS OK PR TX USVI Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. - Henry Ford