Heartland-Provided Resourses for the ADA Amendment Act of 2008

On September 25, 2008, President Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments Act of 2008. Schools are held accountable to both Section 504 and the ADA Amendments Act. The amendments change the definition of "disability" by rejecting the narrow position taken by the Supreme Court in its interpretation of ADA regulations. The basic definition of "disability" as an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment or being regarded as having such an impairment has not changed.

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission http://www.eeoc.gov/ada/amendments_notice.html the changes are as follows:

* "directs EEOC to revise that portion of its regulations defining the term ‘substantially limits’;

* expands the definition of ‘major life activities" by including two non-exhaustive lists:

• the first list includes many activities that the EEOC has recognized (e.g., walking) as well as activities that EEOC has not specifically recognized (e.g., reading, bending, and communicating);
• the second list includes major bodily functions (e.g., ‘functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions’);

* states that mitigating measures other than ‘ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses’ shall not be considered in assessing whether an individual has a disability;

* clarifies that an impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active;

* provides that an individual subjected to an action prohibited by the ADA (e.g., failure to hire) because of an actual or perceived impairment will meet the ‘regarded as’ definition of disability, unless the impairment is transitory and minor;

* provides that individuals covered only under the ‘regarded as’ prong are not entitled to reasonable accommodation and

* emphasizes that the definition of ‘disability’ should be interpreted broadly."

Resources For Section 504
Heartland is working with Mary Gannon JD of IASB to revise "A Guide to Section 504" our booklet that many districts use to provide “second notice” parents. We have also reviewed our two online Section 504 courses and made revisions. We hope to have all of these resources updated for districts by the end of January 2009. When finished, these and other resources will be available at http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/504/

The Iowa Department of Education has designated a new Section 504 consultant. His name is Corwyn Moore. His email address is corwyn.moore@iowa.gov and his phone number is 515-281-3010. He is working with our assigned regional Office of Civil Rights (OCR) in Chicago to provide guidance and support for these new amendments. You may also contact OCR directly at anytime for technical assistance.

Chicago Office
Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Education
Citigroup Center
500 W. Madison Street, Suite 1475
Chicago, IL 60661

Telephone: 312-730-1560
FAX: 312-730-1576; TDD: 877-521-2172
Email: OCR.Chicago@ed.gov

Session Four of Iowa Core Curriculum Leadership Training

Session four of the Leadership Training for the Iowa Core Curriculum will begin the last week of January. Registered participants will receive an e-mail with session details as the date approaches. If a participant needs to attend a session held at a different location or date, they are asked to contact Linda Hoobin, Heartland Teaching and Learning Consultant for the Iowa Core Curriculum, at lhoobin@aea11.k12.ia.us to verify location, time and date.

Finding the Right Professional Development is Easier Than Ever

The Professional Development for Iowa School Leaders Web site http://iowaschoolleadership.org now features two new ways to locate what leaders need. In addition to the original alphabetical listing, the site now offers a listing of opportunities by intended audience and a listing by the school leader standard addressed by each offering. All three search methods are available in a tabbed menu in the right sidebar of each page.

In addition, Iowa school leaders may continue to subscribe to the mailing list to stay abreast of the latest professional development posted on the site. Sign-up is available on virtually any page on the site, below the menus in the right column.

The Professional Development for Iowa School Leaders Web site offers a one-stop resource to locate professional development available from some of Iowa’s foremost providers.

Nine Iowa organizations are charter members of the project and are posting professional development opportunities that they sponsor. The partners are Area Education Agencies (AEA), Iowa Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (IASCD), Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) Iowa Association of School Business Officials (IASBO), Iowa Council of Administrators of Special Education (ICASE), Iowa Department of Education (DE), Iowa Leadership Academy (ILA), Iowa Superintendents Finance and Leadership Consortium (ISFLC) and School Administrators of Iowa (SAI). Other groups may be added in the future.

New Feature to the Heartland Superintendent Connection

The Heartland Superintendent Connection will now feature monthly installments of Communication Matters for Leading Superintendents published by the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA). The publication's purpose is to offer school superintendents and other top school leaders sensible communication ideas and approaches that work. Click here to view December's issue.

Cognitive Coaching Training

Cognitive Coaching is a process for supporting individuals working together to improve their skills in a variety of situations. Cognitive Coaching (Level 1) is a 4-day experience during which participants will build their communication and problem-solving skills through the process of becoming intentional about how we mediate for someone else's effectiveness. Practice using the planning and reflecting conversation maps will be included. Research, modeling and practice will support learning how to integrate skills of trust, rapport, pausing, paraphrasing and mediational questions in conversations.

Cognitive Coaching training is being offered this spring at the West Des Moines Learning Center on February 23 & 24 and March 23 & 24, 2009. Register through the Heartland Professional Development Web site by clicking here.

Learn How to Have Fierce Conversations

A Fierce Conversations course will be offered on March 12-13, 2009 at the Heartland Johnston office. This workshop is based on the book Fierce Converations by Susan Scott and will provide participants with opportunities to practice the structured conversations from her book. Register through the Heartland Professional Development Web site by clicking here.