Breadcrumb
- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice: Schools and Special Education
Resources on how to foster collaboration and implement best practices in school and special education settings.
CDC Preparedness Resources for Schools
Schools and education agencies cannot prevent natural disasters, or even many man-made crises, but they can help students prepare for and plan to respond to such emergencies. Resources are available to help schools, education agencies, and institutions of higher education develop such plans, usually in collaboration with public health and first responder agencies.
Coordinated School Health Program
Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Student (WSCC), is recommended by CDC as a strategy for improving students' health and learning in our nation’s schools. These site outline the rationale and goals for WSCC, provide a model framework for planning and implementing WSCC, and offer resources to help schools, districts, and states improve their school health programs.
Department of Education "Dear Colleague" Letter on Braille
The Department of Education released a Dear Colleague Letter to provide information to states and agencies about the importance of Braille instruction, clarify when these services should be provided to students, help school teams understand the evaluation required to guide decisions about services, and highlight available resources that can help personnel meet the needs of students who are blind or visually impaired (PDF, 6 pages).
Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools
Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools offers research-based practices designed to assist school communities identify these warning signs early and develop prevention, intervention and crisis response plans.
Federal Resource Center for Special Education
The Federal Resource Center for Special Education supports the work of the six OSEP-funded Regional Resource Centers (RRCs) that provide technical assistance (TA) to assist states in complying with IDEA and to implement evidence-based educational practices.
H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu): Resources for Child Care and Early Childhood Programs
This resource from the CDC provides articles and other resources for parents and educators dealing with H1N1.
IDEA Partnership
The IDEA Partnership reflects the collaborative work of more than 50 national organizations, technical assistance providers, and organizations and agencies at state and local level. Together with the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), the Partner Organizations form a community with the potential to transform the way we work and improve outcomes for students and youth with disabilities.
National Center to Improve Practice
NCIP works to promote the effective use of technology to enhance educational outcomes for students with sensory, cognitive, physical and social/emotional disabilities.
National Center on Secondary Education and Transition
The National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET) coordinates national resources, offers technical assistance, and disseminates information related to secondary education and transition for youth with disabilities in order to create opportunities for youth to achieve successful futures.
National Center on Accessible Instruction Materials
The AIM Center serves as a resource for stakeholders, including state- and district-level educators, parents, publishers, conversion houses, accessible media producers, and others interested in learning more about and implementing AIM and NIMAS.
National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities
The National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD) supports the national implementation of provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to provide successful school outcomes for students with disabilities. NDPC-SD supports states in assisting local education agencies to increase school completion rates and decrease dropout rates among students with disabilities.
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
Resources developed by the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities are now housed by the Center for Parent Information and Resources.
National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness
The National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB) is a national technical assistance and dissemination center for children and youth who are deaf-blind.
National Post-School Outcomes Center
The Center assists SEAs to develop and implement rigorous and practical post-school outcome data systems to track the early adult experiences of youth who had IEPs while in high school. It also helps states collect, analyze, and use post-school outcome data to improve the quality of secondary and transition programs for youth with disabilities.
National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center
The National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center (NSTTAC) helps states build capacity to support and improve transition planning, services, and outcomes for youth with disabilities and disseminates information and provides technical assistance on scientifically-based research practices with an emphasis on building and sustaining state-level infrastructures of support and district-level demonstrations of effective transition methods for youth with disabilities.
Office of Special Education Programs
The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) supports a comprehensive array of programs and projects authorized by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that improve results for infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities.
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) understands the many challenges still facing individuals with disabilities and their families. Therefore, OSERS is committed to improving results and outcomes for people with disabilities of all ages. OSERS supports programs that serve millions of children, youth and adults with disabilities.
School Health Index (SHI)
Habits and practices related to health and safety are influenced by the entire school environment. Schools can use this self-assessment and planning tool to improve their health and safety policies and programs. The SHI has eight different modules including School Health and Safety Policies and Environment; Counseling, Psychological, and Social Services; and Family and Community Involvement.
School-Located Vaccination Planning Materials and Templates
These documents were designed to provide information for planning and conducting school-located 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccination clinics that target school-aged children enrolled in school and potentially other groups in the community. The page also includes a link to CDC's seasonal flu information.
The Association Between School-Based Physical Activity, Including Physical Education, and Academic Performance
The report indicates that school-based physical activity may help improve students' grades and test scores and positively affect other factors that influence academic achievement. The report also concludes that adding time during the school day for physical activity does not appear to take away from academic performance.
Technical Assistance ALLIANCE for Parent Centers National Office, PACER Center
The Technical Assistance ALLIANCE for Parent Centers National Center works with the six regional Parent Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) to provide innovative technical assistance, up-to-date information and high-quality resources and materials to the parent centers.
Report: School-Level Practices to Increase Availability of Fruits, Vegetables, and Whole Grains, and Reduce Sodium in School Meals — United States, 2000, 2006, and 2014
CDC researchers analyzed school-level implementation of the Department of Agriculture’s school nutrition standards, specifically on practices related to fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and sodium. Results show almost all schools offer whole grain foods, vegetables, and fruits during the school day, and the percentage of schools making efforts to increase the availability of these foods and decrease sodium increased from 2000 to 2014.
Resource: Healthy Schools Website
CDC’s School Health Branch launched the Healthy Schools website. The site will serve as the main resource for information on school-based physical activity and management of chronic conditions. It also contains information on school health guidelines, local school wellness policy, and related resources and tools.
Report: 2014 School Health Policies and Practices Study
CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health released the 2014 School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS). SHPPS is a national survey periodically conducted to assess school health policies and practices at the state, district, school, and classroom levels. Two additional resources accompany the report: 2014 Overview (PDF 4 pages) and Trends Over Time: 2000-2014 (PDF, 6 pages).