We look forward to connecting with state staff, center directors, and other likeminded organizations and individuals at the 2024 OSEP Leadership and Project Directors’ Conference.
AEM staff across multiple centers and projects are supporting sessions and presentations highlighting efforts to make high quality data available and accessible. Whether you work in a SEA, lead agency, or at an OSEP Center, AEM staff have data system, management, and governance expertise to support your needs.
This post outlines our conference schedule and provides background on several ways we are supporting the work of states and OSEP centers. Feel free to connect with one of our staff members or reach out via the AEM website if you have any follow-ups.
AEM Session Schedule
See the table below for a list of sessions and presentations that AEM staff are involved in. Please join us to learn about some of our current efforts.
| Day / Time |
Location |
Session Title |
Session Description |
|
Wednesday, August 7, 8 – 9 AM
|
Fairfax
|
A Hands-on Exploration of Accessibility Barriers and How to Overcome Them
|
Weiss Center accessibility experts will guide participants to understand common barriers through a simulated experience mimicking barriers that individuals with disabilities encounter when trying to access materials.
|
|
Wednesday, August 7, 11:15 – 12:30 PM
|
Salon F-G
|
Improving Data Collection and Quality for Students with Disabilities
|
In this session facilitated by the AEM Center you to discover how a group of states and districts with AEM Corporation guidance engaged in an iterative process using the Common Education Data Standards (CEDS) to develop five data reports related to accessible formats provided to students with disabilities.
|
|
Thursday, August 8, 8:15 – 9:00 AM
|
Salon H
|
From Vision to Sustainability: The Data Integration Journey
|
Join IDEA Part B data managers from Nevada and Washington to hear how CIID supports SEAs in their unique journeys toward data integration.
|
Conference Poster Sessions and Technology Demonstrations,
Tuesday, August 6, 2024 3:30 – 4:30 pm
Arlington Ballroom Foyer, Grand Ballroom Foyer, Pentagon, Pentagon Foyer and Sky View Atrium
| Location |
Session Title |
Session Description |
| Table 65 |
Insights From State Collaboration with the Rhonda Weiss Center |
Hear directly from Idaho Part B and Virginia Part C staff on how the Weiss Center recently made an impact on their ability to improve access to IDEA data for people with disabilities. |
| Table 110 |
It’s Time to ADAPT Your Publicly Available IDEA Data |
This technology demonstration will showcase the features and capabilities of the open source software solution called ADAPT (the Accessible Data Analysis and Publishing Tool), and how it can be best utilized by States to make IDEA data more accessible |
| Table 116 |
Data They Can Use: CADRE’s Dispute Resolution Dashboard Using Power BI |
Discover how CADRE transformed its static National and State Dispute Resolution Data into a dynamic online public-facing data dashboard, enabling real-time comparisons, in depth analysis, and customizable reporting. Attendees will gain insight into the design process and will get hands-on experience in navigating the dashboard |
Examples of Our Current Work
Representing data and developing dashboards
Come to the technology demonstration “Data They Can Use: CADRE’s Dispute Resolution Dashboard using Power BI” to learn how AEM supported CADRE in transitioning their data displays from static PDFs to a dynamic dashboard. You can find the dashboards at:
https://www.cadreworks.org/national-state-dr-data-dashboard.
Upon wrapping up the project, CADRE Director Melanie Reese shared with us:
“I wanted to share with you how absolutely thrilled we are with how it turned out. We’ve received such amazing and positive feedback from our stakeholders, including those at OSEP. We couldn’t be happier!”
Identifying or collecting new data to address an administrative or policy question
Come to the implementation showcase entitled “Improving Data Collection and Quality for Students with Disabilities” to learn about this work.
A significant challenge for the Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) Center is the availability of data to understand the provision, use, and impact of accessible educational materials. Data simply is not available in this area. To address this challenge, we partnered with the AEM Center and used the Common Education Data Standards (CEDS) to define data use cases and expand CEDS to address those use cases.
Community built data system solutions to improve student outcomes.
AEM, through leadership at the Center for the Integration of IDEA Data (CIID) and the standardized EDFacts reporting solution, Generate, have spearheaded a transformative shift in education data. AEM initiatives have extended beyond data standardization to address pressing data reporting needs, showcasing the potential for broader community impact and improved student outcomes. By leveraging community-built tools like CEDS and fostering collaboration through initiatives like the CIID BI Workgroup, CIID laid the foundation for sustainable, equitable, and efficient data management practices across states, marking a significant milestone in education data possibilities.
Web and mobile accessibility
Is your state planning for the ADA Title II web and mobile accessibility regulations that went into effect on June 24th? Depending on the size of your entity, your organization will need to comply with a higher level of web accessibility within two or three years. This will be the first time that the ADA specifies standards related to digital content.
The regulations reference a certain Web Content Accessibility Guideline as the minimum standard. A fact sheet on the regulation can be found at: https://www.ada.gov/notices/2024/03/08/web-rule/.
For an example of a fully compliant website, please visit the Rhonda Weiss Center for Accessible IDEA Data website at: https://www.weissta.org/. This website is an excellent example of purpose-built accessibility with the proper use of headers and built-in functionality for high contrast and text size adjustments. Designed with accessibility from the initial concept and not after the fact, the site works efficiently and effectively for a variety of user needs.
AEM experts can help you navigate these new accessibility requirements and assess whether remediating your existing site or undertaking a complete rebuild of your site with accessibility built-in from the beginning is a better option.
Want to learn more how AEM can support your data displays, improve accessibility, or leverage CEDS, please contact Bill Huennekens at bill.huennekens@aemcorp.com. Bill will be happy to meet with you at the conference or schedule a time to connect.
