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Diversity Initiatives

Through CEC's advocacy and other programs, CEC is spearheading activities to address the

• Over-identification of students from diverse cultures for special education
• Under-identification of students from diverse cultures for gifted education
• Shortage of teachers from diverse cultures.

Policy and Legislation
Through CEC's advocacy, the recently reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) contains provisions to reduce the disproportionate number of students from diverse backgrounds in special education, including:

• allowing for the development of new approaches to determine whether students have a learning disability,
• providing funds for training school personnel in effective teaching strategies and positive behavior interventions and supports to prevent over-identifi·n and misidentification of children, and
• requiring districts with significant over-identification of minority students to operate pre-referral programs.

Professional Standards
CEC's standards incorporate the knowledge and skills special educators should know on educating culturally and linguistically diverse students with disabilities. As well, the standards define the knowledge and skills special educators must know to develop learning environments that value differences and to communicate effectively with students and parents of diverse backgrounds.

Professional Development
CEC provides extensive professional development opportunities to help educators become more culturally aware. At the CEC Annual Convention & Expo, leaders from across the nation gather to explore and examine issues concerning multicultural education. In addition to the popular Multicultural Summit, at which experts and educators look at a selected issue in multicultural education, there is a strand devoted to multicultural education as well as numerous sessions.

Publications
CEC's highly respected publications include a number of products and videos devoted to the education of culturally and linguistically diverse children and youth with disabilities. Topics range from assessment to standards-based instruction to over-representation. CEC also publishes the latest research, instructional strategies, and trends in multicultural education in its journals, TEACHING Exceptional Children (TEC) and Exceptional Children (EC), and online newsletter, CEC Today.

Caucuses
CEC hosts several caucuses, each of which addresses different aspects of multiculturalism. These unofficial bodies make recommendations to CEC on various issues concerning their constituencies. They are:

• American Indian Caucus
• Asian/Pacific Islander Caucus
• Black Caucus
• Educators with Disabilities Caucus
• Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus of Special Educators
• Hispanic Caucus

Policy and Legislation
CEC is one of the strongest voices supporting the Javits Gifted Program, which provides funding for gifted and talented education. CEC also works to ensure educational practices are implemented that enable educators to recognize giftedness in diverse students.

Professional Standards
CEC's standards incorporate the knowledge and skills special educators should know on educating culturally and linguistically diverse students with disabilities. As well, the standards define the knowledge and skills special educators must know to develop learning environments that value differences and to communicate effectively with students and parents of diverse backgrounds.

Professional Development
CEC Annual Convention & Expo
CEC provides extensive professional development opportunities to help educators become more culturally proficient. At the CEC Annual Convention & Expo, leaders from across the nation gather to explore and examine issues concerning multicultural education. In addition to the popular Multicultural Summit, at which experts and educators look at a selected issue in multicultural education, there is a strand devoted to multicultural education as well as sessions addressing the education of diverse students who are gifted.

Publications
CEC's highly respected publications include products and videos devoted to the education of diverse children and youth with gifts and talents. CEC also publishes the latest research, instructional strategies, and trends in multicultural and gifted education in its journals, TEACHING Exceptional Children (TEC) and Exceptional Children (EC), and online newsletter, CEC Today.

Shortage of Teachers from Diverse Cultures
CEC's innovative strategies to attract and retain special education teachers have gained national attention. A significant aspect of CEC's program is to attract educators from diverse backgrounds to the field. Special educators from diverse cultures provide not only the specialized instruction culturally and linguistically diverse students need but also a relationship that is culturally comfortable for the students. These teachers also help other educators understand the cultural dimensions of student behavior. To attract special educators from diverse cultures to special education, CEC, with the National Clearinghouse on Professions in Special Education produced public service announcements, brochures, and other publicity materials targeting this population at both the college and career-change levels.