Increasing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for Students with Disabilities

Overview

Belongingness occurs at the intersection of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Healthy educational systems seek to ensure all students, including those with disabilities, enjoy this experience. Unfortunately, many years of Colorado and National data identify many inequities for these students. This website is designed to provide resources for school and district personnel to close opportunity gaps for youth with disabilities. Resources, training, opportunities to collaborate with others, and links to other sources of information regarding equity, diversity, and inclusion are available below.

What is a Community of Practice (CoP)?

Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly!

The purpose of this Community of Practice is to facilitate connections, awareness, and access to information, learning opportunities, and resources that will improve the lives of students with disabilities and benefit the families, communities, and professionals who support them. Sharing of information is encouraged; however, it is at the discretion of the CDE what information will be posted. This service is chat-free and does not include advertisements from vendors or contract-based companies.

To subscribe to the EDI CoP Listserv, please follow the directions below.

Advancing Equity for Students with Disabilities in Schools

This equity-focused community of practice (CoP) is designed to bring together people who share a passion for addressing the opportunity gaps experienced by students with disabilities. Education leaders committed to making meaningful systemic change and promoting equitable learning opportunities will benefit from participating in this quarterly, one-hour virtual meeting.

Sessions are co-hosted by:

Dr. Michael Ramirez, Supervisor, Equity Projects Specialist, Exceptional Student Services at the Colorado Department of Education
Dr. Bryn Harris, Professor / Faculty Fellow for Strategic Initiatives, Office of Faculty Affairs, School of Education and Human Development and Department of Pediatrics, at the University of Colorado Denver.

Register to participate in future sessions no later than two weeks before each event. All sessions are scheduled between 8:30-9:30 am:

September 10, 2024
November 12, 2024

February 11, 2025
May 13, 2025

Education leaders and advocates dedicated to fostering equitable learning environments for students with disabilities are welcome to join future sessions.

Topic for 2023-24

Community of Practice Kickoff Meeting

Purpose: Give participants an overview of the CoP process and topics, build relationships among CoP participants, and increase buy-in and excitement for participant engagement and advancing equity.

Advancing Equity for Students with Disabilities A Community of Practice (PDF), 6/4/2024

Additional Learning about Communities of Practice:

Co-Creating Your Communities of Practice Toolkit - Organisational Development in Higher Education, United Kingdom
Communities of Practice Guide - Communities of Practice Network
Communities of Practice Toolkit - UC Davis School of Medicine

Examples from other Communities of Practice:

Planning for Communities of Practice: A Guide for Model Systems Grantees Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center
DEC Communities of Practice Division of Early Childhood, Council for Exceptional Children

Topics for 2024-25:

Session 1: Using Data to Dismantle Educational Inequalities

Session 1, Pre-work (September 10, 2024)

Read to understand the aims of a Community of Practice: Introduction to Communities of Practice (Approx. 17 min read)
Read: Centering Equity in Program Evaluation (Approx. 15 min read)
Read: Using Student Data for Equity (3 min read)
Create a list of all of the types of data you collect in your school/district. Please think about the different levels of data (e.g. whole school, community, parent, school staff, groups of students, and individual student level data).

Using Data to Dismantle Education Inequities (PDF), 9/10/2024

Additional Learning about Data for Equity Work

Webinar: Using Data to Promote Equity (5/14/24) “School Mental Health Virtual Learning Series,” National Center for School Mental Health and the University of Maryland School of Medicine
Anti-Racist Evaluation Strategies WestEd
Looking at Data Through an Equity Lens ASCD
Annual Reports and Information Staff (Annual Reports) - Equity in Education Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics
Core Problem Solving PLC Notetaker & Instructional Plan Asheville City Schools, North Carolina
Centering Equity in Data-Based Decision-Making: Considerations and Recommendations for Leadership Teams Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety - West Ed, and the Center on PBIS

Session 2: MTSS to Advance Equity

Session 2, Pre-work (November 12, 2024)

Optional: If you would like an introduction to or refresher in MTSS, complete a 50-min online CO MTSS Introductory Training
Using a Blank MTSS Chart (fillable, printable, or create your own), list what supports or actions your school utilizes are each MTSS tier. Include academic, behavioral, social-emotional, and any other supports.
Read: Leveraging MTSS to Ensure Equitable Outcomes (Approx.: 12 min read)

MTSS to Advance Equity (PDF), 11/12.2024

Additional Learning about MTSS to Advance Equity

COMTSS Online Academy Colorado Department of Education
COMTSS Implementation Guide Colorado Department of Education
MTSS Practice Profile Michigan Department of Education (utilized by CDE)
- COMTSS District Practice Profile
- COMTSS School Practice Profile
- COMTSS Region Practice Profile
Colorado Multi-Tiered System of Supports Equity Reflection Tool Colorado Department of Education
Tiered Instruction Matrix Tool (Word Doc) Swift Education Center
SWIFT MTSS Starter Kit Swift Education Center
MTSS Resource Archive Swift Education Center
Equity by Design: - Foundations of Equity-Centered MTSS Midwest & Plains Equity Assistance Center
Promoting Principal Leadership for the Success of Students with Disabilities Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the CEEDAR Center

Additional Learning About PBIS: Positive Behavior Incentives and Supports

What is PBIS? Center on PBIS
CDE PBIS Tools and Resources Colorado Department of Education

Session 3: Advancing Equitable Evaluation Practices

Session 3, Pre-work (February 11, 2025)

If you are not familiar with special education evaluations and eligibility for the IEP (Individualized Education Program), consider watching an IEP parent-facing overview webinar (35 mins). This may be a useful resource for sharing with families as well.

Watch:

(PowerPoint will be posted after the session)

Additional Learning about MTSS to Advance Equity

(Resources posted after session)

Session 4: Promoting Equitable Disciplinary Practices

Session 4, Pre-work (May 13, 2025)

Review and bring any district or school data you have about discipline. This ideally should be disaggregated by students with disabilities (including by type of disability), but further disaggregation would be most useful (e.g. gender, grade levels, race/ethnicity, free/reduced lunch, multilingual learners).
Read: Significant Disproportionality in Special Education (Approx.: 10 min read)
- This reading was previously provided as pre-work for our Evaluation session. Read or review the section titled Discipline Disproportionality, starting on page 5, and Discipline Alternatives, starting on page 7 through the end
Read: NEA: How Exclusionary Discipline Creates Disconnected Students (3 min read)
Read: Somers: Study Reveals Importance of Parent Trust (2 min read)
Read: IRIS Center: Cultural Influences on Behavior (15 min read w/ audio clips)
Watch: How culture may impact behavior in the classroom (3 min)

(PowerPoint will be posted after the session)

Additional Learning about MTSS to Advance Equity

(Resources posted after session)

Please register to attend the virtual CoP

Stay Tuned for topics and dates for the 2025-2026 school year

To subscribe to the EDI CoP Listserv, please follow the directions below.

Join The EDI CoP Listserv

To subscribe to the EDI CoP listserv:

Open a new email.
In the “To” field, type the email and send the message [email protected]
Once added, you will receive a confirmation email.
If you have a problem, email Michael Ramirez at [email protected].

To unsubscribe from the EDI CoP listserv

Open a new email.
In the “To” field, type the email [email protected]
In the body of the message write, “unsubscribe EDI-COP” and send the message
You will automatically be unsubscribed.

Disclaimer: A variety of learning opportunities, information, and resources are provided on this listserv. These materials do not represent an exhaustive list, nor are they required or endorsed by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE). The identification or description is to provide information and resources and does not constitute CDE's endorsement. Every effort has been made to identify the citation for the resource; please maintain the citation and/or authorship when adapting or modifying these materials.

Resources

CDE Resources

Other Resources

For more information, please contact:

Michael Ramirez
Equity Projects Specialist
Phone (720) 460-6251
Email Michael Ramirez

Having trouble with this webpage?

If you have problems with broken links or accessing the content on this page, please contact the Exceptional Student Services Unit at [email protected]. Please copy the URL link for this page into the email when referencing the problem you are experiencing.