SPECIAL EDUCATION AND DISABILITY POLICY

Welcome message from Professor and Department Chair Fred Orelove, Ph.D.

The mission of the Department of Special Education and Disability Policy (SEDP) is to prepare skilled, effective, critically reflective practitioners who can meet the educational needs of children and youth with disabilities and their families. Through graduate degree programs and alternative licensure programs, students discover new evidence-based instructional and service delivery strategies. They share information on these strategies to a wide audience through collaborative relationships with children and youth with disabilities, their families, educators, local, state and federal government agencies, and other professionals throughout the Commonwealth and across the nation.

AFFILIATED CENTERS
Within the department are two affiliated centers: the Partnership for People with Disabilities -- Virginia's University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service -- and the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Workplace Supports and Job Retention. Both of these centers are nationally recognized for their programs and initiatives. In addition to the centers, faculty from the department direct a number of other research initiatives which focus on improving evidence-based practices in the field of special education.

special education

M.ED. PROGRAMS
 At the graduate level, the department offers three master's degree programs: M.Ed. in Early Childhood Special Education, M.Ed. in Severe Disabilities, and a M.Ed. in Special Education -- General Education which focuses on high-incidence disabilities. Successful completion of one of the degree programs leads to Virginia licensure and endorsement in Early Childhood Special Education, Special Education-General Curriculum, or Special Education Adapted Curriculum. In addition, the department offers a Ph.D. in Education degree program with an emphasis on Special Education and Disability Policy.

TEACHER LICENSURE
The department also offers licensure programs that can be taken separate from the M.Ed. program in Early Childhood Special Education, Special Education -- General Education, and Severe Disabilities. All to some degree are tuition-supported programs either through federal grants or through the support of the Virginia Department of Education.

Since January 2004, the Department of Special Education and Disability Policy has been collaborating with the Virginia Department of Education to assist provisionally licensed special education teachers obtain the coursework needed to earn a collegiate professional license. This unique program, entitled Certifying On-Line Virginia Educators, better known as COVE, is regional, serving teachers in Regions 1 and 8. Program participants receive coursework and other activities leading to endorsements in special education, general curriculum. All courses are Web-based and taught by an instructor who is a member of the Department of Special Education and Disability Policy.

In addition to the COVE program, the department partners with school divisions in the Richmond metropolitan area to help instructional assistants become special education teachers through the Metropolitan Educational Training Alliance -- Special Education Program for Instructional Assistants. This program, known as the META -- SEPIA Alternative Licensure Program, is a also 27 graduate credit hour program. Upon successful completion, participants earn a collegiate professional license and endorsement in special education, general curriculum.

AUTISM INITIATIVES
Over the past few years, the department has been instrumental in coordinating a number of autism initiatives, some of which are statewide and others are regional or local to the Richmond area. In collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry, the Department of Special Education and Developmental Disabilities has many different projects being implemented at the Faison School.

Since August 2007, the Department of Special Education and Disability Policy has offered a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorders. This unique program is designed to enable personnel to develop comprehensive knowledge and experience in assessment, teaching strategies, and curriculum development for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders. The certificate program, recognized by the Virginia Department of Education, is comprised of four 3-credit hour graduate courses for a total of 12 credit hours. Upon successful completion, participants earn a certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorders.