June 2023
SERC Scoop Newsletter

  • What is SERC?
  • CADRE webinar: IDEA Case Law Update: Lessons Learned with Art Cernosia
  • Assistive Technology in the Classroom: ABLE-Tech presentation during SERC’s May webinar
  • Wisdom Wednesday Webinars Preview
  • SERC PD Series with Dr. Tracy Gershwin
  • Virtual/In-Person Mediation and IEP Facilitation in Oklahoma
  • Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue Update
  • Which Dispute Resolution Process is best for me?
  • Upcoming Events

What is SERC? 

The Special Education Resolution Center of OSU (SERC) has been collaborating with the Oklahoma State Department of Education for over 16 years to help families and school districts resolve conflicts at the earliest stage possible. SERC provides services for children from birth to 3 in SoonerStart and for students 3 through 21 in public schools.

What does SERC provide to schools, SoonerStart, and families at no cost?

CADRE webinar: IDEA Case Law Update with Art Cernosia

 Art Cernosia, CADRE’s IDEA legal consultant, reviews the most important  legal cases in special education and early intervention in the recent past. In addition to reviewing the cases, he reflects upon what they may mean for the field, and encourage your questions throughout. 

Watch the webinar on YouTube.

View the presentation here (PDF).

View the related handout here (PDF).

Assistive Technology in the Classroom: ABLE-Tech Presentation May, 2023

Gretchen Cole-Lade, NBCT, PhD, State Leadership Training Specialist for Oklahoma ABLE-Tech presents during the SERC May, 2023, Wisdom Wednesday Webinar. Oklahoma ABLE- Tech is Oklahoma’s Assistive Technology Act program.  ABLE- Tech provides a variety of assistive technology (AT) resources for educators and families to support students with disabilities in all aspects of their lives.  Dr. Gretchen Cole-Lade is a former Special Educator, higher education professor, and currently ABLE Tech’s Training Specialist.  Her Wisdom Wednesday presentation provides information regarding ABLE Tech’s resources, as well as discussing the four federal laws which impact the consideration, assessment, and implementation of AT in public school classrooms.

Click here to view the presentation (PDF).

Click here to watch the webinar:

Wisdom Wednesday Webinars Preview

SERC’s monthly Wisdom Wednesday Webinars have resumed. These free and informative webinars take place live on Zoom the third Wednesday of each month from Noon to 1:30 pm. Here are the upcoming webinars for this quarter.

June 21, 2023 – Introducing IEP Facilitation on the District Level SERC Program Coordinator, Dr. Rob Keiter, will be our presenter for this session.

Implementation of the IDEA requires collaboration between, families, educators, other professionals, and community resources. This is also true of the larger system of education. We are expected to work interdependently in the context of this complex and essential work. The effectiveness of this shared work is often enhanced when supported by a skilled facilitator.

SERC in partnership with the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) offers IEP facilitation to schools and families at no charge. Either the school or family can request a facilitator, and both must agree to the use of this resource. When requested, highly experienced third-party facilitators contracted with SERC serve in this role. While this statewide resource will continue to be available in Oklahoma, this new training is designed to help districts develop in-house facilitators to support the work of local IEP teams and other collaborative conversations. The Wednesday, June 21, 2023 Wisdom Wednesday Webinar will introduce this new training.

Click here to register for the June webinar:

SERC PD Series with Dr. Tracy Gershwin

SERC presents a professional development series with Tracy Gershwin, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Professor at the University of Northern Colorado.

This six-part series addresses important issues related to fostering family-professional partnerships, including conflict prevention and dispute resolution. Each module includes a presentation pdf, additional resources pdf, and video to be used to help facilitate groups who may use the series in professional development settings.

Click here to view these materials on our Stakeholder training page:

Virtual/In-Person Mediation and IEP facilitation in Oklahoma

While IEP facilitations and mediations continue to be offered through online-video format with Zoom, in-person meetings are also available. Virtual meetings will be the default unless an in-person meeting is requested. To participate in a virtual meeting, you will need a computer/iPad/smartphone with WIFI and a place to meet without interruptions. Participants can also access by phone. An iPad with hot spot can be provided for use at no cost for those without access to a computer and/or WIFI. Contact SERC for more information about scheduling a virtual or in-person meeting.

Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue Update

Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue is a nationally recognized training that helps people have difficult conversations that they are afraid to have or that aren’t going well. And the focus of the training is not just about communication – it’s about helping people get the results they want and need.

Crucial Conversations can help you in your conversations with:

  • School administrators
  • Special Education Directors and staff
  • School Staff and personnel including general ed teachers
  • Service resource providers
  • IEP team members
  • Parents and their advocates
  • Organizations and family support personnel that work with children with disabilities

We offer in-person classes as well as a virtual format using Zoom that is very effective. The in-person format consists of two days, and the virtual format consists of five 2.5-hour long sessions that can be scheduled over three days or one session at a time.

Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue is available at no cost to those attending through our partnership with the Oklahoma State Department of Education. If you are interested in scheduling a future training for your district during the fall or spring, please contact Rob Keiter at  rob.keiter@okstate.edu or (405) 569-3105.

Which Dispute Resolution Process is best for me?

You may be wondering which dispute resolution process would be the best for you when dealing with special education-related disputes. This dispute chart will help you understand the differences between the three processes offered in Oklahoma. Each of these processes is offered at no cost to schools or parents. Please contact us with any questions related to our dispute resolution processes. We can help you decide which process will work the best for your situation.

View the English version of the dispute resolution chart here:

View the Spanish version of the dispute resolution chart here:

Upcoming Events

ABLE Tech Monthly AT Workshops

ABLE Tech has successfully completed several series of virtual workshops for special education and related service providers. The feedback was outstanding and focused on planning positive systemic improvements and changes.

Monthly workshops will resume for the fall in September, 2023. For more information about the ABLE Tech monthly workshops, visit the ABLE Tech calendar here.

Jo Anne Pool Blades, Program Manager
Special Education Resolution Center (SERC)
Oklahoma State University Sponsored Program. 9726 E. 42nd Street, Suite 203 | Tulsa, OK  74146
Phone: 918.270.1849, 888.267.0028

Email: jo.blades@okstate.edu

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