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© niyam bhushan

Special education resources in Santa Cruz county will be managed by a new duo of leaders who were hired this summer to oversee services for special education students throughout the county. Dorothy Raab and Harriett Maglin have their work cut out for them at a time when education resources are strained on a statewide basis. Maglin will be in charge of the North Santa Cruz County Special Education Local Area Plan (SELPA) and will command a $125,000 salary.

The SELPA program supports teachers, administrators and parents and serves over 2,400 students in 11 different districts. Raab will be directing special education efforts at the county level Office of Education, where she will oversee a variety of programs for local school districts. Many districts contract with the Office of Education for at least some of their special education services.

© niassembly

Special education resources in Ireland are so stretched that some pupils are being turned away from school due to a lack of special education teachers. A total of 9 pupils were told this year that they will be unable to start school, with two of these being turned away for the second year in a row.

The six and seven year olds were sent home from the St. Gabriel's national school in the village of Bishopstown, Cork. Their parents are calling this situation a "total disgrace", given that St Gabriel's is a school which specifically caters to children with learning disabilities. What is worse is that the nine students who were rejected at the last minute had been promised places in the classroom in writing as late as this July.

© opensourceway

A new cyber safety game is among special education resources being used to educate students with learning disabilities and other special needs. Cybersmart Access is the first online cyber safety game in Australia that was created specifically with special education needs in mind. It was designed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) as a resource to teach students about protecting themselves online in a way that is fun and engaging.

The free resource will be made available to all teachers of primary and secondary grades across the country. The game cover the most important cyber safety issues that children face online, with a major focus on safe social networking, avoiding cyber bullying, protecting personal information online and appropriate online etiquette. The ACMA consulted with special education students and teacher in developing the game.