Defining Accountability and Best Practices in Private Schools Which Receive State Funds for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Abstract Accusations pertaining to insufficient accountability for private schools that provide alternative educational options for special education students have led to opposition to those same schools. The opposition results in part from the schools’ acceptance of state funded vouchers and scholarships. In Florida, state vouchers provide funds which support alternative educational placement for students from lower socio-economic status and/or who have identified disabilities. Because they are not subject to state or federal government jurisdiction, private schools have the right to set their own policies and procedures to determine appropriateness of curriculum, assessment, accountability, personnel training and development, funding, and governance (United States Department of Education, 2009). In the absence of external standards in these areas, private schools’ ability to serve students who would, under public education, be protected under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a matter of dispute. The contention stems from concern that private schools are not held accountable to provide students with the same educational rights that IDEA intended, and that data is not tracked to assure effective educational and financial stewardship. Those opposing educational vouchers question private schools’ accountability and oversight, stating that agencies providing these funds and the schools receiving them should have clearly defined parameters to ensure appropriate use of designated funds. This study applied previous research on identified High Leverage Practices (HLPs) and Evidence Based Practices (EBPs) in public schools to a private school setting to establish accountability measures in private school special education programs which utilize state vouchers. It identifies those practices which experts concur on as providing a high quality education as they best support the education of students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDDs), specific to private education settings which receive state and federal dollars to instruct these privately placed students. The selected practices included teacher professional development to support instruction of students with IDDs, accountability with respect to student progress and measurements of that progress, identification of high quality instruction, opportunities for inclusive activities outside of the separate special education school program, and transition program opportunities to support students with intellectual disabilities. This research proposes accountability measurements and recommends fundamental standards of practice which align with a high-quality education to best serve students with developmental and intellectual disabilities who are served in private schools which accept state funding

Comparing International Rates of Involuntary Hospitalization on Psychiatric Grounds: A Case Study

In this study, we explored how rates of involuntary hospitalization on psychiatric grounds varied across 22 countries in Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand between 2008 and 2017. Alongside this, we also compared national legislation and investigated whether variations in rates could be explained by national-level socioeconomic, demographic, and clinical factors. It was conducted by members of the NIHR Mental Health Policy Research Unit and was commissioned by the independent review of the Mental Health Act (1983) in England and Wales in 2017–2018. For us as researchers, this was an unusual project to work on: there are few other studies in this area, and we had to collect a large body of information about the different involuntary hospitalization legislations and their application in practice. We worked with a solicitor to do this, but there were still significant challenges, such as language barriers and understanding the technicalities of the different legislations. We relied heavily on the expertise of “key informants”: mental health law academics or practicing psychiatrists based in each of the countries. Meanwhile, the project also posed many other interesting research methods questions, such as how to analyze the relationship between rates of involuntary hospitalization and legislation. We also learnt a lot about the complexities of obtaining and using these types of publicly available data, especially in terms of its accessibility and limitations. Overall, this was an interesting project to work on, and one that we hope will help provide a platform for future work on this topic

The Effects of Education with Healthcare Providers on Low Vision Assistive Devices and their Ability to Improve Self-Care Skills

Background: Results of a study by Casten et al., (2005) confirmed low rates of use of devices and services for low vision by the older adult. Older adults with low vision are receptive to using low vision resources but are often unaware of them (Lighthouse International, 2021). Casten et al. (2005) further suggested that the lack of services or use of devices may be due to a lack of awareness of health care professionals. Low vision assistive devices (LVAD), whether high or low tech, or mainstream, can help maximize a client’s vision so that they can perform everyday tasks more easily and with less frustration (Duffy, 2017) and increase the likelihood of being able to age in place. Purpose: The purpose of this research was to educate practitioners on the effectiveness of interventions and pieces of assistive technology within the occupational therapy scope of practice to improve performance in daily activities at home for older adults with low vision. Theoretical Framework: This capstone was supported by the Adult Learning theory and The Conceptual Model of Occupational Therapy in Low Vision (Schoessow, 2010). These theories interact equally to support education on LVAD so that a person with low vision can function as independently as possible. Methods: This project was designed and implemented to provide professional development on current LVAD and local community resources to home health practitioners to increase their knowledge. The project was completed though a professional development module to inform practitioners of the most current best practices to help those with low vision remain as independent as possible with self-care skills in the home and community environments. Before and after the professional development module, pre and post survey data were collected to evaluate the participants’ knowledge level of identification of low vision client’s and the use of LVAD and resources and determine the change in their knowledge after the module. The goal of the professional development in-service was to not only increase the participants’ knowledge of LVAD and resources but also to reinforce occupational therapy’s role with this population. Results: This capstone project was conducted with eleven healthcare practitioners to provide education on LVAD, interventions and resources to healthcare practitioners with focus on the home care setting. Quantitative analysis of the data revealed that the objectives of the study were met. Mean scores improved from the pre to posttest, where pre-test questions ranged from 1.82 to 2.91 and the post-test questions ranged from 3.73 to 4.45, for an average of 2.14 or 42.8%. The participant responses to the open-ended questions were positive and indicated understanding and growth in realm of LVAD, interventions, and resources. Based on these findings, the educational presentation provided to home healthcare clinicians was found to increase home care clinicians’ knowledge of LVAD, interventions and resources. Conclusion: This researcher found evidence connecting this study to the past literature involving LVAD, interventions and resources. The capstone objectives were met by the participants’ demonstration of knowledge and perceptions and finally educating practitioners about the realm of low vision. This capstone helps to fill a gap in the literature involving the need for greater education on low vison

Space shuttle navigation analysis. Volume 2: Baseline system navigation

Studies related to the baseline navigation system for the orbiter are presented. The baseline navigation system studies include a covariance analysis of the Inertial Measurement Unit calibration and alignment procedures, postflight IMU error recovery for the approach and landing phases, on-orbit calibration of IMU instrument biases, and a covariance analysis of entry and prelaunch navigation system performance

Primes in short intervals

Contrary to what would be predicted on the basis of Cram\'er's model concerning the distribution of prime numbers, we develop evidence that the distribution of $\psi(x+H)- \psi(x)$, for $0\le x\le N$, is approximately normal with mean $\sim H$ and variance $\sim H\log N/H$, when $N^\delta \le H \le N^{1-\delta}$.Comment: 29 page

Fidelity Diluted: Client Confidentiality Gives Way to the First Amendment & Social Media in Virginia State Bar, ex rel. Third District Committee v. Horace Frazier Hunter

Fidelity and confidentiality are hallmarks of the attorney-client relationship. However, as social media use permeates the legal profession, new challenges have arisen to the traditional interpretation of client confidentiality. The Virginia Supreme Court’s recent holding, which concludes that to deny attorney Horace Hunter the ability to blog about his clients’ cases without client consent, after the case concludes and based upon what is found in the public record, is to deny Hunter his First Amendment right of free speech has spurned controversy. The Hunter opinion arguably undermines the long standing legal ethics rule of confidentiality and strikes at the heart of the attorney-client relationship as it has been defined and has evolved since the late nineteenth century. Ultimately, the central issue for the legal profession is whether an attorney’s relationship with a client and the simultaneous duty of confidentiality owed to the client survives the completion of the case notwithstanding what may appear in a public record and regardless of First Amendment considerations. The underlying components that define the attorney-client relationship and the history, evolution, and moral underpinnings of the ethical rule of client confidentiality suggest that the Virginia Supreme Court has diluted client confidentiality in a manner that warrants both further exploration and extreme concern for the fundamental attorney-client relationship

Biomarkers of Acute Myocardial Infarction in the Elderly: Troponin and Beyond

In the broadest context, biological markers, or biomarkers, are molecules that characterize a biological system or process. In the setting of cardiovascular disease, a number of biomarkers have become an integral part of diagnostic and risk stratification strategies. In this review, we will discuss classic and emerging biomarkers of cardiovascular disease and the role of these biomarkers in the diagnosis and prognosis of elderly patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction

Reversible transformations from pure to mixed states, and the unique measure of information

Transformations from pure to mixed states are usually associated with information loss and irreversibility. Here, a protocol is demonstrated allowing one to make these transformations reversible. The pure states are diluted with a random noise source. Using this protocol one can study optimal transformations between states, and from this derive the unique measure of information. This is compared to irreversible transformations where one does not have access to noise. The ideas presented here shed some light on attempts to understand entanglement manipulations and the inevitable irreversibility encountered there where one finds that mixed states can contain "bound entanglement".Comment: 10 pages, no figures, revtex4, table added, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Investigating geographical variation in the use of mental health services by area of England: a cross-sectional ecological study

BACKGROUND: There is evidence of geographical variation in the use of mental health services in the UK and in international settings. It is important to understand whether this variation reflects differences in the prevalence of mental disorders, or if there is evidence of variation related to other factors, such as population socioeconomic status and access to primary care services. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional ecological study using Public Health England data. The unit of analysis was the population served by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), National Health Service (NHS) catchment areas. The analysis explored associations between area characteristics and the number of people in contact with mental health services using regression modelling. Explanatory variables included age, gender, prevalence of severe mental illness (SMI), prevalence of common mental disorder (CMD), index of multiple deprivation (IMD), unemployment, proportion of the population who are Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME), population density, access to and recovery in primary care psychological therapies. Unadjusted results are reported, as well as estimates adjusted for age, prevalence of CMD and prevalence of SMI. RESULTS: The populations of 194 CCGs were included, clustered within 62 trusts (NHS providers of mental health services). The number of people in contact with mental health services showed wide variation by area (range from 1131 to 5205 per 100,000 population). Unemployment (adjusted IRR 1.11; 95% CI 1.05 to 1.17; p < 0.001) and deprivation (adjusted IRR 1.02 95% CI 1.01 to 1.04; p < 0.001) were associated with more people being in contact with mental health services. Areas with a higher proportion of the population who are BAME (IRR 0.95 95% CI 0.92 to 0.99 p = 0.007) had lower service use per 100,000 population. There was no evidence for association with access to primary care psychological therapies. CONCLUSIONS: There is substantial variation in the use of mental health services by area of England. Social factors including deprivation, unemployment and population ethnicity continued to be associated with the outcome after controlling for the prevalence of mental illness. This suggests that there are factors that influence the local population use of mental health services in addition to the prevalence of mental disorder