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Staff development is provided to assessment personnel on legal updates, compliance, and assessment instruments in special education. Emphasis is placed on bilingual assessment, an integrative asessment approach and appropriate testing materials. Authors and publishers of the testing instruments present sessions that provide first-hand understanding of the proper use of the tests. Technical assistance and training is also available for evaluation personnel to ensure compliance with the law as it relates to evaluation.
A new initiative for the 2006-07 school year was the formation of Autism Assessment Teams. Currently, the teams are in Year 4 of this initiative and there are 23 teams from the districts in the Region One area. Over 120 team members recieve specialized training on assessment and other issues leading to improvement for services to students on the autism spectrum disorder.
Other initiatives include the Bilingual Evaluation Specialist Teams (BEST), the licensed specialist in school psychology (LSSP) academy, and the specialized training on the integrative approach to evaluation. | 
