The New York State Department of Education (NYSED), through the Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID) formerly funded 41 Special Education Training and Resource Centers (SETRC), seven Transition Coordination Sites (TCS) and seven Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Technical Assistance/Training Sites. These networks were among the primary providers of the professional development and technical assistance to school districts that need assistance and/or intervention in order to improve outcomes for students with disabilities.

Effective July 1, 2009 VESID established 10 Regional Special Education Centers (RSE-TASC) to act as Special Education Technical Assistance Centers (TAC). Each RSE-TASC has a Coordinator and regional technical assistance specialists, which are known as the RSE-TASC, Part 1. There are 41 additional contracts for special education school improvement specialists located throughout the RSE-TASC region, which are known as RSE-TASC, Part 2. As a regional network, all RSE-TASCs work in partnership with VESID’s Special Education Quality Assurance (SEQA) offices, and other VESID and NYSED supported initiatives to provide directed technical assistance and professional development to improve instructional practices and outcomes for students with disabilities.

The RSE-TASCs establish regionally-based resources to provide a coordinated system of high quality technical assistance, training, information dissemination and professional development to school districts to improve their instructional programs and practices for students with disabilities, particularly in the areas of (a) literacy, (b) behavioral supports and interventions, (c) special education instruction and (d) transition planning and activities. The primary work of the technical assistance providers funded through VESID is to bring research-based instructional and behavioral practices to those school districts determined by VESID to be “at risk”, “in need of assistance”, or “in need of intervention” in order to (a) improve results for students with disabilities and (b) to meet the State’s targets for improvement as identified in the State Performance Plan (SPP)

The RSE-TASC Regional Coordinators (Part 1) are (1) responsible for ensuring that the technical assistance providers for both Parts 1 and 2 of the RSE-TASC region engage in ongoing professional development as required by VESID, (2) serve as the primary regional communication liaison with VESID, the District Superintendents and School Superintendents and other NYSED school improvement providers, as applicable, to (a) identify and address regional issues/concerns as well as (b) the professional development needs of the special education technical assistance providers.

Eastern Suffolk BOCES RSE-TASC is located at Sherwood Center in Holbrook, NY. Formerly known as the Special Education Training and Resource Center (SETRC), the new RSE-TASC will subsume existing networks including the Transition Coordination Site and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Technical Assistance/Training Site and vastly expand services to a broader constituency throughout Long Island. It establishes a new approach for the provision of special education technical assistance and professional development to schools.

The Coordinator for Eastern Suffolk BOCES RSE-TASC is Dr. Valerie Valenti. Dr. Valenti will oversee the administration of this complex and robust three-part initiative involving one Island-wide center and two satellite offices, in Eastern Suffolk BOCES and Nassau BOCES, respectively. The regional professional development to be provided through the RSE-TASC (at no cost to administrators, teachers, or parents) will be targeted to improve outcomes for students with disabilities and will include information on:

Parent Member Training

Please contact Dr. Valerie Valenti at 631-218-4197 or vvalenti@esboces.org for more information.