The Fall RCN Leadership Day will be held on October 27, 2025 from 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center in East Lansing.

Registration is open! Please contact your RCN leadership for registration information.

The Secondary Transition Community of Practice (CoP) brings together educators, families, and community partners from across Michigan to collaborate on supporting students with disabilities as they move from school to adult life.

This group is open to anyone who is involved directly supporting secondary transition planning and programming, and we welcome broad representation from all regions of the state.

By sharing experiences, resources, and strategies, we can strengthen opportunities and outcomes for students together.

➡️Your experience and perspective are valuable—add your voice to the CoP and help enhance implementation of Secondary Transition programming across the state. Learn more and join here.

START has made important updates to EPLI to strengthen the program. These include:

We encourage you to review the information below and visit our website for detailed information.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to START at autismed@gvsu.edu. We appreciate your commitment to high-quality, evidence-based practices and look forward to enriching the EPLI program together! 

Reminder! Enter your Fiscal Agent Information, Report Contact Information, RCN Leadership, and District Representatives on the 25-26 RCN Contacts spreadsheet located in your Google Drive Folder.

START will send RCN update emails to the District Representatives and RCN leadership.  

→ We highly encourage the RCN to distribute information about START's 2025-2026 Trainings and Training Series to staff, community members, and families across your region. 

START has developed flyers, images, and slides for the RCN to use and disseminate. 

Promoting Early Childhood Independence and Engagement

📅Date: September 26, 2025
⌚Time: 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Location: Zoom

How can we support young children with autism to become more independent and engaged in early childhood settings? This evidence-based strategies training shows how clear expectations and consistent routines support learning, engagement, and positive relationships. You’ll explore practical strategies like breaking tasks into steps and using prompts to encourage success in early childhood settings.

FAPE in the LRE

📅Date: October 3, 2025
⌚Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom

Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) is the foundation of special education. This interactive session helps all school staff-including all teachers, administrators, and support teams—understand what FAPE and LRE means and their role in supporting students with disabilities. Participants will engage in activities and use tools designed to strengthen their ability to support students with disabilities effectively.

Foundations in Peer to Peer - Secondary (Middle and High School) Series

📅Dates: October 2, 2025; October 8, 2025; and October 15, 2025
⌚Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom

This series introduces how to build a Peer to Peer program at the secondary level that connects students with and without disabilities to promote belonging throughout the school day. Participants will learn guidance on recruiting, curriculum, and maintaining the program, plus the idea of a “medium of exchange” to help create meaningful student connections. While each Peer to Peer program is unique, the outcomes are clear: better experiences for autistic students, those with IEPs, their peers, and a more positive and accepting school culture for all.

Foundations in Peer to Peer - Elementary Series

📅Dates: October 2, 2025; October 9, 2025; and October 16, 2025
⌚Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom

This series introduces how to build a Peer to Peer program at the elementary level that connects students with and without disabilities to promote belonging throughout the school day. Participants will learn guidance on recruiting, curriculum, and maintaining the program, plus the idea of a “medium of exchange” to help create meaningful student connections. While each Peer to Peer program is unique, the outcomes are clear: better experiences for autistic students, those with IEPs, their peers, and a more positive and accepting school culture for all.

Using the CETA to Promote Evidence-Based Classroom Practices

📅Dates: October 22, 2025; November 12, 2025; December 10, 2025; January 14, 2026; February 4, 2026; and February 25, 2026
⌚Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom

This six-module training series is designed for school teams, including special education administrators, building leaders, general and special education teachers, ancillary staff, and paraeducators. Using the Classroom Environmental & Teaching Assessment (CETA), teams will engage in data-informed reflection to evaluate current practices and identify areas for growth. Through collaboration, school teams will develop a shared action plan to strengthen instruction and improve outcomes for students with autism and higher support needs.

Proactive Approaches to Behavior: Script and Strategies for De-escalation

📅Date: October 30, 2025
⌚Time: 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Location: In-person

This team-based training walks a school-based team through the process of understanding the cycle of behavioral escalation and proactively planning for adult responses across the cycle. Teams are introduced to behavioral scripts and a template for developing individualized scripts to support a student. Through a combination of scenarios and real-world applications, teams will learn how to facilitate the development of and support the use of behavior scripts that embody a prevent, teach, respond/reinforce approach to supporting both students and adults.

The Statewide Autism Resources and Training (START) Project is funded by the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Special Education and is housed in the Grand Valley State University (GVSU) Autism Education Center (AEC). 

START Project | autismed@gvsu.edu | (616) 331-6480