Dr. Tom E.C. Smith is currently Professor and Chairperson, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Arkansas. Prior to coming to the university, Dr. Smith was on the faculties at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences campus, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and University of Arkansas at Little Rock. In 1994, President Clinton appointed Dr. Smith to the President’s Committee on Mental Retardation; he was reappointed in 1998 and 2001. This national committee advises the President on issues affecting individuals with mental retardation. Since 1992, Dr. Smith has served as the Executive Director of the Division on Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children. This national organization of 7,000 members, advocates for educational programs for this group of students.

Dr. Smith has authored or co-authored 22 college textbooks in special education and more than 40 articles in professional journals; he has made more than 200 presentations at national, regional, and state meetings, frequently emphasizing curriculum, legal issues and special education. During the past five years, Dr. Smith has consulted with schools and held workshops on Section 504 in 40 states. He teaches graduate classes in legal issues and disabilities, behavior management, and characteristics of individuals with disabilities.

As the Executive Director of DDD, Dr. Smith has been extensively involved in the development of standards as they apply to children with mental retardation and autism. These standards have become a major component of the CEC standards used for NCATE program approval. Dr. Smith has also been involved in developing successful SPA reports for several universities.

Janette K. Klingner, Ph.D.

Co-Principal Investigator, National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems

Dr. Klingner is an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, in Bilingual Special Education. She was a bilingual special education teacher for 10 years before earning a Ph.D. in Reading and Learning Disabilities from the University of Miami. She has been the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on federally funded grants totaling $15,452,398. Currently, she is a co-Principal Investigator for The National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems, a technical assistance center on the disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, with

E. Kozleski, A. Artiles, and C. Utley. She is also an Investigator for the National Center on Personnel Studies in Special Education (COPSSE), a Personnel Preparation Grant to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, with Principal Investigators P. Sindelar & M. Brownell and a consultant on other federally funded projects. Recently she was the co-Principal Investigator on two research grants funded through the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs: In Search of an Exemplary Special

Education Referral and Decision-Making Process for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students with Dr. Beth Harry, and The Sustainability of Effective Practices with Dr. Marie Hughes, as well as the Principal Investigator and Project Director of a Partnership Grant for Improving Teacher Education from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education. To date she has published 27 articles in refereed journals and 10 books and book chapters (some are "in press"). Additionally, she has presented over 50 times at national or international conferences. Research foci include the disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education, reading comprehension strategy instruction for English language learners and students with disabilities, and professional development programs. Teaching interests are in the areas of bilingual special education, learning disabilities, bilingual education, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), and multicultural education. She is a member of numerous professional organizations in special education, bilingual education/TESOL, and literacy. She is the Associate Editor for the Review of Educational

Research, and on the editorial board of six professional journals. She is the Chairperson (and founder) of the Diversity Committee of CEC’s Division for Research, an appointed member of the Multicultural Issues Committee of the National Reading Conference, and the Program Chairperson of the Special Education Research Special Interest Group of AERA. She has served as a mentor for the Center of Minority Research and Special Education (COMRISE), University of Virginia, and the Center for Minority Special Education, Hampton University. She is of mixed Hispanic and Anglo-American ethnicity and is bilingual. In addition, she is the mother of a child with an emotional disorder.