New Assistant Secretary Joining U.S. Education Department

GettingHired.com congratulates Alexa E. Posny on her confirmation by the Senate as Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS).  GettingHired.com looks forward to the opportunity to support the work of Assistant Secretary Posner and OSERS in reducing the employment participation gap for people with disabilities.  Following is the press release received from Andrew J. Pepin, executive administrator of OSERS:

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan congratulated Alexa E. Posny for being confirmed by the Senate on Monday, Oct. 5 as assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services.

Posny comes to the department from Kansas where she served as commissioner of education for the state. As commissioner, Posny was responsible for helping over 450,000 students meet or exceed high academic standards, licensing over 45,000 teachers and overseeing a state education budget of more than $4.5 billion. Prior to her work as commissioner, Posny served as the director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) for the U.S. Department of Education, a position in which she assisted state and local efforts to effectively educate all children and youth with disabilities. Posny has also served as the Kansas deputy commissioner of education, Kansas state director of special education, director of special education for the Shawnee Mission School District, director of the Curriculum and Instruction Specialty Option as part of the Title I Technical Assistance Center (TAC) network of TACs across the United States, and a senior research associate at Research and Training Associates in Overland Park, Kan. Posny earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, a master's degree in behavioral disabilities and a doctorate in educational administration both from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Posny has also served on the Board of Directors for the Chief State School Officers, the National Council for Learning Disabilities, and chaired the National Assessment Governing Board's Special Education Task Force. Posny has also been a teacher at the elementary, middle school, high school and university levels.

To view the full press release, please visit http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2009/10/10082009.html.