CAST Announces New Criteria to Guide UDL Implementation, Certification for Schools

Date:
Wednesday, July 21, 2021

CAST today announced the release of the UDL School Implementation and Certification Criteria (UDL-SICC) on its Learning Designed™ platform. The Criteria will allow schools to guide and measure their use of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to create inclusive learning experiences and environments.

The resource addresses four categories—School Culture and Environment, Teaching and Learning, Leadership and Management, and Professional Learning—with the goal of:

• Supporting an ambitious vision for schoolwide implementation of UDL;
• Providing a flexible roadmap for how to achieve this vision;
• Offering a pathway toward school-level certification, which will be offered at a future date.

“The UDL-SICC gives schools significant support as they work to stimulate and sustain best practices in UDL,” says Steve Nordmark, CAST’s Director of Business Development who also directs the UDL-SICC initiative. “With the criteria, schools have research-based tools to design inclusive learning environments and monitor their progress toward that goal.”

The UDL Implementation and Research Network and CAST Professional Learning, both divisions of CAST, developed the criteria in collaboration with an advisory board of school leaders with experience implementing UDL. The UDL-SICC builds on a foundation of implementation and improvement sciences, research from across the UDL field, and years of experience from UDL implementation specialists who support schools and districts.

The full UDL-SICC lives on Learning Designed™, an online platform that supports the UDL community with resources, credentials, and community-building opportunities. A related guide, implementation readiness tool, and self assessment support the use of the criteria. These resources are part of a larger UDL Credentialing and Certification Initiative, a multiyear, global field-change effort to support the voluntary, scaled implementation of UDL.

About the UDL Implementation and Research Network

The UDL-IRN, a division of CAST, is a grassroots organization that supports the scaled implementation and research related to Universal Design for Learning. Through collaboration, the UDL-IRN supports and promotes the identification and development of models, tools, research, and practices designed to foster effective UDL implementation in educational environments.

About CAST

Founded in 1984, CAST is a nonprofit whose mission is to transform education design and practice “until learning has no limits”®. Winner of the Smithsonian Innovation in Education award and many other honors, CAST conducts research and development, provides technical assistance and professional development, and publishes exceptional media for the education market. CAST authored the renowned Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework and UDL Guidelines.