NASHOBA SPED PAC Newsletter, February 2008
SPED
PAC has an outstanding (and fun) speaker at our next meeting, which is the
Wednesday after vacation. So, we thought
a pre-vacation reminder would be in order.
We’re excited about the new Challenger
Baseball League forming. (A great opportunity
for special needs kids and non-special needs kids to work together!) Please see the information below. Several
other local organizations have contacted us about events and details are
included here as well. We’ve also listed the remaining SPED PAC meeting dates
for the year.
Legislation
News: We’ve
just received a message from Julia
Landau, attorney, at the MASSACHUSETTS ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN. She reports
that a number of bills were reported
out favorably by the Education Committee on Monday (Feb 11). I’ve pasted the list at the bottom of this
email.
OUR NEXT SPED PAC MEETING:
Wednesday,
February 27th
Topic: Community Resources with Sue Loring. Ms. Loring will describe services available in the
community to support children and families affected by different disabilities
and needs. She will describe the
Wednesday,
March 19th
Transitions: The evening is geared towards parents of children making one of the
following transitions. Select from one of these 3 separate sessions:
Wednesday,
April 16th
Speaker/topic not yet confirmed. We
are considering a showing and discussion of the documentary, Including Samuel
which is described below.
Wednesday,
May 21st 7:15 pm Yelling Doesn’t Work! presented by Rebecca Goniwich
of the Federation for Children with Special Needs. What you can do
to help a child with special needs comply at home and in the classroom using
Positive Behavior Supports. Yelling does not teach the necessary skills the
child needs to learn in order to comply. Reduce frustration while communicating
with your child. This workshop provides insight into why a child with special
needs misbehaves and how changing your behavior will in turn change theirs.
Learn to recognize the function of behavior and how a front-end approach will
show results. Functional Assessments, which are at the heart of a Positive
Behavior Support Plan, are discussed at length and samples plans are provided.
This workshop was created by Rebecca Goniwich,
Barbara Gopen Memorial Fellow, in collaboration with
the Federation for Children with Special Needs. All are welcome. Refreshments
served
LOCATION The remaining SPED PAC meetings for the
year will be held at the Nashoba Regional HS in the ASC. (Enter building, Ctr
entrance at office, turn left, go up ramp, turn left) Watch for signs inside
the building.
Other events, which may be of interest:
YOGA for ADD and ADHD
adults and adolescents: Contact
Saturday, March 1st - Visions of Community 2008 Conference, at the Seaport/World Trade Center-Boston sponsored by
The Federation for Children with Special Needs and its co-sponsors. The
conference features over 36 break-out sessions with topical strands and
information covering Early Childhood, Special Education, No Child Left Behind
(NCLB), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Health Care for
Children with Special Needs, Transition, Social/Recreation Opportunities and
more. Keynote presentations by Paul Reville,
Chairman of the Massachusetts State Board of Education, and Keith Jones,
President and CEO of SoulTouchin’ Experiences. Network
with other parents and families and pick up free resources in our exhibit hall
packed with more than 50 vendors. For more information or to register,
please visit http://fcsn.org.
“Challenger Baseball League” forming: Joe Kennedy, the Assistant District
Administrator for Little League Baseball in this area has is interested in
starting a “Challenger" baseball program for all special needs
children,(regardless of mental or physical challenges) ages 5 through 18, whose
special needs would keep them from playing baseball in the "regular Little
League". He is attempting to
contact folks in the Nashoba district and surrounding towns. His contact info is:
KENNEDY2004@COMCAST.NET .
(He’s looking for special needs kids as players, and other athletes to
be buddies/coaches.)
The documentary, Including Samuel, which examines the educational and
social inclusion of youth with disabilities as a civil rights issue, is being
shown at
Details on the showing at
Registration
information and directions to Quinsigamond are available. Call (978) 632-4432 X55 or email jrafferty@criterionchild.com for
more information.
ABOUT THE MOVIE
Photojournalist Dan Habib rarely thought about
inclusion before he had his son Samuel seven years ago. Now he thinks about
inclusion every day. Dan Habib’s new 55-minute documentary film Including Samuel examines the educational
and social inclusion of youth with disabilities. The film is built on the
efforts of Habib and his family to include Samuel, 7, in all facets of their
lives. Including Samuel also
features four other families with varied inclusion experiences, plus interviews
with teachers, parents and disability rights experts.
A MESSAGE FROM JULIA LANDAU AT
All of the following bills
were reported out favorably by the Education Committee yesterday (Feb 11). Thanks for all your support in testifying and
helping to get the word out.
A good first step, but a
long way to go….
Some of the Major Special
Education Bills Supported by
S. 286 An Act to Maintain Transition
Age Requirements for Students with Disabilities
This bill would maintain the
requirement to initiate special education transition planning and transition
services at age 14, rather than waiting to age 16 as now permitted under
federal law. Transition services are
critical to facilitate a student’s movement to post-school activities,
including post-secondary education, vocational education, integrated employment,
continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, and community
participation. Delay beyond age 14
(waiting until the middle of high school) is too late to facilitate the most
effective transition planning
for youth with disabilities.
(Sen. Augustus lead sponsor)
H. 391 An Act to Provide Access to
Information for Parents’ Evaluators
This bill would amend the
state’s special education law to ensure that parents and independent evaluators
are provided access to observe the student’s current or proposed special education
programs. Although state regulations
currently provide parents the right to observe the school district’s proposed
program, school districts often place unreasonable obstacles in the way of
parents’ and their expert consultants’
observations. Parents are
entitled to full participation in the process of developing an IEP, but,
without access to observe their child’s school programs, they cannot obtain the
information they need to fully and effectively participate with school
personnel in the consideration and development of appropriate IEPs for their child.
This bill will help to avoid litigation, encourage settlement, and
requires no appropriation. (Rep. Balser lead sponsor)
H. 547
An Act Relative to Special Education Due Process Costs
This bill addresses the
impact of a Rehnquist decision by the US Supreme Court (Buckhannon, 2001) which
has effectively created a two-tier system, barring many low and middle-income
families from accessing special education rights and services. This bill would reinstate parents’ rights to
recover attorneys’ fees for settlements obtained as a result of litigation, as previously
available prior to 2001. This is
critical to encourage prompt resolution and settlement of disputes, reduce
litigation costs for families and school districts, reduce the lengthy delays
which harm children deprived of essential services for months and sometimes
years, and help ensure that children of all income levels receive equal
educational opportunities. (Rep. Sannicandro lead sponsor)
S.278 Act to Improve Teacher Training in Augmentative and Alternative
Communication-
This bill will help to
ensure that teachers receive training in augmentative and alternative
communication (AAC) methods necessary to educate children with disabilities who
are nonverbal or who have limited speech. Thousands of children (including
children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, cerebral palsy, and acquired brain
injury), rely
on AAC methods to interact with others, and many students are now being
included in regular education. The bill
directs the Board of Education to revise regulations for educator licensure so
that all teachers are adequately prepared in methods of communication other
than speech to facilitate interaction, to ensure that students with such
disabilities can access the general education curriculum and to facilitate
inclusion. (Sen. Antonioni lead sponsor)
S.311 An Act to Maintain Short Term
Objectives for Students with Disabilities
This bill would require
school districts to continue the current practice of including and maintaining
short term objectives in the IEPs of students with
disabilities. A recent change in Federal law removed the requirement for short
term objectives, and
this bill would ensure that the state practice will continue by
codification in State law. The inclusion
of short term objectives in IEPs is important to
maintain accountability and
assist in measuring the student’s progress. (Sen. Creem lead
sponsor)
S.280 An Act Relative to Special
Education and Parent Advisory Councils
This bill requires the
Department of Education to establish and administer, subject to appropriation,
a grant program to provide financial support to parent advisory councils to
support their duties. (Sen. Antonioni lead sponsor)
S. 279 An Act Relative to Special
Education Compliance
This bill requires the
Department of Education to establish a program to provide at least 5 regional
attorneys to represent children with disabilities and their families whose
income does not exceed the federal poverty level. (Sen. Antonioni lead sponsor)
____________________
Julia Landau, Esq.
Senior Project Director
Mass Advocates for Children