Self-advocacy is a key step in becoming an adult. It means looking out for yourself, telling people what you need, and knowing how to take responsibility. No one is born knowing these skills. Everyone has to learn them. Ready to begin learning? Here is some great information that can start you on your way. […]
Learning to read and write are important, but so are functional skills, that can help a child live a full and enriched life! This article shares 3 parenting tips that you can use in your advocacy efforts! Tip 1: Use Federal special education law Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA 2004 to strengthen your advocacy efforts for functional skill training. IDEA states that every IEP that is developed for a child must contain a statement of the child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance. What does this mean for your child? Your child’s IEP should state what level [...]
The United States Commission on Civil Rights has issued a new report concerning the inequities in public school funding. The conclusion of the report is that America’s schools are profoundly unequal. Here are the recommendations of the Commission: We agree with the Equity and Excellence Commission that the federal government must take bold action to address inequitable funding in our nation’s public schools. […]
Reading problems are the most common type of academic underachievement. Especially for students with dyslexia, learning to read and write can be exceedingly difficult. Dyslexia and related reading and language difficulties are the result of neurobiological variations, but they can be treated with effective instruction. Effective instruction is instruction that is tied to student needs, as determined by diagnostic testing and evaluation. It is instruction delivered by knowledgeable and skilled individuals in a step-by-step fashion that leads to the achievement of desired outcomes or goals by targeting a student’s relative strengths and strengthening his or her relative weaknesses. Effective instruction also [...]
Recall the Law: Schools must ensure that: “All children with disabilities … who are in need of special education and related services, are identified, located, and evaluated.” 300.111(a) “A free appropriate public education (FAPE) must be available to all children residing in the state between the ages of 3 and 21”. “Each State must ensure that FAPE is available to any individual child with a disability who needs special education and related services, even though the child has not failed or been retained in a course or grade, and is advancing from grade to grade.” 300.101(a)&(c) The IDEA includes the concept [...]
An annual review is an IEP meeting required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that must be held at least once a year. The meeting brings the IEP team together to review the student's progress and program, and plan for the following year. As with other IEP meetings, the school district must provide parents with advance written notice of the meeting and consider their availability when scheduling the meeting. The meeting has these parts: 1. Review of Progress since Last Annual IEP Meeting The team first discusses the student's progress on IEP goals and objectives that were written last [...]
