COPAA Webinar on Section 504

On Tuesday, November 15th, Mandy and I will be giving a live presentation as part of COPAA's current webinar series. Our presentation is entitled Expanding Your Arsenal with Section 504 and we will be covering a variety of issues that arise under Section 504, with a focus on practical application of advocacy strategies. We are very excited to be a part of COPAA's training endeavors through this webinar!

Here are the details:

What: Expanding Your Advocacy Arsenal with Section 504; Webinar Presentation by Carolina Watts and Mandy Favaloro

When: November 15th at 2:00pm Eastern/ 11:00am Pacific

How to register: Go to www.copaa.org/conference-training/webinars to sign up for the live webinar. COPAA members get a discounted rate for registration. At a later date, COPAA also makes prior presentations available for purchases through webinar archives.

May 12th Screening of Wretches and Jabberers movie!

Wretches and Jabberers
100 Cities: One Night for Autism

On May 12, 2011, at 7:30pm, screenings of the movie Wretches and Jabberers will be taking place in many different locations as part of "100 Cities: One Night for Autism." The movie is about two men with Autism who embark on a global quest to change attitudes about disability and intelligence. The film follows these two men as they explore local cultures, reunite with old friends, make new friends and acquaintances, and tackle public perceptions about Autism.

Here in the Los Angeles Area, the law firm Newman.Aaronson.Vanaman will be one of the hosts for the 100 Cities: One Night for Autism screening event. NAV will play host to the screening taking place in Glendale, California. It is a great opportunity to spend an evening with others in the special education community, enjoy a great, and inspiring, movie, and show your support for Autism Awareness! We really hope to see you there!


Here's the Info:

Wretches and Jabberers
Host: Newman.Aaronson.Vanaman
Where: Glendale Mann Exchange 10
128 North Maryland Avenue
Glendale, CA 91206
When: Thursday, May 12th at 7:30 pm

Online Ticketing at either of these two cites
(be sure you choose the Glendale screening specifically) -
www.movietickets.com
www.screenvision.com

p.s. leave a comment here on the blog if you plan to attend!

Networking Event

The Women's Organization of Special Education Professionals (WOSEP) is holding their semi-annual tea this Sunday. Details can be found on www.wosep.com.

WOSEP is an organization of professionals in the special education community in Southern California. Members include psychologists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, and other providers, as well as advocates and attorneys. WOSEP provides networking opportunities, including the semi-annual tea, for members to get to know each other in person, share information about their various specialties and practices, and socialize. WOSEP also provides a directory of resources available to the public on its website.

November's tea will be hosted by WOSEP member Pam Clark of the Help Group. Come out and join us for a great afternoon of socializing and networking!

Autism on 20/20 Tonight

Watch 20/20 tonight, and be inspired by Carly, and
by her family's determination to help her find her voice.

You can read more about Carly on at "Carly's Voice"

Reminder: IDEA Fairness Restoration Act

A reminder that today is a national call-in day for the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act, H.R., 2740.

Call your Congressional Representative to ask him or her to co-sponsor the Act and help level the playing field.Dial 202-224-3121 (TTY 202-225-1904) and ask for your Representative. You can also find direct dial numbers for your Representative, including local numbers (if long-distance is too costly), on your Representative’s web page at http://www.house.gov/.

How to Find Out Who Your Congressional Representative is: If you do not know who your Congressional Representative is, go to http://www.house.gov/ and put your zip code into the box in the upper left corner.The IDEA Fairness Restoration Act will override the Supreme Court's decision in Arlington Central School District v. Murphy (2006) and allow parents who prevail in due process or litigation to be reimbursed for their expert witness fees.

When prevailing parents cannot recover expert costs, the playing field is neither level nor fair, and children are denied a free appropriate public education and other fundamental IDEA rights.For more detailed information about the Act click here and to read the Act in its entirety click here.

IDEA Fairness Restoration Act

In 2006, the Supreme Court issued a decision in Arlington Central School District vs Murphy finding that parents who were prevailing parties in a due process hearing or subsequent litigation were barred from recovering expert witness fees. Around the same time period, the Supreme Court issued a decision in another case that clarified the burden of proof in special education disputes; a ruling that has subsequently placed that burden onto parents in almost all cases arising under the IDEA.

The Unfairness Problem

School Districts can spend tax dollars to employ and hire experts to provide testimony in due process hearings and litigation. School Districts use their resources to fund psychologists, specialists, technical experts, etc to provide testimony related to programs, placements, services, assessment findings, and a child's unique needs.

Most parents don't have the resources to access expert witnesses and bear that financial burden. Experts are necessary to be able to have a fair change at prevailing in a due process hearing and litigation! If the School District is putting on testimony by psychologists and specialists, and the parents are unable to, it will be extremely difficult for parents to meet their burden of proof.

This makes due process unfair and often not affordable. Advocates and Attorneys see this problem in real life on a daily basis. We see parents who are watching their child struggle and fail in a program that is not appropriate, with insufficient services, or without proper supports in the classroom. The school district has psychologists and specialists who are "backing" the program. Parents need access to experts who can testify about what services and programs are required to meet those students' unique needs. We see kids who are completely denied eligibility for services. Parents cannot possibly challenge that determination without an expert who can testify about the child's diagnosis and how it impacts their ability to access their education. We see kids who are on their way to expulsion, and school district "experts" who claim that their behavior was not related to their disability. Parents need the ability to utilize experts to testify as to how and why the behavior is a manifestation of the disability.

If the due process proceedings under the IDEA are not affordable, and therefore not accessible, then parents are denied their rights and children are ultimately denied a FAPE. The underlying IEP process and decision-making regarding a child's program becomes more and more unfair and one sided, because the parents' right and ability to challenge the IEP and the school district's decisions becomes meaningless.

The Solution?

The IDEA Fairness Restoration Act seeks to override the Supreme Court's ruling in Murphy, and thereby restore the ability of parents who prevail in due process or litigation to be reimbursed for expert witness fees incurred during the process.

The Act will level the playing field for parents, enabling them to have a fair chance in a meaningful process to seek a remedy when a child is denied FAPE by the school district.

For more information about the act, including the full text and a brochure, check out http://www.copaa.org/news/IFRA_intro_2009.html. Over 185 disability organizations support the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act, which is a bipartisan bill. You can also read more about it at http://www.wrightslaw.com/nltr/09/nl.0630.htm

What you can do

Call your congressperson and ask them to support the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act. July 9th is the national call in day! You can call your representative and tell them why the Act is important, and why it needs to pass to ensure that parents have meaningful access to due process procedures.

Find out who your congressperson is and how to reach them directly at www.house.gov. You can also call the switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to speak to your congressperson. Remember to ask for the Education Aide in order to speak to a person who is interested in this issue! Leave a message, and call back, if you need to!

Webinar Series for Parents, Parent-Attorneys and Advocates

COPAA is hosting a four part webinar series with Drs. Holden and Farrall to introduce participants to the stages of reading development, issues related to reading assessment and the principles of direct, systematic multisensory instruction. They will review how reading skills develop in typical learners with the struggle experienced by those with educational disabilities and dyslexia; and will discuss the role of Response to Intervention in designing, implementing, and evaluating interventions.

The sessions are as follows:

Part One: Learning to Read – Thursday, June 25, 2009, 2:00 -3:30 pm (Eastern)
Part Two: Reading to Learn – Thursday, July 9, 2009, 2:00 -3:30 pm (Eastern)
Part Three: Assessment – Tuesday, July 14, 2009, 2:00 -3:30 pm (Eastern)
Part Four: Direct, Systematic Multisensory Instruction – Tuesday, July 21, 2009, 2:00 -3:30 pm (Eastern)

For more information about cost and to register please go to http://www.copaa.org/training/webinars.html

Two Schools in Two Days

A2Z is often invited to open house events in Southern California to learn about and tour local non public schools. As these opportunities are made available to us, we will post to let you know about schools in your community and how they may be appropriate for your child.

Last week, I had the pleasure of touring two different schools in Los Angeles County: The Pacific Schools & Aviva High School

1. The HELP Group's Pacific Schools



Where: 15339 Saticoy Street, Van Nuys, California

What makes it unique: The Help Group's Pacific Schools are actually made up of 3 specialized programs: Pacific Ridge, Pacific Harbor and Project Six. In the Pacific Ridge and Pacific Harbor program, which are therapeutic day programs, the class size averages about 10 students with 2 adults. Various services, including family therapy, psychiatric services, counseling, speech and language services and Occupational Therapy are available on site. The Pacific Schools serve elementary, middle and high school aged students.

• Pacific Ridge is a day program serving children and adolescents with special needs in the areas of emotional, behavioral and neurological challenges.
  

• Pacific Harbor is for students who internalize their feelings, such as depression and anxiety, and may display mild behaviors. This program is also appropriate for students with emotional disturbances that require more intensive and comprehensive mental health services.
  

• Project Six is a residential treatment center for adolescents with emotional and behavioral challenges.
  

Is it appropriate for your child? The Pacific Schools may be appropriate for your child if he/she has emotional disabilities, behavioral disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, significant behavioral challenges or internalizing disorders. It provides a safe environment for students who were previously bullied at a typical school due to their differences, and who now show internal or external behaviors.

What I love about this school: The staff at the Pacific Schools place a strong emphasis on finding individualized incentives that are of interest to its students and using those things to help the student access his/her education. For instance, if your child is interested in playing instruments, sewing or guitar hero, these things would be made available as an incentive. For each program, there were "reward lounges" where students could play games, watch TV or use the computers. The importance of incorporating a child's interests into his/her program was a universal message across all three programs at the Pacific Schools. I believe that it was for this reason that the Pacific Schools had a personal touch where the personalities of the children were very evident.

2. Aviva High School




Where: 7120 Franklin Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046

What makes it unique: Aviva High School is one of the few all girl, non public schools in Los Angeles County. Aviva also has a residential treatment program that has 42 students enrolled in the high school. Aviva provides a range of on-site clinical and educational services. Aviva also offers a mandatory 6 week summer school program designed to enrich and broaden the students' reading, writing, and math skills and prepare them to pass the California HIgh School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). Aviva High School has a maximum enrollment of 84 students. The maximum student:teacher ratio in class is 6:1. Over 95% of its students go on to post secondary programs, including universities and junior college.

Is it appropriate for your child? Aviva High School is appropriate for girls in grades 7 through 12 who need special academic, emotional, or behavioral support to maximize their educational potential. If your daughter requires a dual enrollment program, then Aviva may be the appropriate placement for her.

What I loved about this school: It was very clear that the staff at Aviva were dedicated not only to its students, but were also dedicated to working on improving the bureaucratic system that can often be an impediment to special education students. The staff at Aviva have forged relationships with individuals in the LAUSD system that are in charge of making important decisions, and are working with them to try to evoke a change in the system. This passion was not only present at the administrative level of Aviva, but was also apparent through the teachers, aides, and even hallway monitors at the school.

Join A2Z tomorrow at the Autism Walk in Pasadena.

Come tomorrow morning to the Rose Bowl to participate in Autism Speaks Walk Now for Autism. Even if you can't participate in the walk, you can come check out the booths at the resource fair where there will be attorneys, service providers, therapists, school representatives and many opportunities to network with the special education community! There are also activities for the kids to participate in as well as food and live entertainment.

Also, don't forget to stop by A2Z's booth to say hello and pick up some goodies.

A Conversation with Advocates, Attorneys, and a school district board member

This morning, Elizabeth and I attended a breakfast and tour at Aviva High School, a non-public school here in the LA area. As part of the morning's activities, Aviva had invited Marlene Cantor, LAUSD board member, to be a guest speaker. The audience included advocates and attorneys who represent special needs kids. I can't speak for everyone, but I found Marlene's comments to be very insightful. The conversation focused on issues related to the relationship between parents and school districts. While this is a big, important conversation beyond the scope of an hour-long talk, I appreicated hearing Marlene's thoughts on these issues, which were exactly on point to what we all need to be doing to take steps in the right direction towards collaboration. So, I wanted to briefly summarize in our blog:

1) Bring the focus of the conversation back to the child! Too often we focus on the actions of the other side, how rights have been violated, or (on the part of the district) what has to be done to meet technical compliance. This isn't what it is about. The conversations related to special education programs have to be focused on the kid, not on adult feelings and issues. What Marlene said about this that I found particularly insightful was that we all have to remember to take responsibility for how we engage in these conversations, and we as adults need to focus not on our own feelings or opinions, but on the needs of the child and that child's best interest.

2) Come to the table with compassion and understanding! Parents of kids with disabilities obviously already have a lot to deal with emotionally. As Marlene put it, the last thing they need is to come to the school looking for help and get stuck in some "compliance driven process" rather than being able to focus on helping their child. Teachers and administrators need to remember this, and they need to approach conversations with parents with true compassion for what those parents are experiencing.

3) Relationships are the key! Marlene talked to us about the importance of starting out by building a relationship. This applies to parents, teachers, administrators, advocates and attorneys, to people on both sides of the issue. We all need to work on building relationships when possible, so that we can be collaborative when the situation calls for it, and effective in our advocacy when we need to be more zealous.

Overall, I enjoyed hearing a presentation from a very balanced viewpoint on the issue of special education. I think we can all recognize, no matter what "side" of this we are on, that the community as a whole, including advocates, attorneys and folks on the school district side, could be doing a lot better in terms of collaborating to meet the needs of these students.

These discussions were certainly thought-provoking to all of us there. You can look forward to future blog topics related to the issues of relationships between parents and school districts, as we believe there is a lot to discuss on that subject!