Back to School Resources

 “Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.”  Quote from the movie You've Got Mail.

Here are some great online resources for information and tips for Back to School

1.  10 Ways to Save on Back to School Shopping, by familyeducation.com

2.  Back to School Tips from USA.gov

3.  Article:  How to Have a Good Relationship with Your Child's Teacher, from LDonline.org

4.  Article:  Back to School Transitions: Tips for Parents, from the National Association of School Psychologists

5.  Starting Healthy:  A Back to School Checklist from the California School Health Centers Association

6.  Back to School Tips for Parents of Students with Special Needs, by readingrockets.com

7.  25 Back to School Discounts from Family Circle magazine

And here are links to two of our popular previous blog posts about getting ready for Back to School:

Back To School:  Help I need a placement!  and other concerns

Back to School:  Get Ready with Organized School Records

Resource of the Week: Special Education Rights and Responsibilities Manual

Disability Rights California (the Protection and Advocacy, Inc - or PAI - of California) produces many great publications that are user friendly, readily available, and free. What is wonderful about their publications is that they are very "parent-friendly" and easy to understand.

DRC's Special Education Rights and Responsibilities Manual (commonly referred to as the "SERR Manual") is a comprehensive resource for parents and advocates on everything related to special education in California. Topics are covered in question and answer format, with a combination of both information and practical tips.

The SERR Manual is available for download at the following link:

http://www.disabilityrightsca.org/pubs/504001SERR.htm

Resource of the Week: COPAA's Manual on Restraint and Seclusion

The Right to be Safe In School: Advocacy and Litigation Strategies to Combat the Use of Restraint and Seclusion

This manual is a "must have" for attorneys and advocates who represent students that have been subjected to restraints and seclusion. The manual, published by the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, has two parts - Part 1 focuses on practical advocacy strategies to advocate against the use of restraints and seclusion and Part 2 focuses on litigation strategies and case law related to this issue.

The manual is available for purchase at only $30.00 (and free to COPAA members) at the following link:

http://www.copaa.org/find-a-resource/download-products/

Resource of the Week: a FREE conference for Parents!

This weekend, the Special Needs Network here in Los Angeles will be hosting its 6th Annual Tools for Transformation Conference - a FREE confehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifrence for parents of students with special needs! The conference features many presentations and workshops throughout the day as well as a resource fair with providers and vendors in a multitude of disciplines from around the LA area.

You can register for this free event at the following link:
http://www.specialneedsnetwork.org/registration-for-6th-annual-tools-for-transformation-conference-now-open/

A2Z will be participating in the resource fair all day on Saturday. We hope to see you there!

Resource of the Week: OSEP's IDEA Website

The US Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs has created a website intended to be a "one-stop shop" for information and resources about IDEA 2004 and its implementing regulations. The website includes information about IDEA divided into specific topics, as well as access to the statute and the regulations. It is also a great tool for finding the IDEA "Q&A" documents released by the Department of Education in regards to the changes and language in the regulations.

OSEP's IDEA 2004 Website can be found at http://idea.ed.gov/explore/home

Resource of the Week: The Advocacy Institute

The resource we've selected for this week's post really counts as a multitude of resources all rolled into one site. The Advocacy Institute is a comprehensive source of information for parents and advocates in the special education community, providing training opportunities, online publications and written resources, and consultative assistance for advocates and families. Their website can be found at http://www.advocacyinstitute.org/

Specifically, here are a couple of their online resources that are available:

The Advocate Academy provides training opportunities for special education advocates. The Academy's trainings are offered in a webinar modality on various specific topics, and advocates wishing to participate can either access live webinars or purchase previous webinars from their archives.

The Advocacy Institute's Reports and Publications include online articles and resources on a variety of topics of interest to the special education community including topic briefs, reports on special projects, and guides for parents and advocates regarding their rights.

Resource of the Week: COPAA's "Find an Attorney / Advocate"

The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates is a national organization with members who are parents of students with special needs, Advocates and Attorneys who represent students with disabilities, and "other" providers, etc who advocate for students. In addition to many other resources and information available on their website, COPAA has an online directory to assist parents (both within COPAA's membership and members of the public) with finding and Attorney or Advocate in their area.

Often, Parents need to seek the assistance of a special education attorney or educational advocate to represent them in IEP meetings or in legal disputes with their school district. An advocate or special education attorney can help parents through the process and provide representation when there is a dispute over placement and/or services.

COPAA's online directory is a great tool to assist parents with locating representation when they need it. You can go to the Find an Attorney / Advocate directory at this link: http://www.copaa.org/find-a-resource/find-an-attorney/

Resource of the Week: Wrightslaw

Wrightslaw is a well-known online source of information about special education law and advocacy, and is considered by many to be the first "go-to" place for parents and advocates to locate information about a variety of important topics.

Wrightslaw.com is a very extensive resource. The website includes articles and briefs on an significant number of topics, updates on current events and news, a newsletter, and an online "law library." In addition, you can find information about Wrightslaw's various publications and other materials, including books and DVDs.

Check it all out at www.wrightslaw.com.

Resource of the Week: WOSEP

The Women's Organization of Special Education Professionals is a group of attorneys, advocates, therapists, providers and educators in the southern California area who provide services and assistance to students with disabilities and their families. The organization hosts twice-yearly networking events, and provides an online resource for the community that includes information about various events in the area as well as a directory. WOSEP's online directory is a place to locate special education attorneys, educational advocates, speech therapists, occupational therapists, behaviorists, educational therapists, and other providers all in one go-to location online.

Check out WOSEP's general webpage here: http://www.wosep.com/ and the online directory here: http://wosep.com/wosep/directory.php

Resource of the Week, a New Series

In order to continue our efforts to use this blog as a means to provide information that will be helpful to our readers in the special education community, we will be starting a new weekly post in which A2Z will share resources that we find useful. These may be online resources, information about books / printed publications, information about parent support or training, or anything else we think is a worthy resource for parents, advocates, providers, educators and others in the field. We hope you find this information helpful!