Special Ed Advocate Newsletter, December 3, 2003 (Issue 238)

At Wrightslaw, our goals are to help you gain the information and skills you need to navigate the confusing world of special education.

Highlights: How to request a one-to-one aide; lesson about related services; Wrightslaw: No Child Left Behind ships; photos; IDEA reauthorization update, December 2003; due process hearings and the lighter side of special ed; free Wrightslaw advocacy program in OK; winter schedule includes programs in FL, MO, IL, IN, MI, and NH.

The Special Ed Advocate newsletter is free - please forward this issue or the subscription link to your friends and colleagues so they can learn about special education law and advocacy too. We appreciate your help! Download newsletter

1. How to Request a One-to-One Aide for Your Child by Wayne Steedman, Esq.

When parents request "one-to-one aides" for their children with disabilities, they are often frustrated by the school district's response. Even when the district agrees to their request, parents may be dissatisfied with the results.

Parents need to know what they want for their child, how to get it, and the outcomes they expect.

In How to Request a One-to-One Aide for Your Child, parent attorney Wayne Steedman provides advice about aides and a game plan that includes evaluations and observations of the child. Learn why "it is never safe to assume" and why you should "be careful about what you wish for."

Note from Wrightslaw: No Child Left Behind includes new requirements about the education, training and duties of paraprofessionals. At the end of this article is an overview of these requirements from our new book, Wrightslaw: No Child Left Behind.

Read more articles.

2. Lesson: Related Services

Related services is the term for those services a disabled child needs in order to benefit from special education. Related services include speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and rehabilitation counseling. (Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, page 29) Compare this term to "supplementary aids and services" (Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, pages 30-31).

Children with disabilities are entitled to special education and related services. Definitions: Related Services.

What are related services? Who is eligible? How do you know what related services a child needs? Do parents have to pay for related services? Who provides related services? How are these services delivered and coordinated? Funded? For answers to these questions, read FAQs: Related Services.

Related Services: A Closer Look is a comprehensive article that describes all related services available under the IDEA; includes resources, references, links to organizations.

Learn more about related services.

3. Wrightslaw: No Child Left Behind - Now Shipping!

On December 2, Harbor House Law Press shipped out pre-publication orders of our new book, Wrightslaw: No Child Left Behind. If you placed an order for the new book between November 4 and today, you should receive your book or books within a few days.

If you forgot to order or decided to wait until the NCLB book was available, you can order now. Orders placed by 3 pm are usually shipped the same day. Place an online order. Order by fax, phone or mail.

Learn more about Wrightslaw: No Child Left Behind.

Wrightslaw Photos!

Packing and shipping 2,000 books was a huge undertaking. These photos will give you an idea of how we tackled the job. We thank our creative, resourceful staff, who make Wrightslaw a warm and wonderful place.

Save 50-60% with the Advocacy Challenge Discount

Our publisher offers a 50%-60% bulk discount for individuals and groups that purchase boxes of Wrightslaw books. Groups and organizations purchase books for their members and clients. Others use the books for training and conferences.

Learn about the Advocacy Challenge Discount Program.

4. IDEA Reauthorization Update: December 2003

We have received several emails from subscribers who asked about the status of IDEA reauthorization. Good question! Read IDEA Update: December 2003.

5. Due Process Hearings: The Lighter Side of Special Education by Aimee Gilman

"A good education is the next best thing to a pushy mother." - Charles Schulz, cartoonist

"I love filing requests for hearing because they invariably produce the same response every time - that is, the district is befuddled."

"'We are befuddled,'is the constant rejoinder of the district's attorney when he contacts me."

"'Just because this child is 15 and reads at a 1st grade level and has never received any tutoring of any kind, we are befuddled and yes, hurt. What has happened to the trust we have worked so hard to forge?'"

If you have a sense of humor, you will want to read Due Process Hearings: The Lighter Side of Special Education by attorney-humorist Aimee Gilman. (If you are humor-challenged, we suggest that you move on.)

More Lighter Side of Special Education articles by Aimee Gilman:

About Parents & Kids

About the IEP

My Law Practice

6. Advocacy Training in Oklahoma - Free to OK Parents & Caregivers!

"What a marvelous conference! I often leave sped presentations angry and/or guilty because of all the things that have been done or not done. This time I left encouraged, inspired and armed!"

This Wrightslaw program will be held at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Oklahoma on Saturday, December 6, 2003. For more information, please visit the Oklahoma conference page.

Registrants will also receive two books - Wrightslaw: Special Education Law and Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy (value: $59.90). This is also the first time Wrightslaw: No Child Left Behind will be available at a conference.

* Approved for 7 CLE credits *

Download Registration Form (pdf)

Questions? Please call the Oklahoma Disability Law Center. In Oklahoma City dialing area: (405) 525-7755 v/tdd. Outside OKC dialing area: (800) 880-7755 v/tdd. In Tulsa dialing area: (743) 6220 v/tdd. Outside Tulsa dialing area: (800) 226-5883 v/tdd

Coming Soon! Wrightslaw Advocacy Training Programs in FL, MO, IL, IN, MI, NH

Our Winter schedule includes programs in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Jefferson City, MO, Skokie IL, Indianapolis, IN, Troy, MI, and Manchester, NH. For information about these and other programs that will be held over the next few months, please check our Seminars & Training page.

If you are interested in learning how to get Pete & Pam Wright to your community, please read our FAQs about Seminars.