Wrightslaw

The Special Ed Advocate Newsletter
September 28, 2005


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Issue - 324
ISSN: 1538-3202

In this Issue


1. Tests & Measurements for the Parent, Teacher, Advocate, Attorney

2. 10 Tips: How to Use IDEA 2004 to Improve Your Child's Special Education

3. Wrightslaw Training in Hartford CT (Oct 14-15)

4. How Will IEPs Change Under IDEA 2004

5. A Parent's Guide to NCLB

6. The Art of Writing Letters

7. Restraint Protection Project Accepting Applications

8. Subscription & Contact Info

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At Wrightslaw, our mission is to help you gain the information and skills you need to navigate the changing world of special education.

In the last issue of The Special Ed Advocate, you caught up on important news that broke this summer - including IDEA 2004 and the record 6.7 million settlement in a California special ed case. Read issue.

In this issue, you learn what articles others are reading and what topics are getting the most attention. We will tell you about our Fall training programs - and a very special project. In the next issue, we will share your questions (and answers) that generated the most interest - and controversy!

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

Download this issue
. All newsletters published in 2005


1. Tests and Measurements for the Parent, Teacher, Advocate & Attorney

Your child has received three years of special education for reading problems. Has your child caught up with the peer group? Has your child fallen further behind? How can you tell?

What are standard scores, percentile ranks, subtest scores, and age and grade equivalents? How can you use this information to ensure that your child's special education program is appropriate?

Read Tests and Measurements for the Parent, Educator, Advocate & Attorney - let Pete and Pam Wright take the mystery out of your child's evaluations and test scores.

Educational Progress Graphs: This slide show shows you how to create educational progress graphs.
Download Slide Show as a PowerPoint Presentation (204kb)

Learn more about tests and measurements, evaluations, and how to measure your child's progress.

More articles about special education advocacy
.


2. 10 Tips: How to Use IDEA 2004 to Improve Your Child's Special Education

In 10 Tips: How to Use IDEA 2004 to Improve Your Child's Special Education by parent attorney Wayne Steedman, you learn how to include research based methodology in the IEP and how ensure how that the IEP goals are comprehensive, specific -- and measurable. Learn about pitfalls to avoid, how to resolve disputes without a due process hearing - and what you should do if you cannot resolve your dispute. Read article.

Download and distribute
10 Tips: How to Use IDEA 2004 to Improve Your Child's Special Education as a printer-friendly pdf document.

More articles by parent attorney Wayne Steedman.


3. Wrightslaw Training Program in Hartford, CT (October 14-15, 2005)

Pete and Pam Wright will present Putting the Pieces Together: Special Education Law and Advocacy Training in Hartford on October 14 & 15, 2005. The program is being sponsored by the Learning Disabilities Association of Connecticut.

Participants will learn about requirements in IDEA 2004 and NCLB including:

* New requirements for initial evaluations, reevaluations & parental consent
* New requirements for IEPs, IEP teams, IEP meetings
* New eligibility procedures for students with specific learning disabilities
* New procedural requirements and timelines, including the “Due Process Complaint Notice” and “Resolution (IEP) Session.”
* Reading and research based instruction
* Highly qualified special education teachers

Participants will also learn how to:

* Use tests and measurements to measure progress
* Write SMART IEPs
* Use tactics and strategies for effective advocacy

Please download and distribute the conference brochure and registration form.

For more information about this program, including special hotel rates and directions, please visit the Hartford conference info page.

More Wrightslaw Programs


4. How Will IEPs Change Under IDEA 2004?

How did IEPs change under IDEA 2004? What does the law say about developing, reviewing and revising IEPs? Who may be excused from IEP meetings, when, how? When can the child's IEP be changed without an IEP meeting?

What services must be provided when a child transfers to a district in the same state? A different state? What are “multi-year IEPs”? Learn the answers to these questions (and more) in IDEA 2004: What You Need to Know About IEPs & IEP Meetings.

Note
: This article is taken from Wrightslaw: IDEA 2004 by Peter W. D. Wright and Pamela Darr Wright.

In IDEA 2004: How IEPs Changed Under IDEA 2004, you learn about new requirements about personnel training and research based instruction. Read article.

Visit IDEA 2004 at Wrightslaw to learn more about changes in IDEA 2004. Learn about research based instruction.


5. A Parent's Guide to No Child Left Behind

In A Parent's Guide to No Child Left Behind, Sue Heath describes requirements for highly qualified teachers and paraprofessionals, school and school district report cards, annual testing in math and reading.

Learn about new options for parents, including transfers from struggling schools and free supplemental services - tutoring, after-school programs and summer school.

Download and distribute the printer-friendly version of A Parent's Guide to No Child Left Behind.

Sue Heath is the co-author of Wrightslaw: No Child Left Behind. She also writes Doing Your Homework, a column about creative advocacy strategies.

Visit NCLB at Wrightslaw for reliable information about research based reading instruction, annual proficiency testing, tutoring and supplemental educational services, highly qualified teachers, transfers from failing schools, and school choice.


6. The Art of Writing Letters

In The Art of Writing Letters, you learn to use tactics and strategies when you write letters to the school. You learn about the Blame Approach and the Story-Telling Approach; the sympathy factor; first impressions; pitfalls; and the powerful decision-making Stranger.
Read article.

Learn about paper trails, letter-writing, and read sample letters that you can tailor to your circumstances.

7. Restraint Prevention Project is Accepting Applications

The use of physical restraints is becoming more prevalent in public schools. Deciding whether or not to physically restrain a student requires that school personnel and school administrators have a clear understanding of legal requirements, professional standards, and health and safety issues.

To address these issues, The The Education Law Resource Center established the Restraint Prevention Project. The Project provides funding for educators and other professionals to attend training programs about behavior management, de-escalation techniques, and physical restraints.

Read about the Restraint Prevention Project to find out who is eligible, how to apply, deadlines - and get more information about inappropriate disciplinary methods including the use of restraints - and what you can do about it. This article includes a list of free pubs and resources. Read article.

Learn more about behavior issues and discipline.


8. Subscription & Contact Info

The Special Ed Advocate is a free online newsletter about special education legal and advocacy issues, cases, and tactics and strategies. Subscribers receive "alerts" about new cases, events, and special offers on Wrightslaw books.

Law Library Seminars & Training
Advocacy Yellow Pages for Kids
No Child Left Behind Free Newsletter
IDEA 2004 Newsletter Archives

Contact Info
Pete and Pam Wright
Wrightslaw & The Special Ed Advocate
P. O. Box 1008
Deltaville, VA 23043
Website: https://www.wrightslaw.com
Email: newsletter@wrightslaw.com