The Special Ed Advocate - Supreme Court to Hear Case About Parent Rights; Taking Stock & New Years Resolutions; Advice on Screen Readers Issue: 372; ISSN: 1538-3202 Subscribers on January 1, 2007: 45,688 Our mission is to help you gain the knowledge and skills you need to navigate the confusing, changing world of special education. Do you know others who want to learn how to advocate for a child with a disability? Please forward this issue or the subscription page so they can learn about special education law and advocacy too. Thanks! How to Subscribe: www.wrightslaw.com/subscribe.htm Download the printer-friendly version of this issue: www.wrightslaw.com/nltr/07/nl.0102.htm Newsletter Archives (1998-2006): www.wrightslaw.com/archives.htm ================== In This Issue: 1. Note to Subscribers about New Format 2. Supreme Court to Hear Oral Argument in Jakob Winkelman v. Parma City Schools on February 27 3. Taking Stock & New Year's Resolutions 4. We Love Success Stories! 5. Your Advice About Screen Reader Programs Needed 6. Coming Soon! Wrightslaw Programs in NC, VA, DE, CA, and ME! 7. Subscription & Contact Info ================== 1. Note from Pete and Pam About New Format Because many subscribers are not receiving the newsletter on a consistent basis, we decided to use a different strategy. We will publish The Special Ed Advocate as a text newsletter with a link to the "printer friendly" html version, in hopes that all subscribers will receive it. Our goal is to resolve the delivery problems while continuing to publish an informative newsletter about special education law and advocacy issues. If you do not receive a newsletter for two weeks, please send an email to newsletter@wrightslaw.com so we can track down the problem. =================== 2. U. S. Supreme Court to Hear Oral Argument in Jacob Winkelman v. Parma City Schools on February 27 The U. S. Supreme Court agreed to resolve the question of whether non-lawyer parents may represent their children in federal court. Oral argument is scheduled for February 27, 2007. This case has generated intense interest because the Cleveland Bar Association launched an investigation of the Winkelmans and other parents for the Unauthorized Practice of Law after an adverse decision by the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. We built a Winkelman Parma page at www.wrightslaw.com/news/07/winkelman.parma.htm that includes: * Question presented * Background information about the issues in Jacob Winkelman's case * Brief of the United States as Amicus Curiae * Links to pleadings * Links to amicus briefs * Links to cases about non-lawyer parental representation * Articles about the case, including the investigation by the Cleveland Bar Association. Links: Jacob Winkelman v. Parma City Schools: www.wrightslaw.com/news/07/winkelman.parma.htm Special Education Caselaw: www.wrightslaw.com/caselaw.htm Can You Represent Your Child's Rights Under IDEA? by Pete Wright and Pam Wright at www.wrightslaw.com/news/06/winkelman.cleveland.upl.htm Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), Asperger Syndrome (AS) at www.wrightslaw.com/info/autism.index.htm ============= 3. Taking Stock & New Year's Resolutions At this time of year, many folks take stock. We evaluate what is going well, what's not, and make decisions about changes we want to make in the coming year. Good special education services are intensive and expensive. Resources are limited. If you have a child with special needs, you may wind up battling the school district for the services your child needs. To prevail, you need information, skills, and tools. These articles will help. * Getting Started * In "Advocating for Your Child: Getting Started" at www.fetaweb.com/01/advoc.intro.htm you will learn about different types of advocates and what advocates do. You'll find that advocacy is not a mysterious process. The article includes a quick overview of advocacy skills - many of these skills will be familiar to you. * Planning * "Failing to prepare is preparing to fail." - John Wooden, basketball coach If you are like many parents, you are confused about your role. In "Planning is the Key to Success" at www.fetaweb.com/01/plan.prepare.htm we give you an overview of what you need to learn and how to ensure that the school provides your child with quality, appropriate special education services. Learn about long-range planning, your role as project manager, and a program of self study. * Tips for Taking Care of Yourself * Because advocating for your child can be difficult and frustrating, we offer some tips for taking care of yourself at www.fetaweb.com/01/tips.takecare.htm Learn more about effective parent advocacy at www.wrightslaw.com/info/advo.index.htm For more resources, check out the From Emotions to Advocacy website at www.fetaweb.com =========== 4. We Love Success Stories! In Success Stories, you see how other parents used information, common sense, and resources to resolve school problems ... and get better services for their children. * How I Learned to Get Services by Asking Questions. "When I began to advocate for my daughter, I supported requests with tons of documentation. I was surprised when the "powers that be" would not provide the services and supports. Why was I having this problem? What could I do? Then I realized that the educators viewed me as a 'Know it All Parent' ..." www.fetaweb.com/success/advo.parent.askqs.htm * How We Got an Appropriate Program and Avoided Due Process "After struggling with our school district for over a year to provide services to my disabled child without success, I knew I had to educate myself on the law." www.fetaweb.com/success/fape.avoiddp.htm More Success Stories: www.fetaweb.com/success.htm =================== 5. Your Advice About Screen Reader Programs Needed We want to create accessible versions of Wrightslaw: Special Education Law and Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy for people who are blind, visually impaired, and who use screen reader programs. We have received different advice from individuals about what format the books should be in (Word, ascii text, or pdf) to make them accessible to the greatest number of people. The books were created in Word, imported into a page layout program where they were revised and "designed." The files were exported as high resolution PDF files before they were sent to the printer. We created an e-book version of Wrightslaw: Special Education Law in pdf. Learn about the e-book: www.wrightslaw.com/bks/selaw2/selaw2.htm If you use a screen reader program, please drop us a line at newsletter@wrightslaw.com to let us know what formats work for you (and what formats do not work). After we receive advice from folks who use this technology, we can make a good decision and go forward on this project. =============== 6. Coming Soon! Wrightslaw Special Education Law & Advocacy Programs in NC, VA, DE, CA, and ME Wrightslaw offers a variety of special education law and advocacy programs taught by nationally- known experts in the field. The Winter 2007 schedule includes programs in these communities: January 26: Charlotte, NC - From Emotions to Advocacy Training sponsored by The Parker Autism Foundation. Speaker: Pat Howey. www.wrightslaw.com/speak/07.01.nc.htm February 10: Fairfax, VA - From Emotions to Advocacy Training at Virginia Tech NoVa Center. Speaker: Pat Howey. www.wrightslaw.com/speak/reg/07.02.va.register.pdf February 13: Wilmington, DE - Special Education Law and Advocacy Training Speakers: Pete and Pam Wright. www.wrightslaw.com/speak/07.02.de.htm February 20: San Diego, CA - Special Education Advocacy Training sponsored by the San Diego County Chapter of the Autism Society of America. Speakers: Pete and Pam Wright www.wrightslaw.com/speak/07.02.ca.htm February 27: Charlotte, NC - Special Education Law & Advocacy Training sponsored by The Arc of Mecklenburg County. Speakers: Pete and Pam Wright www.wrightslaw.com/speak/07.02.nc.htm March 8: Brewer ME - Special Education Law and Advocacy Conference sponsored by the Maine Parent Federation. Speaker: Pete Wright. www.wrightslaw.com/speak/07.03.me.htm Please check the Schedule to see when we will be in your area: www.wrightslaw.com/speak/schedule.htm Program Descriptions: www.wrightslaw.com/speak/programs.htm We are scheduling programs for 2007 and 2008. If you are interested in bringing a Wrightslaw program to your community, please read Conference Information at www.wrightslaw.com/speak/conf.form.htm ================== 7. 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 also receive "alerts" about events and special offers on Wrightslaw publications and products. Learn more: www.wrightslaw.com/subscribe.htm Sitemap: www.wrightslaw.com/sitemap.htm Law Library: www.wrightslaw.com/law.htm IDEA 2004: www.wrightslaw.com/idea/index.htm NCLB: www.wrightslaw.com/nclb/index.htm Advocacy: www.wrightslaw.com/advoc.htm Newsletter Archives: www.wrightslaw.com/archives.htm Publications: www.wrightslaw.com/pubs.htm Wrightslaw Store: www.wrightslaw.com/store/ Training: www.wrightslaw.com/speak/index.htm Yellow Pages for Kids: www.yellowpagesforkids.com/ * Contact Info * Pete and Pam Wright Wrightslaw & The Special Ed Advocate P. O. Box 1008 Deltaville, VA 23043 Website: www.wrightslaw.com Email: webmaster@wrightslaw.com