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Home > Doing Your Homework > The Most Powerful Advocacy Tool in IDEA: Your State Advisory Panel by Sue Whitney |
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this page • parents of children with disabilities (ages birth through 26); • individuals with disabilities; • teachers; • representatives of institutions of higher education that prepare special education and related services personnel; • State and local education officials, including officials who carry out activities ... under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act; • administrators of programs for children with disabilities; • representatives of other State agencies involved in the financing or delivery of related services to children with disabilities; • representatives of private schools and public charter schools; • not less than 1 representative of a vocational, community, or business organization concerned with the provision of transition services to children with disabilities; • representatives from the State juvenile and adult corrections agencies." (20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(21)(B)(xi); Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition, page 82)
A majority of the members of the panel must be individuals with disabilities or parents of children with disabilities. Duties • advise the State educational agency of unmet needs within the State in the education of children with disabilities; • comment publicly on any rules or regulations proposed by the State regarding the education of children with disabilities; • advise the State educational agency in developing evaluations and reporting on data to the Secretary under Section 1418; • advise the State educational agency in developing and implementing policies relating to the coordination of services for children with disabilities. (Section 1412(a)(21)(D)(v); Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition, page 83) Meetings The meetings of your state advisory panel are open to the public. Look for the meeting schedule, list of members, agendas, and meeting minutes on the website of your state department of education. If you decide you are interested in becoming a member of your state advisory panel, contact the chair of the panel. If you can't find information about your state advisory panel, contact your state Protection and Advocacy organization and ask for information about the panel, public input, reports, and the schedule of meetings. Get the Word Out If you are already a member of your state advisory panel, you know how important it is to get input from parents of children with disabilities. More than 7 million children with disabilities are receiving special education and related services. If one parent is advocating for each child, that's more than 7 million parents. Let’s put us all to work! More Resources State Advisory Panels on Special Education State Advisory Panels Contact Information (pdf format) IDEA 2004:Section 1412 - State Eligibility (Catch-All Statute) Meet Sue Whitney In Doing Your Homework, she
writes about reading, research based instruction, No Child Left Behind, and
creative
strategies for using federal education standards to advocate for
children
and to improve public schools. Her articles have been reprinted by SchwabLearning.org, EducationNews.org, Bridges4Kids.org, The Beacon: Journal of Special Education Law and Practice, the Schafer Autism Report, and have been used in CLE presentations to attorneys. Sue Whitney's bio. Copyright © 2002-2018 by Suzanne Whitney.
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