NEW BOOK TO OWN!!! Wrightslaw: All About IEPs

Wrightslaw: All About IEPs by Peter W. D. Wright & Pamela Darr Wright; Sandra Webb O'Connor
http://www.wrightslaw.com/bks/aaiep/index.htm#order

If you purchase just one book this year to help you in understanding the whole IEP process....any book by Peter and Pamela Wright gets my highest recommendation! This is their newest released IEP book! Order one today, order a couple as gifts for your friends!

Wrightslaw: Peter and Pam Wright are the most respected Special Ed Advocates in the country! If you haven't attended one of their weekend BOOTCAMPS or heard them speak at a conference...you are really missing simply the best training that all parents dealing with Special Education MUST ATTEND at least one. I have attended 4 already and can honestly say, I learned all I know from Pete Wright!!

Thank you Pete and Pam for the tremondous help you continually provide to parents and families across the country!

Parent Involvement Survey ~ Fill it out!

Parent/Family Involvement

The Central Area Advisory Council is working to strengthen partnerships between schools and families in order to increase student performance in school. In order to do so, we must collect as much data as possible regarding the involvement of parents of diverse backgrounds and the schools their children attend.

The purpose of this survey is to get your opinion on how well the schools have met your family's and children's needs since parent/family involvement directly impacts your student's achievement. There is no right or wrong answer; we are only interested in your opinions. The survey is anonymous and you may answer any or all questions. Even if you partially complete the survey, please click the “done” button at the end after it thanks you for completing this survey in order to have your responses tabulated.

Please share this link with as many parents as possible in your schools and encourage them to complete this parent/family involvement survey. The findings of this survey will be analyzed and used to enhance parent/family involvement in our Broward County public schools.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/parentinvolvement

Thank you,
Laurie Rich Levinson
Central Area Advisory Chair

SP&P Guide ~ State & Federal IDEA Law *LINKS*

**ESE Policies and Procedures (SP&P) Listed by DISTRICT in a handy-dandy-drop-down-list!! What a concept!!! This is my personal baby for the past 4-5 years to get our State Dept. of Ed to do....to create a DROP DOWN LIST OF ALL the districts SP&P Guides! Whoo whooo...advocacy DOES PAY OFF!! Be sure to print one out and put it into a 3-ring binder...this is an invaluable tool!! Enjoy!



ESE Policies and Proceedures
http://www.fldoe.org/ese/ppd.asp

Section 1003.57(1)(d), Florida Statutes (F.S.), requires that district school boards submit to the Department of Education (DOE) proposed procedures for the provision of special instruction and services for exceptional students once every three years. Approval of this document by DOE is required by Rule 6A-6.03411, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), as a prerequisite for district’s use of weighted cost factors under the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP). This document also serves as the basis for the identification, evaluation, eligibility determination, and placement of students to receive exceptional education services, and is a component of the district’s application for funds available under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

IMPORTANT STUFF to be a GREAT ADVOCATE!

Florida ESE documents!

IMPORTANT FLORIDA ESE STATE DOCUMENTS
http://www.fldoe.org/ese/ppd.asp

FLORIDA'S RED BOOK ~ ESE RULES
http://www.fldoe.org/ese/pdf/1b-stats.pdf

FEDERAL IDEA LAW - it's the Federal law!!!
http://idea.ed.gov/

ALL OF THESE LINKS WILL HELP YOU KNOW FOR A FACT WHAT THE RULES OF SPECIAL EDUCATION ARE.....IF YOU GET TO KNOW THESE DOCUMENTS THAT ARE POSTED TO OUR STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONS WEBSITES....YOU WILL CERTAINLY BE A CONFIDENT ADVOCATE AND KNOW WHAT YOUR RIGHTS ARE TO SUPPORTS AND SERVICES TO SPECIAL EDUCATION! PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO KNOW ALL OF THESE, DOWNLOAD AND MAKE THEM INTO YOUR VERY OWN 3-RING BINDERS. CALL YOUR LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND THEY CAN PROVIDE YOU A COPY IF YOU DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO A COMPUTER TO PRINT THEM OUT.

ENJOY YOUR JOURNEY TO BECOMING AN INFORMED AND KNOWLEDGABLE ADVOCATE FOR YOUR CHILD, THEY NEED YOU TO KNOW THIS IN ORDER TO HELP THEM BE SUCCESSFUL IN SCHOOL AND BEYOND!

I LOVE THIS STUFF! .....learn to like it yourself! 'o)

Want to know how your school district did with ON-SITE monitoring & compliance?

Want to know how your school district did with ON-SITE monitoring?
Monitoring Reports - Listed by School District
http://www.fldoe.org/ese/mon-home.asp

Here is another wonderful booklet provided by our Florida Department of Education that explains policy and proceedures on monitoring our schools. Compliance Manual (PDF, 1MB)
ESE Compliance Self-Assessment: Processes and Procedures Manual 2009-2010 http://www.fldoe.org/ese/pdf/m-compli.pdf

Torin on "The Doctors" show....perfect DS message!!

This video of 2 year old Torin has a wonderful message! I love what his school teacher asked his classmates to do at the end of the year!

Florida: Transforming Education through Rich Digital Content

Florida: Transforming Education through Rich Digital Content

This is something pretty special! Check this out! Click on the highlighted words above for a direct link.

SP&P Guides for ALL Districts in Florida

SP&P Guides for all districts in Florida (click here)http://www.fldoe.org/ese/ppd.asp
ESE Policies and Procedures (SP&P)


Section 1003.57(1)(d), Florida Statutes (F.S.), requires that district school boards submit to the Department of Education (DOE) proposed procedures for the provision of special instruction and services for exceptional students once every three years. Approval of this document by DOE is required by Rule 6A-6.03411, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), as a prerequisite for district’s use of weighted cost factors under the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP). This document also serves as the basis for the identification, evaluation, eligibility determination, and placement of students to receive exceptional education services, and is a component of the district’s application for funds available under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
 
 
*This 'drop-down list' is my personal little advocacy project for the past almost 5 years!! I have been advocating to get this particular 'drop-down list' in place for  y e a r s....and so glad to see it is finally here for everyone to be able to access so e a s i l y! It looks like its been here all along...nope...seemed our State Department of Education needed a 'persistently pushy parent advocate' to keep telling them and keep telling them...that this is something that parents need to be able to get their hands on EASILY! It seemed that for the most part if I directed a parent that was seeking help or advice I would recommend to them that they needed to contact their local ESE Department and request a copy of their districts SP and P Guide, only to have someone on the phone that would say they didn't know what one was or who to ask to get one or better yet...some in our local ESE Department people that answered the phones would ask my parents, "Why do you need one?" WHY DO WE NEED AN SP&P???  BECAUSE WE DO!!!  It's a public document, yet it seems to be one of the hardest 'public documents' for parents of special needs children to get our hands on a copy! Do you believe this? It's true...becoming an advocate for your Child is WORK!

The SP&P Guide is your guide to 'the rules of the game' that are in place to help you know as a parent and also as a teacher to know exactly what the State ESE and Federal Special Education Laws are for your State and your particular school district.
 
The Federal Law is IDEA...the State ESE Rules used to be put into what is commonly referred to as the 'RED BOOK'....but now with everyone saying something about the 'budget cuts'....now the Florida RED BOOK is no longer being published, so now you can get it online. I will post the link to our State RED BOOK as well. Then there is the local SP&P Guides and that includes the State and Federal Rules as well as any local 'extra' thing each district agrees upon that needs to be done in order for a student to be identified or to receive ESE Supports and Services.

Make sure you put your SP&P Guide link on your DESKTOP or in your FAVORITES so you have easy access to it!

Everyone.....ENJOY the NEW FDOE SP&P "drop-down' button that allows you to be able pin point your school disticts SP&P Guide! YOUR ADVOCACY EFFORTS DO PAY OFF AND HELPS SO MANY OTHER FAMILIES!

Call our Governor's office and tell him to VETO SB6!!

Florida Governor Charlie Crist

Office of Governor Charlie Crist
State of Florida
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001

Citizen Services Hotline:
(850) 488-4441
Executive Office of the Governor Switchboard: (850) 488-7146
Office hours are 8AM-5PM EST

NO MORE RESTRAINT & SECLUSION PERIOD!

PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE THAT HAS A CHILD WITH DISABILITIES THAT ATTENDS A PUBLIC SCHOOL. PARENTS, TEACHERS, PRINCIPALS, PARA PROFESSIONALS...EVERYONE THAT CARES ABOUT 'CHILDREN'....REMEMBER THEY ARE CHILDREN FIRST...THAT GO TO SCHOOL TO GET AN EDUCATION...THEY ARE OUR CHILDREN THAT WE ENTRUST YOU WITH AT SCHOOL, THEY ARE NOT CRIMINALS!

...end of the school year already??

I can't believe it!! The end of this year school year is almost here! How did it get to be the first day back from Spring Break already? Did you have your ESY IEP or interim IEP to make sure everything is going well for your child before this school comes to a close? Do you need to follow up on some things? Do you need to do some classroom observations or view your child's school files before this school year is over with? Haven't ever done anything like that before? Maybe it's time to do something new or for the first time this school year before the school year ends. Yes it can feel uncomfortable to do things we don't do everyday, but if it's to help you understand your Child's school day, classes or the entire educational environment and all the options available to your Child to help him or her to be successful, then it's worth it!

As a parent raising a Child that requires a constant more vigilent monitoring of their educational set up, it's important as a parent to keep an eye on several things that have to do with making sure you have made the right decisions pertaining to special education supports and services for your Child. Are you clear in knowing how things are really going at school? Do you need to look at records or do an observation during a particular time of the school day? Anything you may have a concern about...now is the time to start setting up those types of appointments...before the school year comes to a close.

The IEP to decide if your son or daughter will be attending or taking ESY (Extended School Year) should have been done before April 1st. Do you completely understand exactly what ESY is and what it's all about? It doesn't always have to be a 'brick n mortar' school, it can be as simple as a home packet or a computer program. It's all part of the INDIVIDUALIZED Education document.

Plan ahead and use the time that is left of this school year wisely. Set up your appointments to observe, or view records or have that interim IEP you have been putting off. Your Child needs you...to speak up on their behalf. Learn all you can about your Child's school, about their programs and teachers and how things are going and how things can be better for next school year. Start thinking about next year NOW! If things didn't turn out as you thought they would this school year, now is the time to start thinking about how things need to be for next year.

Homework: Read your PROCEEDURAL SAFEGUARDS - know what this important document says!