Special Ed Advocate Newsletter, February 1, 2005 (Issue 296)

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

Highlights: Bullying & harassment; feds say "harassment cannot be tolerated"; success story - dealing with bullying & harassment; stop bullying now; Wrightslaw programs in NJ, NY, IN, MO, AZ; help for children who are bullied; disability harassment in public schools; free pubs about bullying & harassment; twice exceptional children. Download this newsletter.

Quote of the Week: ""Disability harassment is preventable and cannot be tolerated." U. S. Department of Education

Wrightslaw is ranked #1 in education law, special education law, and special education advocacy. (2004 Alexa rankings)

Here are some facts to consider:

* 30 percent of children are involved in bullying, as bullies or victims.
* 15 percent of children are severely traumatized or distressed by bullies.
* 8 percent of children are victimized at school at least once a week.
* Disabled kids are more likely to be bullied than nondisabled kids.
* Teachers rarely report bullying and schools often do not take it seriously.
(Source: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory)

In this issue of The Special Ed Advocate, we offer ideas about how parents, teachers and advocates can deal with bullying and harassment, and help for children who are involved in bullying.

On July 25, 2000, the Office of Civil Rights and the Office of Special Education (OSERS) published a joint memorandum about disability harassment. The memo includes these sections:

From time to time, you send success stories. We share these stories so you can see how other parents use facts and common sense to resolve problems and get better services for their children.

This story is from a parent who helped another mom deal with bullying and harassment of her daughter.

"I worked with the parent of a young girl who was being harassed by a group of boys. This harassment involved comments about race and sex that became increasingly explicit and threatening over time."

"The parent talked to the teachers, principal, and the parents of the boys. The teachers ignored it. The principal acted as if the girl was causing the problems."

For more information and excellent resources about bullying, please visit the Uniquely Gifted site.

Wrightslaw programs scheduled for this winter are filling up fast. If you plan to attend, register soon. If you wait, you may find that the program in your area is sold out!

Bullying.org is a site / forum for children and teenagers who have experienced bullying. Students from around the world post stories, poems, plays, and songs that speak to their pain and frustration - and their sense that the adults in their lives are unwilling to help.

Raven Days: Surviving Middle School, Junior High, and High School as a Hunted Outsider

Schools should be safe for all students. Someday perhaps they will be. But as long as they are not, there need to be places where students can gather for support in dealing with the status quo, and for help in changing it. That is why Raven Days was created.

It is a common mistake to view disability discrimination as mere thoughtlessness or failure to take extra steps to accommodate the unique needs of people with disabilities. In reality, much disability discrimination is the overt expression of hostility and the conscious effort to subordinate members of a group with less power and social standing than the majority."

"Nowhere is the injury more common or more severe than in elementary and high schools . . . "

The Beacon is a multidisciplinary journal that includes articles and essays for attorneys, advocates and others who are interested in special education law and practice. Each issue focuses on a theme and includes practical and theoretical articles. Learn more. Beacon Archives.

One obstacle in advocating for a child with a disability is finding the time to do research. We spend hours collecting information so you can spend your time learning, not searching. Here are links to two excellent pubs about bullying & harassment.

Schoolwide Prevention of Bullying published by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.

"It is estimated that 30 percent of American children are regularly involved in bullying, either as bullies, victims, or both (National Resource Center for Safe Schools [NRCSS], 2001)." Schoolwide Prevention of Bullying provides an overview of bullying, reviews of successful anti-bullying programs, and resources. (28 pages in pdf)

Protecting Students from Harassment and Hate Crimes: A Guide for Schools published by the U. S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights and National Association of Attorneys General.

Many children experience sexual, racial and ethnic harassment at school. Protecting Students from Harassment and Hate Crimes provides guidance about how to protect students from harassment and violence based on race, color, national origin, sex, and disability. (167 pages in pdf) Download

More Free Pubs

One obstacle in advocating for a child is finding time to do research. We spend hours collecting information so you can spend your time learning, not searching.

Visit our Free Pubs page to download free publications about IEPs, special education, transition planning, reading, children's mental health, harassment, high-stakes testing, retention and social promotion, zero tolerance, discipline, more.

9. Twice Exceptional Children

Twice-exceptional children are gifted children who have special educational needs - AD/HD, learning disabilities, Asperger Syndrome, etc. Because their giftedness can mask their special needs and their special needs can hide their giftedness, they are often labeled as "lazy" and "unmotivated".

Uniquely Gifted Site

If you are interested in "twice exceptional" kids, the Uniquely Gifted site has excellent information and resources. The site was developed by Meredith Warshaw, special needs educational advisor and contributing editor for the 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter. Meredith co-founded the GT-Special email list for families with gifted/special needs children and founded GT-Spec-Home for families who are homeschooling gifted/special needs children.

2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

The 2e Newsletter is written for parents, educators, advocates, medical/mental health professionals, and others who help twice exceptional (2e) kids reach their potential. The 2e Newsletter includes:

*articles on giftedness & learning differences
* profiles of experts, organizations, and resources
* columns that offer insight into living and working with twice-exceptional children
* research findings, trends, news and events
* conferences
* book reviews and recommendations

Learn more about The 2e Newsletter. Monthly email briefing from 2e.

10. 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.