Wrightslaw - Special Ed Advocate Newsletter, May 15, 2002 (Issue 164)

At Wrightslaw, our goals are to help you gain the information and skills you need to navigate the confusing world of special education. This issue of The Special Ed Advocate is part of a series about IEPs.

Highlights: Why parents cannot ask for "what's best"; how to use tactics & strategies in IEPs; how to use a parent IEP attachment; retention & social promotion; FAPE & IEPs; new Yellow Pages for Kids with Disabilities; help in From Emotions to Advocacy; advocacy training schedule.

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

https://www.wrightslaw.com/subscribe.htm

Free Newsletter Flyer. Check additions to our Free Newsletter Flyer - which has grown to two pages. Please print and distribute this new Free Newsletters Flyer - ask your school to include the Free Newsletter flyer in your school newsletter too!

https://www.wrightslaw.com/flyers/free.nwltrs.pdf

FETA Study Groups. Do you want to learn more about special education advocacy? Learn how you can start a FETA Study Group:

https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/advo.feta.groups.htm

1. Loving Parents Want What Is Best for Child - But Schools Only Need to Provide FAPE

Learn why you cannot use words like "best" or "maximizing potential" in discussions with school staff; article includes Four Rules About FAPE.

Read Loving Parents Want What's Best for Child - But Schools Only Need to Provide FAPE:

https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/fape.notbest.htm

2. IEP Goals & Objectives: Tactics & Strategy Session with Pete Wright

https://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/Tactics_Strategy_IEPs.html

3. How to Use a Parent IEP Attachment

Confused at IEP meetings? Do you find that your questions are not answered? In this article, parent advocate Judy Bonnell teaches you how to use a simple form to track your requests, the school's response, issues that were resolved, and issues that are still on the table.

Read How to Use a Parent IEP Attachment at:

https://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/tips/bonnell.iep.attach.htm

4. Facts About Retention & Social Promotion

If you have a child with a disability, the end of the school year may bring a tough decision - should you hold your child back? Should you allow the school to promote your child?

We put together a list of three articles to answer questions about retention and social promotion.

1. To Promote or Retain summarizes research showing that retention and social promotion are not appropriate interventions for children who have academic delays - and offers a different solution to these children's problems. Read To Promote or Retain at:

https://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/promote.retain.htm

2. Should I Allow the School to Retain My Child? Answers a parent's questions about retention and offers advice about alternatives; support from National Association of School Psychologists. Read article:

https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/fape_retention.htm

3. Ending Social Promotion. According to the U. S. Department of Education, neither social promotion nor retention is appropriate. This article focuses on accountability and school's responsibility to implement high academic standards for all students. Read Ending Social Promotion at:

https://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/fape.social.promote.htm

5. FAPE & IEPs

If you have a child with a disability, your child is entitled to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). In a nutshell, FAPE is an individualized educational program that is designed to meet the child's unique needs and from which the child receives educational benefit.

To answer your questions about FAPE, we built a FAPE Info page with links to articles, cases, and other resources about FAPE:

https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/fape.index.htm

To learn about FAPE, Least Restrictive Environment, Extended School Year, and IEPs, check these topics pages:

IEPs: https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/iep.index.htm

Least Restrictive Environment/LRE: https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/lre.index.htm

Extended School Year: https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/esy.index.htm

Main Topics Page: https://www.wrightslaw.com/topics.htm

6. New Yellow Pages for Kids with Disabilities: Arizona, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Montana, New York, Texas

We are continue to build our "Yellow Pages for Kids with Disabilities" so people who love and work with our children can get information, support, and connect with one another. You will find many different resources on these pages - government programs, grassroots organizations, and support groups.

This week, we added 7 new state Yellow Pages to the Fetaweb site:

Arizona: http://www.fetaweb.com/help/az.htm

Louisiana: http://www.fetaweb.com/help/la.htm

Maine: http://www.fetaweb.com/help/me.htm

Missouri: http://www.fetaweb.com/help/mo.htm

Montana: http://www.fetaweb.com/help/mt.htm

New York: http://www.fetaweb.com/help/ny.htm

Texas: http://www.fetaweb.com/help/tx.htm

The master list of Yellow Pages is on the Fetaweb site at http://www.fetaweb.com/help/states.htm

Please visit the Yellow Pages for your state. (If your state is not up yet, please be patient) If you know about a good resource, please send the information to resources@fetaweb.com

In the subject line of your message, type your state's two letter designation: UT, MN, NY, TX, followed by the words YELLOW PAGES - for example, UT YELLOW PAGES. Thanks!

27 states down, 23 states and 6 territories to go!

7. Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy - The Special Education Survival Guide

In Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy - The Special Education Survival Guide, we walk you though the IEP process. You learn:

• How to become an expert about your child’s disability and educational needs
• How to organize your child’s file
• How to use information from tests to understand your child’s disability
• How to use test scores to monitor and measure your child’s progress
• How to write SMART IEP goals and objectives

Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy includes chapters about evaluations, how to organize your child's file, two chapters about how to use the bell curve to measure progress or lack of progress, and a chapter about SMART IEPs.

Short Table of Contents: https://www.wrightslaw.com/bks/feta/feta.toc.htm

Complete Table of Contents: https://www.wrightslaw.com/bks/feta/toc.pdf

"From Emotions to Advocacy is the best, practical, informative, empathetic book on the market. It's amazing and thrilling to be an advocate for 15 years, to read FETA, and feel the thrill of 'Oh, my God! that is so true', and to be able to sharpen my skills." Fran, New Hampshire

Learn more about Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy:

https://www.wrightslaw.com/bks/feta/feta.htm

8. Wrightslaw Advocacy Training Schedule

Last week, we did advocacy training programs in Oklahoma City and Sacramento. Both programs sold out!

On Tuesday, more than 400 people traveled to Oklahoma City for an advocacy training program sponsored by the Oklahoma Disabilities Law Center.

Families for Early Autism Treatment (FEAT) sponsored the Sacramento program. Registration closed early when the Sacramento Convention Center rooms were full.

We will be in Chicago later this month. In June, we travel to Orlando, Florida.

May 25-26: Advocacy Training at International Rett Syndrome Conference, Chicago, IL.

https://www.wrightslaw.com/speak/il.02.htm

June 21: Advocacy Training in Orlando, FL.

https://www.wrightslaw.com/speak/02.fl.htm

These full-day programs focus on four areas: special education law, rights and responsibilities; how to use the bell curve to measure progress & regression; SMART IEPs; and how to use tactics & strategies for effective advocacy.

For more information about these programs and others that are scheduled in the next few months, please check our Seminars & Training page at https://www.wrightslaw.com/speak/index.htm

To learn how you can bring Pete & Pam Wright to your community, read our FAQs about Advocacy Training Programs at:

https://www.wrightslaw.com/speak/faqs.htm