Act today to share your concerns about:
- Closing the disability achievement gap
- Ensuring a meaningful education that enables every child to succeed
- Meaningful parent participation in IEP meetings and as equals in educational planning
- Using effective, research based programs and highly qualified teachers
- Restraint/seclusion
Do it today! Email deadline for comments/concerns is Wednesday, September 9 by 5:00 pm EDT
Email your thoughts and ideas to Education.TV@ed.gov
Or email your comments directly to arne.duncan@ed.gov
Share your views on education of children with disabilities at the National Town Hall Meeting to be held on Sept. 15
Issues that will be discussed matter to parents and advocates for children with disabilities. Read more about why it is so important to participate, how to participate, what to say, when to watch…
On September 15, 2009 at 8pm EDT, Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan will host an interactive National Town Hall Meeting with parents across the nation by telephone, email, and with a studio audience. Parents can suggest reforms, share their ideas for improving education, and other concerns and comments.
The deadline for submitting email comments is today, Wednesday, Sept. 9. Email your thoughts and ideas to Education.TV@ed.gov
Or email your comments directly to arne.duncan@ed.gov
Topics that will be discussed include:
- What do we need to do, and what do we need to do differently to ensure our students are successful?
- What does a quality school look like and how can more schools become consistently high achieving?
- How can parents become more involved with and engaged in their child’s education?
- What steps are schools at all levels of education taking to ensure a safe and healthy learning environment?
- What is working and what needs to change in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act? (ed note: This includes the law formerly known as No Child Left Behind.)
- What are some effective practices for recruiting, retaining, supporting and compensating highly effective teachers?
Why participate or email a question? Does your question really matter?
Not all questions may be selected for the program. Even if questions do not make the program, they are being received and surely being tallied and categorized. Let’s say that a few hundred parents send in comments about the disability achievement gap, or share their concerns about how children deserve a truly meaningful education. One way that other disability achievement gaps get attention is by shining a light on them. There are 7.1 million children with disabilities and the inadequacy of education that many receive (and conversely the good educations offered by excellent programs) deserve attention, too.
Why not submit a question or comment? You’re not being graded. And its free! No stamp needed! If you have ever written an email post with your thoughts on education, why not share some of those thoughts?
Speak up about your child. Advocate for others!
Nothing in the announcement requires you to speak only about your own children. Indeed, many parents, in helping their communities, are concerned about issues that affect other children. This includes professional advocates and attorneys. Don’t let your professional title stop you from speaking up; if you’re a parent with an idea, you’re invited to share it.
- Identify yourself, as the parent of a child with a disability, or other
- Speak from your heart and experience
- Keep it short and focused
Your two goals:
1. getting your comment into the Town Hall Meeting
2. emphasizing the concern that parents and advocates have about children with disabilities receiving a good education and protecting their civil rights.
To get more information about the National Town Hall Meeting, visit
http://registerevent.ed.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewer.description&intEventID=233
or go to
http://www.ed.gov/news/av/video/edtv/index.html and click on the National Town Hall Meeting with Arne Duncan
You can also call into the town meeting on September 15 by dialing 1-888-493-9382. Phone lines will open at 8pm EDT on September 15.
This is great! I have submitted some ideas to the addresses provided.
I think that any investigation by the Office of Civil Rights or a State Department of Education in which violations were found, should be followed up with a parent/guardian survey.
This would offer very direct data for what has or hasn’t worked.
How many students recieved improved educational services as a result? How many students withdrew from the school in which the complaint was filed? How are they doing now?