…by signing up for a Wrightslaw conference today. Coming first to Florida on January 15th. All About IEPs – Register now!
Next up is Louisiana, Illinois, California, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, New Jersey, Maryland, Maine, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, New York and Oklahoma in 2010.
Check out the schedule page for one near you! See you there!
Okay people, if you have not been to a Wrightslaw conference you need to get in on this one. I have been to three Wrightslaw conferences (one in a different state) and have learned important/vital information and skills at all three. Don’t miss out on this opportunity, and the price for what you get is SO right! You will be thankful that you attended and for the knowledge you will take home. True change will only take place when every parent of every child with a disability becomes an educated parent advocate, ALL forces to be reckoned with when advocating for their own kids. Knowledge is power! Get some of it!
I would be able to attend a conference in another state but I am concerned that the law presented might not apply in Georgia. Any chance you will be presenting here in the Atlanta area or at least in the state?
Beth: Have no concern. The information that is presented at a Wrightslaw conference relates to IDEA 2004 which is a federal law, so it is applicable nationwide. On the agenda for IEP Conference in Tampa next week is
· 20 USC 1414(d) – The IEP statute
· 34 CFR 300.320 – 328 – The IEP special education regulations
These refer to the federal statute and regulations.
All states must ensure that their statutes and regulations are consistent with this federal law. States cannot provide fewer rights than guaranteed by federal law (although state statutes and regulations may provide more rights than federal law).
I am excited to attend all of your conferences! I am an educator and a parent in one of the largest school systems in the south. I have six children and have spent a large portion of my life navigating the public school system personally and professionally. It wasn’t until I had a special needs child of my own that I realized the magnitude of the need for advocacy and expertise required to obtain FAPE for a child with even mild disabilities. I learned the hard way that I was the expert…I had no idea that my child was not receiving the best education the system could provide. I had no idea his teachers were ill prepared and under educated. What a shock to find out that I knew more about educating students with disabilities and their basic rights than their teachers and the administrators evaluating them. Please come to Georgia!