Anyone w/ experience Special Ed Parent/Teacher Organization?

Suzi,

I’d suggest you consider trying to connect with the Learning Disabilities Association of America. They will be able to help you and there will be speakers who may be able to occasionally come to your area. They also have state and national conferences. They will inform you of important legislation involving special ed. There are newsletters and journals which will connect you with important information. I am also considering starting a branch here.

http://www.ldanatl.org/

Janis

School system where I taught had a sort of Sped Parents Committee — basically it was a chance for the Sped people to meet with parents and give ‘em sort of “press releasses” about whatever was happening that related to their studentss. The members of the committee were hand-picked, though — truly knowledgeable ones wouldn’t have made the screening.
As a general rule, the majority of parents of special ed students at the public schools where I taught had minimal involvement in their childresn’ education. This was middle and high school — I got the feeling they might have simply burned out trying to keep the lines of communication open. (It was only a majority, though; there were always at least 4 or 5 of the possible 30 who did things like come to parent conference nights.)

I have heard of schools having “training” for parents about the sp ed process and their rights as a parent. This is put on by the sp ed director and teachers who invite the parents in. There is a group providing training in this, but I don’t remember the name and don’t have access to it now.

[quote=”sj”]I have heard of schools having “training” for parents about the sp ed process and their rights as a parent. This is put on by the sp ed director and teachers who invite the parents in. There is a group providing training in this, but I don’t remember the name and don’t have access to it now.[/quote]

Hi, if you go to www.schwablearning.org/message_boards/index.asp? there is a member there, Suzanne86, who is very involved with Sped Ed PTO. She will be able to give you info on what they do etc. I know they organize alot of talks to educate Sped Ed parents on their rights and how to navigate the Sped Ed world. etc.

My district has a SPED PTA . I am just getting involved so I don’t know how effective they actually are, but it is a large organization . I would imagine its just another way to advocate for our kids.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I’ve talked with several parents of children who are in Special Ed for LD and they all seemed very interested in pursuing some type of SEPTA. So, I guess my next step is to talk with they dyslexia coordinator I’ve had contact with and see where it goes from there.

There are alot of things that need to be improved upon as well as education of both parents, teachers and administration. I still can’t believe that they do not have a math pull out or an after school tutoring program in addition to a weak AP programs for K-1. GT also only gets a 1 hour a week pullout, so those parents/teachers are interested as well.

I’m making it my mission this year to get the ball rolling in this school district. My dd is in a private LD school currently, but surely wish we could just attend the local public school.

Thanks again and KarenN, keep me updated about the SEPTA meetings you are attending. I’d love to know how yours operates, their missions, etc.

Suzi