wrightslaw newsletter- fyi

[Guest guest]

Subj: THE SPECIAL ED ADVOCATE, FEBRUARY 13, 2002 (ISSUE 152)

Date: 13/02/2002 11:57:19 AM Eastern Standard Time

From: <A HREF= " mailto:webmaster@... " >webmaster@...</A>

<A HREF= " mailto:jbmistletoe@... " >jbmistletoe@...</A>

Sent from the Internet (Details)

Download the online version of this newsletter from <A

HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/nwltr/2002/nl.0212.htm " >

http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/nwltr/2002/nl.0212.htm</A>

slaw

The Special Ed Advocate Newsletter

February 13, 2002

<A HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/ " >Home</A>

Issue - 152

ISSN: 1538-3202

In this Issue

<A HREF= " #nclb " >What Does " No Child Left Behind " Mean for You?</A>

<A HREF= " #chance " >Speak Up! Your Chance to Be Heard!</A>

<A HREF= " #edi " >Editor's Choice: Left Back - Failed School Reform</A>

<A HREF= " #pubs " >Free Pub - Minority Students</A>

<A HREF= " #p2 " >Pete & Pam to Cleveland & Chicago</A>

<A HREF= " #subscribe " >Subscription & Contact Info</A>

Subscribe

Email:

Name:

Dear jbmistletoe@...,

At slaw, our goals are to help you gain the information and skills you

need to navigate the confusing world of special education.

Highlights: President Bush has advice for parents in the No Child Left Behind

Act; download brochures; Speak Up about IDEA and preschool programs; new free

pub about reading and research-based instruction from National Academy of

Science; Pete & Pam are coming to Cleveland and Chicago.

Subscribers on February 13 2002: 37,473

Do you want to help others learn about special education law and advocacy.

Download, print and distribute the new <A

HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/flyers/wrightslaw2.flyer.htm " >slaw

flyer.</A>The new <A

HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/flyers/wrightslaw2.flyer.htm " >slaw

flyer</A> is in two formats - <A

HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/flyers/wrightslaw2.flyer.htm " >html</A> and <A

HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/flyers/wrightslaw2.flyer.pdf " >pdf</A> - so it is

easier to print.

Do you want to do more? Forward this newsletter or the <A

HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/subscribe.htm " >subscription page</A> to

your friends. Together we can make a difference!

No Child Left Behind Act - What Does the Law Mean to You?

When President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act on January 8, 2002,

he offered this advice to parents: " We know that every child can learn. As

parents, you are your children's first teachers and their strongest

advocates. You have a critical role to play. "

" Too many children are segregated in schools without standards, shuffled from

grade to grade . . . This is discrimination, pure and simple - the soft

bigotry of low expectations. " -- President W. Bush

Because this statute will affect educational policy and decision-making for

many years, we wanted to read it and think about what it may mean for our

children, their parents, and their teachers.

In this new article, you learn the basics about the No Child Left Behind Act.

We offer information and resources for parents, teachers, and school and

community leaders. To help you learn more about this important law, we offer

a slaw Game Plan.

President Bush has this message for parents:

" As parents, you are your children's first and foremost teachers and their

strongest advocates. You have a critical role to play—both in the way you

raise your children and in the way you work for meaningful and accurate

accountability in their schools. This book will show you the way to help

change their schools for the better. "

Rod Paige, Secretary of the U. S. Department of Education said,

" No one cares more about your child's future than you do, and no one is

better positioned to hold schools accountable for performance than you are. "

" You have a right to know whether your child is really learning at school . .

.. If your child is not making adequate progress in school, you can and must

ask why. A good teacher will be happy to answer your questions. Do your part

and ask. "

At slaw, we have questions and concerns. Given the U. S. Department of

Education's dismal track record in enforcing the IDEA, how the feds will

enforce this new law? Who will ensure that local and state education agencies

departments are held accountable for results? As we learn more, we will keep

you posted will keep you posted.

Educate yourself. Educate others.

Read <A HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/news/2002/nclb.sign.htm " >What Does the

No Child Left Behind Act Mean for You</A>?

<A

HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/news/2002/nclb.sign.htm " >http://www.wrightslaw.c\

om/news/2002/nclb.sign.htm</A>

Finally - A Chance to be Heard! This year, Congress is scheduled to

reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). As part

of the reauthorization process, groups and committees will study the law and

how it is being implemented - or is not being implemented.

If you are involved in special education, this is <A

HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/news/2002/idea.comments.htm " >your chance to be

heard</A>.

Get involved! Don’t procrastinate - the VIPs want to receive your comments

before February 25, 2002!

<A

HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/news/2002/idea.comments.htm " >http://www.wrightsl\

aw.com/news/2002/idea.comments.htm</A>

Please visit the <A HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/news/idea2002.htm " >IDEA 2002

page</A> for news and updates about this important

process.

Editor's Choice: Left Back: A Century of Battles over School Reform

Americans have argued about the quality of their schools for years for 100

years. Historian Diane Ravich describes this ongoing battle and explains why

school reform often fails. She contends that American schools have been

damaged by three misconceptions:

(1) the belief that schools can solve any social or political problem;

(2) the belief that many youngsters are incapable of benefitting from a

high-quality education;

(3) the belief that imparting knowledge is relatively unimportant, compared

to engaging students in 'activities and experiences.'

Ravich says that these misconceptions and false beliefs have restricted

equality of educational opportunity, encouraged low expectations, and dumbed

down schools. She offers practical advice about how we can reform America's

schools, arguing that all students can learn and deserve a solid education.

This book is an excellent resource for people who are interested in education

reform.

For more information about <A

HREF= " http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743203267/ref=nosim/thespecialedad\

vo " >Left Back</A>, go to <A

HREF= " http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743203267/ref=nosim/thespecialedad\

vo " >

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743203267/ref=nosim/thespecialedadvo

</A>

For more good books and books about inspirational people, visit our <A

HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/bkstore/bks_gifts.htm " >Gift Shop</A>

at <A

HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/bkstore/bks_gifts.htm " >http://www.wrightslaw.com\

/bkstore/bks_gifts.htm</A>

New Free Pub

National Research Council, <A

HREF= " http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10128.html?onpi_newsdoc01162002 " >Minority

Students in Special and Gifted Education</A>,

published by National Academy Press (2002).

Special education and gifted and talented programs were designed for children

whose educational needs are not well met in regular classrooms. From the

beginning, these programs have had a disproportionate number of racial and

ethnic minority students. Why? Is this a problem?

Do special education programs provide valuable educational services? Do

special ed programs set students on a course of lower educational

expectations? Important questions!

This report from The National Research Council answers these questions. The

Report will help your school board understand how using research-based

teaching methods to teach reading will reduce the number of children who

cannot learn in regular education classrooms. The report also contains

information that will be useful for your Congressional representatives as

they consider changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in

the coming months.

<A HREF= " http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10128.html?onpi_newsdoc01162002 " >Download a

free copy</A> of Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education

(one page at a time) from <A

HREF= " http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10128.html?onpi_newsdoc01162002 " >

http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10128.html?onpi_newsdoc01162002</A>. You can also

purchase a bound copy from the NAP.

For dozens of free publications about special ed topics, from autism to zero

tolerance, go to the <A

HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/links/free_pubs.htm " >slaw Free Pubs

Page</A>. We add new publications

often.

<A

HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/links/free_pubs.htm " >http://www.wrightslaw.com/l\

inks/free_pubs.htm</A>

Pete & Pam in Cleveland & Chicago Please join Pete and Pam for a full

day of advocacy training in Cleveland Ohio and Chicago, Illinois.

February 20: Cleveland, OH. For information, call the <A

HREF= " http://www.cuybar.org/ " >Cuyahoga County Bar

Association</A> at 216-621-5112 or Special Education Legal Services (SELS) at

216-289-IDEA (216-289-4332). <A

HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/flyers/oh_2001.pdf " >Download and distribute

flyer</A>.

February 23: Chicago, IL. For information, download <A

HREF= " http://www.special-connections.org/pete_wright_registration.htm " >registrat\

ion page</A>, call

Special Connections at 312-914-0591, or email <A

HREF= " mailto:Contact@... " >Contact@...</A\

>

To learn if we are scheduled to come to your area, please check our <A

HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/schedule.htm " >Schedule</A>.

If you are interested in having Pete and Pam speak at an event, please

send a blank email to <A

HREF= " mailto:conferences@... " >conferences@...</A>

Subscription & Contact Info

The Special Ed Advocate is a free online newsletter about special education

legal and advocacy issues, cases, tactics and strategy, and Internet

resources. Subscribers receive announcements and " alerts " about new cases,

events, and special offers on slaw books. <A

HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/subscribe.htm " >To subscribe</A>. Read back

issues of <A

HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/main_newsletter_archives.htm " >Special Ed

Advocate</A>.

<A HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/link_to_us.htm " >

Link to Us</A> - More than 1,000 sites link to slaw. If you want to spread

the word about special education advocacy, <A

HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/link_to_us.htm " >download a banner or image</A>.

<A HREF= " #top " >To Top</A>

<A HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/ " >To slaw</A>

slaw & The Special Ed Advocate

ISSN: 1538-3202

Pete and Pam

P. O. Box 1008

Deltaville, VA 23043

Website: <A HREF= " http://www.wrightslaw.com/ " >http://www.wrightslaw.com</A>

Email: <A HREF= " mailto:webmaster@... " >Webmaster</A>

You are currently subscribed to special-ed-advocate as: jbmistletoe@...

To UNSUBSCRIBE or CHANGE your email address, DO NOT use the Reply button.

Please click the unsubscribe link at the very end of this page and, when your

email program opens, click SEND. If you do not see a highlighted link as with

AOL and older browsers, then you will need to copy and paste the complete

line below as an email address and send it as a blank email. The line will

start with leave-special-ed-advocate and end with lists.wrightslaw.com. Copy

that complete line, exactly, into the " Send " line of your email program

and send it. If done properly, you will become automatically unsubscribed and

receive an email to that effect. The unsubscribe and address change link is:

leave-special-ed-advocate-2039298L@...