PUBLIC COMMENTS DUE WED, 9/9 5PM-US ED DEPT TOWN HALL MTG-PLS SHARE!

[Guest guest]

This opportunity for families and others concerned with education of

students with disabilities to comment and listen in was unfortunately not well

publicized. I just received notice now (Tues PM) from a long-time advocate

with Congress on behalf of students with disabilities, even though the

deadline for submission of comments/questions is tomorrow (Wed, 9/9) at 5pm

Eastern Time. So I'm sending this out now - please share widely! Thanks!

SEPT 15 NATIONAL TOWN MEETING TO SHARE CONCERNS, SUGGEST EDUCATION REFORMS

TO SECRETARY OF EDUCATION.

EMAIL COMMENTS/QUESTIONS BY WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 by 5pm EDT (see below

" How to Participate. " ) Excellent opportunity for EVERYONE to participate.

Share the word.

WHAT IS THE EVENT? On September 15, 2009 at 8pm EDT, Department of

Education Secretary Arne Duncan will host an interactive national town 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. Here's an excellent opportunity for

parents of children with disabilities and advocates to share their views and

concerns with the Department of Education about closing the disability

achievement gap and providing a truly meaningful education that enables every

child to succeed; share experiences about meaningful participation in their

child's education; and share share information about excellent programs that

exist and should be duplicated.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE? IS THERE A DEADLINE?

Email your thoughts and ideas to EducationTV@... by 5:00 pm EDT on

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 9, 2009. 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.

ISSUES THAT WILL BE DISCUSSED MATTER TO PARENTS AND ADVOCATES FOR

CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES: Topics that will be discussed include those below.

Many relate to concerns that parents of children have, like adequacy of the

education their children receive and what can be done to improve that

education; meaningful parental participation in IEP meetings and as equals in

educational planning; and restraint/seclusion. The listed topics 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/EMAIL A QUESTION? DOES MY QUESTION REALLY MATTER? It is

true that not only a subset of questions may be selected for the program.

But 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. Even if questions do not make the program, they

are being received and surely being tallied and categorized. 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?

HOW CAN I VIEW THE PROGRAM? See

_http://registerevent.ed.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewer.wheretowatchintEven'>http://registerevent.ed.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewer.wheretowatchintEven

tID=233_

(http://registerevent.ed.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewer.wheretowatch & intEventID\

=233)

for information about how to view the program, called " America Goes Back

to School: A National Town Hall Meeting with Arne Duncan - Tuesday,

September 15, 2009. " If that link doesn't work for you, try this one:

_http://www.ed.gov/news/av/video/edtv/index.html_

(http://www.ed.gov/news/av/video/edtv/index.html)

and click on the National Town Meeting with Arne Duncan

CAN I ONLY COMMENT ABOUT MY CHILD? WHAT ABOUT ADVOCATING FOR OTHERS? It

would be good to identify yourself as the parent of a child, but nothing in

the announcement requires you to only speak 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.

DOES MY QUESTION OR COMMENT HAVE TO BE PERFECT? I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME

TO DO IT JUSTICE. No question or comment has to be perfect. Everyone

posts to the Internet or writes emails with their thoughts about education

reform. Its as simple as that. Just speak from your heart and experience.

Keep it short and focused, though. Remember, there are two goals: getting

your comment into the Town Meeting (rare) but also registering the degree of

concern that parents and advocates have about children with disabilities

receiving a good education and protecting their civil rights (everyone can

do).

HOW DO I GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROGRAM?

The program is a special edition of Education News Parents Can Use. It is

one stop on Secretary Duncan's national “Listening and Learning†tour to

gather input on the administration's education agenda, including quality

schools, higher standards, parent responsibility, teacher quality, health and

safety, workforce development, early childhood learning, and higher

education. To get more information about the National Town Meeting, visit

_http://registerevent.ed.gov/index.cfm?fuseact

ion=viewer.description & intEventID=233_

(http://registerevent.ed.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewer.description & intEventID=\

233)

or go to

_http://www.ed.gov/news/av/video/edtv/index.html_

(http://www.ed.gov/news/av/video/edtv/index.html)

and click on the National Town Meeting with Arne Duncan

FEEL FREE TO FORWARD AND SHARE THIS EMAIL. The deadline for emailed

questions is Wednesday Sept. 9 at 5pm EDT (which unfortunately was not

well-publicized), so feel free to share this email broadly.

--jessica butler

Sandy, Illinois (alpy2@...)

Volunteer Co-Webmaster, Our Children Left Behind

(http://www.ourchildrenleftbehind.com) (IDEA & NCLB reauthorization)