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Department of Education Issues ADA Amendments Act Dear Colleague Letter to Provide Guidance Under Amended Legal Standards
January 19, 2012

Contact:  
Press Office, (202) 401-1576, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Department of Education's (Department) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today issued a Dear Colleague letter concerning the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (Amendments Act). The letter and accompanying Frequently Asked Questions document (FAQ) provide additional guidance on the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504) in elementary and secondary schools, given the changes to those laws made by the Amendments Act.

"We must continue to take steps to enable every child, regardless of disability, to reach their full potential," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "This guidance reiterates the Department's commitment to ensure that educational opportunity is provided free from disability discrimination."

The Amendments Act, effective Jan. 1, 2009, amends the ADA, as well as the Rehabilitation Act. The Amendments Act broadened the meaning of disability and, in most cases, shifts the inquiry away from the question of whether a student has a disability as defined by the ADA and Section 504, and toward school districts' actions and obligations to ensure equal education opportunities.

Today's Dear Colleague letter and FAQ discuss the various obligations of school districts, such as the requirement to evaluate students for disability, and provide a free appropriate public education to students with disabilities, as well as the changes made by the Amendments Act.

"It is critical that school districts remain vigilant in their duty to protect the civil rights of all their students, including students with disabilities. When Congress changes the law affecting those rights, districts must ensure that their policies and practices reflect this altered landscape," said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Russlynn Ali.

To review the Dear Colleague letter, please visit http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201109.html. The FAQs are posted at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/dcl-504faq-201109.html. More information about OCR can be found at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html, as well as Facebook.com/EDCivilRights and Twitter (@Edcivilrights).

Education

Do you want to get involved in a fun and challenging project for British television? Can you give two British teenagers the chance to have some much-needed structure in their lives?

The British Broadcasting Corporation is looking for parents of teenagers to take part in the 4th season of its series on parenting.

Although we’ve visited parents around the world from Jamaica to India, and even been to America 3 times, we’ve never visited a role model family that live with a disability.

Read more: BBC Seeks Parents with Disabilities for Television Series

Education

Empowering the Parent Team

NJPC is offering a FREE five-week Professional Parent Advocacy Training
program for parents, grandparents, foster parents, adoptive parents, and
other caregivers.  Parents and caregivers attending the training are
given the opportunity to strengthen their knowledge of the systems that
serve their families, their rights and responsibilities within those
systems, and the advocacy, professional, and collaborative skills needed
to successfully negotiate those systems.  Parents will become better
able to advocate for themselves and their communities, resulting in
increased access to appropriate care and treatment for all children. The
Professional Parent Advocacy Training is approved for foster, adoptive
and kinship training credit.  Lunch will be served and early
registration is recommended.

Location:        Galilee Baptist Church

440 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard

Trenton, NJ 08618

Time:              9:30 am to 3:30 pm

Instructors:     Valerie Gallagher, Parent, NJPC Board Member, PPAT
Graduate; Dr. Helene Robbins, NJPC Advisory Board; Charlene Harris,
Parent, PPAT Graduate; Kathy Wright, Parent, Executive Director, NJPC;
Consultant, National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental
Health, Georgetown University; Consulting Pool, National Cultural
Competency Center, Georgetown University.



October 9, 2010

Introduction to Professional Parent Advocacy

Empowering the Parent Voice: Motivation & Assertiveness

Conflict Resolution Skills & The Power of Persuasion

Empowering vs. Enabling

Professionalism & Communication Skills



October 16, 2010

Navigating the Special Education System & the IEP Process

Developing a Transitional Plan

Zero Tolerance & IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

NCLB - No Child Left Behind Act



October 23, 2010

Understanding Childhood Mental Health Challenges & the DSM IV

How Knowledge of the Brain Influences Adult/Child Interaction



November 6, 2010

Understanding the Child Welfare System & Family Involvement in DYFS

Strengthening the Juvenile Justice System through Family Involvement

Cultural Competency & Diversity in the Child-Serving Community

Collaborating with Agencies Dedicated to Children & Families

November 13, 2010

Empowering the Parent Trainer-Train the Trainer

TBA

Graduation

Empowering the Statewide Parent Movement

Parents and caregivers are encouraged to use their newly-trained skills
to deliver Parent Advocacy

Workshops in their local community with the support of NJPC and other
certified parents throughout the state.

To register, or for additional information, call Shweta at 973-989-8866,
fax the

registration form to 973-989-8867 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .



Name ________________________________________________________________

Address_______________________________________________________________

City, State Zip
_________________________________________________________

County
----------------________________________________________________________
_______

Phone ____________________                            Email
_________________________


Parent ______
Provider/Professional ______


The Professional Parent Advocacy Training is made available  through Bristol-Myers Squibb

Education

By: National Research Center on Learning Disabilities


NRCLD developed this brief to help you understand different definitions and interpretations of the term “specific learning disability.”

Winter 2007

In education, the term learning disability is used to describe specific kinds of problems that an individual has with understanding or using spoken or written language. A student with a specific learning disability may have difficulty listening, thinking, speaking, reading, writing, spelling, or doing math problems. You may have heard of dyslexia. This is a learning disability that affects reading. Specific learning disability refers to several disorders, such as dyslexia, which affect reading or language.

Learning disabilities are not visible (like those of individuals who have physical disabilities), so they often are unrecognized. They can’t be “fixed” or “cured.” But special instruction, accommodations, support services, and aids can help students lessen the effects of the learning disability by using acquired methods and strategies to compensate for the difficulties one has in learning.
Most states and many schools use the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004) (Public Law 108-446) description of specific learning disability to define learning disability when determining special education eligibility and services. The IDEA 2004 definition states:

Read more: Who is the Student with a Specific Learning Disability?

Education

Every 40 seconds someone’s son or daughter is reported missing, totaling over 800,000 missing children in the United States each year. Whether you are in a crowded shopping mall, amusement park or even a neighborhood park, as a parent, turning around and not seeing your child induces instant panic and a sinking feeling in your stomach.

Read more: Back-to-School Child Safety Tips

Education

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