Special Education: 3 Areas of Knowledge, That Parents Must Understand to Help Their Child’s Educatio

by

JoAnn Collins

Would you like to learn about 3 important areas where you need

knowledge to effectively advocate for your child? Would you like

resources to find more information on these areas? If you are the

parent of a child with a disability, you need to have information in

three different areas to help your child receive an appropriate

education. This article will discuss these three areas, as well as

give you easy to use resources.

Area 1: You must know the educational laws that will help your child

receive an appropriate education. The laws are: The Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) which is the federal law governing

education for a child with a disability, your states law that must

comply with IDEA, and No Child Left Behind (NCLB). IDEA can be

downloaded at www.idea.ed.gov. The Web address for your state board of

education can be found at google. Your state board of

education’s Web site should allow you to download your state

regulations, or at least give you a phone number or address for your

state board of education, so that you can get a copy.

Area 2: You must learn advocacy skills to help you learn how to

advocate effectively for your child. My book Disability Deception has

advocacy techniques throughout the book. Check out organizations like NICHCY for more information about advocacy skills.

Area 3: You must have knowledge about case law in special education

that affects your child. For Example: if your child has behavioral

issues, you should learn what due process and court rulings have

already been made in this area. A wonderful organization that you

should join is the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA).

There is a small membership fee, but it is worth it. COPAA can be

found at www.copaa.org. COPAA has a membership area (after you join),

where you can find case law, on many special education subjects.

By learning these three areas, you will well be on your way to being

an effective advocate for your child. It will take you time to learn

about these three areas, but it will be worth it! Remember, your

child’s life is at stake!

JoAnn Collins is the parent of two adults with disabilities, has beenan educational advocate for over 15 years, an author, as well as aspeaker. JoAnn teaches parents advocacy skills to overcome disabilityeducator s deceptions, and help their child receive an appropriateeducation. Her recently released book: Disability Deception; LiesDisability Educators Tell and How Parent s Can Beat Them at Their OwnGame helps parents develop skills to be an assertive and persistentadvocate for their child. For a free E newsletter send an E mail toJoAnn@disabilitydeception.com. Check out her Web site at:http://www.disabilitydeception.com.

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com