ORGANIZATIONS
Involvement in Organizations
As a parent, you may need support or information to aid you in
fostering your child's development. There are a number of
organizations which promote greater awareness of developmental
problems. They can provide materials, resource lists, and
programs that can help you understand and work effectively with
your child's special needs.
Other organizations operate to protect children's rights. These
offices should be able to explain the directives mandated by law
and help you find legal services, if needed.
After assisting may parents for many years to advocate for an
appropriate education for their children, one thing has become
clear. No one parent can make necessary changes in isolation.
IDEA, Section 504, and the ADA are good laws. They are, however,
only one weapon in your advocacy arsenal. A more powerful weapon
with which to create longer lasting change, with potentially more
import, is that of relationship with other members in your
community. With the laws, you can force people to do the right
thing sometimes, but often for a short period of time, and only
because they are being forced. It is through getting to know
people and sharing ideas that changes get made because the
rationale behind them is understood and agreed upon. People share
ideas about the right way to treat all children.
We have further realized that associations of people are where
the power is. This power stems from the fact that groups of
citizens who combine their understanding, commitments, care and
action are much greater than that of any one of them or even the
sum of their independent actions.
It would be to your benefit to begin working on a community level
with other parents. Parent organizations function in various
ways: as support and education groups; as political lobbyists; as
public relations groups; and as monitors of public programs. All
of these functions enhance public, as well as parent, awareness
of the needs and potential of children with disabilities. Such
groups can also influence local, state and/or federal
legislation.
You or your group can learn more about exceptional, innovative or
highly integrated special education programs operating in or out
of Georgia. Recommendations could be obtained from other parent
and advocacy groups in Georgia, many of which are listed in the
appendix. If you wish to visit a particular program, contact the
special education director of that school system.
You may wish to join or form a local education committee to work
with the school in planning and evaluating educational services.
In fact, every school system in Georgia which educates students
with disabilities is required to establish a committee which is
to serve in advisory capacity to its local Board of Education.
Along with several others, this committee is to contain one or
more parents of students who receive special education services.
In general, an Education Committee can learn a great deal by
simply reviewing the comprehensive plans for the state and local
education agencies. These plans are developed every three years
and the law requires public comment. Input from your group will
be recorded and may result in long term changes in policy and
procedures. The existence of these plans is a stipulation for
receiving federal funds and the Department of Education has a
compliance section which reviews all local plans.
Another appropriate activity for your group is participation in
state and local monitoring activities. Each school system in
Georgia is supposed to be monitored every three years to
determine its compliance with IDEA. After the monitoring is
completed, a report is written citing areas of non-compliance.
The local education agency is then given an opportunity to
develop a plan of correction and make changes in these areas. The
system is later reviewed to determine if the areas of
non-compliance have been corrected.
As a parent, you may be a part of your system's monitoring. You
can contact the local special education director for dates and
times, and request to be included in the monitoring activities.
Once monitoring has been completed, or if your system was
monitored in the past, you may request a copy of the report and
the school district's response. (See sample letters.)
Your Name Date
Your Address
Dr./Mr./Ms. , Superintendent
County School System
Address
Dear Mr./Ms. :
Please advise me of the date the County School System's Special
Education program was last monitored. Also, please send me a copy
of the monitor's report.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Your signature
(Keep a copy for your records)
Date
Your Name
Your Address
Name (Special Education Director)
Address
Dear Dr./Mr./Ms. :
The purpose of this letter is to request a copy of the Local
Education Comprehensive Plan and the Monitoring Report for the
(name of school system).
Please advise me on how I may obtain copies, or access to the
above documents, and visit the special education programs.
Sincerely,
Your signature
(Keep a copy for your records)
Monitoring a Local Education Agency
The following are suggestions which you may use to determine
whether state monitoring has brought about changes in your
system.
1. Secure a copy of the State Education Agency Plan.
2. Secure a copy of the Local Education Agency Plan.
3. Secure a copy of the Local Education Agency monitoring report.
4. Take the most recent monitoring report and compare the
deficiencies with the resolutions listed in the plan.
5. Make on-site visits to determine if written resolutions to
deficiencies are actually being carried out.
6. If discrepancies exist between what is written on paper and
what is happening, the following should be done. Prepare a letter
to go to
Ms. Paulette Bragg at the State Department of Education giving
the section of the monitoring report where there is continuing
non-compliance.
7. List specific instances you are aware of, especially if they
involve your child.
8. Keep copies of all correspondence for your records.
9. Monitoring activities are coordinated at the state level by:
Ms. Katharine Adams
Coordinator, Evaluation and Assessment
State Department of Education
205 Butler Street
Twin Towers East, Suite 1970
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
(404) 657-9950