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Vermont Teacher Wins Award for Special Needs Program
Date: May 10, 2006
The Vermont Council for Exceptional Children presented Bellow Falls Union High School special ed teacher Ron King with the Robert Stafford Distinguished Service Award. The award is given out annually to a teacher and para-professional, nominated by their peers, who demonstrates a strong ability to advocate for individuals with disabilities. King is being recognized for his work in developing life and communications skills in his students.

John Williams' Column: Distance Learning Classes Have Strong Appeal, But?
Date: April 18, 2006
In this article, disability columnist John Williams discusses the pro's and con's of distance learning. He contends that while making higher education possible for people who cannot physically attend classes, distance learning takes away an element of human interaction that he feels is necessary in the learning process. Several students with disabilities who take distance learning courses share their thoughts as well.

Students with Intellectual Disabilities One Step Closer to College Work Study Jobs
Date: March 30, 2006
On March 29, 2006, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment to HR 609, the College Access and Opportunity Act of 2005. This amendment, introduced by Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX), will allow students with intellectual disabilities to obtain valuable, paid work experience in college work study jobs while pursuing postsecondary studies. Due to provisions in the Higher Education Act, students with intellectual disabilities and their families are not currently able to access federal financial aid, in the form of loans, grants or work study.

In Minnesota, Education Rights for Children with Disabilities May Be in Jeopardy
Date: March 15, 2006
Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA) is encouraging state policymakers to accept the newly reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) and pending federal regulations as the standard for educating students with disabilities. MASA's 2006 legislative platform suggests eliminating of all Minnesota special education laws and rules that exceed the minimal federal requirements in IDEA.

Students With Disabilities Making Great Strides, New Study Finds
Date: July 28, 2005
According to a new study by the U.S. Department of Education, students with disabilities have made great strides in their transition to adulthood during the past 25 years, with lower dropout rates, an increase in postsecondary enrollment, and a higher rate of gainful employment after leaving high school. The National Longitudinal Transition Study documents the experiences of national sample of students as they transition from secondary school into adult roles.

Senate to Renew, Update Education Act
Date: May 13, 2004
On Thursday, May 13, 2004, the U.S. Senate voted 95-3 to renew and update the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which guarantees equal access to education for children with disabilities. The Senate version of IDEA aims to improve early identification of children with special needs, to reduce paperwork for teachers, to encourage mediation in disputes between parents and schools, and to allow teachers to discipline children with special needs in the same way as other students, as circumstances warrant. The Senate also agreed to accelerate spending on special education in the coming years, but did not make these spending increases mandatory.

Call for Submissions for an Anthology on First-Year College Students with Disabilities
Date: April 29, 2004
The Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD) is soliciting articles and artwork for an anthology about first-year college students with disabilities. The anthology will share wiht prospective college students with disabilities, their parents, university personnel and transition specialists the experiences of students with disabilities, as graduate from high school and begin college life.

Short stories, essays, poetry, photographs and art about college experiences are welcome. Submissions may be written/typed, signed/videotaped or spoken/audiotaped. More than one submission per person is allowed, and submissions from students outside of the U.S. are encouraged. The deadline for submissions is June 1, 2004.

Alaska Students with Disabilities Can Waive Exit Exams
Date: April 8, 2004
Alaska high school students with disabilities graduating this spring will not have to pass the state exit exam- on April 7, 2004, Alaska Education Commissioner Roger Sampson declared that students with disabilities in the class of 2004 will be allowed to graduate if they have met the other requirements for the diploma. This follows on the heels of a March 16 federal class-action lawsuit against the Alaska Board of Education, which claimed that the state's high school exit exam discriminates against students with disabilities.

Read also Disabled Students Sue Over New Alaska Exit Exam from the March 17, 2004 issue of USA Today.

March 24 is National Call Your Senators Day to Protect the IDEA
Date: March 17, 2004
The League of Special Education Voters, in cooperation with TASH, Our Children Left Behind, the Association for People in Supported Employment and NconSD, is calling on parents and advocates nationwide to contact their Senators on March 24, to urge them not to pass IDEA Reauthorization Bill S. 1248. Bill S. 1248 will make it more difficult for parents to work with school districts in planning effective individualized education programs for their children with disabilities.

Learn more about the differences between existing IDEA law and the proposals currently being considered in the House and Senate

Parents Urge Senate Not to Vote on Special Education Law
Date: Feburary 19, 2004
Parents and education advocates across America are urging members of the U.S. Senate to halt consideration of bill H.R. 1350, which would drastically alter the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Passed in 1975, IDEA governs access of students with disabilities to a free and appropriate public education. H.R. 1350 would remove from IDEA many of the core requirements of students' Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), as well as most of the administrative review procedures that permitted students and families to challenge the adequacy of their IEPs.

Schools Accused of Criminalizing Disability
Date: December 17, 2003
This article from the Houston Chronicle brings to light a disturbing trend in school administrators' treatment of students with behavioral disabilities: police intervention is being increasingly used to deal with these students as criminals, in place of the specialized training and treatment dictated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

In the document, When Schools Criminalize Disability, the Center for Law and Education explores strategies that legal advocates might use in dealing with inappropriate school-initiated delinquency petitions and crime reports, with regard to IDEA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

National Center for Learning Disabilities Offers Scholarship Opportunity
Date: December 10, 2003
Now in its third year, the Anne Ford Scholarship from the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) awards $10,000 to a high school senior of high merit with an identified learning disability, who plans to pursue a four-year undergraduate degree. Based in New York, NY, NCLD conducts advocacy, public outreach and educational programs to help all individuals with learning disabilities acheive their full potential. The deadline for scholarship applications is January 31, 2004.

John Williams' Column: ASHA Members See Advances for Children with Disabilities
Date: December 3, 2003
At the recent annual meeting of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, John Williams learned what is being done, and what obstacles still remain, in improving opportunities for students with speech-language or hearing disabilities. As a disability advocate and person who has had years of speech therapy, John is an avid supporter of ASHA and its efforts.

Labels Can Be Help, Hindrance in Quest to Meet Students' Needs
Date: June 9, 2003
The number of students served under IDEA has doubled since 1975, its first year. But the question remains whether the right students are being identified.

Students with Disabilities Find Co-op and Internship Opportunities
Date: May, 2003
This article from Diversity/Careers in Engineering & Information Technology covers technology-related internship programs for college students with disabilities, and profiles several success stories.