Becoming Your Child's Best Advocate

Becoming Your Child’s Best Advocate: Resources for Long Island Parents of Children with Disabilities

State and Federal Statutes and Regulations:

Regulations of the Commissioner of Education - Parts 200 and 201 http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/lawsregs/part200.htm

IDEA 2004 (Individuals With Disabilities Education Act) https://sites.ed.gov/idea/statuteregulations/

Parent and Educator Resource Guide to Section 504 in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools https://www2.ed.gov/…/ocr/docs/504-resource-guide-201612.pdf

Free or Affordable Resources for New York State Families of Students with Disabilities:

Parent Training and Information Center The Long Island Advocacy Center theliac.org Nassau: 516.248.2222 Suffolk: 631.234.0467 Working with families of infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities, birth to 26 Helping parents participate effectively in their children’s education and development Partnering with professionals and policy makers to improve outcomes for all children with disabilities

NYS Special Education Quality Assurance (SEQA) NYS Education Department Office of Special Education Special Education Quality Assurance (SEQA) Perry B. Duryea, Jr. State Office Building Room 2A-5 250 Veterans Memorial Highway Hauppauge, NY 11788 Telephone: (631) 952-3352 -- Fax (631) 952-3834 Special Education Quality Assurance oversees preschool and school-age special education services through a quality assurance review process that emphasizes attainment of positive results for student with disabilities. Regional Associates, located in several quality assurance offices across New York State, coordinate the review process and also provide technical assistance to parents, school district personnel, and private providers.

To Be Announced: School Age Family and Community Engagement Center- July 1, 2019 Early Childhood Family and Community Engagement Center- July 1, 2019 Both the School Age and Early Childhood FACEs will provide direct assistance and resources and referrals to families of children with disabilities.

Parent to Parent NYS Parent to Parent of New York State builds a supportive network of families to reduce isolation and empower those who care for people with developmental disabilities or special healthcare needs to navigate and influence service systems and make informed decisions. http://parenttoparentnys.org Long Island Office Info: http://parenttoparentnys.org/offices/long-island/

Websites with an Overview of Special Education Topics and Advocacy Strategies:

1. Wrightslaw http://www.wrightslaw.com Accurate, reliable information about special education law, education law, and advocacy for children with disabilities.

2. Center for Parent Information and Resources https://www.parentcenterhub.org Family-friendly information and research-based materials on key special education topics.

2a. Understood https://www.understood.org/ For families of students with learning and attention issues, Understood.org provides well-researched, practical information that’s easy to apply to everyday life, a secure community, and daily access to experts free of charge.

3. Make Special Education Work https://www.makespecialeducationwork.com Companion website for the book Parents Have The Power To Make Special Education Work. It's designed to help parents learn about their child’s rights, navigate the special education bureaucracy, and understand the human fallibility of the public schools.

4. Child Mind Institute https://childmind.org The go-to website for researching special education and mental health topics. Excellent resources, including a symptom checker.

5. A Day in Our Shoes https://adayinourshoes.com IEP Advice for Parents | Disability Resources | Special Education Advocacy. Written by a special education advocate who is the parent of a child with special needs.

6. Your Special Education Rights http://yourspecialeducationrights.com A video-based special education rights resource available for parents! Hundreds of videos that help you empower yourself with the information you need to secure appropriate special education services for your child.

7. CADRE- The Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education https://www.cadreworks.org/for-families Supporting the prevention and resolution of disputes through partnership and collaboration. Lots of resources for families.

8. Center for Technology and Disability https://www.ctdinstitute.org The project ended in May 2019, and the resource rich website will be available until 2021. It contains a wealth of free, high-quality resources and events on all aspects of assistive technology.

9. PACER Center https://www.pacer.org Based in the state of Minnesota, PACER has resources for parents all over the U.S. Find great template letters, resources to combat bullying, assistive technology info, dispute resolution strategies, and more.

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