Individualized Education Plans

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In NYC’s Special Education Labyrinth, Families Need a Guide: For Proof, The Heartbreaking Case of TJ.

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This is a guest post by Ariela Rozman who co-founded EdNavigator, where this post originally appeared. Before that, she served for eight years as Chief Executive Officer of TNTP. In October, The New York Times shared the heartbreaking story of TJ, a child with special needs who had been left behind by New York City schools. Heartbreaking because… Continue reading In NYC’s Special Education Labyrinth, Families Need a Guide: For Proof, The Heartbreaking Case of TJ.

A Back-to-School Love Letter to Parents of Kids With Special Needs and Disabilities
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A Back-to-School Love Letter to Parents of Kids With Special Needs and Disabilities

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This is a guest post by ShaRhonda Knott-Dawson, the mother of two free-spirited, strong-willed girls and whose husband should be appointed a saint for co-existing in the madness that is their life. She writes on politics, education, current events and social justice. This piece was originally published at Education Post. Dear Fellow Parent Warriors, While every… Continue reading A Back-to-School Love Letter to Parents of Kids With Special Needs and Disabilities

Nobody Puts My Baby In The Corner (Except When They Do). A New Report on Inclusion with Relevance to New York.
Blog · Finding the Right School

Nobody Puts My Baby In The Corner (Except When They Do). A New Report on Inclusion with Relevance to New York.

Laura Waters1 Comment

Parenting typical children is hard. Parenting children with special needs is harder. (I get to say this; I’ve got three of the former and one of the latter.) For our youngest son with multiple disabilities that range from moderate to severe, we have committed ourselves to finding the best educational placements for him. But what… Continue reading Nobody Puts My Baby In The Corner (Except When They Do). A New Report on Inclusion with Relevance to New York.

Wesley’s Story, Part 3: “This Is A Bigger Issue Than Wesley,” or How the NYC DOE is Failing Students with Disabilities
Accountability · Blog

Wesley’s Story, Part 3: “This Is A Bigger Issue Than Wesley,” or How the NYC DOE is Failing Students with Disabilities

Laura WatersLeave a comment

Data for [School Year] 2016 –17 contained in this report shows promising movement toward ensuring that students are educated in the least restrictive environment appropriate for their individual needs. This is a statement from the New York City Department of Education’s  most recent Annual Report on Special Education, which boasts of the “substantial improvement” and… Continue reading Wesley’s Story, Part 3: “This Is A Bigger Issue Than Wesley,” or How the NYC DOE is Failing Students with Disabilities

“As A Parent, You Want to Cry. As A Lawyer, You Want to Sue.” A Special Needs Mom Fights for Her Son’s Inclusion in his Brooklyn School.
Accountability · Blog · Finding the Right School · School Choice

“As A Parent, You Want to Cry. As A Lawyer, You Want to Sue.” A Special Needs Mom Fights for Her Son’s Inclusion in his Brooklyn School.

Laura WatersLeave a comment

Nine-year-old Wesley Clark is a fourth-grader at PS 8 in Brooklyn Heights. He and his family were recently profiled in the New York Post, which described PS 8 as a “supposedly progressive” public school “that talks a good game about inclusion but is purposely neglecting their child to try to get him to leave.”  Could this… Continue reading “As A Parent, You Want to Cry. As A Lawyer, You Want to Sue.” A Special Needs Mom Fights for Her Son’s Inclusion in his Brooklyn School.

A Dead Canary in Hunts Point: “Vouchers” Instead of Special Education Services
Accountability · Blog

A Dead Canary in Hunts Point: “Vouchers” Instead of Special Education Services

Laura WatersLeave a comment

One of my four children has multiple disabilities because of a genetic mutation called Fragile X Syndrome and, while we’ve had disputes with our local school district, Jonah’s assorted services—speech and occupational therapy, modified course content and instruction, vocational training—always take place during the school day. Not so in one of the poorest sections of… Continue reading A Dead Canary in Hunts Point: “Vouchers” Instead of Special Education Services