#AdvocacyMatters: Are you ready

August 9, 2024 / #AdvocacyMatters

As summer comes to a close and a new school year draws near, worry and anxiety can increase for students and families unsure of what to expect with new schools, new teachers, and new routines. Protecting and advocating for every students' right to a free and appropriate education is a major component of our work, and we have tools and resources that can help you prepare for the new year ahead.

Our online Special Education Resource Center has a comprehensive array of tools, informative blogs, and specialized articles. You can also find our newly-published set of 8 Advocacy Tip Sheets, covering topics like receiving special education services, issues with IEP and 504 plans, situations of restraint and seclusion, and disciplinary issues. These new tipsheets are available in both English and Spanish.

A wealth of information is also available through our archived Free Legal Clinic series, presented in partnership with AW Law and the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities. More than 20 informative clinics are cataloged by topic and available on demand. We are thrilled to be able to continue this series of events into a new school year. We'll have more information to share with you about dates, times, and topics soon.

Finally, our team continues to fight for favorable outcomes for students across Ohio. For more than two years, we've advocated for better educational opportunities for students at the Warren County Educational Service Center. After we filed our systemic complaint with the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce in 2022, an investigation found violations of special education law by both the ESC and the 44 school districts who sent children there. The ESC and all 44 school districts were ordered to take several steps to improve the situations of students placed there… like reviewing and correcting inadequate IEPs, creating policies and monitoring teams to better track the services being provided and progress their children are making, providing adequate progress reports, and individualizing mental health and psychiatric services based on student needs. Nearly 100 students were also awarded an average of 57 hours of compensatory education for IEP services they did not receive. Unfortunately, these remedies have not yet been realized, caught in a back-and-forth of court actions and red tape. Our advocacy for these students and their families continues.

Bright futures tomorrow start with educational access today, and our vision of a truly equitable society for people with disabilities won't be possible until each student receives the resources, tools, and accommodations to learn successfully.

#AdvocacyMatters