2009 College Scholarships for Students with Parents with Disabilities Announcement
Date: Tuesday December 23, 2008Posted in: Education, Funding
Tagged: College, Grants, Through the Looking Glass
All application materials must be completed and postmarked by Monday March 16th, 2009.
Through the Looking Glass and its National Center for Parents with Disabilities and their Families are pleased to announce new scholarships specifically for high school seniors and college students who have parents with disabilities. These scholarships are part of the Through the Looking Glass new federal grant (New National Center for Parents with Disabilities and their Families). Please not these are new awards and have different application than in the past. There are two separate scholarship awards, and each has separate eligibility requirements.
AMAC and AAP Team Up to Release Accessible College Textbooks
Date: Tuesday December 9, 2008Posted in: Education
Tagged: Accessibility, Accessible Technologies, College, Students with Disabilities
The Alternative Media Access Center and American Association of Publishers have teamed up to release alternative formats of textbooks allowing those requiring such easier access.
The AccessText Network will be run by Christopher Lee, Ph.D., Department Head/Director of AMAC, and who was diagnosed with dyslexia in the second grade and received his textbooks on tape while attending The University of Georgia. “I remember having to wait for volunteers to finish reading my textbook onto a tape before I could get access to the content. I was one of the fortunate ones to get through college. AccessText will be the national nucleus of alternative textbook college distribution. The link between the corporate world and academia is more than just a handshake in this case. Leading corporate publishers have invested in the AccessText initiative with the goal of helping students achieve their college education and future employment dreams,” said Lee.
The project is being funded by many major textbook publishers around the country. Read the whole story here: Publishers Lead National Effort to Serve Students with Disabilities
The AccessText Network website can be found here: http://www.accesstext.org/
Opinion: Mary Jane Burke on California Schools
Date: Tuesday December 9, 2008Posted in: Advocacy, Education, Funding
Tagged: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Budget, California, K-12, Marin County (California), Sacramento (California), Taxes
An Era of Embarrassment to Our State
By
MARY JANE BURKE
Marin County Superintendent of Schools
If challenging times call for superior leadership, then the Governor and Legislature of our state have failed meet that standard. After passing a state budget in September that was 85 days late, officials admitted “The budget is bad, but it is the best we could do.” The “lame-duck” Legislature the Governor called into session after the November election to address the crisis was unable to reach agreement. Now, the Governor has declared a Fiscal Emergency calling the Legislature into special session to again try to solve this critical issue. What has happened to a once proud state that had the best schools, world class colleges and universities, roads and highways that were the envy of the world, and a social services that cared for the needs of vulnerable citizens? How did we go from being first among the states in dollars spent per student to being 46th out of 50 states? The performance of our elected leaders in Sacramento is an embarrassment.
CDCAN Report #258-2008: Senate Budget Subcommittee Hearings This Week on Proposed Cuts and Revenue Increases - Assembly Budget Committee May Meet Dec 11th
Date: Tuesday December 9, 2008Posted in: Advocacy, Education, Employment, Funding, Health, Housing
Tagged: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Assembly Budget Committee, Budget, California, California Disability Community Action Network, California Senate Budget Committee, California Senate Education Committee, California Senate Health Committee, CalWORKs, Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, Department of Health and Human Services, In-Home Supportive Services, K-12, Low Income, Medi-Cal, Regional Centers, State Supplemental Payment, Supplemental Security Income, Taxes, Wages
California Budget Crisis
- Senate Budget Subcommittee Hearing Schedule
- Dec 10th – Health Issues (Medi-Cal, Regional Centers, etc)
- Dec 10th – Education Issues (including special education)
- Dec 11th – Human Services (IHSS, SSI/SSP, CalWORKS, etc)
SACRAMENTO (CDCAN) – As reported yesterday in a previous CDCAN Reports, an important budget subcommittee – the Senate Budget Subcommittee #3 on Health and Human Services, chaired by Sen. Alex Padilla (Democrat – Los Angeles) has scheduled two separate hearings this week to review proposals to close the over $11 billion budget deficit, with major permanent cuts and other changes to the current State budget that if approved – would go into effect March 1, 2009 or sooner:
- December 10th covering health related proposals including proposed mid-year budget reductions and changes to Medi-Cal and regional centers that were proposed by the Governor (on November 6th) and Legislative Democrats (November 25th). Any proposals for mid-year budget changes and reductions impacting these programs by Legislative Republican will also be reviewed.
- December 11th covering human service related proposals including mid-year budget reductions and changes to In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), SSI/SSP (Supplemental Security Income/State Supplemental Payment), CalWORKS, Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants that were proposed by the Governor (on November 6th), and Legislative Democrats (on November 25th). Like on December 10th, the subcommittee will also review any proposals for mid-year budget changes and reductions impacting these human service programs by Legislative Republicans.
Tri-County Education Center to Shutdown Tri-County Noblesville
Date: Sunday December 7, 2008Posted in: Education, Funding
Tagged: K-12
The students of Tri-County Noblesville have disabilities, however the board of directors is looking how to be use the building. Many of the students attending Noblesville have tried mainstream education prior to Noblesville without results. The other local schools in the area have expressed inability in training to educate students with special needs, but the school board is still looking at potential alternatives.
Parents disagree with sending the children back to their home school districts because the faculty is ill-equipped in educating students, rather it just frustrates the students, parents and faculty. Over the next few weeks the school district will best look over the needs and best use of the facility.
Tri-county is a special needs co-op service provided by several school districts from Hamilton, Boone and Madison counties. The co-op director Steve Wornhoff issued a press release stating the building needs improvements to its heating and electrical systems. The estimated cost is more than $2 million.
Read the whole story here: Parents of students with disabilities concerned school may be closed
Fourth Graders Get Lesson in Learning Disabilities
Date: Sunday December 7, 2008Posted in: Education, Relationships
Tagged: Integrated Education, Massachusetts, Northborough (Massachusetts), Simulated Disabilities
In an ongoing effort of parent advocates to help children become more sensitive to students with disabilities, parents have created a workshop to simulate visual and auditory disabilities to help students understand what others students may see, hear or feel.
In one of the activities, students had to write their name using the reflection from a mirror. In another, they had to listen to instructions distorted by lots of background noise, or told stories without using the sound the letter “n” makes. Words that utilized this sound were distorted so the “n” sound could not be heard.
Colleen Griffin, a fourth-grade teacher, said the program was a wonderful experience for students to see how some kids have trouble processing or remembering information.
“It also makes those children with learning disabilities feel like there are people who truly understand what they’re going through, and it helps when they see their classmates understanding them.”
Read the whole story and see photos here: Making a difference: Northborough fourth-graders get a lesson in learning disabilities
West Virginia University Receives $800K in Grants from DOE
Date: Sunday December 7, 2008Posted in: Education, Funding
Tagged: Centers for Excellence, Department of Education, Grants, West Virginia, West Virginia University
The Department of Education gave the University $800,000 in grant funding to improve its services and educational programs to students with disabilities. The project is being called “Higher Education Access” and is developed through the University’s Centers for Excellence and is slated to help local, federal and state agencies in all 55 counties of West Virginia.
The school says the money will cover professional development, technical assistance and accessibility advice for the faculties and administrations at WVU, Potomac State College of WVU and WVU Institute of Technology.
Read the whole story here: WVU Gets $800K for Disability Education Program
Training, Education and Research Institute Gets Green Light
Date: Saturday December 6, 2008Posted in: Education
Tagged: San Marcos (California), Training Education and Research Institute
After six years of battling, TERI (Training, Education and Research Institute) will finally be able to move ahead with its plan to expand its facilities to help more kids with developmental disabilities. While the institution is focused on autism, it will help many children with different types of developmental disabilities transitioning from school into adult life.
Video posted by San Diego 6 can be found here: Autism School
Oregon Governor Favors Education to Social Services
Date: Wednesday December 3, 2008Posted in: Civil Liberties, Education, Employment, Funding, Health
Tagged: Budget, Community Based Services, Community Rehabilitation Programs, Department of Social Services, Insurance, K-12, Low Income, Oregon
Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski’s 2009-2011 budget proposal avoids any cuts to K-12 and post secondary education at the expense of community-based care services to elderly and people with disabilities. The cuts to in-home care provisions will affect some 6,500 seniors and people with disabilities as well as slashing some health benefits such as vision and dental from the state’s health plan. The cuts would also affect drug and alcohol treatment programs and child care for low-income families.
The Governor defended his position stating that a well-educated workforce is required for when the economy recovers.
Kulongoski’s 2009-2011 budget proposal is a starting point, and legislative leaders on Monday immediately signaled it could be open to major revisions.
Senate President Peter Courtney said he’s concerned that Kulongoski’s social services cuts go too deep, especially since the most recent monthly unemployment report showed 14,000 Oregonians joining the jobless ranks.
Read the whole story here: Education wins state budget clash
DAYTON, Ohio, December 4, 2008 / PR Newswire – The Law of Homeschooling is a resource guide that provides information on recent updates to homeschool statutory and regulatory requirements for all fifty states as well as Washington D.C. This publication takes an in-depth look at each state’s legal requirements under which parents may provide a home-based education to their children.
Confusion over homeschooling law exists within a vast realm of subject areas. This resource guide answers those questions. The publication is intended to be used by parents, students, homeschool advocates, and public school officials to do what is in the best interests of the children: to ensure that each child receives an appropriate education within the context and scope of the law.
