What You Can Do
Support NJ Students with Dyslexia
ACTION ALERT for NJ Families: go to our NJ Legislation page for pressing action alerts where you can participate and make a difference. Only takes a few minutes to make a phone call or send an email. Click here for our latest action alert today!
Find your local legislators at http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp
WHAT CAN I DO RIGHT THIS MINUTE?
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- Familiarize yourself with the new NJ dyslexia laws. Go to our Legislation page.
- Learn about current bills focused on dyslexia.
• Assembly bill A1292
• Find the bills at http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/ - Send a letter and/or email to your local NJ legislators, share your personal story and ask that they support these bills. Find your legislators
• Tips for writing your family story can be found at www.pacer.org/parent/php/PHP-c121.pdf. - Make an appointment to meet with your local legislators using DD-NJ’s helpful literature packet. (download DDNJ_InfoPacket2)
- Encourage your US Representative to join the Bipartisan Congressional Dyslexia Caucus.
- Contact Your U.S. Congressional Rep. and urge him to Support House Resolution on Dyslexia, #456 (click here to see copy of resolution). Find your representative here: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ .
- Host a DD-NJ dyslexia roundtable discussion in your NJ county. Email INFO@DecodingDyslexiaNJ.org for details.
- Share this information with 3 others and ask that they get involved in this movement also!
WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?
- Join the NJ Branch of The International Dyslexia Association.
- Get involved at a local level:
- Inquire about your school district’s state mandated “Special Education Parent Advisory Group” and join. If they don’t have one yet, start your own. Technical Assistance is available for free through the START Project.
- Get involved in your local PTA and help plan literacy events and/or fundraisers.
- Go to school board meetings and consider becoming a school board member.
- Join a variety of district committees, talk to other parents at local events, and discuss dyslexia with educators. Become a resource for others!
- Get educated about Dyslexia
- Read literature about dyslexia. Books, such as Overcoming Dyslexia by Dr.
Sally Shaywitz, have been crucial for many parents in understanding our children’s
needs. Check out our Resource webpage for more good books and websites. - Check out IDA and NJ IDA websites and literature.
- Take a parent training course in reading intervention so that you can help your
child at home. - Familiarize yourself with the NJ Administrative Code on Special Education.
- Take a parent advocacy course through a group such as SPAN to understand your child’s rights.
- Get second opinions through private testing by a university, learning center, educational consultant, speech pathologist, developmental pediatrician, occupational therapist, physical therapist and/or other specialists.
- Speak to advocates, educators in private practice, and special education attorneys.
- Attend seminars, get on mailing lists, and network with others from support groups and LD organizations in your area.
- Read literature about dyslexia. Books, such as Overcoming Dyslexia by Dr.
DD-NJ members traveled to D.C. on 6/19/12 to meet with NJ Congressmen to talk about Dyslexia and get them sign the Bipartisan Congressional Dyslexia Caucus
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NJ DOE Correspondence: Providing Special Education and Related Services to Students with Disabilities During Extended School Closures as a Result of COVID-19
"The State Board ... adopted temporary regulations that allow school districts and educational agencies to deliver special education and related services to students with disabilities through the use of telehealth, telemedicine, electronic communications, remote, virtual, or other online platforms.
It is important to note that these rule modifications alone do not ensure that school districts and educational agencies will meet their legal obligation to provide FAPE. These rule modifications are intended to provide IEP Teams with the flexibility necessary to implement services during unprecedented school closures. However, the modifications do not relieve school districts and educational agencies of the responsibility to ensure that the services implemented are properly individualized and those most appropriate for a student with disabilities."
www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2020/apr/3/Providing%20Special%20Education%20and%20Related%20Serv...
Tomorrow 4/4 at 2 pm ET -- If you are a military family receiving special education services, Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA) is hosting a webinar: Military Special Needs Education Crisis, which will focus on the experience military families have with special needs education, the problems and difficulties facing these families, and potential legislative solutions that Congress can provide to fix those problems. Register here:
zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_IX7YSrXKQz69Ea9upUY6gA
UPDATE: Caution to parents ... carefully read any consent forms which are sent to you about starting teletherapy services. Make sure you are not signing waivers of claims that would limit your rights. “Please do not sign anything you do not understand or with which you disagree. You can alter any form to eliminate information or to add information before signing.” Thank you to Renay Zamloot for this advice.
Summary of yesterday’s NJ State BOE meeting. Teletherapy has passed via unanimous vote at the state board of education yesterday. The board voted to amend N.J.A.C. 6A:14 (1.1) and N.J.A.C. 6A:14(3.2) and adopt temporary code during COVID19 crisis pursuant to Governor Murphy’s Executive Order 103, section 6, to provide related services to our students with disabilities in order to meet their legal obligation as required by our federal government. These services include speech, counseling, OT, PT and behavioral therapy to the greatest extent possible.
This communication will be broadcasted to all school districts today in the hope that initiation of these services via online, virtual and remote platforms wherever appropriate can be implemented immediately.
Peggy McDonald went on to state for the students where this type of platform is beneficial this adoption will enable school districts to absorb less budgetary burdens via compensatory services owed after this crisis has ended. She went on to state that this will not be appropriate for all students, and that this modification does not address any compensatory services that will be owed later on.
Thank you to @Liz Parlett-Butcher for this great summary.
Here’s an article which gives some other information about yesterday’s NJBOE meeting.
Meeting Remotely, State BOE OKs Remote Learning for Special-Needs Students | NJ Spotlight
www.njspotlight.com
Changes will go into effect immediately; special-ed advocates say they’ll continue to monitor quality of education delivered to students with disabilitiesTomorrow at 10 am -- The NJ State BOE will open its public session by Skype. The public can listen in by calling 908-409-1022, conference ID: 613516317#. Topics include emergency changes in administrative code involving special education, as the Murphy administration looks to give school districts more flexibility on that front.
www.njspotlight.com/2020/03/state-boe-to-consider-emergency-special-ed-changes-at-1st-skype-meeti...
State BOE to Consider Emergency Special-Ed Changes at 1st Skype Meeting | NJ Spotlight
www.njspotlight.com
In first meeting since public-health emergency was declared, state board weighs whether to deliver school services to special-needs students via phone, teleconferenceUPDATE NJDOE Webinar on COVID-19 Response — YouTube recording can be viewed at:
youtu.be/aOlRXTRC79E
The PowerPoint can be downloaded at:
njpsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/COVID-19-March-Update-NJPSA-March-31-final2.pptx
Webinar: NJDOE Update on COVID-19 Response
The New Jersey Department of Education’s Office of School Preparedness and Emergency Planning, in partnership with the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association will host a webinar on Tuesday March 31st from 11:00 am to 12:15 pm.
The content for this webinar is as follows:
Middletown School District's (Monmouth County) Patrick Rinella, Director of Student Support Services:
Traumatic Loss Protocols; establishing a virtual school crisis response team
David Nash, Esq LEGAL ONE Director:
Bullying and responding to issues and incidents remotely
Jeff Gale, Director NJDOE’s OSPEP:
• Findings from observations of food distribution throughout the state
• Precautions to be taken when school personnel are present in a building; such as distributing electronic devices to parents, picking up materials, etc.
• Ways to promote social distancing and taking it seriously
• Using school buses to distribute meals, laptops, and educational materials
• Setting up a food distribution site
• Donation program for medical supplies
• Securing athletic fields, playgrounds and outdoor equipment
• Safe food handling
Although there is no fee to attend this session, registration is required. Please access the below link to register for the session. Please note, participants must use a computer with audio to access this webinar, as telephone participation will not be available.
Register at: attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1843541656535450123
Thank you.
New Jersey Department of Education
Office of School Preparedness and Emergency Planning
Division of Field Services - Office of Fiscal Accountability & Compliance
609 422 7153
NJDOE Update on COVID-19 Response
attendee.gotowebinar.com
The content for this webinar is as follows. David Nash, Esq LEGAL ONE Director Bullying and responding to issues and incidents remotely Middletown School District; Establishing Traumatic Loss Protocol...“It is okay to NOT be amazing. Don't try to be Pinterest Homeschool Mom of the Year. Even she is not that way all the time and truthfully there is at least one messy room in her house. Something always has to give.”
Thank you Decoding Dyslexia-VA for this!
Homeschooling is NOT the Same as Crisis Schooling: advice during coronavirus COVID -19 shut downs
www.heatheranneworld.com
This is my advice for those who have been thrust into schooling your kids at home due to the coronavirus COVID-19 shut downs. I'm a long time public school teacher and long time homeschool mom. I have...Attn NJ Parents & Educators: Virtual Roundtable calendar alert for today 3/26!
Find out what some NJ public schools are doing to handle this new online learning situation.
School's Out: Managing Remote Learning During COVID-19
www.eventbrite.com
This will be on online event only. Please register to have a Zoom teleconferencing link emailed to you. The COVID-19 outbreak has altered daily life to unimaginably great degree...and with breathtakin...For those of you who were not among the 13,000 plus people who watched the MTSU Center for Dyslexia Fox Reading conference during the livestream, you can access a recording of the event at the following link. Skip to 40 minutes into the record for the start of the conference.
livestream.com/mtsu/events/9013868?fbclid=IwAR3ycVT5XbFqxzRYlGpbwwJrIzwtWEijahAIppRYuubDCK7JQXsmf...
livestream.com
Watch Middle Tennessee State University's 2020 Fox Reading Conference - Structured Literacy: All Children Can Read on Livestream.com. 2020 Fox Reading Conference - presented by the Tom & Elizabeth Fox...This listing of resources created by Iowa Reading Research Center staff and includes lesson plans, commonly used terms, parent checklists, and other supporting materials. Those resources created by IRRC collaborators are tagged "Collaborator Contribution."
iowareadingresearch.org/resources?fbclid=IwAR3a_rWfYDJvWHZZdTbr_YPW3M6BYOlNR87K0q831iXhjW2_Tb0V4x...
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