NYC Friends The ARISE Coalition urges parents, caregivers, students and educators with firsthand experience with New York Citys special education reform to attend an oversight hearing, Examining DOEs Special Education Reform, organized by the the City Council’s Education Committee. Several members of ARISE are expected to testify and we hope some of you will add your voices as well. Date: Friday, October 25, 2013 Time: 1:00 pm (public testimony is estimated to begin after 3:00 pm) Place: 250 Broadway, Committee Room, 16th Floor More information from the City Council: In the fall of 2010, the DOE launched the first phase of its reform of special education at 265 schools throughout the City. In September 2012, DOE expanded its special education reform to all schools to provide instruction to students with an individualized education plan, or IEP, in their neighborhood school and in general education classrooms, as much as possible. Key goals of the reform are as follows: 1) to close the achievement gap between students with disabilities and their peers without disabilities; 2) to increase access to and participation in the general education curriculum for students with disabilities; and 3) to build school-based capacity to support the diverse needs of students with disabilities through greater curricular, instructional, and scheduling flexibility. This hearing will focus on questions and concerns about DOE’s implementation of its special education reform system-wide and the extent to which t he key goals have been met. Members of Community Education Councils, parents, students, educators, advocates, and all other stakeholders and interested members of the public are invited to testify at this hearing. Testimony will be limited to 2-3 minutes per person to allow as many as possible to testify. Although the hearing starts at 1:00 pm, the Administration (DOE), as well as other witnesses (such as elected officials) have been invited to testify and answer questions from Council Members at the outset, so we do not expect to hear from others until sometime after 3:00 pm. Please make sure you fill out a witness slip on the desk of the Sergeant-at-arms if you wish to testify. If you plan to bring written testimony, please bring at least 20 copies. If you are unable to attend the hearing and wish to submit written testimony, please email your testimony to [email protected]. Please note: hearing dates and times are subject to change. For information about hearings and other events, check the Councils website. All hearings are open to members of the public. Best, Maggie Moroff Coordinator of the ARISE Coalition The members of the ARISE Coalition (Action for Reform in Special Education) have joined together to provide a collective and powerful voice on behalf of students with special needs in New York City. We seek to compel systemic reform to improve special education, promote greater transparency and accountability of the education system, and most critically, assure more positive outcomes and options for all students. arisecoalition.org
Posted on: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 00:07:01 +0000
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