Legal Advocacy Resources:
Council of Parent Attorneys and
Advocates
The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc. (COPAA) is an independent,
nonprofit, §501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization of attorneys, advocates and
parents. Our primary mission is to secure high quality educational services for
children with disabilities.
COPAA is premised on the belief that the key to effective educational programs
for children with disabilities is collaboration -as equals- by parents and
educators.
Family Network on Disabilities of Florida
Family Network on Disabilities of Florida, Inc. is a statewide network of
families and individuals who may be at-risk, have disabilities, or have special
needs and their families, professionals, and concerned citizens. Our mission is
to ensure through collaboration that Floridians have full access to
family-driven support, education, information, resources, and advocacy.
Law Offices of Kamleiter & Kirk:
Florida Special Education Legal Advocacy
Mark S. Kamleiter and Donna L. Kirk have formed a partnership of their
individual professional associations, in order to better serve children with
disabilities throughout the state of Florida. We believe that this union allows
us to bring greater resources and flexibility to our legal advocacy. With
offices in both St. Petersburg and Orlando we hope to bring our services closer
to our clients, who may be located through out Florida. At the same time we have
committed ourselves to maintaining highly personal, close professional
relationships with each of our clients.
STAND Advocates
STatewide Advocacy Network on Disabilities (STAND) is a non-for-profit
organization based in Florida. STAND's purpose it to inform the families of
children with disabilities of their rights. STAND is concerned with three main
topics: advocacy, legal rights, and above all, education. They provide
certification for special education advocacy for all children with disabilities.
Wrightslaw.com
Parents, advocates, educators, and attorneys go to Peter and Pam Wright for
accurate, up-to-date information about special education law and advocacy for
children with disabilities. You will find articles, cases, newsletters, and
resources about dozens of topics in the Advocacy Libraries and Law Libraries.
Alliance for Families with Deaf Children (AFDC)
AFDC is a 501(C)3 non-profit organization whose ultimate goal is to see every
deaf and hard of hearing child enjoy success in life through empowering families
with resources, services and support.
Family Care Council of Florida
The Family Care Councils work closely together representing individuals with
developmental disabilities and their families as a united voice. Through the
Family Care Council Florida (FCCF), chairpersons meet bi-monthly for education
and to share information. Many Family Care Council (FCC) and Family Care Council
Florida (FCCF) members are on various committees, initiatives, and task forces
throughout the state.
Legal-Explanations.com
Legal-Explanations.com provides the free legal resources written in plain
English. This website currently contains over 2,500 legal definitions.
IEP Information:
Hands
and Voices
Hands & Voices is a non-profit, parent-driven
national organization dedicated to supporting families of children who are deaf
or hard of hearing. We are non-biased about communication methodologies and
believe that families can make the best choices for their child if they have
access to good information and support. Our membership includes families who
communicate manually and/or orally. From American Sign Language to cochlear
implants, our organization represents people from all different approaches to,
and experiences with, deafness or hearing loss. We have local chapters comprised
mainly of parents along with professionals.
Clerc Center
The Clerc Center has been mandated by Congress
to develop, evaluate, and disseminate innovative curricula, instructional
techniques and strategies, and materials. The aim of the Clerc Center is to
improve the quality of education for deaf and hard of hearing children and youth
from birth through age 21.
ListenUp.org
Helpful information about deaf education and
early childhood for parents
BabyHearing.org
Babyhearing.org is brought to you by a team of
professionals at Boys Town National Research Hospital. We are: Audiologists,
Speech-Language Pathologists, Teachers of the Deaf, Geneticists, Doctors and
Parents of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children.
Colorado Deaf Child's Bill of Rights - Guidelines for Schools Implementing the
Early Childhood Hearing Screening Guidelines
Cooperative Educational Service Agency
No. 7 in Green Bay, Wisconsin
This website is a great resource about IDEA, IEPs, and special education.
IEP Information for Parents
This page by the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
Outreach Services offers excellent resources for parents.
http://www.ibwebs.com
Ensuring that the IEP addresses all the needs
of your child can be a tricky, stressful, and sometimes overwhelming task. With
a deaf/hoh child there are a myriad of options: residential schools,
self-contained classrooms, mainstreaming, etc. Often there are related services
like interpreting and speech therapy. If you are new to the IEP process, rest
assured, there are plenty of parents that have already been down the path. Many
of them have been very successful in advocating for their deaf/hh children. This
page was created in an attempt to pass some of the expertise of the "more
experienced" parents on to those among us who feel we can improve the
educational situation for our children. This page contains links to some actual
IEP's sent in by parents. The names of the children have been removed for the
sake of privacy.
PEPNet
The goal of PEPNet is to assist postsecondary
institutions across the nation to attract and effectively serve individuals who
are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Schaffer v. Weast
This page outlines important information about Schaffer v. Weast, a critical
court case about the burden of proof in a situation when an IEP may be deemed
inappropriate.
Testing:
The National Task Force on Equity
in Testing Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals
The mission of The National Task Force on Equity in Testing Deaf and Hard of
Hearing Individuals is to increase the pool of deaf and hard of hearing
professionals providing service and leadership in our country today and
tomorrow, and to promote equity in testing deaf and hard of hearing individuals
of all ages.
LifeLinks Tutoring Solutions
LifeLinks Tutors foundation’s mission is to support academic success.
Tutoring Solutions is offered as a free, non-profit public service for the Deaf
Community. It is specifically designed to assist elementary, middle school, and
high school students complete school assignments in mathematics, English,
science, literature and history. LifeLinks Tutors Foundation Students receive:
Access to experienced, ASL conversant, subject matter experts; Personalized
coaching and instruction; Interactive sessions that promote focused discussion;
and unlimited tutoring sessions that enable students to develop relationships
with tutors.
