Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Wyoming Advisory Panel for Students with Disabilities plans "public meeting by phone" Friday

My two children were both served by Individualized Education Plans (I.E.P.) during their time in Laramie County School System No. 1. My son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 5 and my daughter struggled with mental health issues and learning disabilities.

I bring this up because the Wyoming Advisory Panel for Students with Disabilities, the group that advises the Wyoming Department of Education on services for youth with disabilities, is conducting a "public meeting by phone" Friday. One of the hard lessons learned by parents of special needs' students is that eternal vigilance is the price of a public school education. There are a whole set of federal regulations that assist students with disabilities. School administrators aren't always up to date on those rules and regs. Sometimes they know the rules but choose to ignore them. This would be a great time to point out that there are superb administrators and counselors in our school system -- I'm looking at you, Cheyenne Central High School. But many of our schools can do better.

My kids have left the K-12 system and are on their own (and doing very well, thank you). If you have a child whose needs are not getting met, get on the phone Friday and see what's happening:
The Wyoming Advisory Panel for Students with Disabilities will hold a public meeting by phone Friday to discuss proposed rules for student seclusion and restraint, among other issues.

The panel, which advises the Wyoming Department of Education about ways to promote services for children and youth with disabilities, will also talk about an upcoming federal report that examines the unmet needs of such students, said Barb Yates, the panel's administrative assistant.

As required under a new state law, the panel is asking for public comment on proposed rules for when and how students can be secluded or restrained while in school.

Yates said the panel may decide to offer its recommendations on the policy as well.

The meeting will be held from 8 a.m. until noon at the Wyoming Advisory Panel for Students with Disabilities' Riverton office. Members of the public may offer their opinions to the panel from 11:30 a.m. until noon by calling 877-278-8686; the passcode is 095102.

Read more: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_f12ec331-1f66-5eea-9777-9b3df0c04996.html#ixzz1XvjqWUg7

4 comments:

jane brooks said...

Why are parents not informed of this meeting by a flyer in the back packs. I was talking to a woman this a.m who is a professional in the field of serving people with disabilitys and she never heard of this panel. She has been working in the field 16 years! this is so important to get parent comments during this period. Is this meeting published anywhere?

Michael Shay said...

Jane: I did see this listed in the Casper Star-Tribune. Didn't see the local paper the past few days. I did check out the group's web site and reviewed the list of advisory board members. Some very good people on this list.

Anonymous said...

Too bad the parent that called in was treated so badly. I would discourage other parents from calling in! The leader of the meeting obviously had personel issues with her.

jane brooks said...

I did call in to comment on restraint and seclusion and was shut down by chair who said, Jane this is not a meeting for public comment on restraint and seclusion! I said, I saw it advertised several places and she asked if anyone had seen restraint and seclusion advertised. then after they thought I hung up continued to say things like "she is one of those people that doesnt listen" They were very wrong about that.