The New Jersey Student Advocate
PO Box 1214, Belle Mead, NJ 08502 * 908-881-5275
http://StudentAdvocate-NJ.org
PARENTS UNITE TO UPHOLD STRONGER PROTECTIONS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
PRESS CONFERENCE AND CANDLE LIGHT VIGIL
When: Wednesday, January 18, 2005, 5:30pm Press Conference / 6:30 pm Hearings
Where: State Board of Education, River View Executive Plaza, Building 100, Trenton New Jersey
Press conference to be
held in front of building to be followed by testimony inside
Contact: Bob Witanek 908-881-5275 / 908-874-5891
Parents say they are “carrying on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” as
they stand up for the rights of children with disabilities at a candle light
vigil and press conference outside the Department of Education building in
Trenton. The event
will occur Wednesday, January 18 at 5:30 pm before a second round of NJ Board
of Education hearings regarding a rewrite of NJ special education laws that will
begin inside the building at 6:30 pm. Parents are calling upon the state to
maintain rights and protections for students with disabilities that they say are
“imperative for maximizing the potential of our children and their very
survival.” Parents are also demanding of the Board of Education a “more
collaborative process” in the redraft of the education codes that govern how
225,000 special education children across the state are served.
Parents will call for a re-draft of current Department of Education proposals that they believe have ignored the concerns that have been expressed by parents in a petition drive, survey and in written letters. They will also announce the handing in of a petition with two-thousand signers calling upon the Department of Education to maintain student and parent protections around 11 specific points.
According to Susan Fiordland, Petition Co-Chair of the NJ Student Advocacy Union, “By holding hearings in the midst of December’s holiday celebrations, by refusing to hear or include the input of the very parents of these Special Education students and insuring that our outreach towards them are thwarted at every attempt, it instills that the DOE does not care to include our opinions before rewriting the Special Education Code. These decisions will effect the survival and well being of 225,000 special education students. I believe that many parents are not aware of the impact these changes will mean to their children's special education and I urge them to investigate what is actually on the table here. These decisions need to include the concerns parents have made about changes to NJ code.”
Bob Witanek, a coordinator of the petition drive and editor of the Student Advocate Website and The New Jersey Student Advocate newspaper stated, “We cannot take a least common denominator approach when it comes to addressing the needs of children in special education. Many parents already face an uphill battle in advocating for our children. The elimination of short term objectives and mid year progress reports removes us from the planning process and eliminates school district accountability. Elimination of stay put will encourage districts to act in a least collaborative and more unilateral fashion in making discipline decisions. It is essential for the State Board to overhaul the proposal that has come out of DOE.”
The press conference will be addressed by Bob Witanek and Susan Fiordland, co-chairs of the NJ Student Advocacy petition drive, Pat Ewell of Browns Mills, the Rev. Marcos F. Edghill of Reconciliation and Restoration Ministries of Pemberton, Ilise Feitshans of Haddonfield, Dr. David L. Holmes, Chairman of Lifespan Services LLC as well as several other parents and advocates. Also invited to participate are representatives of the NJ Education Law Center, the Statewide Parents Advocacy Network, The ARC of New Jersey and the NJ Council on Developmental Disabilities.
Bob Witanek states “As the world celebrates the life and struggle of Martin Luther King Jr., we will be carrying his legacy forward by advocating for the civil rights of our children with disabilities so that we as a people can recognize the full value of our children to our society.”
For more information, contact Bob Witanek at 908-881-5275 or visit http://StudentAdvocate-NJ.org .
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NJ Complaint Form (MS Word)
(PDF)
On Line Public Hearing on IDEIA 2004
Survey on NJ OSEP Complaint
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Past Activities
IEP Wkshp
Rec. Programs for
those w/ Disabilities
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What The Student Advocate Has Done for Our Children
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Minutes of IDEIA 2004 meeting on Thu., May
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Effort to
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NJSAU Minutes 2/18/2006
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April
1 Report: Student Advocacy Union - Fundraising Concert
Mobilization for Rights
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Nationwide Internet Radio Rally for Sp-Ed Parent Rights
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Parents’ Rally @ Statehouse in Trenton Thursday, June 8, 2006
Piscataway Parents Mtg, June 19, 2006