A resource for PTA and parent involvement project ideas
Special Education PTAs
We recently fromed the first Special Education PTA (SEPTA) in Kentucky. We would love to hear from others who have established SEPTAs. National told us there were approximately 170 chapters in 11 states. We would love to know how long you have had a SEPTA and what you are doing to help parents and teachers advocate for special needs students!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sheree Brown Kaplan on -
I personally believe that separate SEPTAs are no longer appropriate models for parent involvement. Separate but equal was long ago rejected in the education of children and that should be reflected in the PTA as the national parent-led education organization. Segregating parents of students with disabilities from mainstream PTAs not only gives the wrong message, it harms the cause of inclusion for our children.
I'm in Fairfax County, VA, and our county council has a district-wide special education committee with local PTA reps in each school. This is no small feat. Our school system is the 12th largest in the nation and we have about 200 schools in the system.
The position of PTA Special Education Rep began locally with motivated parent volunteers in the 1980s, and the committee was formed in the past ten years to enable reps to communicate with each other, offer mutual support, share successes and increase effectiveness. Parents who would normally not be involved now participate in active ways for effective change that benefits student with disabilities, whether they are officially identified or still under the radar.
Fairfax County parents chose to use the existing PTA structure rather than creating separate SEPTAs because it frees us from fundraising and administrative duties to focus on issues that are of most importance to our kids and to better serve the needs of our parent population. (Last year the FCCPTA Special Education Committee helped lead our state's parent response to the proposed revision of the VA special education regulations.) One of my big pushes is to improve the parent-school partnership in special education and to reduce the potential for conflicts that can lead to costly and unproductive disputes.
The PTA objective of serving every child can most effectively be done by different parents working together on particular interests. Our county council has truly embraced that and, as a result, well over 90% of our schools have PTAs. That is far better than the national average. I think for PTAs to have relevance for the future they will have to take the big tent approach and allow for more inclusive representation of their student AND parent populations.
Sheree Brown Kaplan
Chair, Fairfax County Council of PTAs (FCCPTA) Special Education Committee
Class of 2008, Partners in Policymaking, Virginia Board for People with Disabilities
specialedchair@fccpta.org
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Permalink Reply by Ramona Fuerstenau on
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25 years from now I hope we are there as well. In order for inclusion to be a reality ANYWHERE, there has to be a relationship established of mutual respect first. I wish it weren't so, but it is. That takes time, as your comment reflects. So, after 5 - 6 years, I am happy to be where we are.... and looking ahead to where we could be after 25 years of committed effort.
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Permalink Reply by PTA Administrator on -
Here is a story about some Kentucky parents that formed a special education PTA, the first of its kind in the state. The group has already made a big difference, holding monthly meetings on topics like communicating with teachers and explaining the process for writing Individualized Education Programs.
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Permalink Reply by Heather Brown on -
Donna,
We did not form a SEPTA, but instead created a committee within the existing PTA to meet the needs of special needs and gifted/talented parents and students. We focus on providing educational opportunities for teachers and parents that will help them advocate for the students by better understanding their needs. Social Skills workshops were a big hit this year with both our special needs and gifted parents. We were able to use speakers from our district's behavioral department so it didn't cost us a thing (except refreshments) and teachers got credit for attending.
I would recommend accessing your special education department. They can tell you what topics they get the most questions on and may be willing to provide a Q&A on different topics at no cost to your organization.
Some topics that we've found to be popular are: Social Skills, ESY (extended school year) services, Special Ed 101, Transitions (pre-K to Kinder, Elem to Mid School and High School to Post Secondary are the most popular). We also do a program at the end of each year called S.O.S. (School's Out for Summer). We have a speaker and an open sharing session about ideas of things you can do with your kids to survive the summer (camps, local attractions, kid friendly restaurants, etc.).
Also, life planning for families of special needs kids is a huge topic of interest. Be sure you get someone to talk who is experienced in life planning specifically for special needs kids and knows your state's rules. Many of the national speakers have given bad information to TX parents just because they didn't take the time to find out about the weirdness in our laws that make planning here different from planning in another state.
Hope that helps
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Permalink Reply by Donna Allen on
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Heather,
Thanks so much for your input. Sounds like you are doing the same thing we are, but have called it a different name. Our school district has 19 schools and 17 of them have PTAs. We have not tried to pull away from the PTAs but are collaborating with them and our school district ECS personnel. Each of the PTAs has donated funds to us so that we do not have to fundraise. We have a SEPTA representative at each of the schools to keep lines of communication open. We get our info to parents through each of the schools PTA newsletters and emails. An administrator from our ECS department sits on our board as well as a teacher representative. We are an extension of our schools PTA, not a seperate entitiy from it.
Our PTAs have been very grateful to have us come on board and partner with them to help meet the needs of exceptional children and their parents. Our school system was already addressing the needs of Gifted and Talented students through an organization called GATES.
We have been blessed with many community members and school members that have given there time to speak at our monthly meetings. Like you, we have not had to pay anyone for their services. I would love to hear more about the social skills workshops you did, I love the fact teachers got credit for attending! What a great title for your program to let parents know about summer opportunities. Can I use it for ours?
I want to thank you for what you are doing for the kids in your school district and for sharing with us. It concerns me that others are so quick to judge our organization because of its title. As long as we are working together with our PTAs to make sure the needs of ALL children are being met, it should not matter what we call it! I hope to speak with you soon!
Thanks again for your input, Donna
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