Below is a sample letter
to Governor Corzine urging him to accept the petition. We urge you to
write a letter of your own. You can borrow this one and send it or change
anything to your own liking. The letters should be sent to:
Office of the Governor, PO Box 001, Trenton, NJ 08625, call: 609-292-6000
Web link message:
http://www.state.nj.us/governor/govmail.html
MS Word 2000 Printable hand out:
Call On Corzine to
Accept Petition
NJ Student Advocacy
Union
PO Box 1214, Belle Mead, NJ 08502 *
908-881-5275 *
http://StudentAdvocate-NJ.org
Dear Governor Corzine,
I am writing on behalf of the families of 225,000 special education students in
the state of New Jersey. I am one of 2000 who have signed on to the petition at
The NJ Student Advocate Website calling upon you and the NJ Department of
Education to maintain strong student protections in your implementation of IDEIA
2004 changes to special education code. We read with interest when you stated in
your inaugural that New Jersey is a progressive state. The changes that are
currently being implemented by this Department of Education and this New Jersey
School Board are far from progressive. They severely undermine the rights,
protections and processes that are vital for there to be any potential of
success for our children with disabilities in NJ public education.
We are writing to you to call upon you to meet with a delegation of petitioners.
We want to present to you with the petition – to place it in your hand. We are
not interested in a meeting with the Secretary of State or another staff member.
The constituency we represent including the petitioners and the hundreds of
thousands of special education family members deserve an opportunity to present
the petition directly to you.
We understand that you have a very busy schedule and that there are many demands
of transition right now. However, one of those demands is for the voices of our
children to be heard. While you are transitioning, your Department of Education
and the Board of Education is fast tracking serious deleterious changes to
special education code. We stand to lose short term objectives, mid-year
progress reporting, protections from disability related suspension and expulsion
and many other important protections for our children.
Our petitioners have been trying unsuccessfully to make contact you now for many
months, since this past summer. Now that you hold office, we call upon you to
make a little time available to accept the petition, to hear us out and to share
your views on these topics. We are ready to meet you at your earliest
convenience.
In the meantime, you can gain more information about these important issues by
visiting our website at http://StudentAdvocate-NJ.org .
You can call us at any time to arrange the meeting at 908-881-5275.
Sincerely,
Bob Witanek
On Behalf of The NJ Student Advocacy Union
Ask the Advocate
NJ Complaint Form (MS Word)
(PDF)
On Line Public Hearing on IDEIA 2004
Survey on NJ OSEP Complaint
Process
Past Activities
IEP Wkshp
Rec. Programs for
those w/ Disabilities
An Evening of Educational Advocacy
September 8, 2005 Edison, NJ
What The Student Advocate Has Done for Our Children
Lately . . .
NJ IDEIA 2004 Organizing Committee
Minutes of IDEIA 2004 meeting on Thu., May
26
Student Rights Radio
Discussion, October 31
Effort to
Reach Gubernatorial Hopefuls and Acting Governor / Candidates
IDEA: An Update
Dec. 5, 2005
Middletown
January 18,
2006: Hold a Candle Light for Our Children's Rights
50 Strong For Our
Children
No. Jersey Radio Interview Aired, 1/22
Petitioning for Rights Children: Legal in Princeton
Interview on NJ IDEIA Rights
- Racial Disparities in Sp-Ed
Call
is Heard in Montgomery Twp: Inclusive Recreation
NJSAU Minutes 2/18/2006
Playing and Singing for
Our Rights, 4/1/6
Better IDEA Laws for Special Education
Students?
Better IEPs? Anything is Possible!
April
1 Report: Student Advocacy Union - Fundraising Concert
Mobilization for Rights
of Our Children, May 17, 2006, Trenton
Nationwide Internet Radio Rally for Sp-Ed Parent Rights
9pm EST, Sat. May 20
Parents’ Rally @ Statehouse in Trenton Thursday, June 8, 2006
Piscataway Parents Mtg, June 19, 2006