Report: January
18, 2006:
Successes of Evening and Challenges Before Us
By Bob Witanek http://StudentAdvocate-NJ.org 908-881-5275 Advocate@StudentAdvocate-NJ.org (Filed Jan 20)
On January 18,
2005 at 6:30 pm at the NJ Department of Education building at 100 Riverview
Plaza, the State Board of Education held hearings on NJ Education Code and in
particular on proposed changes to special education code. Before the hearings,
from 5:30 to 6:30 pm, a crowd ranging in size from 25 to 40, held a press
conference and rally in support of our children. The crowd was addressed by 10
speakers, including 8 parents, an autism education consultant and a middle
school student. We also had some fun with singing slightly modified versions of
“Get Up, Stand Up!” (Marley – Tosh)
http://studentadvocate-nj.org/get_up.htm
and “We Shall Overcome” with my slightly off key lead vocal and my son Robert
Colby-Witanek’s quite in tune accompaniment on violin. While we billed the
event as a “Candle Light Vigil”, due to the brisk wind there was only one parent
who was able to keep her candle trimmed and burning – and for her trouble she
was featured in two news photos of the event (one in the Trenton Times and the
other in the Trentonian). All day long up until almost 2 pm, the success of the
rally was threatened by a brutal wind and rain storm that dumped more than an
inch locally. Fortunately, the stormy skies parted hours before the event.
Copies
of the NJ Student Advocate newspaper, my testimony, song sheets and a document
entitled “What
We Need: A Parent – Student Advocacy Union!” were distributed to participants
and some passers by.
http://studentadvocate-nj.org/what_we_need.htm
My written testimony was also shared with the reporters. Covering the event
were reporters from the Star Ledger, The Trenton Times, Gannett news services
which covers about 8 papers around New Jersey, South Jersey News Services,
photographers from The Trentonian, the Trenton Times and the Star Ledger.
The testimony outside was strong and unifying. Included were addresses by Dr. David Holmes, Chair of Lifespan Services, LLC, Susan Fiordland, co-chair of NJ Student Advocate and petition drive, Pat Ewell, a Browns Mills advocate, Evelyn Delgado, a Woodbridge parent, Robert Colby-Witanek, a Montgomery Township Middle School Student, Harry Mansure, an organizer of the Parents Advocating Special Education (PASE) of Mansfield, NJ, Marie Coll, of Hispanic Directors Association of New Jersey (http://HDANJ.org ), Ilise Feitshans, a Haddonfield, NJ parent and advocate, Dana Taboadela, a parent and advocate from Rockaway and Peg Kinsell, Public Policy Director of Statewide Parents Advocacy Network (SPAN http://SPANNJ.org ).
The Board had
parents were squirreled into 3 separate rooms that had standing room only to
testify to the board. The 30 testifiers in the room I was in were predominantly
supporters of the rights of children with disabilities and their parents. The
testimony was consistently on point with the issues outlined in the petition
drive and other important concerns. There was an air of parent – advocate unity
hovering in the room.
BUTCHER TRIES TO SCUTTLE MY TESTIMONY
While the board members in my room were mostly polite to the speakers throughout the evening, that changed when it was my turn to speak. As I testified, I was interrupted by board member Ronald Butcher who was running the meeting in my room. I was testifying about the way that the school board has been trying to shut down parental input into the process. I was in the middle of the following part of my testimony when I was unceremoniously interrupted:
“I
object to the following board actions:
1. Failure to hold regional hearings in northern and southern NJ as urged by
many on December 21.
2. Cutting off registration 5 days in advance of this hearing.
3. Holding the hearing in separate tiny rooms. The full board should assemble
in a room that holds hundreds.
4. The registration phone number was down for at least 75 minutes during office
hours last Friday, the last date of registration.
These actions limit a democratic and
collaborative process. The hearing process must be overhauled.”
For the full text of my presentation, see:
http://studentadvocate-nj.org/testimony_011806_bobw.htm
For more on the board’s disdain for public participation and input, see:
http://www.studentadvocate-nj.org/parent_victory.htm
Butcher told me that I was supposed to comment only on NJ Code and not on the process of arriving at the code. I pointed out that several other testifiers had already also raised questions about the failure of this board to arrange regional hearings. The meeting was an “open topic” meeting – even as most parents were there to testify on the code. There were other testifiers on other issues – unrelated to the code.
Of course, I was not having it. I did not expend such a great deal of energy encouraging parental input to this process, put letters in the paper with the phone number (one parent who signed up on Friday stated that there were 33 signed up when she signed and there were 71 signed up by the time the board stop taking registrations for the third time that day), organize a demonstration in front of the board offices and sing through a microphone out of key at that demonstration, just to be told by this Mr. Butcher that I was not going to be able to testify!
As calmly as was possible, I explained that I had a brief 3 minute presentation, that others had already raised issues about the lack of regional meetings, and that I had every intention of reading my entire testimony and that is what I was going to do. Butcher answered that he would decide whether I would be permitted to read my statement. I proceeded and he did not stop me after that.
I consider it an outrage that Butcher
interrupted and attempted to stop my presentation. But I also consider it an
honor that Butcher picked my presentation to interrupt and try to stop. That
tells me that something I am doing is on target. I hope that the example I
provided of not allowing this bureaucrat to shut down my testimony also provides
an example to others as to how we need to persevere in spite of harassment and
obstacles that the “powers that be” will place before us.
We need to probe the terms of all of the board members and set our sites
pressuring the Corzine administration to only appoint or reappoint those who
work to increase opportunities for our input and support the rights and
protections of children with disabilities.
We need to continue to press the board for
regional meetings and evening and weekend meetings. We were able to prevail
upon them to change this past Wednesday’s meeting to an evening meeting. If we
escalated the pressure by a factor of 10 or 100, which is entirely possible
given that there are 225,000 special education students in the state, we could
force a more open process. We should also demand that registration to speak
continue until the day of or at worse the day prior to the hearings, that the
hearings be held in large rooms with the full board assembled and that the
telephone line be kept open and fully staffed during the registration period.
SPANISH PRESENTATION LIMITED
In one of the other rooms, according to Martha Brecher, a Spanish speaking testifier was told that she could only have 4 minutes for her testimony and the English translation. That limit was placed on her in spite of the fact that the board did not make any Spanish translation accommodation – just as the board and the Department of Education very rarely do provide any information in Spanish. The struggle over Spanish language communications in NJ Special Education is a critical one that we need to embrace.
FAMILY SOLIDARITY
Some of the highlights of the evening for me include the role that my son
played. He did a fabulous job presenting his testimony both at the rally
outside and to the board inside. He spoke immediately after me and he cut to
the bone of just what is at stake and how this process works. His delivery in
both settings was an awesome display of the power that we can amass by
politicizing our children to participate in this struggle. His testimony can be
read at this link:
http://www.studentadvocate-nj.org/testimony_01182006_RCW.htm
I was also
impressed with the delivery by my father, who went next. His eloquent
presentation and the family unity demonstrated by the 1-2-3 punches of three
generations of Witanek / Colby-Witaneks testifying hopefully was an example too
– on the type of family solidarity needed in this political struggle for the
rights of our children. His testimony can be read at this link:
http://www.studentadvocate-nj.org/testimony_01182005_JAW.htm
My wife and
younger child were also in the house and at the events showing support.
TESTIMONY
We are collecting testimony and statements to place at the NJ Student Advocate
Website at this link. You can go here to see some of the statements provided so
far.
http://studentadvocate-nj.org/testimony_at_state_board_hearings.htm
To post your
testimony, send it to
advocate@StudentAdvocate-NJ.org .
FULL COURT PRESS
The press coverage of the event was decent – albeit it is never 100%
satisfying. However, all of the articles clearly represented at least part of
the parent and student point of view. Articles appeared in the Trenton Times,
Courier Post News, Morris County Daily Record and Asbury Park Press on Thursday,
January 19 and in the Star Ledger and Courier News on Friday, January 20. There
were also letters in at least 5 papers promoting the event prior to it. Three
of the letters appeared on Friday, January 13 – including the registration
number for the hearings. On Friday, the number of registrants jumped from 33 in
the morning to 71 and the State Board staff stated that the phone was ringing
off the hook (and the line was shut down at least twice before the deadline for
registration and only reopened after I and later Martha Brecher of SPAN
intervened.) Details:
http://www.studentadvocate-nj.org/parent_victory.htm
A link to the press coverage is here:
http://studentadvocate-nj.org/january_18_hearings_press.htm
The press coverage
was the result of a 10 day campaign of marketing to the respective outlets to
try to gain their interest. The education reporter from the Trenton Times flat
out had stated that the paper would not be covering the event – and only after a
letter to news editors and many more phone calls did I learn that they would
cover it. All of the papers had to be sold on the idea of covering it except
for the Northern paper – the Herald Journal – who contacted me and stated that
they would cover it if I could line up some local parents for interviews – which
is what we did.
In addition, I was interviewed for a news broadcast on Newark jazz radio WBGO FM
and for a North Jersey program that will air Sunday, January 22, at 7 am. For
more info on the Sunday program, see:
http://studentadvocate-nj.org/listen_up.htm
We need to follow up and urge news articles in every daily paper in the state of
New Jersey. Those who want to learn more about how to conduct a media effort
and help get this information into the papers – as a heads up to other special
education parents and also to urge more action around these issues, please
contact
Advocate@StudentAdvocate-NJ.org or call 908-881-5275. The experience will
be applicable and helpful for you for other efforts you might embrace in the
future.
THE CHALLENGES BEFORE US
The next step in the process is for the board to either adopt as is or make
modifications of the “pre-proposal” that it has been handed by the Department of
Education. According to information previously provided, a March 15 board
hearing will be the second public hearing – and at that point, the board will be
considering the “proposal” version of the changes. The precise date of the
proposal version and the second round of 30-day written comments is not yet
available – it is tied to the date that the State Public Register would be
published. For a letter from the board previously received and my response,
visit:
http://studentadvocate-nj.org/letter_sent_to_state_board_office.htm
For the immediate future we should:
Contact Governor Corzine to call upon him to meet with a delegation of parents to receive the petition and speak with us to hear our concerns and let us know where he stands. We do not want to hand it in to the Secretary of State or another representative – the petition is broad based enough to merit a face to face. Write or call as follows: http://www.state.nj.us/governor/govmail.html or Office of the Governor, PO Box 001, Trenton, NJ 08625 609-292-6000 . Also write to your state senators and assembly representatives calling upon them to initiate legislative hearings on the process and on the code.
Work to get news articles published in every daily paper in NJ on the process and our concerns. Contact Advocate@StudentAdvocate-NJ.org or call 908-881-5275 for details. Also, write letters to local papers opinion pages.
Continue to demand that the board hold regional hearings, hold hearings in larger rooms before the full board without unreasonable deadlines to register and that it make the March hearing in the evening or on a Saturday so that we can mobilize for massive participation. Also, object to the board playing games with shutting down the registration process. Write or call: Shoener, Diane, Director [ diane.shoener@doe.state.nj.us ] , New Jersey Department of Education, State Board Office, River View Executive Plaza, Building 100, PO Box 500, Trenton, NJ 08625-0500 or fax (609) 633-0267 or call (609) 292-0739.
Investigate
the terms of board members and monitor and influence the appointment
/ reappointment process.
Let’s begin the process now to mobilize
for a massive rally outside the March hearings. If it is during the day, let’s
plan to take time out from work and if need be, keep our children out of school
so that we can mobilize our full families, when possible, for the most massive
presence outside the hearing and for the most massive list of testifiers inside.
There were those who counseled and did not support the call for a gathering
outside the hearings this time. They were afraid that if folks did not show, we
would look bad. However we took the risk anyway and we are now positioned
better for our next steps. It was the organizing of that gathering that drew
the excellent press coverage and helped to mobilize testifiers. If we start
now, we can possibly accomplish a truly statewide mobilization.
The Petition Continues. While we handed in around 2000 names – we continue to gather signatures and on line endorsements. We actually handed in a copy so we have the complete original petition still. Please continue to sign on at this link: http://StudentAdvocate-NJ.org .
The momentum has increased for our efforts in
the last week. We need to take full opportunity to continue to throttle forward
and raise our pitch and engage the hundreds of thousands of parents of special
education students and other relatives and supporters, as well as the students,
in a major effort. There are no guarantees – but we definitely do have the
ability to prevail.
For Our Children,
By Bob Witanek http://StudentAdvocate-NJ.org 908-881-5275 Advocate@StudentAdvocate-NJ.org
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