IDEIA2004_Petition.htm

PETITION DRIVE IN TRENTON TIMES

Below is a decent article about the petition drive at http://StudentAdvocate-NJ.org /

The article gives a taste of what we are up against. Barbara Gantwerk did not appear very interested in our opinions and she claimed that our rights are being withered because special education parents are overwhelmed!

Gantwerk announced the short term objective changes in this article as if they are fait accompli – as if our input on the matter will not at all be considered.

She misrepresents that the changes coming down are mostly subject to parent consent.

If you believe that short term objectives are paramount to our list of 11 concerns in the petition drive - we know where Gantwerk had stood on that.

I recommend that each of us – not only sign the petition – but get your own letter out today!

http://studentadvocate-nj.org/IDEIA2004_Writing.htm

Gantwerk suggested that special education parents are in agreement with these changes. She knows who went to DC to lobby and for what!

Let this insight into Gantwerk’s view arm us with the truth about where we stand.

She also gives us a backhand swipe in this article stating that we should not be alarmed!

She states that groups “such as Witanek’s” should have weighed in in DC before. We know which organizations collect millions in dues each year and have fulltime lobbyists whispering sweet nothings to DC all year round.

What do we do about this?

Bob Witanek

http://StudentAdvocate-NJ.org

http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-0/111631715459380.xml?times?ngx
Special education facing changes

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

By LAURIE WHALEN

Staff Writer

Upcoming changes to the state's special education law could lessen schools' accountability for educating students and have other devastating effects, say concerned parents.

With federal changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 taking effect this summer, opponents say they still have at least another year to rally their cause since it will take about that long until the state brings its own regulations into conformity.

"Our goal is to get people interested and excited enough so that they're ready to take whatever step is necessary to communicate . . . with the state Department of Education," said Bob Witanek, a spokesman for Student Advocate-NJ, an organization dedicated to addressing the needs of children in special education programs.

Student Advocate-NJ and other special education advocacy groups fear a weakening of the law that guarantees certain rights and protections for special education students. The group says it has identified at least 11 areas where the change will harm special education students.

Witanek, a Montgomery Township resident, started a petition drive last month and has been in contact with Barbara Gantwerk, the director of the state's Office of Special Education programs and a key person who could help him bring about a different outcome.

Gantwerk, however, said parents of special education students should not be alarmed about the pending changes.

"There was a great debate at the federal level already about what changes should be in effect," said Gantwerk, confident that parent groups such as Witanek's already had a chance to weigh in. "In almost all the changes, Congress has assured that parents must give their consent."

On July 1 the federal law will be implemented and on certain issues where New Jersey doesn't have anything comparable the default law is federal law.

One of the federal changes would relax requirements for student plans, called IEPs, that spell out individual education programs.

Other changes would affect discipline and parental rights.

Witanek claims the pending modifications, such as the elimination of short-term objectives found in an IEP, will chip away at hard-won benefits.

Parents say the short-term objectives help to define concrete learning goals for students and serve as a useful guideline for parents and teachers.

But for Witanek, the elimination of goals also means a lessening in a school district's accountability.

A parent can "establish what progress is made and . . . call a meeting to go over some things you are concerned about and that need to be tweaked," he said.

Gantwerk said short-term objectives will be eliminated for all students except those with severe cognitive disabilities.

The state's director of special education programs added that the streamlining of the IEP process will be welcomed by some parents of special education students who may already feel overwhelmed.

At public hearings held in Washington, D.C., parents have expressed displeasure with the excessive amount of paperwork generated by the IEP process. Documents with hundreds of short-term objectives can result, said Gantwerk.

Witanek says he is afraid that the state will adopt the federal changes without careful review because less administrative work would be easier for school districts.

"It's harder to go back to a situation once it's changed," he said.

And, if the change is all about the bottom line and getting an upper hand with the parents, then the state is liable to consider the change a good thing, said Witanek.