What APIECE Has Done for Our Children Lately . . .
by Bob
Witanek http://StudentAdvocate-NJ.org
http://APIECENJ.org
advocate@StudentAdvocate-NJ.org
908-881-5275
Recently at a public meeting, NJ Director of Special Education made references to “all” of the letters she has been reading, the Student Advocate website http://StudentAdvocate-NJ.org and our petition drive. She even made a “joke” that we should stop sending letters. It is a tremendous achievement for the APIECE affiliated NJ IDEIA 2004 Organizing Committee that Ms. Gantwerk has conceded the large volume of letters she is receiving. The effort that she referenced at the meeting was initiated at the first meeting of the NJ IDEIA 2004 Organizing Committee on May 26. That meeting agreed to organize around a single day as a target date for getting such letters out. Following the meeting, June 15 was picked and a campaign theme of “100 Letters for Our Children” was designed. The call for letter writing was distributed through various internet groups as well as to the signers of the petition to date. Also, nearly 100 calls were made to signers of the petition who offered to write to Ms. Gantwerk and provided their phone numbers. (SPAN assisted by making about 20 of the calls.) We received numerous confirmations of letters getting out.
In addition, the letter writing drive was bolstered when ARC of NJ made a complementary call for letter writing around most of the same points of the petition drive and some other points well worth supporting with a target date of getting the letters in by June 24. No doubt the efforts of ARC of NJ further amassed the letters arriving in Ms. Gantwerk’s mail bin, e-mail box and on her fax machine.
In the last 48 hours our drive has continued to shift into higher gear.
We have extended “100 Letters for Our Children” drive to synchronize it with the ARC of NJ call for letters through June 24. We are calling for continued letter writing through that date. The website was updated accordingly, the flier redrafted and 500 copies printed. The information about the extension of the letter writing campaign was widely distributed on the internet.
See: http://studentadvocate-nj.org/june_15_100LettersForOurChildren.htm
Also – letters were sent to Somerset County State Assembly representatives and State Senators calling for action in support of our efforts.
See: http://studentadvocate-nj.org/sample_elected_official_letter.htm (Feel free to borrow from this letter to craft your own to your state representatives officials.)
We had a table set up at the POAC picnic in Lakewood New Jersey and were able to gather 111 signatures there, breaking the 1000 signature threshold on the petition. The support was solid with often two, three and four petitions being signed at one time.
Also at the event, I had an opportunity to hand a letter to a campaign aid for Doug Forrester and to speak to candidate Forrester on this issue. I told him that many are unhappy with the way these issues are being handled by NJ DOE. I suggested that he could have the ability contribute to the correction of this issue by raising it as a concern. I explained that we need more than vague references to children with disabilities, and that we need specific support for the issues of concern in the petition drive. He seemed interested and receptive. He also seemed to take notice as people came to the table and signed the petition while I was talking to him. I referred him to the letter that I gave to his campaign aide and let him know that our organization would focus attention on any steps he took on behalf of our concerns around IDEIA 2004. He stated that this issue should be addressed not as a partisan issue but out of concern for the best interests of our children. Hopefully it was more than a whisper in my ear.
See: http://studentadvocate-nj.org/DForrester_Letter_June18_2005.htm
We have not only spoken to candidate Forrester on the issue though. When Regena Thomas, NJ Secretary of State spoke at our APIECE “Amistad Awareness” event, we handed her a letter that raised our concerns and called upon her and Acting Governor Codey to take action to resolve these issues.
See: http://studentadvocate-nj.org/RThomas_Letter_May21_2005.htm
We will be looking forward to a similar opportunity to talk to candidate Senator Corzine around these issues as well.
We urge you to make contact with both the Forrester campaign and the Corzine campaign to urge them to take action now on behalf of our children to assure that harmful provisions of IDEIA 2004 are not implemented in New Jersey. Feel free to borrow from our letters in that regard.
Our organization has communicated and hand delivered letters to the leadership of both major political parties in NJ – to two people who have the power to take steps to correct our issues of concern. We are leveraging the petition drive to its maximal political effect.
What we are finding in the field when we speak with grassroots folks – is that nearly all special education parents are ready to sign on to the petition once it is explained to them. They are thankful for the coordinating role we are playing around the petition drive and letter writing drive. They are looking to take further action and are very concerned. The potential to organize tens of thousands – or even hundreds of thousands of NJ parents of special education students is before us.
What
role will you play in making this happen?
[ Stay tuned. We are talking to community organizers around the state about a
proposal for activities in the fall. If there is support – we will announce the
plans at that time. ]
For Our Children,
Bob Witanek
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