Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy 

Kareem Dale was selected to be Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy on February 21, 2009. Vice President Biden made the announcement saying, “This is our first step to ensure that we have a strong advocate for people with disabilities at the highest levels of our Administration."

Calling All Parents of Children with Disabilities or Special Health Care Needs:
Help Researchers Learn About Your Emergency Preparedness Needs

Natural and man-made disasters or emergencies like severe storms, forest fires, chemical spills, floods and pandemic flu can seriously impact many people at once, including families challenged by disabilities or special health care needs. Please help researchers understand your family’s needs related to disasters and emergencies by completing an online survey.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School E.K Shriver Center want to learn about the emergency preparedness needs of parents of children with disabilities or special health care needs ages birth to 21.

The Shriver Center has been a pioneer in research, education and service for people with disabilities and their families for over three decades. Your responses to this survey will assist us to develop projects and programs to meet your needs.

The brief online survey will take only a few minutes of your time. You can access the survey by going to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=fQVHbDPlA_2bfwBNT9eH8xDQ_3d_3dor  pasting http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=fQVHbDPlA_2bfwBNT9eH8xDQ_3d_3di  into your Internet browser window. Your responses to the survey will be completely anonymous, but essential since they will make an important contribution to the research. For more information or questions about the survey, or to be placed on a mailing list to receive the survey results, please contact Sue Wolf-Fordham, Project Director, at susan.wolf-fordham@umassmed.edu 

Oregon Diploma Summit Registration Now Open

The Oregon Diploma Summit - A Community Call to Action! Will be offered by the Oregon Department of Education. With the new Oregon Diploma requirements, there is a defined vision for student achievement; one that recognizes all students’ fundamental right to graduate ready for life. The vision for the Summit is to build on current efforts to implement Oregon’s new graduation requirements. The Summit will bring together key leaders and stakeholders from multiple sectors to collaborate on action plans that support and strengthen implementation of the diploma requirements. The emphasis is on supporting all students to succeed in achieving their goals and to be ready to transition to college and work. The Summit will help to build a foundation of support for our students. Strategies and solutions will be highlighted to address the needs of students who may need extra help or may be at risk for dropping out of school. 

When: Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Where: Salem Convention Center,
Willamette Room, 200 Commercial Street SE
Time: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM, registration starts at 9:00 AM

NO REGISTRATION FEE

The Summit is anticipated to host 300 people and is being held in partnership with America’s Promise Alliance whose mission is to support drop-out prevention efforts so more young people graduate from high school ready for college, work, and adult life.

Registration is open through March 5th. For questions, call 503-947-5801.

Parents!
Have You Done Your Homework? Prepare for the Future of Your Child’s Special Education

You’ve spent hours learning about your child’s disability but have you taken equal time to learn about your parental rights in special education? This one day workshop is designed for parents of children with disabilities to help you learn so that you can successfully navigate special education and prepare your child for the future. It’s time to do that homework! Get answers to your questions in the following sessions: 

Morning Sessions:
Nothing is Delayed about Puberty!
What Parent’s Need to Know about the IEP

Lunchtime Learning:
Testing, Testing 1-2-3, State Assessment and Students with Disabilities

Afternoon Sessions:
School-wide Systems: RTI & PBIS
Reading, Literacy and the IEP
Special Needs Estate Planning

Saturday, May 2, 2009
9:30 AM to 3:00 PM
Portland Providence Hospital
Cancer Tower
4805 NE Glisan Street
Portland, Oregon 97213

Come make new friends while you learn the most up to date information.
Space is limited, call or email to reserve your space now. Registration is required.
Contact: Danielle Bethell
Toll Free: 1-888-505-2673, ext. 105
Email: dbethell@orpti.org

Oregon Tax Exemption for a Child with a Disability

The following is information concerning the Oregon tax exemption for parents of children with
disabilities.

The Oregon Tax Code provides an additional tax exemption for parents of children with disabilities in Oregon. The procedure for claiming an exemption for the 2008 tax year is explained in the Oregon Individual Income Tax Return and
Instructions, Nonresident and Part-Year Resident, and the Full-Year Resident booklets.

Who qualifies for the exemption?
A child qualifies if he or she meets all of the following:
Qualify as your dependent for tax year 2008; and
Be eligible for "early intervention services" or receive special education as defined by the State Board of Education of the state where the child attends school, however, learning disabilities or communication disorders alone do not qualify; and
Be considered to have a disability as of December 31, 2008 under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and related Oregon laws.
Eligible disabilities include:
· Autism
· Visual Impairment
· Mental retardation
· Serious emotional disturbance
· Traumatic brain injury
· Hearing impairment
· Orthopedic impairment
· Other health impairment
· Multiple disabilities
· Deafblind

The tax booklet explains that your child must have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) and an eligibility statement for one of the disabilities listed above. A copy of the IEP or IFSP coversheet and a copy of the student's eligibility statement may be obtained from the school district. The coversheet and copy of the eligibility statement should be kept with the child's permanent health records, as maintained by the family -they DO NOT need to be sent with the tax return. Write the child's name on line 6c for "All dependents" as well as line 6d (see page 10 of the Oregon Department of Revenue Full-Year Resident Instructions or page 15 of the Nonresident and Part-Year Resident Instructions at the link below for complete instructions.)
Oregon Department of Revenue On-Line Instructions and Forms

http://egov.oregon.gov/DOR/PERTAX /formspit.shtml#2008_Tax_Year  

Parents may revoke consent for Special Education Services

Parents of children on IEP's may now revoke their consent for an evaluation or for placement into special education. The new final regulations published December 1, 2008, clarifies that a parent may revoke consent at any time. That means that a parent can unilatterally make the decision to remove a child from all special education services. The revocation must be in writing. The school must provide written notice before ceasing services. The school may not use due process procedures to overrule the parent decision. Educational records will not be amended.

These amendments go into effect December 31, 2008.

The final regulations are posted at:
http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/finrule/2008-4/120108a.html 

Final Regulations Published on Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act 

Schools Given Greater Flexibility to Address Health or Safety Emergencies

Following the tragic April 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech, the U.S. Department of Education published in today's Federal Register final regulations to clarify and give schools greater flexibility in making determinations about disclosures of information from students' education records in order to address threats to the health or safety of students or other individuals.

These changes to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regulations are in response to the June 2007, "Report to the President on Issues Raised by the Virginia Tech Tragedy." The report concluded that additional guidance needed to be developed regarding when and how information can be shared in an emergency, especially with regard to the parents of college students. The new regulations provide that guidance and clarify that colleges may share information with students' parents in many circumstances.

"These changes and clarifications will help school officials respond to emergencies more quickly and effectively," said U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. "The regulations balance student privacy with school safety while facilitating research to ultimately improve education."
The final regulations include changes and clarifications as a result of public comments on the proposed rules that prompted comments from more than 100 individuals and organizations. The regulations will take effect on Jan. 8, 2009.
Among the highlights:
SCHOOL SAFETY
In order to provide more flexibility to school administrators, language was removed requiring strict construction of the provision in FERPA that permits disclosure of education records, without consent, in order to deal with health or safety emergencies. Now, in making a determination concerning disclosures, a school may take into account the totality of the circumstances pertaining to a threat to the safety or health of the student or other individuals.
The school must record the significant threat that formed the basis for the disclosure and the parties to whom the information was disclosed. If there is a rational basis for the determination, the Education Department will not substitute its judgment for that of the educational agency or institution in deciding to release the information.
The final regulations clarify the Education Department's longstanding interpretation that "appropriate parties" to whom schools may disclose in a health or safety emergency include "parents of an eligible student."
DISCLOSURES TO PARENTS
The final regulations clarify that even after the rights under FERPA have transferred from parents to an eligible student (a student who is at least 18 years of age or attending a postsecondary institution), an educational agency or institution may still disclose education records to the student's parents without consent under several existing provisions of the act.
FERPA permits postsecondary institutions to disclose any and all information from a student's education records, without consent, to that student's parents if the student is a dependent for tax purposes under IRS rules.
As explained above, FERPA allows institutions to disclose information to appropriate officials in a health or safety emergency, including parents if the emergency involves their child. Parents are often in the best position to help their children during these crises.
FERPA permits a postsecondary institution to tell parents of students under the age of 21 when the student has violated any law or policy concerning the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance.
IMPROVING RESEARCH AND ACCOUNTABILITY
The final regulations permit state educational agencies and other state educational authorities to implement K-16 accountability systems and facilitate the transfer of students' education records.
The final regulations make other changes and clarifications to facilitate the use of "de-identified" data and personally identifiable information for research, as appropriate.
SAFEGUARDING PRIVACY
The final regulations contain important recommendations to help educational agencies and institutions meet the challenges of safeguarding education records, especially records contained in electronic data systems.
The final regulations update the definition of "personally identifiable information."

The final regulations are available at http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/finrule/2008-4/120908a.html 

The Oregon Parent Training and Information Center is now featuring disability resources on our website. We have pages of recommended books and videos. When you purchase an item from our website, we receive a small percentage of the purchase price. You get a great resource, and help OrPTI offer more services across the state of Oregon. You can browse our recommended books and videos at http://astore.amazon.com/oregparetraia-20?node=2&page=1