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Online Trainings offered through MPACT

 MPACT Parent Mentor Program

MPACT Parent Mentors are available to offer support and guidance to parents of children with disabilities throughout the IEP process.  Parent Mentors are volunteers who receive 24 hours of initial training, ongoing monthly training, and technical assistance from MPACT staff with regard to special education law, the IEP process, conflict resolution, and effective communication.  Their goal is to help parents build a collaborative partnership with the school district so their child may receive an appropriate education.  To view the list of current MPACT Parent Mentors, go to http://ptimpact.org/Volunteer/MentorList.aspx.

If your school district has had a MPACT Parent Mentor in attendance at an IEP meeting, please take a moment to complete a brief online survey located at http://ptimpact.org/Surveys.aspx if you have not already done so.  A separate survey should be completed for each mentor who has provided services to parents in your district.  These surveys assist MPACT and DESE with identifying and addressing areas of success and improvement with the Parent Mentor Program.

For more information about MPACT or if you have questions regarding the status of a Parent Mentor, please contact MPACT by telephone at (800) 743-7634 or by e-mail at info@ptimpact.org.    You can also view the MPACT website at http://www.ptimpact.org.

4th Annual MPACT Transition Summit - Online Registration Available 

Partners in Policymaking Application  

Roughly half of adolescents with autism, intellectual disability, speech impairments and learning disabilities are bullied at school, new research suggests.

That's significantly higher than the rate of bullying faced by typically developing students, about 1 in 10 of whom are victimized by their peers.

The findings reported Monday in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine are based on data from a nationwide survey of more than 900 parents of teens receiving special education services.

Researchers found that about 57 percent of students with intellectual disability were bullied, while slightly less than half of students with autism, learning disabilities and speech/language impairments were victimized.

Parents also reported that some students with disabilities were responsible for perpetrating bullying, but this occurred at rates more similar to those experienced by typically developing students, the study indicated.

To read more CLICK HERE.  

Informal guidance issued recently from the U.S. Department of Education indicates that the requirement in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, that students be placed in the "least restrictive environment" extends beyond the confines of the classroom. Specifically, the concept should apply to work placements if such experiences are part of a student's individualized education program, or IEP, officials at the Education Department said.

"Placement decisions, including those related to transition services (including work placements), must be based on these (least restrictive environment) principles and made by the IEP team," wrote Melody Musgrove, director of the Office of Special Education Programs at the Department of Education. "The IDEA does not prohibit segregated employment, but the (least restrictive environment) provisions would apply equally to the employment portion of the student's program and placement."

News of Musgrove's letter was first reported by Education Week.

Read the entire article: Feds: Least Restrictive Environment Applies To Transition Too - Disability Scoop, July 10, 2012 by Michelle Diament.