A Global View on Inclusion: Benefits and Consequences

-Tawny Holmes, Esq.

Overview  

! Staff  roles  and  fellowship  ! Presenta3ons  and  intake  ! Educa3on  Advocate  Program  

! Educa3on  Strategy  Team  

! Early  Interven3on/Deaf  Mentors  

! Child  First  ! What  can  you  do?    

Staff  Roles  and  Fellowship  

! Quiz  3me-­‐  How  many  lawyers  does  NAD  have?  

! Value  of  fellowships-­‐  Skadden  and  Equal  Jus3ce  Works  

! Caroline  Jackson-­‐  focuses  on  civil  rights  li3ga3on  under  ADA  including  universi3es/colleges!  

! Goal  of  my  fellowship:  Educa3on  Advocacy  training  along  with  coordina3ng  Educa3on  Advocates  program  and  chairing  the  Educa3on  Strategy  Team  and  intake  with  parents/teachers  

Presentations & Intake

•  Provided 35 presentations on Education advocacy at 23 schools/programs and 26 education-related conferences that reached 2,493 individuals –  Topics:

•  Education Advocacy overview •  What Deaf People Can Be •  Self-Advocacy •  IEP Advocacy •  Language Acquisition •  Families and What They Can Do •  ADA Guidelines on Effective Communication

•  Seen the number of intake calls (total is 463) from parents and school professionals (interpreters, administrators and teachers) requesting advocacy and resources multiply by 5 times due to increased outreach and trainings

Education Advocates •  Established Education Advocates program in 2012 and now

have 44 states, 5 national organizations, and 15 parents nationwide

•  Coordinated two national trainings for Education Advocates along with local, state and online trainings

•  Hosted the first-ever summit at NAD 2014 conference where over 27 state and national Education Advocates shared common successes and challenges along with plans for future action

•  Focus on: Legislative bills (Ex: ASL Therapist in CO), meeting with school districts, state Department of Education/Health, supporting parents, getting on committees/councils, attending state/national conferences

Educa3on  Advocates-­‐  44  states    and  4  na3onal  organiza3ons  (ASDC,  CDM,  DYUSA  and  NBDA)    

But  s3ll  growing-­‐  need  more  near  parents  everywhere!    

WE NEED YOU! Go to www.nad.org/educationadvocates for more info!

The Education Strategy Team

Dr.  Beth  Benedict  University  Representa3ve–  

Early  Interven3on Donna  Valverde-­‐Hummel Parent  representa3ve  Educa3on  Advocate  

Onudeah  Nicolarakis  Teacher  

Diversity  specialist

Dr.  Laurene  Simms   Bilingual  specialist  

Teachers  for  Social  Jus3ce Kim  Bianco-­‐Majeri    NAD  State  Legisla3ve    Affairs  Coordinator    

Sandra  Edwards  School  administrator,  MS  CEASD  President-­‐Elect  

Susanne  ScoB,  CC-­‐A Bilingual  specialist  

NAEBCECE*,   Board  member  

David  Reynolds  NAD  Board  Liasion

Bilingualism  

Dr.  Roz  Rosen  University  Representa3ve–   Postgraduate  educa3on Human  rights  expert  

John  Anthony  Serrano  School  Administrator,  TX  

CEASD*  Board   member  

Dr.  Nancy  Hlibok  Amann  Mainstream  School  and  

Literacy  Specialist

Greg  Mendenhall American  Society  for  the  Deaf  

board  member  

Joseph  San:ni  PhD  student,  Bilingualism    in  mainstream  schools  

Dr.  Melissa  Herzig  Bilingualism  and  outreach  

VL2  

Nancy  Holden  Educa3onal  interpreter  

Tawny  Holmes,  Chair NAD  Educa3on  Policy  Counsel  Educa3on  Advocate  program  

coordinator    

Advocates and Stakeholders for ASL and English

EST  includes  collabora:on  of: Educa:onal  &  

Advocacy Organiza:ons  and   Programs  all  across  the  Country,  exis:ng from  1864  to  2013  

Educa3on  Strategy  Team’s  commitment  to  addressing  Diversity  in  Educa3on  

•  About  55%  of  our  deaf  and  hard  of  hearing  children  are  students  of  color  •  John  Anthony  Serrano  is  the  chair  of  the  Diversity  commibee  under  CEASD  •  We  are  suppor3ng  him  in  working  with  na3onal  organiza3ons  like  Council  

de  Manos,  Na3onal  Black  Deaf  Advocates,  Na3onal  Asian  Deaf  Congress,  and  Rainbow  Associa3on  of  the  Deaf  

•  Adjusted  CEASD  accredita3on  standards  •  Posi3on  paper  on  how  schools  can  do  more  for  diverse  students  and  

families  •  Focused  on  suppor3ng  students,  employing  more  diverse  staff,  and  

developing  training  for  schools  •  Hosted  two  roundtables  at  na3onal  conferences  •  In  talks  with  NBDA  and  Council  de  Manos  board  members  •  Works  closely  with  the  NAD  Diversity  Strategy  Team  

Early  Interven3on  and  Deaf  Mentors  •  National Center on Hearing Assessment and Management

(NCHAM) •  Helped update and write a chapter in NCHAM’s e-book

http://www.infanthearing.org/ehdi-ebook/2014_ebook/21-Chapter21DeafCommunity2014.pdf

•  Member of planning committee on EHDI for 3 years in a row

•  Presented over 6 workshops in the past 2 years at the national EHDI conference (AZAD, FAD and WVAD has sent reps, too!

•  Professional learning community to support the involvement of deaf and hard of hearing adults with families

•  Advisory council member for the next 5 years

•  Connected to VL2 resources

Collabora3on  •  Visual Learning and Language (VL2) •  Clerc Center •  PepNet 2.0 •  Standarized Tests (Smarter Balance and PARCC) •  National Black Deaf Advocates, Council de Manos,

American Society for Deaf Children, CEASD •  National Federation for the Blind •  American Foundation for the Blind •  Schools and school districts •  Alabama State Department of Education •  U.S. Department of Education •  Vocational Rehab counselors •  State Associations •  Education Advocates •  University research labs •  and more!! Including YOU!

Cogswell  and    Macy  Sullivan  Act  

! List  of  proposed  amendments  to  the  IDEA  law  ! Introduced  in  mid-­‐Sept  2015  as  H.R.  3535  

! 3  parts:  Blind,  Deaf  and  DeafBlind  ! Data  tracking  for  every  state  ! Expanded  Core  Curriculum  

! Family  training/support  extended  to  K-­‐12  

! Need  for  access  in  ASL  and  English  ! Qualified  professionals  fluent  in  language  

! Teachers  ! Interpreters  ! Other  professionals  

For more information, go to http://www.ceasd.org/child-first Also check out LEAD-K bill for STATE level (language benchmarks in ASL and English)

http://www.asl4deafkids.org/ and keep an eye out for H.R. 1344- EHDI

NOW  WHAT  CAN  YOU  DO?    •  Register  to  vote  •  Become  involved  with  your    state/na3onal  associa3on  – Educa3on  or  Legisla3ve  Advocate  – Commibee  member  

•  Contact  your  legislators  •  Become  a  Deaf  mentor  or    role  model  

•  Visit  your  local  school/programs-­‐    present  or  volunteer  

•  Help  collect  data  or  increase  awareness  online-­‐  Facebook  parent  groups  and  share  your  story  

Thank  you.    Tawny.Holmes@NAD.org    

For  more  resources,  go  to  IEP  Advocacy  101    workshop  at  4:30!      

@deafeducation @nad1880

@nad1880 @DeafEdAdvocate

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