Please take part in the IDEA National Survey, a survey of whether the rights of students with disabilities and their parents are protected. The IDEA National Survey Project is sponsored by the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD), National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS), Autism Society of America (ASA), Autism National Committee (AutCom), and The Advocacy Institute (AI). The survey may be found at IDEA Survey.
The survey looks at whether parents of children with disabiltiies are treated as equal partners in their children’s education, and whether the rights of students with disabilities and their parents are protected. There are also questions about inclusion and assessment issues. The survey is open to all disabilities. All members of the community are welcome: parents; attorneys, advocates, other professionals; and self-advocates (people with disabilities). There are two self-advocate forms, including a short, multiple-choice form with easy-to-understand wording. Self-advocated are encouraged to participate and teach others from their own experience as former students. Although the main survey is about the IDEA, there is another survey for parents whose children were denied an IEP. (At present, the survey is not open to school district employees because the focus is really on how parents, students, and their advocates perceive their ability to exercise their rights and be equal partners in their child's education.)
People can take the survey and read more about it at IDEA Survey Site.
The survey will be open through June 14, 2011. The results will be compiled into a report about experiences under the IDEA that will be published this summer. Please contact Jessica Butler, IDEA National Survey Project Coordinator, at jessica@jnba.net for more information.
