Links to special education resources
The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) is a national non-profit organization that includes over 1,000 members, including parents, attorneys, and advocates. COPAA’s web site includes a directory of attorneys/advocates by state; sample letters and other advocacy and legal materials; legislative updates relevant to children with disabilities; and much more.
Special Education Equity for Kids of Connecticut (SEEK). This is an organization of parents, advocates, and attorneys who are focused on bringing about positive educational outcomes for children with disabilities. SEEK is playing an essential role in influencing policy discussion and in shaping legislative efforts on behalf of Connecticut students with disabilities. Join their email list to keep up-to-date!
Wrightslaw is an excellent source of reader-friendly information about special education law, research-based instruction, assessment, and effective advocacy.
The Connecticut Bureau of Special Education web site includes lots of publications to download, including guidelines for identifying and instructing children with disabilities, guidelines for the training and support of paraprofessionals, and more. A link to due process hearing decisions is also here.
READ THE BUREAU BULLETIN! These publications are the CT Bureau of Special Education's main way of notifying the public about anything significant. There is important information here that is found nowhere else.
The Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center is our statewide parent training information center (PTI) and offers free information and phone support to families of children with any disability or chronic illness, ages birth through 26.
Connecticut School Data - EdSight. This website includes a LOT of data regarding the number of students in each disability “category”, SBAC and SAT scores, suspension/expulsion rates, graduation rates, number of school staff, and more. Users can find statewide data, data for individual school districts, and data for individual schools.
The Center for Children’s Advocacy site provides legal resources. This is a non-profit organization at the University of Connecticut, supporting the legal rights of children. The above links to their education legal resources page, which includes the special education state and federal regulations, resources for families, information about restraint and seclusion in our schools, truancy, and discipline.
Records Retention Schedules for Connecticut towns, municipalities, and boards of education. Includes retention schedule for education records.
The Advocacy Institute. Candace Cortiella, a leading advocate for high-quality education of children of disabilities, runs this website. The site includes reader-friendly reports on key special education topics (e.g., mediation, universal design, parent guide to IDEA), webinars for advocates, legislative information, and more.
IDEA State Complaint Resource Center. Have you ever considered filing a state complaint? This site provides tips and includes a data base of complaints and complaint decisions organized by topic.
YOUR SPECIAL EDUCATION RIGHTS. This site includes many, many engaging videos designed to educate parents in all aspects of the special education process. Not to be missed!
Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities. Smart Kids is a Connecticut-based organization that offers a comprehensive website (lots of good articles!), blog, free email newsletter, and events for parents of children with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders. Smart Kids seeks to inspire and empower parents to become effective advocates for their children. Check them out!
National Technical Assistance Center on Transition. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the NTACT website includes lots and lots of resources. It used to include examples and non-examples of IEP transition goals, but I can't quickly find them on the new site. I have uploaded them to the "articles and info. to download" section of this site. Scroll down to the "transition goals" folder.
Connecticut's Special Education Regulations. The good, the bad, and the ugly.