NJSBF.org - Bar Foundation Educates the Public about Special Education Law & Services

Bar Foundation Educates the Public about Special Education Law & Services

BAR FOUNDATION EDUCATES THE PUBLIC ABOUT SPECIAL EDUCATION LAW AND SERVICES

Among its other educational aims, the New Jersey State Bar Foundation (NJSBF) maintains a longstanding commitment to providing New Jersey families with free educational programming about special education law and their disabled children's rights to comprehensive services, funds efforts to assist all families in obtaining those services, and supports training of relevant professional service providers.

That commitment is evident in the numerous free public seminars, conferences and teacher workshops offered or co-sponsored throughout the year by NJSBF at its home base, the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick. On any given day, the conference rooms are filled with concerned parents; teachers; school administrators, nurses and guidance counselors; and attorneys who have come to rely on the Foundation as a key resource for addressing a wide range of special education issues from various stakeholder and provider perspectives.

In an effort to ensure that families of all backgrounds and education levels have access to the special education services to which they are entitled, NJSBF holds an annual evening seminar at the Law Center, "Everything You Always Wanted to Ask About Special Education: Parents' and Schools' Rights and Responsibilities." At the seminar, special education law attorneys address such important issues as eligibility criteria, how to request an evaluation or file a complaint, parents' rights to an independent evaluation, how to obtain referral services, and parents' questions.

But where do attorneys go to get the specialized training they need to properly guide concerned parents and other caregivers? Addressing that aspect, the Foundation has spearheaded the effort to train attorneys to educate the public. Mindful of the overwhelming need in the state for attorneys to provide pro bono legal assistance to children with disabilities,

NJSBF recently hosted a second daylong session of "Children's Special Education Advocacy Training" at the Law Center. Conducted by the legal staff of the Association for Children of New Jersey-one of the many educational and social service agencies that the Foundation partners with-the training provides lawyers doing pro bono work with the skills they need to represent indigent parents and caretakers of children with special education needs.

As the essential provider of special education services, New Jersey schools face the challenging job of making sure that every affected family is connected with appropriate services as mandated by law. Keeping up with newly revised federal and state legislation regarding special education only makes the task more daunting. That is where the Foundation steps in: To help school personnel stay abreast and knowledgeable about their changing roles and responsibilities, NJSBF's annual Law-Related Education Conference for teachers, administrators and other school personnel offers at least one day-long workshop on special education. This year, "Special Education Law for Regular Classroom Teachers and School Staff" described in detail the roles of teachers, nurses, guidance counselors and other staff in identifying candidates for special education and preparing individualized education programs. "Of all the programs out there," said one teacher, "[the Foundation's conference] is the one that tells you what you need to know."

All training is provided free of charge by the Foundation with funding from the IOLTA Fund of the Bar of New Jersey.

Founded in 1958, the New Jersey State Bar Foundation is the educational and philanthropic arm of the New Jersey State Bar Association. The Foundation's mission is to promote public understanding of the law through a free, comprehensive public education program. Among its activities, the Foundation conducts seminars and conflict resolution training, publishes materials, operates a videotape loan library and speakers' bureau, and coordinates elementary, middle and high school mock trial competitions.

To learn more about special education seminars and workshops, please email Florence Nathan at fnathan@njsbf.org or call 732-937-7518; for information about the Foundation's co-sponsorship programs, contact Cynthia Pellegrino at cpellegrino@njsbf.org or call 732-937-7507. Visit the Foundation online at www.njsbf.org or call 1-800-FREE-LAW.

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