March 27, 2024 | Issue 123 (View newsletter as webpage) Para leer este boletín en Español, haga clic aquí

Important News

US Department of Labor Introduces New Resource to Increase Competitive Integrated Employment for People with Disabilities

The resource released last week, The Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE) Transformation Hub, centralizes practical guidance, policy information and evidence-based practices that can assist in advancing CIE for people with disabilities. Comprising resources from across multiple federal agencies, the CIE Transformation Hub categorizes information by audience, with separate sections for individuals and families, employers, employment service providers and state agencies.

Competitive integrated employment ensures that people with disabilities are paid competitive wages and work in environments where the majority of employees do not have disabilities.

Read the Department of Labor news release here.

Resources

OSEP Releases an Updated Fast Fact on Children Identified with Autism

The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) released an updated Fast Facts: Children Identified with Autism, which takes an updated look at their data on children whose primary disability is autism. They updated one of the first and most popular OSEP Fast Facts.

Highlights from 2024 OSEP Fast Facts: Children Identified with Autism:

In school year (SY) 2022-23, the percentage of students with disabilities identified with autism is 12.81%. States report a range from 5.76% to 17.28% of students with disabilities identified with autism.
In SY 2021-22, students with disabilities identified with autism were less likely to be subject to a disciplinary removal than all students with disabilities.
In SY 2022-23, states/entities and local educational agencies (LEAs) were more like to identify males with autism than females when compared to all students with disabilities.

Read much more in the OSEP Blog.

2024 Law & Disability Conference Is

May 2

The conference is sponsored and hosted by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation and presented by the Community Health Law Project.

This free and informative event addresses issues related to the disability community and their caregivers.

When: May 2, 2024
Where: In-Person at the NJ Law Center at 1 Constitution Square in New Brunswick, New Jersey
A Virtual Option to attend remotely via Zoom is available (links will be provided)
Free & Open to the Public
Questions? Please contact Ashley Emerson at aemerson@njsbf.org.

For more information on the conference agenda and to register, click here.

Upcoming Events

SPAN offers a variety of learning opportunities for families and the professionals who work with them.

Highlighted Event This Week

Essential Components of the IEP

6:30 - 7:30 PM ET

Wednesday, April 24

Online

This interactive workshop provides participants with a description of the essential components of an Individualized Education Plan. As a result of this workshop, participants will be able to read and understand an IEP document, be able to effectively participate in IEP meetings and know how to address IEP concerns/issues in a proactive and positive way.

Participants will have an opportunity to review their own IEP document and will be given tools to help them effectively participate in the development of an Individualized Education Plan.

To register, click here.

See all of SPAN's upcoming events with details and registration links here

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Digital Activism

Read our latest youth blog post, "Digital Activism," to learn how social media is an effective tool for advocacy.

To access the post, click here.

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SPAN Parent Advocacy Network | spanadvocacy.org

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