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Minnesota's Parent Involvement Week Is Sept. 14 - 20

Parent-school partnerships play a key role in student academic achievement. Minnesota’s Parent Involvement Week, Sept. 14 – 20, provides effective tools, helpful resources, and fun activities to support these partnerships. The week is presented by the Minnesota Parent Center – MN PIRC, a project of PACER, and is cosponsored by the Minnesota Department of Education and other statewide organizations. Parents can find important ways to participate in Parent Involvement Week and in the school lives of their children at www.PACER.org/mpc.

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IBM ¡TradúceloAhora! Automatic Spanish Translation Program Available

PACER Center announces a new partnership with IBM to bring the IBM ¡TradúceloAhora! automatic Spanish translation program to parents and professionals. This Web-based software allows users to translate Web sites from English to Spanish and performs bidirectional English-Spanish e-mail translation. A PowerPoint presentation is available with information on how to register and use the program.

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Be a Partner with PACER in Bullying Prevention

PACER’s third annual National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week, Oct. 5 – 11, will include an expanded effort to reach schools and organizations nationwide. Exciting new activities, information, and contests will engage youth, educators, and parents in creating a safer world for children with and without disabilities. Show your support for National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week by signing up today as a partner on PACER’s Web site! National cosponsors are National PTA, National Education Association, American Federation for Teachers, National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education, and School Social Work Association of America.

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New Ideas for Promoting Early Literacy Available Online

Interested in learning infant sign language, finding new finger plays for your toddler, or ideas to encourage your preschooler to talk or learn letters? Parents can find practical ideas online for providing young children with the building blocks for learning to read, write and talk, thanks to the Center for Early Literacy Learning (CELL). CELL recently published 70 new guides to help parents and practitioners promote early literacy skills of children with disabilities or delays. The 31 infant, 22 toddler, and 17 preschool guides, organized by child age and type of literacy skills, can be printed and used by parents or practitioners. CELL is a research-to-practice technical assistance center funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Research to Practice Division. Its goal is to promote the adoption and sustained use of evidence-based early literacy learning practices by early childhood intervention practitioners, parents, and other caregivers of young children, birth to five years of age, with identified disabilities, developmental delays, and those at-risk for poor outcomes. CELL is a major initiative of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices at the Orelena Hawks Puckett Institute.

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2008 Minnesota School Test Results Are Available

You can now find information on how each school in Minnesota is meeting the federal No Child Left Behind goals. Is your child's school making adequate yearly progress (AYP)? If you have questions about AYP or what it means for your child, call the Minnesota Parent Center, a project of PACER, at 952-838-9000 or visit www.pacer.org/mpc/nclb.asp.

State Receives OSEP Determination Letters on Implementation of IDEA

The federal Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) recently issued IDEA progress reports to state departments of education. Officially known as "U.S. Department of Education Determination Letters on State Implementation of the IDEA," the reports indicate if states met requirements of IDEA or need assistance or intervention to meet those requirements.

IDEA is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which provides public education to the nation's nearly 7 million children with disabilities. For funding accountability, states must show that they are meeting the education needs of children with disabilities.

Each state develops its own state performance plan, based on federal guidelines and then submits an annual performance report to OSEP telling how it met the targets of its plan. OSEP sends detailed progress reports to states in June, showing states where they need improvement. To view Minnesota’s determination letter, click here. To find letters for other states, click here.

New Federal Reports Address Disability Issues

The Government Accounting Office has issued two recent reports dealing with disabilities. “Young Adults with Serious Mental Illness: Some States and Federal Agencies Are Taking Steps to Address Their Transition Challenges” is available at www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-678. (For highlights, visit www.gao.gov/highlights/d08678high.pdf.) “Medicaid Home and Community-Based Waivers: CMS Should Encourage States to Conduct Mortality Reviews for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities” is available at www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-529. (For highlights, visit www.gao.gov/highlights/d08529high.pdf.)

“Ride to the Polls” Offers People with Disabilities a New Transportation Option

A partnership of Twin Cities nonprofits and sponsors is offering the first “Ride to the Polls,” so people with disabilities wishing to vote will have another transportation option. The service will be provided at no cost during the general election, Nov. 4. It will not be offered during the Sept. 9 primary election. Schedule a ride by calling 1-877-NOV-2008 prior to election day. Contact Mai Thor of the Minnesota Disability Law Center at 612-746-3799 or mthor@midmnlegal.org for more information.

Join IBM's World Community Grid

The World Community Grid is an IBM effort to link computers worldwide and put idle computer time to use in aiding projects that benefit humanity. The grid is built upon an IBM infrastructure and includes IBM support. To become part of the grid, members install a small, free software program on their computers. When their computers are on but not being used, the program connects to the World Community Grid’s server, performs computations, and sends the results back to the server. Members’ donated resources help increase the pace of research. Visit www.worldcommunitygrid.org, click “find a team,” and select “PACER Center.” Join the team! It’s safe and easy.

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