"Who" we are and
"What" we are about?
Has your school district...
- Resisted proper classification, support, or related
services for your autistic child?
- Rejected your child's medical diagnosis or made
"medical" versus "educational" criteria and issue in his
eligibility for special education?
- Refused to let you see your child's entire school
record?
- Handed you a pre-written evaluation or IEP and
requested your signature without allowing you to participate in the team
process?
- Asked you to sign an IEP where terms and conditions
agreed upon earlier in an IEP meeting are missing, altered, or misrepresented?
- Not initially honored your child's IEP from another
school district in state?
- "Lost," predated or post-dated items, or
placed fraudulent materials in your child's records?
- Completed an evaluation or an IEP based upon records
or reports that are incomplete or not even present at the meeting?
- Not allowed you to place documentation or other
materials in your child's records?
- Not sent you evaluation recommendations or proposed
IEP items in advance of a meeting?
- Abused, neglected, disciplined, suspended, expelled
or discriminated against your child for behavior which is a manifestation of
his/her disability?
- Made you feel obligated to home school or place your
child in private school while contributing nothing to the cost of your
child's special needs education?
- Received Title B funds for your child despite its
refusal to provide your child with support and related special education
services?
- Remained out of compliance with the Individual with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or Section 504 following a mediation
settlement agreement, order by a Due Process Hearing officer, a complaint
finding and order by the Oregon Department of Education state or federal
court order, or a finding and order by the US Department of Education Office
of Civil Rights?
- "Jerked you around" by delaying or
extending official action dates, or obstructing your right to have your
issues resolved in a timely manner?
- Accessed your child's Medicaid account without your
knowledge or permission; refused to provide your child services unless you
consent to use of your child's Medicaid or other entitlement account; asked
you to use your family health insurance to pay for special educational
services?
- Not informed you of and explained your due process
rights, your notice rights, information about independent evaluations, your
right to request a "non-list" mediator and mediation and due
process hearing off school property, and other rights guaranteed under law?
- Threatened or intimidated you causing fear of
retaliation by educational authorities if you voiced your objection or
refusal to accept their recommendations? (Such actions include calling Child
Protective Services, juvenile justice authorities or the police, or
threatening to hospitalize your child based on behaviors at school or at
home which are a manifestation of your child's disability.)
- Failed to inform you that you have a right to a free
independent evaluation if you disagree with the school or district evaluation?
- Without a written explanation, refused your request
for an independent evaluation at public expense?
- Refused to acknowledge that your child is not
progressing or actually regressing while socially passing him or her from
grade to grade?
- Been evasive about Extended School Year (ESY)
special education for your child?
IF YOUR ANSWER IS 'YES,' YOU ARE NOT
ALONE! Oregon Parents United (OPU) wants to hear from you.
OPU is a grass root parent organization dedicated to stopping such practices by
your local school district and higher-level authorities. We believe these and
other related problems indicate a moral breakdown in public education that is
endemic to the entire system, and must no longer be tolerated. Many parents in
this state share your problems.
OREGON PARENTS UNITED MISSION
STATEMENT
Special needs students are provided
rights to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) by three federal laws.
These are the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 1997, the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 1990, and Section 504 of the Vocational
Rehabilitation Act. These rights are to insure that all school children in the
United States are provided with the educational opportunities to allow them to
be independent productive citizens. Many Oregon school districts routinely deny
these rights and services. In many districts, education authorities are more
willing to use taxpayer funds to fight parents in legal battles then to use them
for education of their students. School districts have virtually unlimited
insurance funds to support those attorneys. Most parents do not have the money
to hire private special educational attorneys, and the districts know that.
Our goal at Oregon Parents United is to secure better special education services
for all children with disabilities. The founding parents of OPU are parents and
advocates of children with high functioning autism (HFA) or Asperger Syndrome
(AS). While many of our children may appear "normal," they cannot
learn and thrive without proper special education services. Children with autism
and other hidden disorders are frequent targets for discrimination by teachers
and administrators and the object of merciless teasing and abuse by their fellow
students. Many of our children simply "fall through the cracks"
because their behaviors seem so "out of sync" with their obvious
intelligence and talents. In adulthood, many are not fully independent, and are
unemployed, underemployed, or work in unsuitable jobs.
Many parents of disabled children find themselves powerless to assert their
children's rights due to Oregon Department of Education's unwillingness to
enforce the federal laws that it has promised to obey. It also fails to follow
its own rules and regulations. Families suffer as a result of the challenge of
raising a disabled child and combating a school system that should be preparing
all children for independence and fruitful life beyond high school.
As an organization, Oregon Parents United is dedicated to ending this situation.
Actions we take include direct parent and disabled child advocacy, parent
education in special education law, identifying and using resources effectively,
IEP's and strategies for navigating the special education process, lobbying for
compliance and change at all levels, and formal legal action.
Oregon Parents United will remain flexible in pursuing activities that assure
that our children receive the special education to which they are entitled.
"UNITED" MEANS
"UNITED"
Since our founding in October 1998, we
have expanded our membership to include all parents with disabled children. We
are strong believers in cross-disability collaboration in an effort to secure a
free and appropriate public education (FAPE) for every disabled child. Your
child is neither "in better shape" nor "worse shape" than
ours and we reject the notion that some children are more deserving than others
of an equal chance at public education. OPU will join with other organizations
on a case-by-case and individual event basis after polling our members about the
appropriateness of such arrangements.
EDUCATION AND SUPPORT
OPU maintains a closed subscription
listserv open only to parents of disabled children. We cannot accept
applications for membership from parents or guardians who are employees of a
school district, an Educational Service District, or employees of the Oregon
Department of Education. Our listserv is not open to educational or related
service professionals unless the professional has a disabled child and is not
directly employed or is not a contract specialist with a public educational
institution at any level. The information posted on our listserv often contains
frank assessments of public institutional performance as well as discussions
regarding professionals serving our children. Many articles and notices from
other lists are posted on our listserv with permission of the original source,
and parents posting to the list refer to websites and other resources of
educational value to our members. Discussions are often frank and of a
confidential nature. For that reason, confidence and privacy is best maintained
without self-censorship or posts made and read involving possible conflicts of
interest. We encourage parents to privately post one another regarding more
private issues.
ADVOCACY
OPU invites all parents of children with
disabilities to join our movement toward better services and education that is
more appropriate for our children through whatever means necessary. While we
feel that all children's needs should be met, we cannot allow ourselves to be
spread so thin that we become ineffective. We will actively advocate for HFA
children/AS children and children with hidden disabilities such as Central
Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD), Central Vision Processing Disorder (CVPD),
Semantic Pragmatics Disorder, Learning Disorders and Dyslexia.
Several members of OPU are experienced parent advocates. A number of us are
members of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, a national special
education advocacy organization. OPU parent advocates may choose to assist other
members on a case-by-case basis, but only when time and distance permits.
"Actively advocate" means that when we are asked, we can have an
advocate member contact you directly and work out a strategy to help you with
IEP meetings or other issues regarding your child's education. If time and
distance permit, this member can go accompany you to IEP meetings. Experience
has shown that when you have other family members or nonattorney observers
attend IEP meetings that you are accorded greater respect and your child's
concerns are more seriously considered. Our hope is that with such direct
assistance, you can become an effective advocate not only for yourself and your
child, but also for other parents and their children. We are firm believers in
"Each One Teach One."
"Actively advocate" does not mean that we will do the work for you; we
expect you to become knowledgeable about your rights as a parent and your
child's rights protected under federal and state special education law. We also
expect you to become fully informed about your own child's disability, and we
will provide information to help you do that. For IEP meetings, we will guide
and support your efforts in crafting a program to help your child attain his or
her goals. For children with other disabilities, we maintain a current list of
persons and organizations that are knowledgeable about your child's disability
and can provide advocacy service.
Our interest is not only with our children, but those who come right behind
them, as well as the countless adults who have been badly served by Oregon's
public education system. To be effective Oregon Parents United needs to be of
one voice but many numbers.
For information about how to join, or if you are willing to donate in kind or
financial assistance to us, please contact us at the addresses below.
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