Empower parents to assume their role as active decision makers in the education of their children with disabilities through a variety of means. We plan to include workshops on important topics pertaining to basic rights as well as the IEP process. We will include information about both state and federal disability laws as well as procedural safeguards available to parents if needed. We also recognize the emotional component for the entire family and want to provide supports for all family members. Our goal is to provide to parents, individuals knowledgeable in a particular subject matter, whenever possible to ensure effective learning.

Broaden and deepen the leadership capacity of parents to support other parents, especially those who are new to this maze or who otherwise would not be able to represent the needs of their child.

Expand and strengthen cooperative and/or collaborative relationships with relevant school district and community-based partners to help ensure that the needs of all children with disabilities and their families are effectively met. Collaboration with typical peers for this group is critical to ensuring their meaningful contribution to the “life of the school and community.” Collaborative community sponsored programs such as Best Buddies is a goal of this group.

To work collaboratively with both school and community members to plan, develop, implement, and evaluate programs necessary to ensure students with disabilities are able to exit from educational services to successful post-secondary education, independent living and/or employment outcomes by training parents, students and professionals in the use of creative, individually-focused strategies for effective transition planning.