Education for Children and Youth

Parents are concerned about the education their children receive, even more so if the child has a disability. The following sites provide information for parents and advocates about what educational resources are available (or mandated) for a child with disabilities and how to ensure that they are provided.

The Family Village School has a very good selection of education related resources covering educational advocacy, assistive technology for students with disabilities, "disability awareness" educational resources, computers and technology: hardware and software, early intervention resources, government agencies, IDEA and other education related laws, inclusive/special education resources, individual education plan resources, parent training and information centers, protection & advocacy organizations, and transition. It also has some resources just for kids.

Wrightslaw provides information about special education law and advocacy. The site has articles, cases, FAQ's, tips and other resources in the Advocacy and Law Libraries. Entries in the free resources list have very detailed descriptions. Information is also organized by topic. There is even a section for new parents. A discussion group is also available.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 web site of the Department of Education provides a variety of information about the Act. The General Info section has a good overview and Q&A about the Act.

Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education provides information on the education of individuals with disabilities as well as those who are gifted. The site contains digests and fact sheets, e-mail lists, links to the laws, and FAQ's on various topics. Visit AskERIC to use the Question & Answer Service where you receive a personal e-mail response to your education question within 2 business days, check out the question archive, look at lesson plans, or search the ERIC database. ERIC provides information on a broad range of education-related issues.

The Families and Advocates Partnership for Education (FAPE) project provides links to information about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It seems to have good information but you may have to go through several levels of pages to get to it.