Charting the Course

Link to register: http://forms.office.com/g/CUetyRvnkJ

📣LAST CALL to get your questions answered about DORS, SSI, DDA and more for FREE! 📣

Our 2026 Transition to Adulthood Clinic, presented by Autism Society of Maryland, and xMinds still has FREE 25-minute consultation appointments available with a professional disabilities advocate.

Here is how to make the most of the event:

✔️ Schedule a free 1:1 consultation with a disability benefits advocate
✔️ Get help with DORS, DDA & SSI applications
✔️ Visit the Application Workroom for hands-on guidance
✔️ Connect with over 25 community partners and exhibitors
✔️ Attend keynote presentations with disability benefits expert Eric Jorgensen

📅 Saturday, May 30, 2026 at 10:00 AM, EDT
📍 Montgomery Blair High School | 51 University Blvd E, Silver Spring, MD 20901
🔗 Register to attend the event: xminds.org/event-6540199 and fill out the intake form: https://forms.gle/qbjyrp3zhoeYrHEV9

Join me on Thursday June 4th for this free lunchtime webinar to strengthen your skills in using IEP goals to effectively target and monitor your child's progress. Simultaneous Spanish translation and slides will be provided.

Learn how to evaluate IEP goals that drive real student progress by reviewing real world examples. Participants will learn how to:

-Understand how the IEP’s Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance are used to develop meaningful goals

-Identify key components of high-quality goals: measurable, need-driven, and standard-aligned

-Ensure goals are individualized and ambitious

-Evaluate the quality of IEP goal progress monitoring reports

Register Here: https://app.donorview.com/Event/EventInfo?prm=pZbBD5VzOO90RymTPXzR0UFmrVq0Ku4zlm9-rIYrm_bnzhhvTZZaZJ8j_yTpW9tim8tKsczYucm7vSFBz_DXrT27OW_fiT9PKKmGf3_HbSySo8S-v_VnryRYuzW041xxKIroqXHBOMZ17HRVguJQGQg7jnLcuqsBo5v0eClliaNYx1SEhRFNxThKG9Ckd6dPfF2VXlgnimbM6wvVC3MhxFF9O24P_yV_zAZ2xPsQABVnBwp4W5E3wwPZ61r9GneR0

Autism Acceptance Month is the perfect time to find your people—and there’s no better place to start than with AUSOM’s Moms Night Out.

Take a break, connect with other moms who get it, and enjoy a supportive, welcoming space just for you. You deserve it. To learn more please visit: https://autismsocietymd.org/event/moms-night-out-april_26/

PGCPS Families!

Join Senator Alonzo Washington and Interim Supt. Dr. Shawn Joseph for a community meeting to learn how district offices are working together to support students with disabilities.

Wednesday, April 29
6:30 – 8:00 P.M.
Largo High School

Interpretation in ASL and Spanish will be provided.

Webinar: Understanding NonPublic Placements and Their Alternatives
March 25 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Understanding NonPublic Placements and Their Alternatives
March 25, 2026 from 7:00-8:30PM

Register here: https://app.donorview.com/Event/EventInfo?prm=pZbBD5VzOO90RymTPXzR0UFmrVq0Ku4zlm9-rIYrm_bnzhhvTZZaZJ8j_yTpW9tim8tKsczYucm7vSFBz_DXrT27OW_fiT9PKKmGf3_HbSwcty66P4TxKT96OvZ5gKVgP5x3SCpGnV_v-m5m27rgu5ZUVBbNwABHTkku29pKI6YF_lPE7jUMcmMo5awmkW4kOUmCStnPD77HlRGK7vHhho6CTsrRSnvsa8ePI2LDkEFgTyxn6jsqomQQPNkh4eXT0

Virtual by Zoom
Se proporciona traducción simultánea al español

The challenges of the post-COVID period have led to a surge in nonpublic placements in Maryland schools. These schools specialize in serving the disability community and have been a choice for many families when students failed to make progress locally. Demand has led enrollment at many schools certified by the state to be at capacity. Communities are exploring ways to better serve students within their county school systems (with shorter bus rides and more opportunities for peer interactions) while maintaining access to services offered by their non-public partners for those who need specialized instruction and environments.

The panelists will address:

Why families and county school systems choose nonpublic placements
Actions county schools can take to build out offerings and supportive environments that can reduce reliance on nonpublic placements
How their experiences in the Autism Society of Maryland’s service area (Anne Arundel, Howard and Montgomery Counties) may be applied more broadly
Panelists:

Melissa Brunson, Director of Special Education, Howard County Public Schools

Dorie Flynn, Executive Director, Maryland Association of Nonpublic Special Education Facilities (MANSEF)

Beth Ann Hancock, Special Education Advocate, Autism Society of Maryland

Moderator, Andrew Stettner, President of Board, Autism Society of Maryland

Happening today at noon

A virtual listening session with the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS):

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) invites parents, students, teachers, paraprofessionals, school staff, individuals with disabilities, and other disability stakeholders across the nation to participate in a virtual listening session. You are invited to share your personal experiences with special education and vocational rehabilitation, including stories of success and challenges and any matters you would like the Department to hear as we work to empower parents, teachers, and local leaders and return education to the states.

OSERS leadership will be in attendance to hear from participants. The Department intends only to listen to feedback; no information will be shared, and Department staff will not engage in discussion. Please note that opportunities to speak are on a first-come, first-serve basis, and will include a 3-min max time per speaker. For registered participants unable to participate due to time constraints, listening session remarks may be submitted by email to a designated inbox. Consistent with the structure of the listening session, the Department will not respond to emailed session remarks.

This session will be closed to the press and strictly off the record.

🔗https://events.zoomgov.com/ev/AkxJmtZeb4zY7wOJ0yHZ32u0038ivsipaiUoY0dmbhDnrMx20xAB~AvSqWUoosMeZH4NElEerjEfzAjv-uMiGfywnmIe3m8nVbSVD3Q0ijvMOxw

Protection for education funding, the ED, and against block grants…all things to celebrate!

Deal Reached Between House-Senate on Education Funding, COPAA CEO Responds

Early this morning, House and Senate appropriators announced that a final deal has been reached on education, health, and other domestic spending. The negotiated Fiscal Year 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Services (Labor-H) bill includes [mostly] level funding for all K-12 education programs including Title I and other titles of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as well as all of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). While level funding means that no additional funding would flow to states and districts in the coming year for general or special education, the final deal is viewed overall as positive given the steep cuts originally proposed to education by the House. The bill also avoids any block granting of funds under ESEA or IDEA funds as proposed by the White House which COPAA and partners opposed. The bill also allocates specific funding for research as required by IDEA -at the Institute for Education Sciences- and explanatory language clarifies that Congress has not given authority to transfer any education funding to another Federal agency, and, that no authorities exist for the Department of Education to transfer its fundamental responsibilities under authorized education laws. In response to the bill’s release, COPAA CEO Denise Marshall issued the following statement:

🔗https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majority/committee-releases-conferenced-defense-homeland-security-labor-health-and-human-services-education-and-related-agencies-and-transportation-housing-and-urban-development-and-related-agencies-bills

“COPAA is pleased that Congress has included key funding for programs authorized under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and other education laws. We have advocated that these funds -and having the U.S. Department of Education (ED) continue to oversee and implement their use- are essential for early intervention, preschool and K-12 education for all children with disabilities. We appreciate that Congress has clarified that ED must not transfer any education funding to another Federal agency unless such transfer authority is provided in an appropriations law, and that no authorities exist for ED to transfer its fundamental responsibilities under authorized federal education laws. It is clear that Congress has not approved abolishing the Department of Education and is vigilant in ensuring that interagency agreements are not used to accomplish the same goal.

Given grave concerns, COPAA has outlined this past year regarding proposals and Interagency Agreements to transfer education programs -including IDEA- to other federal agencies, that we do not think such arrangements are lawful or in the best interest of students with disabilities. Our children should not be used as test subjects under any circumstances. Congressional oversight is critical; and C OPAA will continue to advocate to protect the civil rights and educational opportunities of 9.5 million children with disabilities as well as push for Congressional hearings on any proposals that wreak havoc on our children, their families, and their schools.”


Learn more about COPAA’s work to protect children with disabilities.
🔗https://www.copaa.org/page/SayNOtoDismantleED

Celebrating 50 Years of !

On November 29, 1975, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was signed into law, paving the way for Children with Disabilities to receive a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).

Let's take a moment to honor the incredible progress made over the past 50 years and commit to protecting and advancing these rights for the next generation!



ALT - Blue background with gold 50th anniversary, IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act