|
What is COPAA?
The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc. (COPAA) is an independent, nonprofit, §501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization of attorneys, advocates and parents. Our primary mission is to secure high quality educational services for children with disabilities.
COPAA is premised on the belief that the key to effective educational programs for children with disabilities is collaboration -as equals- by parents and educators.
Learn More |
|
| |
|
|
Register today for the upcoming COPAA Webinar “Legal Requirements for Appropriate Transition Planning,” September 23, 1010 at 2:00 pm. More |
| |
|
|
COPAA is now accepting proposals for the 13th Annual COPAA Conference, March 3-6, 2011, at the San Antonio Westin River Walk. Proposals are submitted online and are due by September 15, 2010. More |
| |
|
|
Parents, family members, guardians of or advocates for students with disabilities are asked to complete a survey about sexual harassment and abuse of special education students in schools. The survey is anonymous. When the research results are reported, it will be done with no identifiable information from individual participants. To complete the survey visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/abuse_studentswithdisabilities |
| |
|
|
As part of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Education Task Force (CCD), COPAA urges Congress to protect students with disabilities in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Students with disabilities have benefited greatly from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) because the law requires their academic achievement to be measured and reported. As a result, more students with disabilities have been afforded the opportunity to learn and master grade level academic content. It is critically important that COPAA Members and colleagues tell Congress the Individualized Education Program (IEP) is not an appropriate accountability tool to measure a student’s academic progress. More |
| |
|
|
COPAA applauds the House of Representatives for passing H.R. 4247, the Keeping All Students Safe in School Act. This bill will implement minimum standards to protect all schoolchildren from the dangers of restraint, seclusion, and aversives. H.R. 4247 passed by a vote of 262 to 153. More |
| |
|
|
COPAA applauds the Department of Education’s proposed changes and expansions to the Civil Rights Data Collection (CDRC) and urges further clarification and expansion of categories under Restraint and Seclusion. More |
| |
|
|
COPAA, along with the Education Law Center of New Jersey, submits an amicus brief in A.G. v. Wissahickon Sch. District to address the particular importance of providing education to all children – including children with disabilities – in the least restrictive environment, the general education classroom. More |
| |
|
|
Expert Witness Fees. Support the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act, H.R. 2740. It will allow prevailing parents to recover their expert witness costs in due process and litigation under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This bill will help level the playing field for parents of children with disabilities, most of whom cannot afford to pay thousands of dollars for expert witnesses. More |
| |
|
|
COPAA releases report Unsafe In The Schoolhouse: Abuse Of Children With Disabilities asking Congress to stop the use of restraints, seclusion, and aversives upon children with disabilities in school. COPAA also submitted a letter for the record to the House Education Committee as part of its hearings on Examining the Abusive and Deadly Use of Seclusion and Restraint in Schools. More
|
| |
|
|
COPAA Releases Voluntary Code of Ethics for Special Education Advocates. The purpose of this Voluntary Code of Ethics for Special Education Advocates is to provide a set of principles which Special Education Advocate members of COPAA can use as a guide for their work, conduct, and decision making. This Code is voluntary and is intended only as a guide. |
| |
|
|
Visit COPAA's
new Public Policy Action Center with tools to contact Congress
and read major policy objectives. |
| |
|
|
Amicus Requests: COPAA welcomes requests
for Amicus Briefs for cases that present an issue or issues consistent with our mission statement, have a precedent setting value and affect the educational welfare of school age children with disabilities. |
| |
|
|
IDEA 2004: IDEA
2004 information and resources, including the statute, complete
legislative history, regulations, comparison of IDEA 2004 and IDEA
'97, and more are available. |
| |
|
|
Find State regulations and due process hearing decisions here. COPAA also offers guidance for advocacy on State regulations implementing IDEA 2004 More |
| |
|
|
|
COPAA’s advice on how to find
special education advocates and special education attorneys to represent students with disabilities. |
| |
|
| |
(*PDFs require Acrobat Reader
for viewing. If you don't have Acrobat Reader installed on your
computer, you can download
a copy for free.) |
|
Locate attorneys and advocates in your area. 
