News & Resources for North Dakota Parents, Youth, & Professionals |
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 Life Launch: The Road to Transitioning Registration is now open for our next workshop, The Road to Transitioning. The workshop focuses on the basics of life after high school. We will go over the options that are available and how to prepare for this transition. There will be information on how to get adult supports and tips for transition. The workshop will be short (30 minutes - 1 hour) and take place at Pathfinder Services of ND. We are excited to meet both youth and their families! Snacks and beverages will be provided. Please join us for this exciting new series! Register today (spaces are limited).
Where Pathfinder Services of ND
1015 South Broadway (Town & Country Center)
Suite 16 Minot, ND
When February 26 from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
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Creating Stronger Partnerships through Dispute Resolution
A key to a student's success in school is a strong partnership between parents and school professionals. Positive and productive communication skills are vital in building and maintaining a successful partnership. Good communication skills are one of the many informal approaches in successfully resolving an issue affecting a student's special education and related services.
If informal approaches don't result in agreement on what represents an appropriate education for a student, the Individuals with Disability Education Act, (IDEA) provides several approaches that parents and schools can use to help resolve the dispute. IDEA's options for resolving disputes allow the partners to work together ensuring students with a disability have available to them a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE).
This live webinar, Creating Stronger Partnerships through Dispute Resolution, provides a review of the importance of positive and productive communication skills in building strong partnerships. Participants will be presented an overview of each of the formal dispute resolution options available through the IDEA; focusing on the benefits of each option and the process to request the dispute resolution option in ND.
When
February 20 from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
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 Resource Focus
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Dispute Resolution in North Dakota: Using the ND Due Process Complaint/ Hearing to Resolve Disputes
Pathfinder Services of ND
This brochure will assist parents in helping their children with special needs in the due process complaint/hearing to resolve disputes.
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Would you like support through the early intervention process?
Follow the link below to get support or to refer a parent to the program.
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News from US Department of Education
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Vocational Rehabilitation-100 Years Later
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first federally funded program to assist people with disabilities who had not acquired their disabilities as a result of serving in the military.
RSA developed a historical perspective video, The State Vocational Rehabilitation Services Program - The First 100 Years, as part of its 100 Years of Vocational Rehabilitation celebration.
"The leaders of the past were faced with many challenges... The VR [vocational rehabilitation] program has always kept its focus on providing services and support to helping individuals with disabilities get a job. And now it's our turn, a challenge we all share, to lead by building the foundation for the VR program for the next 100 years," said Mark Schultz, OSERS Acting Assistant Secretary and Rehabilitation Services Administration Commissioner, during a recent VR100 Podcast.
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 Early Childhood |
 What to Expect During an Early Intervention Evaluation What happens during an early intervention evaluation? Here's a look at the process and what to expect during an early intervention evaluation. Find out who's involved, how an early intervention evaluation works, and your role in the process in this article from Understood.
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 Elementary Students |
Students with Disabilities and the Use of Restraint and Seclusion in K-12 Public Schools
On January 17, 2019, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced an initiative to examine the possible inappropriate use of restraint and seclusion in our nation's schools. As a part of this initiative, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has partnered with the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to support teachers, school leaders, parents, and stakeholders as they work to address the behavioral needs of children with disabilities.
One primary component of the Department's initiative has focused on providing technical assistance to support schools in understanding how Section 504, Title II, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) informs the development and implementation of policies governing the use of restraint and seclusion.
To this end, OCR and OSERS are pleased to present the following webinar, Students with Disabilities and the Use of Restraint and Seclusion in K-12 Public Schools, as technical assistance to both support children with disabilities - and support the needs of those within school systems serving students.
Watch the webinar at:
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 Youth & Young Adults |
 Tips and Tools to Help with Reading Comprehension and Fluency Reading is an important way to learn information and interact with the world around you. When transitioning to the next grade level or from high school to college, many students experience a change in the reading demands expected of them. These changes may include increased amount of materials to read, new and challenging vocabulary, greater complexity of language, and higher reading levels.
This guide from the Center on Technology and Disability provides parents and students with a quick overview of tips and tools that support the important task of reading. Strategies are discussed that aid in comprehension and fluency for academic reading. Topics covered include changing the text appearance, audiobooks, text-to-speech, dictionaries and other comprehension tools, and how to find alternative reading materials and tools.
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 Training Opportunities & Upcoming Events |
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Event
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When
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Where
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Cost
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Link
| Basic Beginnings - (Where are the Instructions?) Part 5 (NDSU Ext. Ward Co.)
| Feb 11
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm | Administration Building
225 3rd St SE, Ste 123
Minot, ND
| Free | More Info | What's New and Trending in Special Education Law and Why It Matters (CADRE Webinar)
| Feb 11
1:30 am to 2:45 pm | Online
| Free | More Info | Parents Matter Session 4
| Feb 12
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm | Zoom
| Free | More Info | Active Parenting: First Five Years Part 1 (NDSU Ext. Ward Co.)
| Feb 13
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm | Minot Head Start
2815 E Burdick Expy
Minot, ND
| Free | More Info | Active Parenting: First Five Years Part 2 (NDSU Ext. Ward Co.)
| Feb 20
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm | Minot Head Start
2815 E Burdick Expy
Minot, ND
| Free | More Info | Creating Stronger Partnerships through Dispute Resolution (Pathfinder Live Webinar)
| Feb 20
12:00 pm | Online
| Free | More Info | Life Launch: The Road to Transitioning (Pathfinder Workshop)
| Feb 26
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm | Pathfinder Services of ND
1015 S Broadway, Suite 16
Minot, ND
| Free | More Info | Active Parenting: First Five Years Part 3 (NDSU Ext. Ward Co.)
| Feb 27
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm | Minot Head Start
2815 E Burdick Expy
Minot, ND
| Free | More Info |
All listed times are in Central Time.
If you have an event you would like considered for this calendar, please send the details to info@pathfinder-nd.org with the subject 'Calendar Event for Newsletter'. |
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Pathfinder Services of ND
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The contents of this newsletter were developed under a grant from the US Department of Education, #H328M110021. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the US Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
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