The North Carolina Special Needs Federation is a coalition of families, advocates and organizations working together to promote an appropriate individualized education for all children with disabilities.
The Special Needs Federation is committed to:
- Educating the public, the legislature, school officials, and the judiciary about the importance and value of providing to children with disabilities the full protections of special education law.
- Empowering parents of children with disabilities to make informed decisions about and advocate for a free appropriate public education for their children.
- Advocating for improved educational outcomes for children with special needs in legislative, administrative and judicial forums.
- Assisting state and local education agencies to meet their responsibilities under current special education law.
- Acting as a clearinghouse for advocates to share experiences and expertise in their individual advocacy cases.
Statewide Organizational Members of the Special Needs Federation Include:
Accept
The Arc of North Carolina
The Autism Society of North Carolina
The Brain Injury Association of North Carolina
Children's Education Law Clinic
Children's Law Center of Charlotte
Disability Rights North Carolina
Easter Seals UCP North Carolina
Exceptional Children's Assistance Center
Families CAN, Inc.
FIRST
First in Families of North Carolina
Learning Disabilities Association of North Carolina
Mental Health Association
NAMI North Carolina
North Carolina Assistive Technology Program
North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities
North Carolina Justice and Community Development Center and Numerous Individual Advocates and Local Chapters of Advocacy Organizations
For those interested in testing and accountability in North Carolina, there is a lot of information available on the web. Here are some useful links:
- For regular updates and a discussion board, see www.ncjustice.org/edlaw
- For information about Parents United for Fair Testing, see www.common-sense.org/fairtesting/
- For student accountability standards for special populations, see www.ncpublicschools.org/student_promotion/
- To find out what counts for children with disabilities and what does not, see www.ncpublicschools.org/