Message received from Vickie Rubin, M.S. Ed.

POSTED 7/25/07

Dear Parents, Districts and providers of special education services:
DETAILS for the NYS Regional Task Force Committee - Please plan on attending and letting your voice be heard.

When - August 7 1:00 - 3:30 pm
Where - Ramada Amherst Hotel and Conference Center, 2402 North Forest Rd
Amherst -Phone: 716-636-7500
RSVP - *Please register with Judy Gerston at 518-436-0178 or jgerson@cpofnys.org

SEE INVITATION

The Task Force on Preschool Special Education includes representatives of Counties (who pay for services), School Districts (who play a role in making decisions about services) and providers of special education services, as well as representatives of State agencies involved in providing funding and/or oversight of services. As part of its effort to gain insight from a wide variety of stakeholders, the Task Force has scheduled six regional roundtable sessions. Through these sessions, the Task Force is particularly interested in soliciting the opinions of families of preschoolers who have been identified as having a disability.

During the roundtable discussion, attendees will be divided into three stakeholder groups: families, service providers and funders/decision makers (county and school district representatives). Topics to be discussed by each group include:
* Transition from Early Intervention into preschool special education and into school-age programs
* Options for the setting in which services are delivered
* Funding issues and their impact on the availability and delivery of services

Anecdotal information gathered through these sessions will complement the factual information that is the focus of the workgroup and full Task Force efforts. Stories from the sessions can be used in the report (anonymously) to help make the case for recommended changes.

For more details on taskforce and previous minutes, click on the link below....Vickie

http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/preschool/taskforce/home.html

Vickie Rubin, M.S. Ed.

Phone - 716-880-3880

MAILING ADDRESS
EARLY CHILDHOOD DIRECTION CENTER
C/O WOMEN AND CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF BUFFALO
219 BRYANT STREET
BUFFALO, NEW YORK 14222-2006
FAX: 716- 836-1252

LOCATION
Early Childhood Direction Center
3131 SHERIDAN DRIVE
AMHERST, NEW YORK 14226
(PEOPLE INC. BUILDING)
www.wchob.org/ecdc

vrubin@kaleidahealth.org
If you would like to join the confidential email list, please send me an email with professional list (if you are a professional) or parent list (if you are a family member of an individual with disabilities) in the subject area. You will receive updates on local, state and federal information.

The task force shall:

(1)  study  and  evaluate  the  relationship between preschool special

 education and other early childhood programs, including but not  limited

 to the early intervention program, the universal prekindergarten program

 and other publicly-funded prekindergarten programs, and make recommenda-

 tions  on  approaches  to improve transition from the early intervention

 system to preschool special education and from preschool special  educa-

 tion  to school-age special education and on ways to enhance delivery of

 special education programs and services to children attending  universal

 prekindergarten   programs   or  other  publicly-funded  prekindergarten

 programs in the least restrictive environment;

(2) study the current tuition rate-setting methodology  for  preschool

 special  education  programs  and  services and make recommendations for

 improvement;

(3) conduct  a  comparative  study  of  the  systems  of  delivery  of

 preschool  special education programs and services in New York and other

 states, including their methods of financing  preschool  special  educa-

 tion,  and  make recommendation for inclusion of the best practices from

 other states which shall include other states with comparable  need  and

 service  levels and for changes in New York's system of delivery of such

 programs and services that will promote the cost-effective  delivery  of

 appropriate  programs  and services to preschool students with disabili-

 ties in compliance with the federal individuals with disabilities educa-

 tion act;

(4) report on or before November 15, 2007 to the governor, the  tempo-

 rary  president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority

 leaders of the senate and assembly, the director of the budget  and  the

 board  of  regents  on  the task force's conclusions and recommendations

 under paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this subdivision.