- Federal, State, and Local Education
- US Department of Education
- Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Homepage
- Child with Special Needs (FAQ)
- Dear Colleague letter from Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights - This letter provides information about access by students with disabilities to accelerated programs. (Dec 26, 2007)
- Disability Discrimination Resources - Links to a number of important disability discrimination resources from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) (Dec 26, 2007)
- Maryland State
Department of Education
- MSDE - Special Education
- COMAR - Code of Maryland - Title 13A - State Board of Education - The laws of the State of Maryland governing education.
- The Thornton Commission Report - 2002 - This links directly to a 350-page report in which the commission found that an additional $1.8 billion would be needed to be phased in between fiscal years 2002 and 2007 to provide a constitutionally adequate education in every Maryland public school.
- Facilitated IEP Meetings To help special education planning teams reach agreements, the Maryland State Department of Education provides the option of a facilitated Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting. This guide provides an introduction to IEP facilitation for parents and other family members to help orient them to this emerging practice.
- School Improvement in Maryland . This website is a comprehensive guide to how our schools are evaluated, including descriptions of the assessments (HSA, MSA, alt-MSA, and definitions of AYP), how the results are analyzed, and descriptions of the curriculum.
- The Voluntary State Curriculum (VSC) defines what students should know and be able to do at each grade level in these content areas: Mathematics, Science, Arts, Health & PE, Reading/English Language Arts, Social Studies, Foreign Language, English Language Proficiency and Technology Education. These are used to develop IEP goals.
Prince George's County Public Schools
Note that the PGCPS web site is full of all sorts of resources, but it requires frequent checking as things change. The links below may change, so if a link doesn't work, do a search on the link title on the main PGCPS website.
- PGCPS - Special Education
- The Partners for Success Parent Center
- Parent's Rights and Responsibilities (Download)
- How to Address Questions and Concerns (Download)
- Read a PGCPS Report Card (Download)
- PGCPS - Department of Transportation
- Transportation Frequently Asked Questions
- Code of Student Conduct (Download)
- SchoolMAX Student Information System
- PGCPS Lunch Menus and Nutrition Newsletter
- School Closing Information
- Obtain an Official Transcript and GPA Certification (Download)
- Request a Student Transfer
- Access Student Records
- Enrichment and Specialty Programs
- Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Boundary Changes (Download)
- US Department of Education
- Advocacy
- Parents Place of Maryland
Rochelle Howell, Parent Educator
801 Cromwell Park Drive, Suite 103
Glen Burnie
410-574-3750 (Tuesday and Thursday)
410-768-9100 (Monday, Wednesday and Friday)
E-mail: Rhowelladvocate@aol.com - Maryland Disability Law Center - Protects and advocates for the rights of people with disabilities; Baltimore, 800-233-7201, 410-727-6352, 410-727-6387 (TDD)
- Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council - The Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council advocates for public policy and supportive practices and opportunities that promote the full inclusion of all people with developmental disabilities in community life.
- The Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education (MCIE) is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to the inclusion of students with disabilities in their neighborhood schools. They work for meaningful and successful participation of all students in their neighborhood schools, through partnerships, advocacy, professional development, and public education.
- Wrightslaw Website - Parents, educators, advocates, and attorneys come to Wrightslaw for accurate, reliable information about special education law, education law, and advocacy for children with disabilities.
- The Arc of the United States advocates for individuals with mental retardation and their families, in addition to providing services.
- The Arc of Maryland.
- The Arc of Prince George's County.
- People First Language challenges us all to think about the language we use when describing people who are different from the norm.
- Parents Place of Maryland
- Services
- Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) of Maryland - Part of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Helps families pay for services related to the disabilities of family members, including respite, therapy, equipment, etc.
- Division of Rehabilitative Services
- Maryland Interagency Transition Council - Transition is the move from school to adulthood. This site provides resources to aid families in their preparation for this move. Transition planning is a partnership involving students, their families, school staff, local community service providers, and state agency representatives. Its purpose is to help students to make choices and set goals they can meet when they finish school.
- The Arc of the United States advocates for individuals with mental retardation and their families, in addition to providing services.
- The Arc of Maryland.
- The Arc of Prince George's County.
- Connections Beyond Sight and Sound - Serves children with vision and hearing impairments, birth through age 21. Provides resources, technical assistance and consulting for families, care providers, school systems and agencies; College Park, 301-405-7915 (Voice and TTY)
- Community Connections at the University of Maryland - Helping to facilitate the participation of children with disabilities in community settings.
- Speech and Hearing Sciences Clinical Services at the University of Maryland - Provides speech, language, and hearing services for individuals with communication disorders.
- The University of Maryland Hearing and Speech Clinic at College Park - Provides speech, language and hearing services. The clinic is operated by the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences as both a training and research facility of speech-language pathology and audiology.
- Language-Learning Early-Advantage Program (LEAP) - An individualized communication enrichment preschool program. It features a strong language-based curriculum and a very small teacher-child ratio designed to maximize each child's speech and language development.
- Speech Therapy & Aural Rehabilitation For Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and Adults
- Kennedy Krieger Institute - Provides diagnosis, evaluation, education and treatment resources; 888-554-2080
- Quality of Life Pharmacy - A compounding pharmacy for children who need to take special medication preparations that are different than you can get at a regular pharmacy.
- MTRC, Inc. - Helps families establish a trust fund to provide for the care of a loved one with a disability. Provides extensive case management services and aids in planning for a child's future through estate planning workshops and educational articles. Families can also contract for private consulting services with the MTRC professional to develop care plans.
- Support
- Family NET Works - Website with support, information, resource lists and online chats.
- First Call for Help - Statewide telephone referral to sources of crisis intervention, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week; United Way of Central Maryland, 800-492-0618; Baltimore, 410-685-0525, 410-685-2159 (TTY).
- NAMI-National Alliance on Mental Illness - 800-950-NAMI
- One World Center for Autism - a support group for parents of children with autism in Prince George's County.
-
Organization Supporting Individuals with Various Conditions
- Deafness/Blindness
- National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairment - Information, support, resources and training to parents of children who are blind or visually impaired; referral service.
- Maryland School for the Blind - Information and support group for parents of young children who are blind, partially sighted or suspected of visual impairment.
- American Society for Deaf Children - Organization of parents and families who advocate for total quality participation of children who are deaf or hard of hearing in education, the family and the community; 717-334-7922 (business voice and TTY); 800-942-ASDC (parent hotline)
- Maryland Association of the Deaf Inc. (MDAD) - Purpose is to safeguard, maintain and advance civic, educational and social welfare of people in Maryland who are deaf and hard of hearing.
- Mental Health
- NAMI-National Alliance on Mental Illness - 800-950-NAMI
- The Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation Inc.
- Anxiety Disorders Association of America Promotes the prevention and cure of anxiety disorders
- Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation (CABF) - Information, support, chat room; 847-256-8525
- Depression and Related Affected Disorders Association (DRADA) - Support group and educational information
- Autism
- Autism Society of America Information and support; 800-3AUTISM; 301-657-0881
- Cure Autism Now Foundation Dedicated to finding effective treatments, prevention and a cure for autism and related orders; 323-549-0500
- Maryland Asperger Advocacy and Support Group (MAASG) - Supports families and individuals with Asperger's Syndrome; 410-429-5321.
- Learning Disabilities
- National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) - Provides information, resources and educational programs; 888-575-7373, 212-545-7510
- Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA) - Resources for families with learning disabilities; 888-300-6710
- LDOnline - Resources for families with learning disabilities
- CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder)
- Individual Differences in Learning Association Provides information, training, and support for anyone concerned with the education, health, and social and emotional well-being of all learners, especially those with high cognitive ability and diagnosed with learning disabilities. Based in Maryland.
- Other conditions
- Brain Injury Association of Maryland Information about public benefits, rehabilitation services and support group; 410-448-2924; 800-221-6443
- Chesapeake-Potomac Spina Bifida Association Information and referral, publications, public awareness and support
- Cystic Fibrosis Foundation - Provides research information, referral and support for families of children with cystic fibrosis.
- Maryland Fragile X Resource Group - Support, education and participation in activities to raise awareness about Fragile X; 301-926-0576
- Muscular Dystrophy Association - Maryland chapter
- National Down Syndrome Society - Provides information, referral and advocacy.
- National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome - Information, support and referrals for affected individuals, their families and others
- Genetic and Rare Conditions - University of Kansas Medical Center website with a list of Internet links to advocacy, support groups, organizations and information.
- NORD: National Organization of Rare Disorders - Information and resources on rare disorders.
- Deafness/Blindness