Ore. Legislation Supports Adults with Disabilities

An opinion piece from Mary Lee Fay, the administrator of the Oregon Office of Developmental Disability Services.

SALEM, Ore. -- The 2011 Legislature just passed House Bill 2600. This legislation puts into law the organizational framework to support adults with developmental disabilities. It helps to assure that people with developmental disabilities living in their own homes or on their own in the community will have the supports in place to live fulfilling and meaningful lives. It makes sure that services are centered on the individual, that they are flexible, community inclusive and supportive of the development of each individual's unique gifts, talents and abilities.

The Legislature's action is applauded by the developmental disabilities community throughout Oregon. It is fitting that this bill passed days before the end of a 10-year legal settlement in Oregon known as the Staley Settlement Agreement.

Students Overcoming Hidden Barriers

EAST PORTLAND, Ore. -- Students in Ellen Green's class were having a hard time focusing.
They had just returned from three days at Outdoor School, and the sun outside reminded them that summer break – for some, the end of middle school – was less than three weeks away.
Those were hardly the only challenges facing the 16 preteens in Green's first-period class at H.B. Lee Middle School in outer East Portland. The sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders face much deeper barriers, year-round and invisible to most.
Most of them, like 80 percent of their classmates, live in poverty. Many in Green's class are in special education, and nearly all are learning English as their second, third, fourth or even fifth language.

Feds Order Oregon to Boost Special Education Funding or Face Sanctions

SALEM, Ore. -- The U.S. Department of Education has denied Oregon's request to reduce special education funding in light of budget cuts and will cut more than $15 million federal funding to schools if the state doesn't reverse course.
States lose federal special education money if they lower their contribution to those programs without a waiver. Oregon Department of Education officials sought the federal waiver, saying the state faced declining revenue projections throughout the summer, forcing the department to reduce the amount of money supporting special education programs.

Student Can Bring Service Dog to Class

HILLSBORO, Ore. – After a three-year battle with the Hillsboro School District, a young autistic boy has won his fight to bring his service dog to class.
Due to a federal investigation, the school district had to make a decision, and Oregon's attorney general laid it out bluntly: It could be a long, expensive lawsuit. So, Scooter Givens’ service dog, Madison, will be allowed during a trial period at Patterson Elementary.
"We’re thrilled; we’re absolutely thrilled," said Scooter's mother Wendy.

School Provides Special Attention to Students With Special Needs

HILLSBORO, Oregon -- A week before school started, Bryce Poehlitz was a little worried about the "fat hallways" as he toured South Meadows Middle School.
True, they are fatter than at his previous school, but it wasn't the size of the hallways that concerned Bryce. It was the number of students he predicted would fill them.
The 13-year-old doesn't like crowds, commotion and noise. When you've got autism, those things can be more than overwhelming.
The first day of school is nerve-wracking for most kids, but it's often especially tough on children with special needs.