What are the rights and responsibilities of students and adults with learning disabilities?

Learning Disabilities Association of America is a great starting point for learning about the rights and responsibilities of students with learning disabilities.

• Be sure to check out the links at the bottom of each page for additional resources and to dig deeper into the topic.
• If nothing else is reviewed, take a listen to this 24 minute podcast for what comes after high school.

It is important to know that a student’s K-12 plan for accommodation and modification of instruction based on their 504 or Special Education qualification ceases to exist and is no longer legally binding after high school graduation.  Between Kindergarten and 12th grade, schools are required by law to seek out students with disabilities and implement plans to help level the playing field for those students.  After graduation, whether the student is entering college, the military, or the workforce, the responsibility shifts to the student to ensure their needs are met.  The Learning Disabilities Association of America is a great starting point for students with disabilities to become their own best advocate.

 

Are you an adult with a learning disability?

Is it affecting your work?

Check out the LDA information for adults.

 

Additional information online:

• Elizabeth C. Hamblet (the lady in the podcast with LDA) is a recognized author and speaker who offers advice drawn from her 20+ years as a college learning disabilities specialist.  Her website - https://ldadvisory.com/
  • And her YouTube Channel 

 

Bonus Material

Our parent liaison, Ms. Harder, has added two pamphlets to your bag, both from Crime Stoppers - Houston.  Please take a moment to talk to your student over the Thansgiving break drugs and social media.

November is National Family Literacy Month and, as you may have guessed, we have information to share.  There is a major initiative on campus that we are very proud of and that is Reading Bingo!  

• At the start of each month our Librarian, Ms. Johnson, prepares a Reading Bingo card that students in Family try to blackout on.  
• Parents can help by reading a book during any month, but we encourage all parents to start this month!  Talk to your student and their Family teacher about how you can get involved.

We also want to share great information from the National Centers for Families Learning.  Parents can learn easy and fun ways to get involved with reading alongside their students and engaging with their learning.  One easy way to start is by checking out Wonderopolis every day for the Wonder of the Day.  A simple suggestion is to have this pulled up on your phone and pass it off to your student to read to you.  Parents will begin to learn about their student's strengths and weaknesses with literacy.  Approximately 40% of our students are one or more grade levels below where they should be with their reading skills.  This skill is like any other, it will not grow and strengthen if it is not practiced EVERY DAY.

 

October is Bullying Prevention Month, and we are excited to share materials from the Texas State Safety Center.  Please take time to watch the video that we will be showing in Family classes this month to inform students about the dangers of bullying and how to report it when it happens.  In addition to the video, parents can view state law, school resources, and the checklist that is used by school administrators to determine if an action is bullying.

Click the link below to access the resources.

https://txssc.txstate.edu/videos/prevent-bullying-6-12/

There are many ways to report bullying, but these are the most common - 

What is the number one thing students lie to their parents about?

According to Joshua Wayne, when asked if they have ever seriously considered suicide, one third of all teens surveyed stated that they lied to their parents and said "No."

It is a long video, but well worth your time.  Listen to this nationally certified counselor talk about helping kids thrive in difficult times.

https://txssc.txstate.edu/videos/helping-kids-thrive/

Contact our school counselor for more information about local resources.

How to access the resources.

As we explore this topic, remember that vape devices were originally developed as a way for CURRENT smokers to have a replacement for cigarettes.  Vape devices were not developed with children and young adults in mind, but the reality is that they are often targeted in advertising.  According to the CDC and NIH (Center for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health), 10%-15% of middle and high school students vape daily and 60% that do vape daily have tried to quit at least once in the last year.  Please check out the resources linked below to inform yourself of the facts of vaping, how to talk to your student about vaping, and where to go to help them quit.

After the state updates in early 2024, BISD has updated vaping and e-cigarette policies to address the changes.  Starting in the 2023-2024 school year, the State of Texas required that any student caught vaping be sent to a Disciplinary Alternative Education Placement (Pathways).  It did not matter if it was tobacco related or THC/marijuana related.  That has since changed to allow schools to address tobacco-related vaping differently from THC/marijuana vaping.  If a student is caught with a THC/marijuana vape, they will still be sent to Pathways since that is a mandatory action required by the state.  If a student is caught with a tobacco vape, the student, parent, and school administrator will develop a vape cessation plan that will include a requirement for the parent to pay for a class from VapeEducate, an online resource to help parents educate themselves and their students about the dangers of vaping. 

Please take time to review more information in the From the Principal handbook.

Parents can review the campus expectations that are discussed on the first day of school each year.

Go to our Running Start page to ensure the needed tasks are completed before arriving.  The on-campus process will go much faster that way.  Starting July 22, 2024 parents can come to campus to get the packet of papers that need to be filled out for running start.  Filling out the papers ahead of time will speed up your running start process.

Keep checking back throughout the summer for more updates.