Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children w/ Disabilities

OCECD is a statewide, non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the educational interests of children with disabilities

Project Launch

OCECD participates in web conferences with PACER Center and partners from two other states. We participate in on-line space for sharing information and resources, determining service gaps. Individual assistance is provided to those seeking information including families, families from diverse communities, professionals, and youth in regard to transition and/or related services. Workshops on transition or employment are presented to students on transition for employment and independent living in the community. OCECD has presented “workshop without walls” presentations to culturally and linguistically diverse individuals in Ohio.

Ohio Department of Health

OCECD began working with the Ohio Department of Health through the Joint Commission on Infant Hearing, an early detection and intervention program. OCECD contacts families of newly diagnosed newborns and infants who are diagnosed as hearing impaired, in order to connect them with enrollment into PART C Early Intervention Services. This not only lets families know that there are services and supports available to them to address their needs and those of their child, but that there will be someone who will be able to guide them through the process of obtaining support and locating resources.

State Professional
Development Grant
(SPDG)
The goal of the United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education Program’s (OSEP) funding program is to assist state education agencies and their partners to reform early intervention, educational, and transitional service systems to improve results for students with disabilities. To achieve this goal, states receive funds from OSEP through State Personnel Development Grants (SPDG), which may be used to improve systems of professional development, technical assistance, and/or dissemination of knowledge about best practices across districts.

Reading Tips for Families

The Ohio Department of Education’s Office for Exceptional Children (ODE/OEC) and the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities (the Coalition) collaborated in the implementation of the State Personnel Development Grant, funded by the United States Department of Education (2017-2022). The Coalition along with ODE/OEC will continue to build and develop an early language and literacy website for families of emerging readers. This website, Reading Tips for Families, hosts reading definitions, activities, and resources that engage and educate families, while meeting requirements for both disability accessibility and for speakers of other languages.
IDEA Parent, Community, and Educator Collaboration
The Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities (OCECD) staff and consultants provide support services to parents and families of children with a disability. They respond to inquiries from school districts, the general public and specifically to families of children with a disability to provide information, support, and assistance regarding special education programs and services. Our staff and consultants answer telephone inquiries, meets one-on-one with families as necessary, and provide guidance in understanding IDEA and the Ohio Operating Standards and, the provision of services available in the local school district.

OCECD staff and consultants provide support services to families of students with a disabilities through individualized, personalized information review, communication with school district staff, attendance at school team meetings – as necessary, if invited by the parent or school staff, and dissemination of information related to both Parent Mentor services and special education programs.

Parent Training and Information Center for Ohio
OCECD has set forth as its mission to endorse and promote efforts to provide appropriate quality education for children and youth with disabilities. We do this in the belief that all children have the right to a meaningful and relevant education. The Ohio Coalition staff and consultants are dedicated to ensuring that every child with disabilities is provided a free, appropriate public education. With this in mind, OCECD continually strives to improve the quality of services for all children and youth with disabilities in Ohio. The Ohio Coalition’s vision is to safeguard that all students with disabilities are: prepared for kindergarten, ready to be actively engaged in learning, and able to graduate equipped to move on to a career or on to college and then a career.

Students (consumers) must be involved in their Individualized Educational Program (IEP), especially transition age youth who are 14 or older and preparing for future jobs and careers. Due to the monitoring visit from OSEP in 2009, which found Ohio lacking in transition planning for youth, action has been taken to correct this deficit and in order to produce positive results.

Another issue that the Ohio Coalition is investigating is evidence-based education practices for transition-aged youth with low literacy. To meet the identified needs of low-literacy youth, OCECD is using is the Mentoring 4 Reading Achievement Program (M4RA). This one-on-one reading mentoring program uses an evidence-based, online guided reading series to improve reading for children and youth reading below a 6th grade reading level.

The connection between juvenile justice and special education in Ohio is both sobering and substantial. There are over three times as many special education students in Ohio’s Department of Youth Services facilities as there are in the general school population. In addition to the low-literacy rates of Ohio’s youth, the Ohio’s College-and Career-Ready Commitment [www.achieve.org/Ohio] reports that far too many students either drop out of high school or graduate unprepared for post-secondary success. This closes doors and limits options and opportunities. This is particularly true for minority and low-income students. The Ohio Coalition adds the additional focus of students with disabilities. Studies have shown positive outcomes when Parent Centers partner with State and local agencies, other nonprofits, and Independent Living Centers in order to provide postsecondary education options, employment training, and supports. Independent Living Centers participate with OCECD staff in working with schools and students on transition plans.

The ultimate goal of OCECD is to assist all parents, especially those within traditionally under-represented groups, so that their children will: (a) meet developmental and functional goals and the challenging academic achievement standards that have been established for all children; (b) be prepared to lead productive, independent adult lives to the maximum extent possible.

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