It has been a great week for The Arc – visiting friends and making new friends. Today I head to Chicago to meet with Governor Quinn’s Chief of Staff Jack Lavin and Director Romano.
Katherine, Kathi LIgas, Tony & Shirley!
Earlier this week I met with Arc Board members Charlotte Cronin and Vicki Niswander to discuss Partners in Policy Making. Shirley Perez, Katherine Hamann and I had dinner with Kathi Ligas (sister of Stanley) to better understand transitions for members of the Ligas Class. I had a very thoughtful meeting with the new CEO of St. Coletta’s of Illinois, Kathleen Prunty, on Tuesday. Keep your eye on St. Coletta’s – things are happening! On Wednesday we hosted a webinar on “Coordinated Care” with the Executive Forum and on Thursday I had the pleasure to meet with Tony Divittorio, CEO at Blue Cap to catch up on ventures at Blue Cap. It has been a great week!
The Illinois State Board of Education has proposed amending Part 226 of the school code. The proposed changes include:
1. Changing the definition of a general education classroom. Currently, a general education classroom is defined as one in which at least 70 percent of the students do not have IEPs (70/30 ratio), utilizes a general curriculum, and is taught by a qualified instructor. The proposed change will eliminate the 70/30 ratio so there will be no reference in the definition to the makeup of a general education classroom.
2. Eliminating class size restrictions on self-contained special education classrooms.
The Arc of Illinois does not support the amendments or changes to these rules. We believe that these rules support a quality education for students with disabilities and need to remain intact.
If you would like to review the proposed changes, please go to the following link on the ISBE website: http://www.isbe.state.il.us/rules/proposed/default.htm. The section on the Part 226 Rules is at the bottom of the page.
If you are concerned about the potential impact of these changes, public comment may be submitted via e-mail addressed to rules@isbe.net or via standard mail (addressed to Shelley Helton, Agency Rules Coordinator, ISBE, 100 North First Street – S-493, Springfield, Illinois 62777-0001). Let them know that you are opposed to changes to the 226 rules that would change the definition of a general education classroom and eliminate special education classroom size guidelines.
Public comment is open until April 22nd, 2013.
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Tony Paulauski Executive Director
The Arc of Illinois
20901 S. LaGrange Rd. Suite 209
Frankfort, IL 60423
815-464-1832 (OFFICE)
815-464-1832 (CELL)
Tony@www.thearcofil.org
