framingham resources, recourses de Framingham (Spanish), recursos de Framingham (Portuguese)
Framingham Special Education Department and Contact Info – http://www.framingham.k12.ma.us/Page/2607
Description of Special Education Services offered in Framingham – http://www.framingham.k12.ma.us/Page/2610
High School Curriculum Night Presentation 2016
Framingham Extended School Year Programs – http://www.framingham.k12.ma.us/Page/2617
Extended School Year Presentation (2016 to School Committee) – special-education-extended-school-year-programs
Framingham Public Schools District Curriculum Accommodation Plan – https://www.framingham.k12.ma.us/Page/1201
massachusetts state agencies and organizations
agencias y organizaciones estadales de Massachusetts (Spanish)
agências e organizações do estado de Massachusetts (Portuguese)
A Parent’s Guide to Special Education (also in Spanish and Portuguese) – http://fcsn.org/parents-guide
Department of Developmental Services – 617-727-5608 – www.mass.gov/dds
Department of Mental Health – 617-626-8000 – www.mass.gov/dmh
Department of Public Health – 617-624-5969 – 800-905-8437 (Early Intervention Programs) – www.mass.gov/dph
Department of Social Services –( DSS ) 617-748-2000 -800-792-5200 www.mass.gov/dss
Disability.gov – Connecting the disability community to information and resources – http://www.disability.gov
Mass Access – www.massaccesshousingregistry.org – the accessible housing registry – Metrowest area call 508-875-7853 V/TTY
Massachusetts Advocates for Children – www.massadvocates.org
Massachusetts ARC – www.arcmass.org
Massachusetts Association for Parents of the Visually Impaired – www.mapvi.org
Massachusetts Association of Special Education Parent Advisory Councils (MASSPAC) www.masspac.org
Massachusetts Autism Resources – http://www.arcmass.org/CommunityServices/AutismResources/tabid/293/Default.aspx
Massachusetts Branch of the International Dyslexia Association – www.dyslexia-ma.org
Massachusetts Commission for the Blind – 800-392-6450 – 617-626-7650 (TTY) –www.mass.gov/mcb
Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing – 617-740-1600; (617-740-1700 (TTY) –http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/mcdhh/
Massachusetts Department of Education (DOE)/ Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) – www.doe.mass.edu
Massachusetts Department of Education Bureau of Special Education Appeals – www.doe.mass.edu/bsea
Massachusetts Department of Education Program Quality Assurance – www.doe.mass.edu/pqa
Massachusetts Department of Education Info for Parents about Special Education – http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/parents.html
Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council – 617-770-7676 – www.mass.gov/mddc/
Massachusetts Families Organizing for Change – www.mfofc.org
Massachusetts Family Ties –www.massfamilyties.org – A statewide information and referral network for families of children with special needs
Massachusetts Family Voices –www.massfamilyvoices.org –Information and referral network for families of children with special needs in Mass.
Massachusetts Parent Information and Resource Center (PIRC) – www.pplace.org – 877-471-0980 – PIRC is a place where parents learn about their rights and options under both state and federal education laws so they can make the best choice for their children.
Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission – 617-204 3600; 800-245-6543 (in MA only) – www.mass.gov/mrc
MassMATCH – www.massmatch.org – MassMATCH is the Commonwealth’s initiative to Maximize Assistive Technology (AT) in Consumer’s Hands.
Parent/Professional Advocacy League (PAL) 800-866-815-8122; 617-542-7860 www.ppal.net – Massachusetts Family Voice for Children’s Mental Health
Social Security and Disability Resource Center – http://ssdrc.com – informs readers about how the Social Security Disability and SSI Disability process works from start to finish
Special Olympics, Massachusetts MetroWest Area –www.specialolympicsma.org– 508-616-6663
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Public Information Line – 800-882-1435
other local resources, organizations, and associations
otros recursos, organizaciones y asociaciones locales (Spanish)
outros recursos locais, organizações e associações (Portuguese)
Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts – http://www.afamaction.org/
Asperger’s Association of New England – 617-393-3824 – www.aane.org
Assistive Technology Exchange of New England – www.getATstuff.com – list Assistive Technology devices for sale or for free
Autism Alliance of Metrowest – www.autismalliance.org – 508-652-9900
Autism Consortium – www.autismconsortium.org – Engaging families and researchers to find treatments and cures for autism
Autism Resource Center of Central Massachusetts – www.autismresourcecentral.org – 508-835-4278
Children’s Mental Health Services in Massachusetts – A guide written by the Boston Bar Association and Children’s Hospital – http://www.bostonbar.org/docs/default-document-library/bbaguide_2011update_2.pdf
Concord SEPAC web site – http://concordspedpac.org – A great resource for private, collaborate schools, other SEPACs in Massachusetts, and many other resources of interest to parents of special needs children.
Disability Resources –www.disabilityresources.org – is a virtual library of information about web sites serving the disability community.
Easter Seals Massachusetts – www.ma.easterseals.com – (800) 922-8290 Their services include AT (assistive technology) Demonstration and Loan Regional Center, AT Loan Program, Camp, Disability Resource Information, Great Hires, Job Training and Employment , Rehabilitation and Therapy Services, Youth Leadership
Family Connect – For parents of children with visual impairments – www.familyconnect.org brought to you by the American Foundation for the Blind (www.afb.org) and National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments (www.napvi.org)
Federation for Children with Special Needs – 617-236-7210 – 800-331-0688 (in Mass) – www.fcsn.org
Hoagies Gifted Education Pages – Articles about gifted children with special needs – www.hoagiesgifted.org/special_needs.htm
International Dyslexia Association http://dyslexia-ma.org/resources.html – Great resources can be found on this site.
Jewish Community Resources for People with Disabilities, http://jewishboston.com/279-jewishboston-com/blogs/1445-jewish-community-resources-for-people-with-disabilities
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in Mass. – 508-875-1544 – www.namimass.org
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) –www.nichcy.org – NICHCY is the national information and referral center that provides information on disabilities and disability-related issues for families, educators, and other professionals. Its special focus is children and youth (birth to age 22).
New England INDEX Information on Disabilities Exchange – www.disabilityinfo.org
Partners for Youth with Disabilities, Boston – www.pyd.org – 617-556-4075 – Adult mentors for children and young adults with disabilities, including learning disabilities.
SPED Child and Teen – Online newspaper listing special needs workshops and resources in greater Massachusetts www.spedchildmass.com
TILL Autism Services – (781) 302-4600 – www.tillinc.org
If you know of any other groups that should be listed here, please email the information to info@f-sepac.org or contact the one of the F-SEPAC Co-Secretaries.
lists of private schools and collaboratives
lista de escuelas privadas y colaborativos (Spanish)
Listas de escolas privadas e colaborativas (Portuguese)
www.spedschools.com for a list of private sped schools. Under ‘placement’ they have a helpful check list to use when you visit the schools, information about private day and residential schools approved by the Massachusetts Department of Education under c. 766. (781) 245-1220 or info@maaps.org.
Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives – http://moecnet.org/directory – lists collaborative schools. Accept Collaborative is for the town of Framingham.
Massachusetts Association of 766 Approved Private Schools (MAAPS) – www.maaps.org – 781-245-1220
Information from the DESE on providing special education services to children attending private school – http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/advisories/07_2.html
Info for how special ed transportation and how many children from each district attend specific out of district schools – www.spedtranssavings.org/DistrictData.aspx
Timeline from the DESE for out of district placement
laws, leyes (Spanish), leis (Portuguese)
Massachusetts Special Education Regulations – www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/603cmr28.html
State Law – https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXII/Chapter71B
Federal Law – www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/Policy/IDEA/the_law.html
IDEA Law – http://idea.ed.gov/
Wrights Law – www.wrightslaw.com– A great resource for learning about special education law and advocacy.
Transition Planning Form (for children ages 14-22)- www.doe.mass.edu/sped/28MR/28m9.pdf
SpedEx – http://spedexresolution.com – SpedEx is a dispute resolution pilot project that will be available in certain cases after an IEP has been rejected or a hearing request has been filed.
Rosie D. Decision – www.rosied.org – Rosie D. Decision enables children with psychiatric disabilities to receive appropriate home-based services so they can grow up in their own homes and attend local schools.
Legal Rights of Children with Epilepsy in School & Child Care
Disability Law Center of MA – www.dlc-ma.org – 617-723-8455 – Referrals, advocacy, and free legal service, particularly for immigrants and low income residents.
Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts – www.clcm.org – a private, non-profit, legal advocacy and resource center providing direct representation to low income children in Eastern Massachusetts, and technical assistance and training to lay and professional communities throughout New England on issues affecting children’s education, civil rights, custody, health and welfare.
advocates and ways to find them
abogados y dónde encontrarlos (Spanish)
defensores/advocates e maneiras de encontrá-los (Portuguese)
“A Parent’s Guide to Selecting a Special Education Advocate in Massachusetts.” – http://www.fcsn.org/pti/advocacy/advocacy_brochure.pdf
Massachusetts Advocates for Children – 617-357-8431 (ext 224 for Helpline) www.massadvocates.org
Special Needs Advocacy Network (SPAN) – www.spanmass.org – 508-655-7999 Network of educational advocates.
List of advocates from Concord SPED PAC – http://www.concordspedpac.org/Advocates.html
health information
información de salud (Spanish)
Informação de saúde (Portuguese)
Framingham School’s Health Services
Massachusetts Comprehensive School Health Manual – Divided into three major sections that include 16 chapters, the manual incorporates the most complete and up-to-date information on the policy and practice of school health in the Commonwealth. An electronic version of the updated and revised Massachusetts Comprehensive School Health Manual is at:http://www.maclearinghouse.com/schoolhealthmanu al.htm
For students requiring specialized health services, see Chapter 7: http://www.maclearinghouse.com/schoolhealthmanual/PDF/Chapters/ Chapter07_ D.pdf
For mental health info see Chapter 11: http://www.maclearinghouse.com/schoolhealthmanu al/PDF/Chapters/ Chapter11_ D.pdf
Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America Massachusetts Chapter http://www.aafa.org/display.cfm?id=5&sub=105&cont=654
www.GotTransition.org helps with transition from pediatric to adult healthcare transition resources.
adaptive recreation, recreación adaptativa (Spanish), recreação adaptativa (Portuguese)
Resource list of adapted fun, over the winter months, or indoor therapeutic swim, among other fun activities, you may want to check out Franciscan Hospital’s 2015 resource guide at http://franciscanhospital.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Adaptive_sports_and_ActiveRecGuide_May_2015.pdf.