Happy summer, everyone! Three years ago, the ground was being laid for the start of CoMO SEPTA. The idea had been born, contact was made to district special services, community interest was being gauged… And then, on July 26, 2018, we held our first meeting and became an officially organized PTA! Happy birthday to us!
In light of July being CoMO SEPTA’s birthday month, we thought this was an excellent chance to throw a “birthday” party for our members. We rented out the water zone at the ARC, and all SEPTA families were invited. A splashing good time was had by so many, and in lieu of gifts, we collected toys to be donated to SWITCHED Toys to adapt them for accessibility. š
And, one more reason to celebrate this month: tomorrow, July 14, the governor will be signing into law HB432. There are many parts to this bill, but 2 may be of special interest to SEPTA families. 1) Schools will disallowed from prohibiting the recording of IEP & 504 plan meetings. 2) More specific restrictions and guidelines on seclusion and restraint in public schools are created. SEPTA first brought the issue of changing the recording policy up to the board two years ago. It was suggested that it become a legal change instead. A statewide group called MoDE (Missouri Disability Empowerment) took that on, and tomorrow it will be law. MoDE is doing great things for those with disabilities. If you’d like to support their efforts AND spread an amazing message of inclusion, check out their tee-shirt fundraiser.
