PEPNet South/PEC

Postsecondary Education Consortium - News -

7 PEPNet Perspectives

Alabama: Jacksonville State University (JSU), Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, and Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services have joined forces to offer a combined college preparatory experience at JSU. In the past, each organization has offered their own college prep experience.  This endeavor takes the best of each to offer a higher level experience for students who are deaf or hard of hearing enrolling this fall.

                        

Linda Turner, Transition Specialist in Deafness, and Dan Miller, Director of Disability Support Services at JSU, have made great strides in working with the State Department of Education (SDE) in Alabama and have been invited to present at SDE's MEGA Conference in July.  They will focus on the concerns of the regular education classroom teacher who have students with a hearing loss.  A special ‘reality' tool box has been developed to assist teachers to provide better education access. 

  

SDE's MEGA Conference is held in cooperation with the Montgomery County Board of Education, Auburn University at Montgomery and the Southeast Regional Resource Center.

 

Louisiana: On Tuesday, March 21st  the Louisiana State Outreach and Technical Assistance Center (SOTAC) along with Louisiana State University's Office of Disability Services hosted the annual state-wide SERVICE (Supporting Educational Resources Vital in College Environments) workshop. Over 100 professionals attended this information-packed day.

 

Access many presentations from the 2005 and 2006 SERVICE workshops online by visiting the Louisiana SOTAC website at www.lasotac.org 

 

Texas: The PEC Texas SOTAC hosted John Evans at North Harris College's "Synergy" event entitled "Survivors: Inquiry into How Adversity Fosters Growth".  John presented "Americans with disAbility" and "Serving Community College Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing" to rave reviews!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Texas has a new bill going into effect on September 1, 2006 (HB 2819) which will require state agencies, including state-funded institutions of higher education, to make all electronic and information technology accessible.  Like Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act upon which it is based, the Texas bill provides clear requirements for accessibility.  Unlike Section 508, the law specifically includes all state-funded higher education institutions.  The PEC Texas SOTAC is working to assist Texas postsecondary institutions meet their responsibilities under this new law.

 

North Carolina: The 2007 Association on Higher Education and Disabilities (AHEAD) conference will be held in Charlotte, NC. , July 17-21, chaired by Alice Hugi, Disability Counselor at Central Piedmont Community College -Charlotte, the North Carolina SOTAC.

 

AHEAD headquarters will be moving to Cornelius, North Carolina following the 2006 AHEAD conference in San Diego. For more on AHEAD, visit www.ahead.org.

 

Georgia: The 2005 National State Leaders Summit in Atlanta was the first time that state leaders from various state agencies, schools and programs for the deaf and hard of hearing, and parents gathered to work on improving outcomes for children and youth. The second State Leaders Summit occurred in Riverside, California in May 2006, and further reinforced the recognition that we must collaborate to find solutions which assure that every child has the opportunity for full access to an appropriate educational program based on his/her communication needs, is expected and supported to achieve the same as his/her hearing peers, has the opportunity for authentic peer interactions and relationships, and is expected to be a contributing member of his/her community in adult life.  For more information on the summit and on the National Agenda, go to the National Deaf Education Project web page at www.ndepnow.org