LTF3.org

Now Accepting Nominations for 2010 STEPP Awards

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:51:46 -0500

UPDATE! Nominations are now being accepted until March 25th!

Nominations for the 2010 STEPP Awards are now being accepted. Please use the following link to go to the Online Nomination Form.

2009-2010 Student, Teacher and Exemplary Practice or Partnering (STEPP) Award

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:49:56 -0500

The Local Task Force on the Right to Education in Allegheny County (LTF 3) is proud to sponsor the fourth annual Scott E. Folmer Memorial STEPP Awards which recognize the outstanding support of children receiving special education services. We welcome any student, teacher, or school program (grades K-12) within Allegheny County.

LTF Meeting Dates 09-10

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:09:49 -0400

LTF#3 meetings for the 2009-2010 school year All meetings are held the first Wednesday of the month at the AIU Building, 475 East Waterfront Drive Homestead PA 15120, at 7:00pm. September 2 October 7 November 4 December 2 January 6 February 3 March 3 April 7 May 5 � STEPP Awards Banquet is typically held this month June 2

2009 STEPP Award Winners

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:24:43 -0400

The Local Task Force on the Right to Education in Allegheny County is pleased to announce the winners of the 2009 Scott E. Folmer Memorial Student, Teacher and Exemplary Practice or Partnering (STEPP) Awards which recognize the outstanding support of children receiving special education services. STUDENT AWARD Amy C. Dunn, South Fayette High School, South Fayette School District (First Place) STAFF AWARD Amy Wienand, Hosack Elementary School, North Allegheny School District (First Place) Deborah Grant, Hance Elementary School, Pine Richland School District (Honorable Mention) DISTRICT / PARTNERING AWARD Maria Carlini, Creative Therapies Enterprises, Amy Odorczyk, Hampton Township School District, Amanda Gaus and Maggie Mullen, Pressley Ridge Autism and Developmental Disabilities Program (First Place) Susan Cataldi, Peer Mentors, Fox Chapel Area High School, Fox Chapel Area School District (Honorable Mention) You are invited to attend a banquet on Wednesday May 6, 2009 in honor of the award recipients. The cost of the dinner is $18 per person. The banquet will be held at Carlynton Junior/Senior High School in Carnegie. Registration is from 6:00 pm. to 6:25 pm. Dinner will begin at 6:30 pm. If you plan to attend, please e-mail Ellen Priday at ellen.priday@aiu3.net by Monday, April 27, 2009. Please make checks in the amount of $18 per person payable to: AIU�LTF Scott E. Folmer Awards and mail to: Allegheny Intermediate Unit, c/o Ellen Priday, 475 East Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA 15120.

link to Changes in IDEA regs

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:15:59 -0500

http://odr.pattan.net/files/ODR/IDEAregs120108.pdf

November 5, 2008 LTF Meeting Agenda

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:00:30 -0400

LTF Members unable to attend the November 5, 2008 meeting, please contact Cindy Duch no later than October 29, 2008

Starting Time: 7:00 pm
LOCAL TASK FORCE MEETING

November 5, 2008
7:00 PM

AGENDA

McGuffey Room

Roll Call, Welcome, Introduction of Task Force Members and Guests 7:00 pm
Review/Acceptance of Minutes of September, 2008 7:05 pm
Treasurer’s Report 7:10 pm
Consumer Concerns 7:15 pm
Information Items 7:45 pm
1. MH―Members of the MH Children’s Team
2. MR―Tamara Siegert
3. AIU―Alan Friedman
4. Right to Education―Tania Grubbs
5. LTF Update―Cindy Duch
6. Awards Banquet―Debbie Efkeman-Pat Cimba
7. Education Mentors of PA―Penny Gardner
Committee Update 8:15 pm
1. Parent Assistance Line―Cindy Duch
2. LTF Monitoring―Debra Efkeman
3. Cyclical Monitoring―Debra Efkeman
Old Business 8:45 pm
New Business 8:50 pm
Membership Rounder 8:55 pm
Motion for Adjournment 9:00 pm

Parents and interested parties have a welcome place on the agenda for concerns and/or topics. To be placed on the agenda, please contact the Chairperson, Cindy Duch, via e-mail: cduch3016@aol.com or use the Parent Assistance Line at 412-394-5930 at least one week before each meeting.

Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month except July and August at the offices of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit located at the Waterfront in Homestead.

Your involvement helps assure the students' right to a free and appropriate education.

APPROVED Minutes and Proceedings Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:52 -0400

APPROVED Minutes and Proceedings Wednesday, October 1, 2008 Allegheny Intermediate Unit Local Task Force 475 East Waterfront Drive Homestead, PA 15120-1144 Members Present Ms. Linda Amity Ms. Astrid Arroyo Mrs. Cindy Duch, Chairperson Mr. Ryan Dunbar Ms. Sherry Eanes Mrs. Debra Efkeman Dr. Cheryl Fogarty Ms. Tania Grubbs Mr. Jeff Kane Mrs. Pam Kane Ms. Natalie Krall, Recording Secretary Ms. JoAnn McCray Dr. Michael Panza Mrs. LiLi Rosenthal Ms. Anna Marie Scott Mrs. Tamara Siegert Mr. Donovan Thorne Guests Present Ms. Cassie Budzilek Ms. Christina Chikum Ms. Samantha Folmer On Wednesday, October 1, 2008, the Local Task Force on the Right to Education (LTF) was called to order at 7:05 PM by Cindy Duch, Chairperson. I. Welcome, Introductions, Excused Members Members and guests introduced themselves and their affiliations. The following members have been excused from this meeting: Alan Friedman, Penny Gardner, Mary Ann McGuirk, and Debra Stranko. II. Review/Acceptance of the Minutes of September 3, 2008 The minutes from the September meeting were reviewed. Debra Efkeman made a motion to accept the minutes with changes. Astrid Arroyo seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. III. Treasurer�s Report � Mrs. Cindy Duch Mrs. Duch reviewed the October treasurer�s report with the membership. The membership would like to receive this report via e-mail before each LTF meeting. IV. Speaker � Ms. Cassie Buzilek - PATTAN Ms. Buzilek discussed �Social Skills in the Classroom� with the membership. She covered the following information during her presentation: � IDEA on Lease Restrictive Environment. � IDEA on Supplementary Aids and Services. � Gaskin Settlement Agreement � 2005 � Framework for Considering the Full Range of Supplementary Aids and Services. � What are Social Skills? � Why Relationships Matter for Students with Disabilities. � Examples of Social Skills � When Does Social Development Begin? � Aspects of Social and Communication Difficulties. � Scope and Sequence � Assessment � IEP Goals � Scheduling/Programming � Peer Support Arrangements V. Consumer Concerns A parent brought up a concern with a number of school districts in our county. The parent informed the membership that special education students at the secondary level are not allowed to take general education classes in science and history. The reason the district does not want special education students to take these classes is because they do not want to make the modifications to their college preparatory curriculum. The special education students are instead being taught these classes in the resource room in their schools. VI Information Items A. MH � Members of the Children�s Team � Mr. Ryan Dunbar Mr. Dunbar informed the membership that Kristen Hughes is no longer working for the MH Team. Rob Fontaine has taken her place as a new education consultant. He told the membership that the MH Children�s Team office has moved from Wood Street to 104 Smithfield Street. He informed the membership that RESOLVE is the new crisis prevention hotline and their number is 1-888-796-8226. B. MR � Ms. Tamara Siegert Ms. Siegert informed the membership of the following events: � For Your Better Friendships Programs � Sorting out Supports and Services Program � Pathways to Possibilities Program � Woodlands Family Fun Day on October 4, 2008 C. AIU � Dr. Cheryl Fogarty Dr. Fogarty did not have any new information to report to the membership this month. D. Right to Education � Mrs. Tania Grubbs Mrs. Grubbs informed the membership that LTF # 2 will be hosting an information fair at Carrick High School on October 14, 2008 from 6:00 PM � 8:00 PM. E. LTF Update � Mrs. Cindy Duch Mrs. Duch informed the membership that the State Task Force Meeting will be held in Harrisburg, PA on November 5, 2008 and November 6, 2008. Mrs. Duch also informed the membership that Tyann Neal is our Intermediate Unit�s Compliance Specialist. F. Scott E. Folmer Awards Banquet � Mrs. Debra Efkeman Mrs. Efkeman informed the membership that Carlynton High School will host the Scott E. Folmer Awards Banquet again next year. Mrs. Efkeman also informed the membership that she needs volunteers for the banquet for data entry, purchasing awards, and publicity. Please contact her by phone if you are interested in volunteering. G. Education Mentors of Pennsylvania � Mrs. Cindy Duch Mrs. Duch informed the membership that McKeesport and Keystone Oaks are very interested in starting parent mentoring programs. VII. Committee Update A. Parent Assistance Line � Mrs. Cindy Duch Mrs. Duch informed the membership that there were two calls for the month of September. Mary Ann McGuirk will report them at the November LTF meeting. B. LTF Monitoring � Mrs. Debra Efkeman Mrs. Efkeman informed the membership that LTF monitoring will be held at Baldwin-Whitehall School District this fall. She is going to call the next week to schedule a date. If anyone is interested in being on the LTF Monitoring Team, please contact Debra Efkeman by phone. C. Cyclical Monitoring � Mrs. Debra Efkeman Mrs. Efkeman informed the membership that the LTF is looking for a member to take over cyclical monitoring. If you are interested, please contact Debra Efkeman by phone. The following districts will be having cyclical monitoring very shortly: Bethel Park October 15, 2008 Carlynton November 10, 2008 Sto-Rox November 10, 2008 VII. Old Business There was no old business discussed at this meeting. VIII. New Business There was no new business discussed at this meeting. X. Membership Rounder Cindy Duch thanked all of the guests for attending tonight�s meeting. Donovan Thorne said he is happy to be at the meeting tonight. Jeff Kane is still waiting on a speech therapist for his daughter. He also informed the membership that his daughter got a green stripe for tae kwon do. Cheryl Fogarty informed the membership that she will not be attending LTF meetings Regularly because she received a new position. XI. Motion for Adjournment Motion was made by Astrid Arroyo and seconded by Donovan Thorne. Meeting was adjourned at 9:30 PM.

Welcome to The Local Task Force on the Right to Education in Allegheny County

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:03 -0400

Welcome to our website.

PARENT ASSISTANCE LINE (412) 394-5930
A member will answer questions or provide information to the caller concerning special education issues.

IMPORTANT!
The City of Pittsburgh has its own Local Task Force. Their parent assistance hotline number is (412) 323‑3996.

OUR MISSION:
The Local Task Force serves as a resource for children with all disabilities and their families in the 42 school districts in Allegheny County. Our role is to communicate needs and problems to the appropriate sources.

MEETING SCHEDULE:
Meetings are held the first Wednesday of every month except July and August at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit offices at the Waterfront in Homestead from 7:00 till 9:00 p.m.

HISTORY:
The Local Task Force (LTF) system was established in 1972 as part of the Consent Decree between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the PA Association for Retarded Citizens. The PARC Consent Decree guaranteed a free public program of education for all school-aged persons with mental retardation or thought-to-have mental retardation regardless of their intellectual functioning

MEMBERSHIP:
The Local Task Force on the Right to Education is open to:

PARENTS
PROFESSIONALS
EDUCATORS
AGENCY REPRESENTATIVES

Under the Consent Decree, parents must make up 51% of the membership.

OTHER SERVICES PROVIDED

Cyclical Monitorings

School districts are audited by the Bureau of Special Education every 5 years. The LTF provides information to the chairperson of the cyclical monitoring team. This information can be commendations or issues and concerns which have been brought to the task force’s attention.

LTF Monitorings

The LTF will put together a team to monitor a particular classroom(s) in a school building when a request is made by a parent or LTF member. A report of both commendations and recommendations is presented at a designated LTF monthly meeting.

October 1, 2008 LTF Meeting Agenda

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:45 -0400

LTF Members unable to attend the October 1, 2008 meeting, please contact Cindy Duch no later than September 30, 2008

Starting Time: 7:00 pm
LOCAL TASK FORCE MEETING

October 1, 2008
7:00 PM

AGENDA

McGuffey Room

Roll Call, Welcome, Introduction of Task Force Members and Guests 7:00 pm
Review/Acceptance of Minutes of September, 2008 7:05 pm
Treasurer’s Report 7:10 pm
Speaker 7:15 pm
Cassie Budzilek-(former) Education Consultant with PaTTAN-Pgh “Social Skills in the Classroom”
Consumer Concerns 8:00 pm
Information Items 8:20 pm
1. MH―Members of the MH Children’s Team
2. MR―Tamara Siegert
3. AIU―Alan Friedman
4. Right to Education―Tania Grubbs
5. LTF Update―Cindy Duch
6. Awards Banquet―Debbie Efkeman- Pat Cimba
7. Education Mentors of PA―Penny Gardner
Committee Update 8:40 pm
1. Parent Assistance Line―Cindy Duch
2. LTF Monitoring―Debra Efkeman
3. Cyclical Monitoring―Debra Efkeman
Old Business 8:45 pm
New Business 8:50 pm
Membership Rounder 8:55 pm
Motion for Adjournment 9:00 pm

Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month except July and August at the offices of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit located at the Waterfront in Homestead.

Your involvement helps assure the students' right to a free and appropriate education.