Task force for students with disabilities asks for new members by Aug. 1

Lt. Gov. Matt Denn, chair of the state’s newly formed IEP Improvement Task Force, recently announced the task force membership was near completion, and the state is seeking three more parents to serve.

The task force was created by the General Assembly (Senate Concurrent Resolution 63) at the end of June to make recommendations to improve the process by which the state creates Individualized Education Plans for students with disabilities. Denn, who has authored legislation in prior years to address deficiencies in the IEP process, was appointed by Senate President Pro Tem Patricia Blevins, D-Elsmere, to chair the task force.

The task force already has three parents with students on IEPs as members, all of whom were appointed by the Governor’s Advisory Council on Exceptional Citizens, the state council that represents the interests of children with disabilities in schools. However, the resolution creating the task force allows for three additional parents to be appointed to the task force. Those parents will be appointed by the four state legislators who are task force members.

Parents of students who are currently on IEPs, or parents of individuals who were on IEPs in the past, who are interested in serving on this task force can contact Michele Rush at the Department of Education at 302-735-4210 or michele.rush@doe.k12.de.us by Friday, Aug. 1. The Department of Education will communicate the names of interested parents to the four legislators, who will in turn pick the three parent members.

The task force will meet once or twice a month beginning in August for a report that is due to Gov. Jack Markell and the General Assembly by Jan. 1. Meetings will alternate between Dover and Wilmington with videoconferencing available at both sites. All meetings will be open to the public; audio and materials from all meetings will be posted on the lieutenant governor's website.