A Global View on Inclusion:

Benefits and Consequences

-Tawny Holmes, Esq.

Overview
!Sta roles and fellowship
!Presenta3ons and intake
!Educa3on Advocate Program
!Educa3on Strategy Team
!Early Interven3on/Deaf Mentors
!Child First
!What can you do?

Sta Roles and Fellowship

!Quiz 3me- How many lawyers does NAD have?
!Value of fellowships- Skadden and Equal Jus3ce Works
!Caroline Jackson- focuses on civil rights li3ga3on under ADA
including universi3es/colleges!

!Goal of my fellowship: Educa3on Advocacy training along with

coordina3ng Educa3on Advocates program and chairing the
Educa3on Strategy Team and intake with parents/teachers

Presentations & Intake

Provided 35 presentations on Education advocacy
at 23 schools/programs and 26 education-related
conferences that reached 2,493 individuals
Topics:

Education Advocacy overview

What Deaf People Can Be
Self-Advocacy
IEP Advocacy
Language Acquisition
Families and What They Can Do
ADA Guidelines on Effective Communication

Seen the number of intake calls (total is 463) from

parents and school professionals (interpreters,
administrators and teachers) requesting advocacy and
resources multiply by 5 times due to increased outreach
and trainings

Education Advocates
Established Education Advocates program in 2012 and now
have 44 states, 5 national organizations, and 15 parents
nationwide
Coordinated two national trainings for Education Advocates
along with local, state and online trainings
Hosted the first-ever summit at NAD 2014 conference where
over 27 state and national Education Advocates shared
common successes and challenges along with plans for future
action
Focus on: Legislative bills (Ex: ASL Therapist in CO), meeting
with school districts, state Department of Education/Health,
supporting parents, getting on committees/councils, attending
state/national conferences

Educa3on Advocates-

44 states

and 4 na3onal organiza3ons (ASDC, CDM, DYUSA and NBDA)

But s3ll growing- need more near parents everywhere!
WE NEED YOU!
Go to www.nad.org/educationadvocates for more info!

Dr. Beth Benedict

University Representa3ve
Early Interven3on

Donna Valverde-Hummel
Parent representa3ve
Educa3on Advocate

Onudeah Nicolarakis
Teacher
Diversity specialist

David Reynolds
NAD Board Liasion
Bilingualism

Dr. Melissa Herzig

Bilingualism and outreach
VL2

The Education
Strategy Team
Sandra Edwards
School administrator, MS
CEASD President-Elect

Dr. Roz Rosen

University Representa3ve
Postgraduate educa3on
Human rights expert

Susanne ScoB, CC-A

Bilingual specialist
NAEBCECE*,
Board member

Dr. Nancy Hlibok Amann

Mainstream School and
Literacy Specialist

Dr. Laurene Simms

Bilingual specialist
Teachers for Social Jus3ce

Kim Bianco-Majeri
NAD State Legisla3ve
Aairs Coordinator

John Anthony Serrano

School Administrator, TX
CEASD* Board
member

Greg Mendenhall
American Society for the Deaf
board member

Joseph San:ni
PhD student, Bilingualism
in mainstream schools

Nancy Holden
Educa3onal interpreter

Tawny Holmes, Chair

NAD Educa3on Policy Counsel
Educa3on Advocate program
coordinator

Advocates and Stakeholders

for ASL and English

EST includes
collabora:on of:
Educa:onal &
Advocacy
Organiza:ons and
Programs all across
the Country, exis:ng
from 1864 to 2013

Educa3on Strategy Teams commitment to

addressing Diversity in Educa3on
About 55% of our deaf and hard of hearing children are students of color
John Anthony Serrano is the chair of the Diversity commibee under CEASD
We are suppor3ng him in working with na3onal organiza3ons like Council
de Manos, Na3onal Black Deaf Advocates, Na3onal Asian Deaf Congress,
and Rainbow Associa3on of the Deaf
Adjusted CEASD accredita3on standards
Posi3on paper on how schools can do more for diverse students and
families
Focused on suppor3ng students, employing more diverse sta, and
developing training for schools
Hosted two roundtables at na3onal conferences
In talks with NBDA and Council de Manos board members
Works closely with the NAD Diversity Strategy Team

Early Interven3on and Deaf Mentors

National Center on Hearing Assessment and Management
(NCHAM)
Helped update and write a chapter in NCHAMs e-book
http://www.infanthearing.org/ehdi-ebook/2014_ebook/21Chapter21DeafCommunity2014.pdf

Member of planning committee on EHDI for 3 years in a row

Presented over 6 workshops in the past 2 years at the national
EHDI conference (AZAD, FAD and WVAD has sent reps, too!
Professional learning community to support the
involvement of deaf and hard of hearing adults
with families
Advisory council member for the next 5 years
Connected to VL2 resources

Collabora3on

Visual Learning and Language (VL2)

Clerc Center
PepNet 2.0
Standarized Tests (Smarter Balance and PARCC)
National Black Deaf Advocates, Council de Manos,
American Society for Deaf Children, CEASD
National Federation for the Blind
American Foundation for the Blind
Schools and school districts
Alabama State Department of Education
U.S. Department of Education
Vocational Rehab counselors
State Associations
Education Advocates
University research labs
and more!! Including YOU!

Cogswell and
Macy Sullivan Act
!List of proposed amendments to the IDEA law
!Introduced in mid-Sept 2015 as H.R. 3535
!3 parts: Blind, Deaf and DeafBlind
!Data tracking for every state
!Expanded Core Curriculum
!Family training/support extended to K-12
!Need for access in ASL and English
!Qualied professionals uent in language
!Teachers
!Interpreters
!Other professionals
For more information, go to http://www.ceasd.org/child-first
Also check out LEAD-K bill for STATE level (language benchmarks in ASL and English)
http://www.asl4deafkids.org/ and keep an eye out for H.R. 1344- EHDI

NOW WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Register to vote
Become involved with your
state/na3onal associa3on
Educa3on or Legisla3ve Advocate
Commibee member

Contact your legislators

Become a Deaf mentor or
role model
Visit your local school/programs-
present or volunteer
Help collect data or increase awareness online-
Facebook parent groups and share your story

@deafeducation
@nad1880

@nad1880
@DeafEdAdvocate

Thank you.
@nad1880

Tawny.Holmes@NAD.org

For more resources, go to IEP Advocacy 101

workshop at 4:30!