★ Congress is on their annual August recess, having adjourned early due to the national conventions. The recess runs from July 16th to September 5th. Congressional recess is a GREAT time to reach out to your elected officials while they are home! Contact your representative or senator at their state office today!
★ Over the last two weeks, the Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention were held, where both parties nominated their candidates for the 2016 Presidential Election. Education and Disabilities were a major part of national discussion, but there's still a lot to be learned. Go here to learn about the candidates' stances on Special Education and Early Childhood Special Education and be sure to ask your candidates, at the national, state, and local level, where they stand on education of children with disabilities.
★ Other updates, courtesy of the Council for Exceptional Children:
CEC's Legislative Summit was held from July 10th-13th in Alexandria, Virginia. It was the largest and most comprehensive Capitol Hill Day in CEC's history! More than 200 dedicated advocates from 43 state teams talked to more than 150 elected officials about issues important to the field of special education. We would love to see many DEC advocates at the 2017 summit!
Be sure you are registered to vote! The general election is in just a few short months, and some states will be holding primaries before then. To check on your registration status, register to vote, find your polling location, or learn more about 2016 candidates, please visit
the DEC Policy Center 2016 Election Resources.
DEC
POLICY
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ADVOCACY
NEWS
The DEC Children's Action Network hosted its 2nd webinar of 2016 on Monday, July 18th. Attendees discussed how to use SMART goals and objectives to develop a plan of action for Subdivision CAN networks. You can access the webinar on
the DEC Policy site.
We are seeking new members who are interested in supporting our work. New members to the Council will be considered "at-large" and will shadow existing members to ensure a smooth transition. If you want to stay up-to-date about what is happening in the field and within DEC and would like to lend your voice, please complete
our new application survey so we can match you to opportunities that fit best with your interest, experience, and availability.
Have an early childhood special education policy or advocacy story you would like to share?Whether you are a Subdivision leader/member or just an interested DEC member unaffiliated with a Subdivision, contact brittany@dec-sped.org or DEC CAN Coordinator anlyons@kent.edu to share what's happening in your state or Subdivision or just to bring awareness to an important policy or advocacy issue relevant to DEC. Your story will be shared in a future issue of YES DEC CAN!
