Each year at the CEC Convention & Expo, thousands of special education professionals from around the world come together to learn, share, grow, and connect. With hundreds of sessions on just about every topic in the field, the CEC Convention & Expo is THE professional development event for special educators to find research, tips, and strategies you can actually apply to supporting students with disabilities and/or gifts and talents. 

Why Attend COPAA's Conference?

• Access to high quality training, the only conference of this kind in the country
• Peer to peer networking
• Strategize with the best and brightest in this field
• Meet service providers to fill your toolbox
• Engage while learning effective approaches to advocate and support students for best outcomes possible
• Typically approved for up to 22 CLE hours 

DSAIA's Annual Leadership Conference is a gathering of leaders who work in local, state, and regional Down syndrome organizations. Participants learn from experts--and from each other.  This is an unprecedented opportunity to network with national leaders.

The Tourette Association of America is pleased to announce Advocacy Day for Wednesday, March 8, 2023. Registration includes: 
 
+ A preparation webinar on advocacy. 
+ Optional open questions/story telling preparation sessions. 
+ A Pre-Advocacy Day Evening Kick-off Dinner on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, with speakers,   preparation, and training for National Advocacy Day. 
+ Breakfast before heading to Capitol Hill. 
+ Lunch at the Congressional Briefing on Tourette Syndrome on Capitol Hill. 
+ Transportation to Capitol Hill and several scheduled bus returns to hotels. 
+ All meetings scheduled for you with your Representative and Senators. 
+ All Advocacy Day attendees will need to attend the mandatory National Advocacy Day Webinar on Advocacy training on Wednesday, February 15th, 2023, at 8pm ET.  
+ During the webinar, you will learn about the TAA's priority issues, how to conduct a meeting, and key talking points to utilize. 

The UDL Implementation and Research Network (UDL-­IRN) is hosting the 2023 UDL-IRN International Summit both in-person and virtually March 13–15, 2023. The in-person event will be in Orlando, FL at the Rosen Plaza Hotel. All participants will have access to the online portion of the event. Organizers will be celebrating a decade of bringing together thousands of educators from around the globe to network, collaborate, research, share, and learn content centered on Universal Design for Learning.

Learn about the apprenticeship model of opportunity creation and how it benefits members of the IDD community and community businesses alike. Become familiar with successful models of implementation for providers interested in pursuing apprenticeships for those they support.  Understand what funding sources and opportunities are available to those interested in pursuing apprenticeship as part of their employment journey.  

IEPs are developed based on evaluation and data about your child’s educational challenges from which IEP goals are created. These goals are one important way that the IEP team determines whether your child is making progress over one year. This training focuses on how to understand the IEP document and why goals are SO important. Having appropriate individualized goals, and understanding how to read the IEP can help your child get the most out of special education. We will also discuss common pitfalls to avoid – goals too low or too high or based on insufficient data or understanding of how the child's disability impacts her access to education.

During this session, Dr. Barrington will share her lived experiences of intersectionality as a woman of color, a veteran, an advocate, a small business owner with layered disabilities. Participants will have an opportunity to ask the speaker questions following the presentation.

This webinar will discuss the Legal Rights for Children with Diabetes in Childcare, and Public School Settings.  The session will cover how the ADA (Titles II, III) and Section 504 apply to these settings and how those provisions can be used in systemic and individual advocacy.  Also, the session will address the role of state licensing, DOJ settlements, general trends and will cover FAQs.  There will also be time for questions.

Northstar Career Center presents Transportation & Logistics: Systems, Processes, and Supports

Learn about:

• Transportation planning
• Steps to take to promote individual safety
• Lining up the details: emails, IDs, online applications, etc.

Through collective impact, this conference will engage in dynamic discussions, learn from expert presenters, and build a network of change-makers who utilize diverse and inclusive employment practices. This conference empowers employers to build a dynamic workforce and enhance the workplace.

In this webinar, The Arc of Greater Beaumont will present a summary of their self-advocacy program as well as information about the programs’ history and impact.

Of their three main programs tracts at The Arc of Greater Beaumont, their Self-Advocacy tract is one of their most popular and most active. Join this webinar to learn a little about the history of their program, the opportunities they are able to create for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in their local community, and the ways they strive to be active at home and at the state level. They will spend time talking about their different programs and hear firsthand from a few of their Southeast Texas Self-Advocates officers on how being involved has affected their lives and boosted their confidence.  

Learning Objectives:  

1. The history and development of The Southeast Texas Self-Advocates 
2. About their programs and their people 
3. Ways their adults are finding their voices, are advocating for themselves and others, and being active in their community

Join the MDSC community for the 39th Annual Virtual Conference. Learn and be inspired by a broad array of sessions for people with Down syndrome, their family members, health care professionals and educators, featuring the latest research findings and timely information from national and local experts on a range of topics related to Down syndrome.

Sessions to include LIVE Interactive Workshops, Specialty Workshops, On-Demand Workshops and a Self-Advocate Track.

AHEAD in Texas will convene in San Antonio for a 3-day conference, without pre-conference. Baylor University’s Office of Access and Learning Accommodation (OALA) are sponsoring the Keynote Luncheon which will feature Rob Duston. Mr. Duston, a legal scholar and partner with Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr in Washington, D.C., serves as a litigator who helps numerous businesses, schools, and other entities as they seek to address ADA-related challenges, including investigations overseen by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. In his talk, Mr. Duston will discuss ADA trends, best practices, and common challenges across the nation.

The reasoning, best practices, and available technology for creating accessible images and text alternatives has evolved over the last several years. Expert web developers are building upon the foundation of text alternative techniques such as “alt tags” to newer concepts such as “Accessible Name” and “Accessible Description” for HTML. This approach provides better accessibility.

During this webinar, Access Board staff will describe how they employ these updated concepts when developing the Guides to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards. Participants will understand the reason for these changes and will gain practical strategies for adding “Accessible Name” to their vocabulary and toolkits.

Students who have personal care attendants (PCAs) are arriving at colleges in greater numbers, and Disability Resource professionals don’t always know how to best support them. How does the school handle housing for students with PCAs? Are fully accessible restrooms available? How does a PCA function in a classroom setting? What about exams? This webinar will cover the role of a PCA on campus; the legal responsibilities of the school and the student; examples of PCA policies, including emergency procedures; what families of incoming students should know; and best practices, including how to conduct the interactive process as a student with a PCA is enrolling and requesting accommodations. The presenters will offer many resources and lots of Q&A time. 

This summit will highlight key findings from the Georgia Institute of Technology's (Georgia Tech's) Field Initiated Project (FIP) on Contingent Employment of Individuals with Disabilities (FIP-CE), which is sponsored by NIDILRR. This project produces empirical evidence about the participation, practices, and characteristics of people with disabilities engaged in contingent work, as well as their rationales, attitudes, perceptions, and experiences in contingent work arrangements. Millions of American workers, including people with disabilities, have contingent or, alternatively, "non-traditional" work arrangements that differ from standard work arrangements characterized by permanent jobs with traditional employer-employee relationships. Contingent workers include agency-placed and direct-hire temporary employees (temps), contract company workers, independent contractors, on-call workers, and day laborers. The recent emergence of online-based or mobile app-based employment opportunities has further contributed to the redefinition of employment and the labor market.