Happy Fall FCEC Members!!! I
hope like many other Americans, you participated in the voting
process by electing leaders to get us through these difficult
economic times.
At the recent CEES (Coalition of
Educators of Exceptional Students) meeting held on October
23 at the FCEC Conference in Sarasota, the economy was a key
topic and specifically the lack of adequate funding for both
general and special education in our state and across the
nation.
Bob Cerra, who has been our
information specialist (lobbyist) in Tallahassee over the last
few years reminded us at the CEES meeting that “Our legislators
have the paramount duty to make decisions that reflect a high
quality public education that provides an equal opportunity for
all, including special education.”
If the legislators in Tallahassee
are to understand and become champions of our issues in special
education, they must continue to hear our voices. Keeping a
watchful eye on legislation and the legislators who make
decisions that impact our students and our profession is an
important part of our advocacy efforts. Support of CEES is one
step in making this continue to happen.
Our state FCEC has generously
contributed to the financial support of CEES and the wonderful
work that Bob Cerra does on our behalf, but we need to reach out
to chapters and divisions throughout the state to contribute
whatever their budgets can afford to CEES. Individual members
can also contribute whatever they can in support of CEES. Please
meet with your local members and commit what you can to keep
CEES going! If not, this vital service and representation will
be a thing of the past. Any questions can be made to Gayle
Zavala
(comadre11@aol.com)
.
In addition to discussion regarding
funding, the representatives at CEES (FCEC, Florida Association
for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually
Impaired, Florida Association for the Gifted, Florida
Association of School Psychologists, Florida Association of
Social Workers, Florida Council of Administrators of Special
Education, Florida Council for Children with Behavior Disorders,
Florida Division of Learning Disabilities, Florida School
Counselor Association, Pioneer Subdivision Council for
Exceptional Children, Florida Educators of the Deaf and Hard of
Hearing) collaborated all day Thursday to form a platform that
reflected the issues most important in special education.
Once the platform is finalized, an
excellent training will be provided in the Spring 2009 by Bob
Cerra in Tallahassee for CEES. This includes any FCEC member who
is interested in attending. The cost of hotel and travel
expenses is the responsibility of the individual
chapters/divisions, but the experience is well worth it. I will
provide further information as the year goes on regarding the
location of the training and making appointments with
legislators. There will be many new faces in Tallahassee after
the November election, and it is critical that we bring the
message and gain support for special education and the
legislation that impacts it.
We Educate, We Participate!
Gayle Zavala – FCEC CAN Coordinator
|
