Since our founding, 10 months ago, Partners in PROMISE has seen tremendous success in our efforts to Protect the Rights Of Military children In Special Education (PROMISE), including proposed legislative change included in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as well as significant program updates released by the Navy and Air Force this year. But we can’t do it alone. A donation to Partners in PROMISE this #GivingTuesday will help ensure our military children receive the appropriate and equitable education to which they are entitled.
COVID-19 hit military kids enrolled in special education hard. Partners in PROMISE was and is here to help families find their way to the other side of these educational challenges. We need your help to keep advancing the concerns of our families and moving forward with change.
Our 2021 initiatives include:
- Helping hands through the provision of legal aid scholarships to military special education families.
- Elevating voices within our military special education community.
- Growing minds through actionable data collected during our annual survey.
All funds raised will be allocated to help in these three mission areas.
Why Now?
Formed in February 2020, Partners in PROMISE began as a grassroots organization run and personally funded by its founders and volunteer staff. The progress over the past few months shows that EFMP and special education is not a singular experience. Since military families face challenges that cross state lines, the task of holding government entities accountable to provide a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to their children is daunting. Partners in PROMISE is up to the task with our approach of helping hands, elevating voices, and growing minds. In September 2020, we officially filed paperwork to become a 501c3 non-profit organization.* Operating as a 501c3 will enable us to continue supporting our military families with targeted support to match the scale of the challenges military families face.
Celebrating IDEA’s 45th Anniversary with #GivingTuesday
In November 2020, we celebrate the 45th year of the ratification of the IDEA. The IDEA is a monumental piece of legislation created with the intention to ensure equitable education for all disabled children in the United States.
What Is the IDEA?
Special education would not exist without a significant piece of legislation called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, also known as the IDEA. This document was signed on November 29, 1975.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) echoes the intention of the Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination and guarantee assurances of equity in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The IDEA asserts the Federal government’s responsibility to disabled individuals using education as an instrument to improve their chances for successful immersion and contribution to society.
Purposes of the IDEA are:
- Provide specialized education at no cost to children with disabilities and their families
- Protect rights of children with disabilities and their families
- Assist states and local education agencies to provide education for all children with disabilities within their jurisdiction
- Assist States in implementing statewide education programs
- Ensure educators and parents have tools to improve educational results
- To measure and ensure effectiveness
Where Will My Money Be Spent?
Helping Hands
Partners in PROMISE wants to connect individuals with resources they need to ensure their children receive a Free Appropriate Public Education. One way we want to help military special education families is through providing legal aid scholarships to military families who cannot afford access to special education attorneys.
Elevating Voices
Partners in PROMISE is a storytelling organization. We know that the special education community is complex and can feel foreign to those who do not have a personal connection to the ups and downs of this life. This is why we seek to elevate our communities’ stories to other military families as well as military and political leadership through an ongoing, robust and engaging education campaign.
Growing Minds
Partners in PROMISE believes our military and political leaders cannot make informed decisions without insightful data. This is why our annual Military Special Education Survey is the driving force behind our organization’s trajectory. We not only use the data to inform those who make the important decisions that affect our community, the survey data informs everything we do.
Conclusion
Advocacy takes many forms. Some people advocate by engaging their political representatives, some uplift neighbors in need, while others are just trying to keep their own heads above water. Every parent is their child’s best advocate. For those who wish they could do more, but just don’t have the bandwidth, consider giving a one-time gift or a recurring donation to Partners in PROMISE. Together, we will help ensure our children receive an appropriate and equitable education to which they are entitled.
*Partners in PROMISE has applied for federal tax exemption as a 501(c)(3) public charity and if this designation is granted, then the full amount of your contribution will be deductible for federal income tax purposes.
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