Virginia is for Lovers (and special education)

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), Department of Special Education and Student Services (SESS), in collaboration with the Department of the Navy, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic is offering a one-day Military Family Symposium training opportunity for military families of students with disabilities and those who provide them with educational supports featuring Partners in PROMISE co-founder and Executive Director, Michelle Norman.

Login to the ZOOM platform will begin at 8:30 a.m. The Symposium will open with remarks from the Secretary of Education, the Honorable Atif Qarni; Deputy Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs, the Honorable Kathleen T. Jabs; a representative from the Navy Region Mid-Atlantic command group; and Navy Spouse of the Year, Michelle Norman.

Additionally, Symposium participants will receive information on:

• Current federal and state educational laws affecting military families (i.e., parental consent, remote registration, enrollment flexibility when residing in temporary housing, and open enrollment policy for those residing in military housing;
• Special education dispute resolution options, with an emphasis on due process hearing procedures; and
• Post-secondary transition programming.

The Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC) and the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Center for Family Involvement (CFI) will provide briefings on the services that they provide specifically for military families. There will also be briefings on the resources and supports available through the State Special Education Advisory Committee (SSEAC), a school division’s local special education advisory committee, and the parent resource centers located throughout the Commonwealth. There are also two sessions set aside to address questions directly from the Symposium participants.

There is no registration fee for participation in this Symposium.