ISET is committed to providing advocacy in order to advance policy to support individuals with disabilities, particularly in the area of innovative technology. As many might know, Congress first defined the term Assistive Technology in the late 1980s and introduced it to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1990. In 1997, Congress required that Assistive Technology devices and services be considered by the Individual Education Program (IEP) Team when developing a student’s IEP. It is policies like the requirement to consider AT that technology has increasingly become a critical part of a child’s overall growth and development.
As a division of CEC, ISET continues efforts in policy and advocacy in collaboration with CEC’s Children and Youth Action Network (CAN) which is an organized group of volunteers seeking to continue to advance policies affecting individuals, with disabilities and gifts and talents. ISET’s CAN Coordinator is Dr. Deborah Rooks-Ellis, a faculty member at the University of Maine who can be reached at – deborah.l.rooks@maine.edu.
Information about CEC’s CAN efforts can be found here – https://www.cec.sped.org/Policy-and-Advocacy/Children-and-Youth-Action-Network
This page seeks to provide ISET members updates on efforts that are underway to further impact the necessary government changes at the local, state, and federal level to further expand outcomes for exceptional children. Links to recent activities, relevant policies, and other relevant resources are provided below. You will also find the inclusion of our Twitter feed which Dr. Rooks-Ellis regularly uses to update ISET members on CAN events and related activities.