Organizing & Partnerships

Advocate For All of the Children in Your Community

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NPU Events & Webinars

Check out current and past events hosted by NPU below.

NPU Trainings

The National Parents Union prides itself on being able to provide resources, trainings, and toolkits to parents and organizations across the country to help them unlock their #ParentPower.

Check out our resources below and stay updated by messaging [email protected] to learn more about our upcoming trainings.

Advocacy

How to Organize a Successful Rally

The fight is now and NPU will walk you through the ins and outs to hold elected officials and educational administrators accountable. NPU lays out the necessary steps to brainstorm a successful rally and what you should consider as we fight the good fight for high quality education for your child and for all the children in your community.

For more information click here

How to Connect With School Administrators and Elected Officials

While you are building your seat at the table and fighting for a high quality education for your child, it’s essential to work with school administrators and elected officials. NPU will help you realize that what may seem like a daunting task is really all about preparation. Parents must identify the issue at hand, identify the right stakeholders and create a strategy around targeting and messaging to elevate concerns centered around fostering good relationships.

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How to Form Partnerships and Allies

To strengthen and elevate your message, identifying local allies and co-conspirators is critical. Even more powerful is partnering with the right people across the state and country. NPU lays out recommended actions to develop and nurture partnerships, while activating a solid social media presence to garner both attention and influence.

For more information click here

How to Write Advocacy and Informational Letters to Different Audiences

We want and demand action for our children! As we all know, persuasive and advocacy writing is no small feat, especially when you want to target elected officials. NPU provides a sample of advocacy and informational letters tailored to different audiences to both inspire and guide you.

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How to Organize a Social Media Group and Campaign

When organizing a social media group/campaign, it is important to know your goals and then begin to develop your group. Here NPU will walk you through the appropriate steps to create a Facebook group, build out a Twitter following, and create an Instagram account to attract new followers and bolster your social media presence.

For more information click here

Publicizing Your Work: How to Reach Local Press & Media

If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?

You’re doing amazing work to support families and children, but if no one hears you – press, media, elected officials and administrators – then it doesn’t matter. Your rally, protest, or townhall won’t have the impact you want — and more importantly the desired change you need for your kids.

Reaching out to the media with a press release will guarantee that your work will be heard and may potentially change the lives of those in your community.

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Equity

How to Create Educational Equity for Dyslexic Students

Use the resources and videos available below to help your family develop and educational plan, know your rights, and help your children thrive in educational environments.

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What to Expect for Your Child

Make sure your child is in a learning based program that offers them a robust education. Having a child who is disabled doesn’t mean they should be met with low or no expectation to learn.

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Understanding the Special Education Process

Schools must identify, locate and evaluate ALL children with disabilities.The IDEA requires all States to develop and implement a practical method of determining which children with disabilities are receiving special education and related services and which children are not.

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Decoding Education Acronyms for Parents

Know commonly used acronyms and abbreviations.

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Improving College and Career Readiness for Students with Disabilities

This issue brief is intended to assist state policymakers in better understanding strategies to prepare students with disabilities and special needs for college and career.

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Guideposts for Youth (Spanish)

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A Transition Guide to Postsecondary Education and Employment for Students and Youth with Disabilities

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Guideposts for Success (English)

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Procedural Safeguards

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How to Obtain an Independent Educational Evaluation at Public Expense (California)

This publication provides information on how to obtain an independent educational evaluation at public expense from a school district. Another way that you can obtain an independent educational evaluation is to pay for the evaluation on your own.

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Understanding Least Restrictive Environment

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Additional Special Education Resources

Find sample letters and templates for emails at the link below.

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A Civil Right to A Quality Public Education

See NPU’s roadmap to Education As A Civil Right.

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What are your educational rights? (By State)

We need all of our schools, regardless of zip code, to provide a HIGH-QUALITY education for all students.

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Voter Education Toolkit

Join the National Parents Union and other organizations around the country who are working to get voters registered, spreading the word in their communities and casting those all too important ballots!

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How to Run for School Board

Redesigning high schools to improve student achievement and prepare students for life is a collective responsibility. It requires local effort, led by parents, teachers, students, and community members like you.

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Partner Resources

How to Use Data for Advocacy

Take steps to defend your data, build credibility, and produce visualizations that support change.

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Toolkit for ESL Families

The English Learner Family Toolkit consists of 6 chapters, and each chapter contains 5 sections – an overview, family and student rights, questions to ask schools, tips, and resources.

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Education Speak Glossary

Parents desperately want the best education for their kids. But sometimes it can be hard to find! It can feel like a full-time job to understand how the education system works and what the different words you hear in education mean.

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Advocating at IEP/504 Meetings

Ensuring your child’s school experience is as rigorous and supportive as possible is sometimes easier said than done, but MDA stands ready to be your advocacy partner, providing tools and support.

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HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR YOUR CHILD: TOOLKIT FOR BLACK AND BROWN PARENTS AND GUARDIANS

The Toolkit Empowers Black and Brown Parents and Guardians with step-by-step guides, templates, sample letters, and tips to: be effective advocates for their children, protect their children from the discriminatory disciplinary policies that fuel the school-to-prison pipeline,  and respond to excessive and wrongful punishment of their children.

For more information click here