Advocacy
There is a lot to advocate for these days! We are fortunate to have a voice for the things we care about.
STOP THE CUTS!
Racker has joined with Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State, together with IAC and other partners in support of NYDA’s priorities to combat harmful cuts to essential services. Our supporters have sent more than 30,000 messages so far, but our work isn’t done. Here’s what you can do:
- Send this link – www.cpstate.org/advocacy – to your parents, staff, self- and other advocates, and ask them to flood the inboxes of their elected officials.
- Share the link on your social media channels.
- Ask your supporters to enhance the message with their personal stories of how cuts will affect them.
Use the one click advocacy tool (also available below) to generate a message to be sent to US Senators, US Representatives, and NYS Governor Cuomo. A draft, customizable letter and phone script is pre generated, and the tool automatically pairs the user with their state and federal reps.
You can indicate if you are a parent, a family member, caregiver, or other support of a person with intellectual or developmental disability. Emotion is very powerful, but we ask that you be emotional and factual. Provide detail, without exaggeration, about how the vacancy rate cuts would affect you and others.
Share the link on your social media channels.
Here’s a sample post: Devastating cuts to disability services were enacted on October 1. We’ve been neglected during this pandemic and now $265 million in cuts and withheld funding is threatening the very existence of providers who support New Yorkers with I/DD and their families. But this isn’t over. We still have a voice and we need your help. Go to www.cpstate.org/advocacy/ to send the message to the Governor and other representatives demanding that disability services be fully funded.
Invest in Special Ed Schools! #OurKidsAreYOURKids
Fight chronic underfunding of special education!
New York’s special education preschool 4410 and school age 853 programs are in trouble! Our schools serve children with disabilities whose local public school district cannot provide a free and appropriate public education as required by law. In this year’s budget, school aid funding was increased by $3 billion, but schools for children with disabilities are historically neglected.
Click to Use CP State’s advocacy tool to tell your representatives to fight this chronic underfunding! (tool can also be found below)
Equity: Our children are publicly funded and should be treated the same as children attending public school. Funding increases must be the same for our 4410 and 853 schools as public schools. We also need to have digital equity; the same access to iPads, computer devices and Wi-Fi.
Access: Children in our schools have a right to a certified special education teacher. The salary disparity between our teachers and public schools has grown so large it is impossible for our schools to recruit and retain certified teachers.
Quality: Children in our schools are entitled to high-quality instruction and programs. It is becoming increasingly difficult given the excessive teacher turnover and the lack of adequate funding.
