Advocacy: 4201 Schools Association

Schermerhorn building on Pelham Parkway.

The Institute is one of 11 privately operated New York State-supported schools established by section 4201 of Education Law the State Legislature, and represented by the 4201 Schools Association whose mission is "to advocate for the blind, deaf, and severely physically disabled children of New York State."

To learn more about the section 4201, follow this external link to the New York State Education Department's website

https://www.nysed.gov/special-education/approved-private-special-act-state-operated-and-state-supported-schools-new-york

To learn more about the 4201 Schools Association, follow this external link to the Associations website

https://4201schools.org/about-us/

Advocacy: A Timeline

1975 to present

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

2017

Advocates for New York’s Blind, Deaf and Physically Challenged Meet with Congressional Delegation in Washington
The Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act Introduced in the House. What is the Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act? Introduced in House (02/16/2017), the Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act is a bill that amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to require a state to identify, evaluate, and provide special education and related services to children who have visual or hearing disabilities (or both) and also are, or may be, classified in another disability category. A state must ensure that it has enough qualified personnel to serve children who have such disabilities and that a full continuum of alternative placements is available to meet the needs of disabled children for special education and related services. The individualized education program for each child that is either (or both) visually or hearing impaired must include specified components and must provide the child with instruction that meets the child's unique learning needs. Similarly, the individualized family service plan for an infant or toddler with a hearing disability must include specified components. A state's closure of a special school serving deaf or blind children shall count as a reduction of its financial support for special education and related services for purposes of the prohibition against reducing state financial support for such services from one fiscal year to the next. The bill also: (1) authorizes grants for training special education personnel, to be used in preparing individuals to become qualified teachers and early intervention specialists for children with hearing disabilities; and (2) establishes within the Department of Education the Anne Sullivan Macy Center on Visual Disability and Educational Excellence to better support students with visual disabilities. Source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1120