School is back in session! Prepare yourself for a successful year at SEEK's 2nd annual conference with trending special education issues and must-know advocacy skills to help your child or clients. SEEK is Connecticut’s only parent/professional run organization created to identify barriers in special education and SEEK solutions through changing policy and legislation.

Sessions A

A1. IEPs, FBAs & BIPs for Children with Behavioral Challenges by Jeffrey Forte, Esq. & Solandy Forte, Ph.D., LCSW, BCBA-D
A2. Best Practices in Transition Planning for Individuals with ASD by Nicholas Gelbar, Ph.D.
A3. Understanding Your Student's IEP by Attorney John Flanders

A4. Reading Basics by Kathleen Whitbread, Ph.D.

Sessions B

B1. Using Literacy Evaluations to Inform Instruction & Access Progress by Sheryl Knapp, M.Ed., C/AOGPE, CDT

B2. School Refusal & Truancy by Jennifer Laviano, Esq.

B3. All About Independent Educational Evaluations (IEE) by Diane Willcutts, Education Advocate

B4. Parent Advocacy Playbook: Essential Tips for Navigating the IEP Process by Kit Savage, Education Advocate & Julie Swanson, Education Advocate and SEEK President

Sessions C

C1. Trans-Students: Obtaining Educational Services via IDEA & 504 by Dana Jonson, Esq.

C2. Legal and Financial Planning: How to protect and preserve funds for your loved one’s care - now and in the future by Michael Beloff, CFP & ChFC & Colleen Masse, Esq.

C3. Disciplining Students with Disabilities - suspension, expulsion & manifestation determination by Erin Shaffer, Esq.

C4. Mock PPT Meeting by Anne Treimanis, Esq.

Breakfast Panel: The Players and the Process of Special Education

Typhanie Jackson New Haven Special Education Director; School Board Attorney Linda Yoder, Esq., Shipman and Goodwin; Kirsten Dovenberg, Esq., independent mediator for Bureau of Special Education; Natalie Jones, consultant with the State Department of Education Bureau of Special Education; Parent Attorney Andrew Feinstein, Esq. Panel Moderator - Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, Education Reporter for The Mirror

Lunch Panel: The Future of Special Education

Representative Bobby Sanchez, Chairman of the Education Committee in the Connecticut Legislature; Denise Marshall, Executive Director of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA), the premier national organization advocating for the rights of students with disabilities; Patrice McCarthy, Deputy Director, General Counsel, and long-time lobbyist for the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education; Steven Hernandez, executive director for the Connecticut Commission on Women, Children and Seniors; Robyn Kaplan-Cho, policy person at the Connecticut Education Association. Panel Moderator - Andrew Feinstein, Esq.