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For my kids, school started yesterday. We have two in high school and two in middle school. Caitlin, our oldest is driving. It is certainly helpful to have another driver and she is a very responsible young person, but I know you will understand how much her mother and I worry.

Because school is starting, in this newsletter issue I usually talk about what returning to school means for our family. This year, however, I am going to offer a short article written by one of our regional staff, Sandy Muncy. We have regional staff in fourteen locations around the state. They work directly with families, schools and other service providers in their areas. They also work with parent volunteers who do what they can to support other parents and families in their communities. Facilitating communication with and within the network of volunteers is part of the work of regional staff. Many offer a periodic newsletter. Sandy wrote the following article for her newsletter.

"I was shopping in Wal-Mart the other day and couldn't help noticing the telltale signs of the eminent advent of the Back to School Season. Shelves full of backpacks and filler paper, ink pens and markers, endcaps full of calculators...and the unavoidable long lines at the lay-away counter. As the song says, Back to School Season, for many parents-well "it's the most wonderful time of the year." Stressful and expensive as it is, most of us look forward to it. However, for parents of kids with disabilities the whole back to school process is other more complicated. The "to-do" list is often must longer. There are prescriptions to pick up, transportation to be arranged, paperwork to put in order, etc. Often there are changes in our kids over the summer and we need to meet with school staff before the first day of class or IEP issues still remain to be worked out. Final details may need to be added to Health Care Plans. And then, of course, even when you have all that worked out you still stress about what will happen to your child when they are out of your sight and in someone else's care. It's a never ending worry.

In your rush to dot every I and cross every T, please remember that going back to school can be stressful for your children as well, especially if they are moving to a new building, are in a class with a teacher/teachers they've never had before, are riding a new bus , or maybe even have a new aide. Never fear, there are things you can do to help your child feel more at ease with returning to school. In this newsletter I've included some great resources for activities you can do with your kids to help ease the transition back into school.

So take some time out of your busy Back to School Season mania to spend some quality time with your kids to prepare them. In the end I think you'll both find that the whole process becomes less of a challenge for everyone. And after the bus pulls away that first day be sure to sit down with your coffee and newspaper and enjoy having a few peaceful moments to yourself. You've earned it. And don't forget-teachers are stressed out too!"

One other thing I want our readers to be mindful of is the pending implementing federal regulations for IDEA'04. The regulations may well be finished by the end of this year. They will certainly impact our state rule and changes will need to be made. It is important to understand that our state rule can include a higher standard(s), in a sense, we can do more than the federal regulations require, but we cannot do less, we cannot have lower standards. I expect there will be a great deal of debate around what to change and what to keep. Parent input will be important. We will try to get information to you so that you can add your informed voice to the debate.

Have a great year, kids. And, as always...

Best wishes,

Rich