At the Sumner County Special Needs Collaborative, our vision is to improve the livability of Sumner County for individuals with special needs, disabilities, or neurodivergence. One way that we do that is through advocacy on a local level.
Local advocacy means advocacy on a bigger level than in individual families- it means within the local government, the school system, or with businesses. As a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, we do not promote an individual candidate for office, but we can provide information so that voters can make informed decisions. We can express what the needs of our disability community are and request that they are taken into consideration when decisions are being made.
Last year during the elections for school board, we reached out to all of the candidates and invited them to answer questions related to special education. Many of them responded and we posted that information for everyone to read to assist voters in their decision-making process.
Fast forward to March 2023 and the Director search. A school board member reached out to us to see if we had any questions we wanted asked of the Director candidates on behalf of individuals involved in special education. We felt that this was a big step forward and we were grateful to be included in this discussion. The school board member listed one of our questions first, but the question was deleted and an adequate reason wasn’t given. The school board member expressed confusion to me about the special education question being overlooked, and my response was, “this is disappointing but you are definitely getting a clearer picture of our plight and why our organization exists.”
Advocacy for the SCSNC is about banding together to make our voices heard. It’s about having a seat at the table when decisions are made that affect us and our family members. What issues in the community do you think need a bigger consideration of individuals with special needs, disabilities, or neurodivergence?
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