Welcome

The purpose of this group is to help parents obtain education services, including in-home or parent-approved environment services, for children in Arkansas who have one or more of the following conditions: Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, Seizure Disorder.

Arkansas House Bill 1665 of 2009, the Extension Education Program for Exceptional Students Act sponsored by Rep. Mark Martin, would have allotted an annual budget in excess of $10,000 for a parent-approved program in the home, a home-like environment, or other parent-approved environment for these children, including perhaps in time a more mainstream setting.

On the assurance of the representative for the Department of Education that the state could already offer such a program, the bill was voted down. Parents Will Be Heard is an advocacy group to assist parents in getting the services from the department of education that the department assured the legislators we could have. The Extension Education Program for Exceptional Students Act will be in an interim study this summer and come up for a vote again in the Spring of 2010.

We need imput from parents with exceptional students who have found that the public school enviroment is not a safe, suitable place for their child to learn successfully. Please click on the appropriate form on the right of this page and tell us your story.