National Center for Learning Disabilities Inc.

Filing Period

Jul 1, 2011 to Jun 30, 2012

Signed

Feb 12, 2013

Return Version

2011v1.5

Gross Receipts

$4,710,172

Mission

Major Activities

Activity 2

Essential information: ncld provides essential information about ld and related disorders to parents, educators, related service providers, media, and policy makers as well as to individuals with ld. - in 2011-2012, ncld's ld.org was relaunched in order to be even more responsive to parents' needs. As a result, the number of monthly visitors increased by 220% and the site became the #1 site on google for the term "learning disabilities". The website receives more than 1 million visitors each year. It features information about ld in easy-to-access formats such as articles, checklists and worksheets, informational toolkits and a changing menu of news items that address the challenges of ld throughout the year and across the lifespan. The site also offers a free online national/state resource locator, audio podcasts by experts, live online ld talk events, videos, an ld insights blog and interactive ld checklist, as well as a growing library of spanish-language materials. Ncld's electronic newsletters, serving both parents and educators, reach more than 50,000 subscribers annually. - ncld hosts the getreadytoread.org website that provides resources on early learning and literacy to parents, early childhood educators and early care providers. In 2011-2012, the site served more than 125,000 visitors. - in 2011-2012 ncld led a special needs anti-bullying taskforce. The taskforce partnered with the bully project to raise awareness of america's bullying crisis-specifically how it affects children with special needs and their families. It helped spread awareness about the film bully, a character-driven documentary opening a window onto the pained and often endangered lives of children who are bullied, those who engage in bullying behavior, and those who are bystanders. Directed by sundance and emmy-award winning filmmaker lee hirsch, the film reveals a problem that transcends geographic, racial, ethnic and economic borders. During the film's opening weekend, ncld led street teams to promote the film and encouraged representatives from more than 450 schools and organizations that work with children with special needs to invite parents and teachers to a screening of the movie. To build on the momentum, the taskforce created a special needs anti- bullying toolkit with resources and tools for dealing with bullying of children with special needs. An online day of action in early may encouraged those affected by bullying to tell their stories to the community and get involved in fixing the problem.

Activity 3

Public policy: ncld's public policy and advocacy program influences policy discussion and decision-making at the federal level. In 2011-2012, a coalition that consists of the u.s. Chamber of commerce, civil rights groups and advocates for english language learners, with ncld as the lead disability partner, conducted a campaign to speak out against the senate and house elementary and secondary education act (esea) bills, which did not protect students with ld and other at-risk students. Ncld also served as the lead partner with the council for exceptional children to bring parents and individuals with ld to a white house roundtable on special education. The event was joined by 500 people live via teleconference for a discussion of pressing education issues with key white house and u.s. Department of education officials. Ncld also produced a webinar on esea waivers to explain key components and concerns with the waivers and their impact on disadvantaged students. In addition, ncld brought parent leaders to dc and made visits to members of congress and the senate and their staff to raise awareness of ld, advocate stronger accountability in esea and support the safe school improvement act (anti-bullying bill). As a result, we were able to secure language in both the republican and democratic draft workforce investment act reauthorization bills to support better transition planning for students leaving high school who need workforce training and increased access to literacy instruction and support. We also developed a comprehensive examination on state dyslexia activity (laws, pilot studies, etc.) to understand the nature and scope of the state-level efforts to support the learning needs of students with dyslexia. The report will be used as discussion continues in the field about dyslexia-specific work. For the presidential election, ncld informed voters about the candidates' views on six key education issues that are critical to any family with a child with ld.

Filer

EIN

13-2899381