Note: The following is a transcript of Bob Crabtree’s remarks, delivered on Saturday, March 4, to attendees of COPAA’s annual special education advocacy conference upon his receipt of the Diane Lipton Award for Outstanding Advocacy.  His presentation was delivered over the internet as he was unable to attend in person.

Thank you so much, Dana (Johnson), and good afternoon to my friends and fellow warriors –

I am so pleased to have this award from COPAA.  I have loved watching this very special organization grow into a robust resource for families whose children struggle in school, and their advocates and attorneys.  COPAA stands tall, manifesting the great power that can be exercised through organizing people with widely varying interests around a common mission at a national level. COPAA educates and trains in special education law, fights to sustain and advance those rights, and speaks truth to power both directly at all levels of government, and indirectly through COPAA’s many trainees, as they assist parents in the clinches of Team meetings, negotiations with school districts and due process hearings.  Every state should have a comparable local organization – as Massachusetts does in its Federation for Children with Special Needs, the Mass. Advocates for Children, the Disability Law Center and others – but having COPAA so powerfully active at the national level provides an indispensable resource that greatly enhances the effectiveness of state organizations. Continue reading →

It is with great pride that we share the news that our colleague, Bob Crabtree, will receive the 2017 Diane Lipton Award for Outstanding Advocacy from the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA), a prominent national organization that protects the legal and civil rights of students with disabilities and their families. Each year, as part of their Annual Conference, COPAA honors the memory of Diane Lipton, a tireless advocate for children with disabilities for over two decades, with this award.  Bob’s decades of leadership in legislative work, representation of myriad families in special education matters, training of innumerable special education attorneys and advocates, and his invaluable contribution to the library of special education advocacy make him a well deserving choice for this award. Congratulations Bob!