Our children see the world through a different lens. As adults, we are proud of their perspective and work hard to maintain it by limiting their exposure to pop culture and the outside world while strengthening their connection to our heritage. When a child has a disability, it was historically very difficult to access services in a culturally appropriate manner.

Twenty years ago, Ms. Marjorie Shulbank was the Section Chief for the Family Support Network in the division of special education at the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). She recognized that frum families were not accessing special education support services through ChildFind. Childfind is the federally mandated requirement that all public school districts have to actively identify, locate, and evaluate children from birth to age 21 who may need special education and related services. Ms. Shulbank  alerted the then Assistant State Superintendent for Special Education, Carol Ann Baglin, and the State Superintendent, Nancy Grasmick, who all cared deeply about meeting the needs of children. They wanted to make sure that frum children had the same access to educational opportunities as the rest of the children under their watch.

Ms. Shulbank went on a listening tour and Shayna Levine-Hefetz,  the director of Special Education at the Center for Jewish Education (CJE), was deputized to collect numbers of students with disabilities. Rabbi Hopfer, shlit”a, recorded a robocall which asked everyone who had children with disabilities to report their information. This was very successful and with the headcount in hand, the MSDE and CJE team coordinated with Ed Miller in Governor Ehrlich’s office and the governor carved out funding for the project. The Partnership for Educational Needs (PEN) was born. Funding is not enough though; it took partnership. Ms. Shulbank and Mrs. Levine-Hefetz went to Rabbi Yaakov Schwartz at Talmudical Academy Middle School and identified the first group of boys who had diagnosed disabilities and could benefit from a special class for secular studies.

The crux of PEN was that the State team understood the unique cultural needs of the Orthodox Jewish community. In fact, they shared that there was precedent since the Mennonite children in the Western part of the state are educated in their own public schools with Mennonite teachers. Our children similarly require a culturally and linguistically appropriate educational environment.

Over the years, PEN has evolved. It no longer provides related services such as speech and PT on site at the day schools because that effort is now embraced by the counties. Now, there are 8 classes in four yeshiva day schools where children can learn with their peers. Once, those children would have been at risk of being educated in other settings and with PEN funding and other support, the schools have made great efforts to include children who would otherwise have had to miss out on being in a Jewish environment.

Twenty years ago there were relatively few services and supports. Today, our community is bursting with opportunities for education, advocacy and connection. According to one mother who remembers the early days, Ms. Shulbank and the support from the state helped everything turn around. People recognized that they were eligible for services and support and as a result, began to advocate for their children and their needs. Around the same time, Ms. Shulbank also facilitated the establishment of Kodem Kol which provided access to ChildFind for infants and toddlers in the community and MDSnap which provided parent support and advocacy. This created a new network of professionals in the community including Mrs. Ellen Edinger and Mrs. Naomi Shabtai, a”h, who were ad hoc liaisons between the public system and the Jewish community. The PEN program was ably coordinated first by Marjorie, then by Mrs. Chavi Barenbaum, and for the last ten years by Cathy Jurist. Their commitment to our community’s children allowed the program to continue.

Today,  the PEN position sits in the department of Family Support and Dispute Resolution at MSDE. Amian Kelemer, who sat on the team at CJE when PEN was founded twenty years ago, is the new coordinator. With staff turnover, even MSDE employees are largely unfamiliar with the project's necessity and had to be reintroduced to the PEN concept. Recently, a few members of MSDE’s special education and nonpublic staff teams had the opportunity to visit schools with classrooms supported by the PEN project. By visiting, they understood the value of the project through seeing the commitment of the schools, the cultural needs of the children and the excellence of the teachers.

With the incredible growth of the community, added support services in place and some families opting for testing outside of the public system, the counties might not be as aware of the numbers of children with diagnosed disabilities. There is a provision in the law to provide “proportionate share” funding for testing and services that would benefit children who are parentally placed in private schools. Access and utilization of services is part of what keeps those funds in place. Understanding where children are accessing services and for what needs can help identify gaps.

As a result, twenty years later, Rabbi Hopfer is asking once again for families to fill out a brief form that will help get a handle on the numbers of children. If you have questions about access to services there are many ways to get information. In addition to the PEN project (410.456.9984), there is: Kodem Kol (667-205-4047), Yahalom (667-430-0901) and the Network 410-735-5012. There are also school options such as: JEWELS, Binyan Yisroel and Tiferes Golda as well as learning centers supported by Shemesh student service at JES, Lamdeinu at TA, Shine and L’ayla at TI. There is Menucha respite and programs, as well as other after school classes and programs through organizations like: Bas Melech Imadi, Friendship Circle, YACHAD and Gesher LaTorah.

Despite the wonderful resources, there are still gaps in service and the need for additional funding. If you have a child with a disability who is newborn through age 21, we urge your to fill out this form (one per child) in order for us to consider what else needs to be done.