Heather Eckner

One Year Later – Reflections on the SEE Survey & Advocacy Priorities Elevating lived experience, identifying system barriers, and amplifying voices of parents & students with disabilities Special Education Experience (SEE) Survey: Report to the Community On October 24, 2024, the Autism Alliance of Michigan (AAoM) released the Statewide Special Education Experience (SEE) Survey: Report […]

Autism Alliance of Michigan Public Comment State Board of Education October 14, 2025   Modernizing Special Education Finance Through the MI Blueprint:  An Imperative for Michigan Good afternoon, Board members, Interim Superintendent, and Department staff.  I’m Heather Eckner, and I serve as the statewide director of education for the Autism Alliance of Michigan. The Autism

Autism Alliance of Michigan Public Comment State Board of Education September 9, 2025 RE: Strengthening Special Education Through Complaint Reform & Systemic Solutions: Upholding Rights and Rebuilding Trust Good afternoon, board members, Superintendent, and department staff.  The Autism Alliance of Michigan (AAoM) appreciates the opportunity to again provide public comment.  AAoM’s Education pillar advances a

August 18, 2025 Michigan Department of Education 608 W. Allegan Street P.O. Box 30008 Lansing, MI 48909 Read here: 2025.0818 Autism Alliance__Imperatives for selecting the State Superintendent RE: Imperative for the Selection of a Transformative State Superintendent Dear Members of the Michigan State Board of Education: On June 25, the Autism Alliance of Michigan (AAoM)

Autism Alliance provides public comment to the State Board of Education calls for End of Harmful Seclusion and Restraint (August 12, 2025) Autism Alliance of Michigan Public Comment State Board of Education August 12, 2025 Read here: 2025.0812 Autism Alliance Public Comment_State Board of Ed_Seclusion and Restraint RE: Ending Harmful Seclusion and Restraint in Michigan

Commentary | It’s time to fund Special Education based on what students actually need by Dr. Scott Koenigsknecht August 5, 2025 As a parent of a child with a disability, a longtime educator, and an advocate for students with disabilities, I’ve seen firsthand how Michigan’s current special education funding system falls short. It falls short

Opinion | What Michigan needs in its next superintendent of public instruction by Heather Eckner July 7, 2025 As the Michigan State Board of Education selects our state’s next superintendent of public instruction, we find ourselves at a pivotal crossroads. With more than 1.4 million students across more than 800 public school districts, Michigan’s education

June 25, 2025 Michigan Department of Education 608 W. Allegan Street P.O. Box 30008 Lansing, MI 48909 Read here: 2025.0625 Autism Alliance Priorities and Considerations for State Superintendent RE: Priorities and Considerations for the Next State Superintendent Dear Members of the Michigan State Board of Education: On behalf of the Autism Alliance of Michigan (AAoM),

Autism Alliance provides public comment to the State Board of Education calls attention to Dropout Crisis for Students with Disabilities (June 10, 2025) Autism Alliance of Michigan Public Comment State Board of Education June 10, 2025 Read here: 2025.0610 Autism Alliance Public Comment_State Board of Ed_Students with Disabilities_Dropout Crisis  Good afternoon board members, Superintendent, and

Parents on Policy: Raising Our Voices, Driving Real Change at Mackinac and Beyond On May 29, 2025, parents, advocates, educators, and organizers gathered virtually for the 4th Annual Parents on Policy Town Hall, held alongside the Mackinac Policy Conference. This year’s theme, “The Equation for Impact: Bringing Parent Voices to the Mackinac Policy Conference”, captured

Autism Alliance provides public comment to the State Board of Education calling for elimination of ‘Functional Independence’ tier of MI-ACCESS (May 13, 2025) Autism Alliance of Michigan Public Comment State Board of Education May 13, 2025 Read here: 2025.0513 Autism Alliance Public Comment_State Board of Ed_Alternate Assessment Call to Action Good afternoon board members, Superintendent, and

Autism Alliance submits public comment on Michigan’s Annual State Application for Funds under IDEA Part C for FFY 2025  (April 24, 2025) Advocacy in Action: holding systems accountable Read here: 2025.0424 Autism Alliance Public Comment on Michigan’s Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2025 Part C of IDEA Application April 24, 2025 Public Comment on Michigan’s Federal

New Resource: MiPAAC LinkTree MiPAAC now has a LinkTree page!  The Michigan Parent, Advocate & Attorney Coalition (MiPAAC), powered by Autism Alliance of Michigan, is a grassroots, statewide group dedicated to student-centered advocacy. MiPAAC aims to educate and empower families of children with special education needs on topics crucial to their advocacy efforts, ensuring all

Autism Alliance provides public comment to the State Board of Education on Michigan’s Annual State Application for Funds under IDEA Part B for FFY 2025  (April 8, 2025) Advocacy in Action: holding systems accountable Autism Alliance of Michigan Public Comment State Board of Education April 8, 2025 Read here: 2025.0408 Autism Alliance Public Comment_State Board

Love & Joy & Advocacy How do we meet the moment with collective action? There has been so much in motion over the past several weeks – to the point that – it has been all consuming just trying to stay on top of What’s happened now? As we’ve been describing it to reporters and

Endrew F. – Celebrating the 2017 unanimous, pro-child Supreme Court decision (March 22, 2017 >> March 22, 2025) Publication date: March 22, 2025 Key dates 1975:  Federal law enacted, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) IDEA provides eligible students with a free appropriate public education (FAPE) through an individualized education program

MI education advocates: Trump moves to dismantle US Department of Education “alarming” (Michigan Public)  Publication date: March 21st, 2025 Read the article here: https://www.michiganpublic.org/education/2025-03-17/mi-education-advocates-trump-moves-to-dismantle-us-department-of-education-alarming SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — The Autism Alliance of Michigan was recently featured in a Michigan Public article highlighting growing concerns over the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education,

Autism Alliance applauds NCYL & COPAA in a lawsuit that challenges the Department of Education’s abdication of responsibility in processing civil rights investigations Publication date: March 17th, 2025 Read the lawsuit here: https://youthlaw.org/sites/default/files/attachments/2025-03/Carter%20v.%20USDOE.pdf SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — The Autism Alliance of Michigan applauds the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) and the Council of Parent Attorneys

Autism Alliance provides public comment to the State Board of Education on the Special Education Experience Survey (March 11, 2025) Autism Alliance of Michigan Public Comment State Board of Education March 11, 2025 Read here: 2025.0311 Autism Alliance Public Comment_State Board of Ed_Special Education Experience Survey Good afternoon board members, Superintendent, and department staff.  The

Meeting the Moment with Collective Action Stronger Together. Read the MiPAAC member communication here: https://mailchi.mp/aaomi/mipaac-us-dept-ed-meeting-moment-collective-action Based on an update from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights during an action call this morning (March 7), it is expected that the Trump administration will issue an Executive Order (EO) regarding the U.S. Department of Education (ED) today.