Kentucky Protection and Advocacy has asked the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence to include special education information for participants in next year’s parent leadership institutes.KPA is a federally mandated state agency that protects persons with disabilities. KPA attorney Leslie Jones says the agency spends a lot of time working with students.Now, KPA wants to add an element to Prichard’s program that has been newly named the Governor’s Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership.Jones says the point of the institutes are to provide parents with tools they can use to increase education for all.“It’s not academic excellence for white kids. It’s not academic excellence for brown females. It’s not academic excellence for the rich people or the poor people. Its academic excellence for everybody," she said.Prichard has a goal to raise $1 million to offer several regional institutes next year, which are free to parents who are accepted. The multi-day sessions have decreased the past few years, but Gov. Steve Beshear recently announced his support of the initiative and says he’ll help raise funds for the group.
