Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 2
9 Adar 5762

In This Issue:
1. Did You Know? An Introduction to Public Policy
2. Spotlight on Purim
3. Matanot to MATAN

Did you know that in the public domain the obligation to educate all children regardless of ability was addressed more than 25 years ago? Before 1975, approximately one million children were excluded from public school. During that year Public Law 94-142, The Education for All Handicapped Children Act, was instituted to ensure that all handicapped children would have the right to a public education. Procedures were established so that state and local educational agencies could be held accountable for providing educational services to all children. By 1990, legislators understood that even this was not enough. Children with special needs were being grouped together with low expectations and a lack of understanding of how to apply replicable research on proven methods of teaching and learning for children with disabilities. In 1990, the law was reauthorized and became the Individuals with Disabilities Act (I.D.E.A.). Public schools must now locate and identify children with disabilities who may be in need of special education. The law states that these children will "have available to them free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs." Schools are required to teach children in the "least restrictive environment"; in other words, children must have the opportunity to succeed in a classroom setting that does not lose sight of their strengths.

While there is not yet public legislation or funding regarding religious education, we read in the Sh'mah each day that we must teach our children. At MATAN, we interpret this to mean "all children", meaning that every child must be included in Jewish education regardless of his/her strengths or weaknesses, abilities or disabilities. As we approach the holiday of Purim, we urge you to consider your own power to give the gift of Jewish learning to every child.

Purim provides us with a unique opportunity to examine our own place in the Jewish community. Traditionally, when we go to hear the Megillah reading on Purim, we are asked to give tzedakah, charity, in recognition of the half-shekel that every Jewish person used to pay as dues to the Temple in Jerusalem. According to many sources, giving a half-shekel rather than a whole served to remind each person that he/she could not be complete without being part of the larger Jewish community. The Talmud tells us that in the time of Mordechai and Esther, the lack of unity among the Jewish people was one of the most significant problems. As we listen to their story this year, let us remember the importance of including every Jewish person in our community. On Purim, we are commanded to give Matanot Le'evyonim, gifts to those less fortunate than ourselves. This year, please consider making a contribution to MATAN, so that we may give the gift of Jewish learning to a child who has not yet had the opportunity to be included in the larger Jewish community. May we suggest...

$18 in recognition of Shushan, $36 in honor of Mordechai, $72 in tribute to Queen Esther or $180 in acknowledgment of the Whole Megillah!

Send an e-mail to info@matankids.org to let us know about your Purim pledge to MATAN, or simply send your tax-deductible contribution to:
MATAN: The Gift of Jewish Learning for Every Child
111 Eighth Avenue 11th Floor
New York, NY 10011-5201