Diane Lipton Award for Outstanding Advocacy

Each year, COPAA awards the Diane Lipton Award for Outstanding Educational Advocacy on Behalf of Children with Disabilities. The award is named in memory of COPAA founding Board member and national disabilities attorney Diane J. Lipton. The recipient an individual or group of individuals who have made a particularly exceptional and outstanding contribution to COPAA's primary mission: obtaining high-quality educational services for children with disabilities. More

Previous recipients of the Diane Lipton Award have included Wendy Byrnes (2006), Kathleen Boundy (2007), Judith Gran (2008), and Ellen Chambers (2009).

Special Distinguished Public Service Award to Senator Edward M. Kennedy for Highly Meritorious Service In May 2007, COPAA gave an award for Distinguished Public Service to Senator Kennedy, for his decades of advocacy to protect the rights of children with disabilities, and ensure that they receive appropriate educations. More

Distinguished Service Awards COPAA has also given distinguished service awards to attorneys and advocates who have made special efforts to protect the rights of children with disabilities. Past recipients include Ankur Goel of McDermott, Will, and Emery in 2006; Jim Comstock-Galagan and Courtney Bowie of the Southern Poverty Law Center and Hector Linares of Protection and Advocacy, Inc. in 2007; and the law firm of Baker & McKenzie in 2008.

Information about the membership scholarship program is here.

Scholarship Donations. To donate to any of the scholarship programs, click here. You can donate online or print out a form. COPAA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation; all donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law.

Registration Fee Discount Scholarship
A limited number of qualified individuals whose family income is at or below the federal poverty level or have extenuating circumstances may apply for a conference registration fee discount. As part of the scholarship program we ask that recipients volunteer 1-2 hours of time working at the COPAA conference.   If you are interested in applying for this type of scholarship please send in a written statement with the Conference Registration Form Feb. 1, 2010 that explains why you believe you meet eligibility.  A COPAA Representative will contact you to confirm eligibility and availability.

Beth Goodman Scholarship Program. Since 2003, COPAA has awarded Beth Goodman memorial scholarships to COPAA members who have made significant contributions to special education advocacy but could not otherwise afford to attend the conference. The scholarship honors the memory of Beth Goodman, a member of the COPAA Board until her death in 2002. Beth was an outstanding attorney who dedicated her life to fighting for the rights of students with disabilities in Washington D.C.

Memorial Scholarships. COPAA welcomes the donation of scholarship funds for our annual conference as a special memorial or in honor of an individual. More information is available here.