Joanne Osmond serves on the Governing Board and Executive Board of the Special Education District of Lake County (SEDOL) and served as the President of the SEDOL Executive Board for three years. Joanne has been involved with SEDOL for thirty years first as the mother of a daughter with Down Syndrome and more recently as the SEDOL representative from the Lake Villa District 41 School Board. She strives for a balance between quality education and fiscal accountability to the stakeholders.

Joanne is her local Board representative to SEDOL’s (Special Education District of Lake County) Governing Board since 2005 and a member of SEDOL Executive Committee since 2007. She serves on several committees including Finance, Building (a new facility for profoundly handicapped), Technology, and Negotiations. SEDOL’s mission has changed significantly over the years. When the organization was first formed, SEDOL instructional programs were provided for virtually all children with disabilities from our member districts. As a result of the Regular Education Initiative and the emphasis on inclusion programming, SEDOL has progressively moved toward encouraging districts to provide more inclusive programs that are closer to students’ homes and their home school districts. SEDOL continues to support inclusive education environments where appropriate, while recognizing the need for a full continuum of educational service options tailored to the unique needs of individual children and their families.

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