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Information
about the State budget comes to us from a variety of sources, each
with updated news about different areas of the budget and the
budget process. Each story contains links where you can find more
information. We have reprinted the stories just as they have been
received.
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Why You Must Act Now
In April, the House of Representatives passed H.B.
1350. At this point, our only hope of derailing
several damaging amendments to the IDEA is in the
Senate.
Read More
The Senate Committee of Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions (HELP) is drafting its own version of the
bill. Legislative experts report that the situation
in the HELP committee is fluid and uncertain. While
several HELP members are in our corner, there is
strong opposition from some quarters, including
Senator Lamar Alexander's staff.
Plainly, the Senators are getting a great deal of
their information from school districts. Senate staff
repeat stories of "Cadillac services" coerced out of
defenseless school districts by parents' lawyers who
run "IDEA mills." These stories involve dolphins and
horseback riding lessons. You get the picture.
It is absolutely imperative that all members of the
Senate, especially the members of the HELP committee
(names and states listed below), hear from their
constituents - that's you!
If you are from Tennessee, your help is urgently
needed since Senators Frist and Alexander are HELP
members. If you are from Ohio, Kansas or Alabama, you
need to educate Senator DeWine and Senator Roberts who
are new to IDEA issues, and Senator Sessions who has
shown some interest in the parents' positions.
Write about your child or children for whom you
advocate. Write, call or e-mail, but please, please
let your voice be heard.
As for what you should say to our Senators, here are
some ideas.
1. Tell a simple, human story that anyone can
relate to.
Personal stories are important. Explain how your
child, or a child for whom you advocate, will be hurt
by the proposed changes.
Don't focus on diagnosis or specialized interventions.
Talk about denial of access to quality education,
about lack of opportunity for educational progress. It
is important to tell our stories in terms that all
Americans can relate to.
Explain why this bill will turn back the clock, harm
children, or lead to increased costs to society if
children with disabilities do not get the education
they need to "prepare them for employment and
independent living" (§1400(d) Purposes of IDEA
statute)
2. Emphasize how difficult it has been to get the
most basic services for your child or the children for
whom you advocate.
We need to counteract the stereotype that we are whiny
upper-middle class parents who want outrageously
expensive services at public expense because we have a
sense of entitlement.
Stress that you are a middle class parent who is
struggling to ensure that your child receives the
medical and educational services - and that you don't
know why this has to be such a battle. If you are an
advocate, emphasize that you advocate for parents who
are often unaware of their rights, whose children have
been denied the most basic services, who are poor, who
try hard in school but who have received very little
specially designed instruction and whose prospects in
adult life are dim as a result.
3. Advocates and attorneys need to counteract the
myth that we are operating "IDEA mills."
Most attorneys who represent children with
disabilities are solo practitioners, public interest
lawyers and members of small firms. We often handle
IDEA cases on not much more than a wing and a prayer.
We need to emphasize the positive role that parents'
lawyers can play as problem solvers, especially in
situations where school districts are advised by
lawyers from the beginning.
List of HELP members:
Senator Judd Gregg (NH), Chair
Senator Bill Frist (TN)
Senator Edward Kennedy (MA), Ranking Member
Senator Mike Enzi (WY)
Senator Christopher Dodd (CT)
Senator Lamar Alexander (TN)
Senator Tom Harkin (IA)
Senator Christopher Bond (MO)
Senator Barbara Mikulski (MD)
Senator Mike DeWine (OH)
Senator James Jeffords (I) (VT)
Senator Pat Roberts (KS)
Senator Jeff Bingaman (NM)
Senator Jeff Sessions (AL)
Senator Patty Murray (WA)
Senator John Ensign (NV)
Senator Jack Reed (RI)
Senator Lindsey Graham (SC)
Senator John Edwards (NC)
2. Your To Do
List
* June 11 & 12:
National Call-In Days
(Toll-Free #)
ASHA (the American
Speech-Language-Hearing Association) is sponsoring a
toll-free call-in day to Senators on Wednesday June 11
and Thursday June 12 between 9:00-5:00 Eastern time.
The number you can use to call in toll-free on those
days is 1-800-760-3014.
Theme: Retain IDEA "Highest Qualified" Provider
Language So Our Kids Can Get the Support They Need
The focus of this initiative by ASHA is to urge the
Senate to retain the current IDEA requirement that our
children receive treatment/therapy from the "highest
qualified" providers. I.e., our children should remain
entitled to help from certified, qualified
speech/language pathologists (SLP's), as well as other
professional such as occupational therapists (OT's),
physical therapists (PT's), etc. If less qualified
individuals are allowed to provide treatment, that
could hurt our kids by providing them with substandard
care.
3. Don't Leave Us Behind -
IDEA Rally in Washington DC - June 17, 2003
Don't Leave Us Behind, a national rally and
press conference to Preserve Civil Rights under IDEA
for Students with Disabilities, has been organized for
June 17, 2003 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at
the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Room G50.
Learn about the
IDEA Rally:
http://www.wrightslaw.com/news/2003/idea.rally.htm
More information:
East Coast:
Sue
Hetrick at (866) 885-5733 or by email
shetrick@abilitycenter.org.
West Coast: Julia
Epstein (510) 644-2555 or email
jepstein@dredf.org
Lobby Day results directly
in Health Care Committee's Plans
Mon, 9 Jun 2003
The following is a letter that was shared with people who
attended Lobby Day at the State House in April, 2003, during
Autism Awareness Month activities. It comes to us from the Autism
Resource Center of Central Massachusetts (508-595-9101).
Thanks for sharing our excitement that the Lobby Day. Sen. Moore's
time at the event and with us and our actual documentation has
been incorporated into a significant public policy document for
the state. As I shared, Sen. Richard Moore, the Chair of the
Health Care Committee has just released his policy plan for the
next 15 years, in which he discusses 10 goals, with an eye towards
setting direction for the state for a comprehensive plan for
health care delivery with immediate, short and long term goals
along with mechanisms to accomplish them. The whole docket can be
viewed at
www.caringcommonwealth.com.
Of note is that of his 10 goals, “Goal 2 - Focus on Prevention and
Care Management” directly incorporates the words and work from
April 15th's Lobby Day's legislator packets. The second goal under
"Immediate objectives (2003-2004) is: "Complete the Statewide
Prevalence Study of Autism and implement recommendations based on
the study and support the DOE/DMR
"Initiative to Keep Children at Home". Develop a plan on how best
to serve children and adults with autism spectrum disorders,
including those who are not mentally retarded."
To meet his goal, the Senator has filed legislation that would
create a “Massachusetts Health Policy Coordinating Council”, in
which he envisions the “Council shall invite the stakeholders
involved in each objective to assist with the implementation and
evaluation of progress for each
objective. In addition, the Council shall identify an appropriate
state or non-profit organization to serve as lead agency for each
objective, gain concurrence in accepting this responsibility, and
designate those responsible as lead agencies or organizations to
implement the short term
and long term objectives.”
I am hopeful that the Foundation and The Coalition will understand
that our specific efforts in highlighting autism spectrum disorder
are now "officially recognized" as an "Immediate Objective" and
that there is a commitment and an upcoming "structure" to
accomplish your goals for kids and families.
If you need any more information, please do not hesitate to
contact us.
Gloria and Stacey
Craven & Ober, Policy Strategists, LLC
U.S. Congressman McGovern
Speaks Out Against HR1350 (IDEA Revisions)
Thank you for expressing your
support for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA). I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.
Your views are particularly timely given the fact that the U.S.
House of Representatives will soon consider H.R. 1350, the
Improving Education Results for Children with Disabilities Act
of 2003, which is the reauthorization bill for the existing
IDEA. Please know that I had several serious concerns regarding
H.R. 1350 as it was reported out of the House Committee on
Education and the Workforce, and that I voted against final
passage of this bill when it was debated on the floor of the
full U.S. House of Representatives.
Like you, I believe that special support for children with
disabilities is of great importance, and that the federal
government must provide as much as it can for enhanced and
specialized education and early childhood care programs for
American children with disabilities.
As you know, IDEA
provides federal funds to assist the states in assuring that
each child with a disability receives a free appropriate public
education. It also includes provisions for a specialized and
personalized individual education program to address the needs
of each child with a disability, an environment in which
disabled and non-disabled children are educated together, and
legal procedural safeguards for children with disabilities and
their parents. Since Fiscal Year 1996, total IDEA funding has
increased by 210%, with $8.7 billion provided for the State
Grant Program in the Fiscal Year 2003 Omnibus Supplemental
Appropriations Act.
Having said this, please understand that I am appalled by
the fact that the federal government still has not lived up to
its promise, made 28 years ago, to provide 40 percent of the
added costs of educating children with disabilities. President
Bush's recommendation to fund the IDEA State Grant Program at
$9.53 billion would raise the federal contribution only to 19
percent of the average per pupil expenditure. While this
increase will allow programs to maintain current levels of
service, it does not support current bipartisan congressional
efforts to fully fund IDEA within six years.
I was also very concerned by many of the changes in H.R.
1350 to procedures that help ensure parents and children fully
understand the learning program and benchmarks for the student's
education, as well as other changes that appear to undermine
basic rights and guarantees for
parents and students.
As a strong supporter of IDEA, please know that I fought
for a strong IDEA program during House debate on the
reauthorization, and that I will continue to work for increased
funding in the appropriations bills so that these programs can
be properly administered and implemented for all
students who deserve these educational programs and services.
If you would like to review my remarks on the House floor during
the debate on H.R. 1350, you can find them on my web site at
http://www.house.gov/mcgovern.
Thank you again for expressing your support for this
important program. Please do not hesitate to contact me again
regarding this or any other issue.
Sincerely,
James P. McGovern
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