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SENATE TO ACT SOON ON IDEA REAUTHORIZATION
June 2003Background:
Following passage of H.R. 1350 in the U.S. House of Representatives, the scene shifts to the Senate as the 108th Congress works to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Every disability advocacy group is on record as strongly opposing H.R. 1350. The House passed bill is the most partisan bill in IDEA's nearly 30-year history. Only 34 of 205 Democrats voted for H.R. 1350, while only 7 of 228 Republicans opposed the bill. The bill strips students with disabilities of certain due process rights and places new burdens and maze of options and limitations on parents who seek to pursue due process. The bill even removes the requirement in current law for school officials to consider the impact of a child's disability when certain school rules are violated.
For the sake of paperwork burden removal, up to 10 states could waive any and all IDEA rules. Short term objectives and benchmarks, key factors for securing parent approval and understanding of a student's Individualized Education Program (IEP), are essentially stricken from the law.
In general, the House bill will do the opposite of what the bill's sponsors claim. Instead of improving the level of trust between parents and school officials, H.R. 1350 will most likely increase the tension between them. Instead of less paperwork and less litigation, the opposite is likely to happen. Most problematic, H.R. 1350 undermines the spirit and the intent of IDEA. In short, H.R. 1350 is a BAD IDEA that will result in numerous students with disabilities being left behind! Unfortunately, the Bush Administration has expressed it's "strong support" for H.R. 1350.
Disability advocates have high hopes that a bipartisan Senate bill to reauthorize IDEA can be produced soon. Staff of Senators Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Chairman and Ranking Minority Member, respectively, of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP), have been working together for several months, along with other HELP Committee staffers, to craft a bipartisan bill. This bill is expected to be introduced in early June with a HELP Committee mark up before the Fourth of July recess.
Action Needed:
Both Senators from your state need to receive as many phone calls, e- mails, and faxes as possible during the next 2-3 weeks urging them to support a Senate IDEA bill that focuses on students with disabilities ability to learn, not on giving more flexibility to school authorities.Key messages include:
- The current IDEA law is good public policy and does not require a major overhaul.
- The House IDEA bill, H.R. 1350, is bad for students with disabilities and their parents. The Senate bill must do much better.
- IDEA now provides school officials ample options to discipline students.
- IDEA funding needs to be increased for the State Grant program (Part B), the Preschool program, the Early Intervention program (Part C) and the Part D National programs, especially Personnel Preparation.
President George W. Bush needs to hear from parents and disability advocates. He needs to hear that H.R. 1350, a bill his Administration strongly supports, is bad policy for children and parents.
Key messages include:
- How can his Administration support a special education bill opposed by practically every national disability group in the country'
- He should be thanked for pursuing major funding increases for Part B of IDEA. He should also press for much higher funding for IDEA's Parts C & D and the Preschool program.
- The current IDEA law is a good law and doesn't need a major overhaul.
- Like he did with No Child Left Behind, he should partner with a bipartisan Congress to pass a bill that leaves no child with a disability behind. H.R. 1350 dismally fails this concept.
The Arc and UCPs' Action Centers can be used to send messages to the White House and any Senator. Get to the Action Centers at The Arc Action Centers or UCP Action Centers. The White House switchboard is (202) 456-1414. You can fax to the White House, c/o Troy Justensen at (202) 456-2546. All Senators can be reached via the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
Attached are sample letters you can use.
Remember the future of special education hangs in the balance. Please act now and get your family, friends and colleagues to do the same.
Thank you.
SAMPLE LETTERS
Sample letter to the President
I am deeply concerned about the future of special education in our country. Knowing of your strong personal commitment to quality educational opportunities and outcomes, I hope that you would take an active role in the education of students with disabilities as you did in the enactment of No Child Left Behind in 2001.
Frankly, I am very concerned that your Administration has given its strong support for the House bill (H.R. 1350) to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). As a disability advocate, it is clear to me and most of my colleagues that this bill will dismally fail to protect vulnerable students and their families.
Instead, H.R. 1350 guts students' and parents' rights and gives school personnel broad authority to discipline and segregate students without taking into consideration the child's disability. The bill is clearly a road map to leave students with disabilities behind.
H.R. 1350 is a BAD IDEA. The Administration should reconsider its position on this flawed approach to reauthorize IDEA.
Mr. President, the U.S. Senate is poised to consider its version of IDEA reauthorization in June. It is likely that the Senate approach, not H.R. 1350, will best meet your policy goals in special education. Please do all that you can to influence the Senate bill so that special education students' rights and those of their parents are preserved.
Thank you for considering these views.
Senate Sample Letter
I contact you as an advocate for students in special education and their families. As you are no doubt aware, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is scheduled for reauthorization this year. The Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee is expected to craft a bipartisan bill in June.
This bill is expected to be a huge improvement over the seriously flawed House bill, H.R. 1350, which passed in April. H.R. 1350 is a BAD IDEA, primarily because it strips vital protections for students with disabilities and their parents. It also gives school authorities wide latitude to discipline students with disabilities without considering those disabilities.
I strongly urge you to support an IDEA reauthorization bill that is bipartisan, protects children with disabilities, enhances their educational opportunities, and fully funds all components of this vital law.
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