Guest guest Posted September 4, 2002 Report Share Posted September 4, 2002 Reducing paperwork, aka reducing accoutability for the SEA. Elaine IDEA Update IDEA Reauthorization Update Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) of the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee are expected to introduce a bill to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) during the second week of September. Key HELP Committee staff are almost finished with a draft bipartisan bill. Among the issues that may be addressed in that bill are making changes to the individual education plan (IEP) to address the perceived paperwork burden without compromising the rights of children; adding a provision for early intervention services before special education; adding provisions to include clearer sanctions with regard to monitoring and enforcement; making the discipline guidelines more understandable while holding to the principle of no cessation of services in any case; focusing Part C changes on increasing quality personnel; developing personnel standards consistent with the No Child Left Behind Act; putting more responsibility on SEAs to get outside agencies involved in transition planning; and refocusing Part D grants to address the shortage of quality personnel. In the House of Representatives, the Committee on Education and the Workforce is expected to introduce an IDEA bill this year, although no date as been set. The reform process in the House will likely concentrate on focusing IDEA on the academic achievement of special education students; reducing the paperwork burden for teachers and school officials and supporting teachers; restoring trust and reducing litigation; improving early intervention strategies; encouraging innovative approaches to parental involvement; ensuring school safety; and reforming special education finance and funding. http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/bulletins/b0802.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 5, 2002 Report Share Posted September 5, 2002 Exactly. Write those letters, folks. Re: IDEA Update Reducing paperwork, aka reducing accoutability for the SEA. Elaine IDEA Update IDEA Reauthorization Update Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) of the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee are expected to introduce a bill to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) during the second week of September. Key HELP Committee staff are almost finished with a draft bipartisan bill. Among the issues that may be addressed in that bill are making changes to the individual education plan (IEP) to address the perceived paperwork burden without compromising the rights of children; adding a provision for early intervention services before special education; adding provisions to include clearer sanctions with regard to monitoring and enforcement; making the discipline guidelines more understandable while holding to the principle of no cessation of services in any case; focusing Part C changes on increasing quality personnel; developing personnel standards consistent with the No Child Left Behind Act; putting more responsibility on SEAs to get outside agencies involved in transition planning; and refocusing Part D grants to address the shortage of quality personnel. In the House of Representatives, the Committee on Education and the Workforce is expected to introduce an IDEA bill this year, although no date as been set. The reform process in the House will likely concentrate on focusing IDEA on the academic achievement of special education students; reducing the paperwork burden for teachers and school officials and supporting teachers; restoring trust and reducing litigation; improving early intervention strategies; encouraging innovative approaches to parental involvement; ensuring school safety; and reforming special education finance and funding. http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/bulletins/b0802.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 15, 2002 Report Share Posted October 15, 2002 How do they plan to reduce litigation, enforce the darn law?? No, never. They just plan to give parents no rights. I hate it when Republicans get ahold of a good law and twist it to suit themselves and their self-centered constituents. " Paperwork burden " is a catchphrase. That means that there will be one responsible. Elaine IDEA UPDATE IDEA UPDATE Neither the Senate Health Education,Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the House Education and the Workforce Committee is expected to introduce a bill for the Reauthorization of IDEA before the end of the 107th Congress. The Senate Committee hopes to have a bipartisan bill for the 108th Congress which will probably include Setting aside a percent of IDEA money to provide special education services to students at risk of being found eligible for special education. Creating seamless services for children with disabilities from 0 to 5. Balancing paperwork and procedural safeguards, including eliminating short term objectives and benchmarks in the IEP Improving transition from school to work or post secondary education. Aligning timelines for " highly qualified " professionals with those in the No Child Left Behind Act Easing personnel shortages Improving monitoring and compliance by including clearer sanctions for noncompliance. Making discipline guidelines more understandable while maintaining assurances that there will be no cessation of services Tapping into Medicaid funding The House Committee's bill will probably include provisions for : Focusing on academic achievement of special education students Reducing the paperwork burden for teachers and administrators Restoring trust and reducing litigation Improving early intervention Encouraging " innovative approaches to parental involvement " Ensuring school safety Reforming special education finance and funding COMMENTS ON IDEA The House Committee on Education and the Workforce is still collecting comments on IDEA. Subcommittee Chairman Mike Castle asked for " information on the specific statutory provisions of IDEA or regulations under IDEA that you feel need to be changed or eliminated and why. The more precise you are with statutory cites and suggested language, the better " . Go to http://edworkforce.house.gov/issues/107th/education/idea/ideacomments/id eafo rm.htm to submit comments. Senior Democratic Member 's request for input is more general Unfortunately he has receive only 100 comments, which he broke down as follows ISSUE/CONCERN Percentage of Comments Stronger Monitoring and Enforcement of IDEA 30% Support Full Funding for IDEA 26% Better Assessment of Disabilities (Improperly identifying students with disabilities) 14% Reduction of paperwork 10% Accountability (developing and implementing better academic standards for children with disabilities) 6% Revising Discipline Requirements and Encouraging Safer schools 6% Closer Involvement of School Nurses 2% Parental Choice/ Support Private School Vouchers for IDEA students 2% Strengthen Part C (early intervention) 2% Support for Assistive Technology 1% Reduced Class Size 1% Issues of concern to LDA, such as definition and eligibility for learning disabilities, transition or qualified personnel, were not mentioned. Representative 's website is http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/ideaform.html. His e mail is : idea-dem@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 16, 2002 Report Share Posted October 16, 2002 Isn't the HELP Committee a Democrat majority? I believe Hillary is on it and it's chaired by the Honorable Teddy Kennedy. I guess they aren't working too hard for their self-centered constituents either. Just Wondering... Karla in Texas Tubafour wrote: > > How do they plan to reduce litigation, enforce the darn law?? No, never. They just plan to give parents no rights. I hate it when Republicans get ahold of a good law and twist it to suit themselves and their self-centered constituents. " Paperwork burden " is a catchphrase. That means that there will be one responsible. > Elaine > IDEA UPDATE > > IDEA UPDATE > > Neither the Senate Health Education,Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee > and the House Education and the Workforce Committee is expected to > introduce a bill for the Reauthorization of IDEA before the end of the > 107th Congress. The Senate Committee hopes to have a bipartisan bill for > the 108th Congress which will probably include > > Setting aside a percent of IDEA money to provide special education > services to students at risk of being found eligible for special > education. Creating seamless services for children with disabilities > from 0 to 5. Balancing paperwork and procedural safeguards, including > eliminating short term objectives and benchmarks in the IEP Improving > transition from school to work or post secondary education. Aligning > timelines for " highly qualified " professionals with those in the No > Child Left Behind Act Easing personnel shortages Improving monitoring > and compliance by including clearer sanctions for noncompliance. Making > discipline guidelines more understandable while maintaining assurances > that there will be no cessation of services Tapping into Medicaid > funding The House Committee's bill will probably include provisions for > : > > Focusing on academic achievement of special education students Reducing > the paperwork burden for teachers and administrators Restoring trust and > reducing litigation Improving early intervention Encouraging " innovative > approaches to parental involvement " Ensuring school safety Reforming > special education finance and funding COMMENTS ON IDEA > > The House Committee on Education and the Workforce is still collecting > comments on IDEA. Subcommittee Chairman Mike Castle asked for > " information on the specific statutory provisions of IDEA or regulations > under IDEA that you feel need to be changed or eliminated and why. The > more precise you are with statutory cites and suggested language, the > better " . Go to > http://edworkforce.house.gov/issues/107th/education/idea/ideacomments/id > eafo > rm.htm to submit comments. Senior Democratic Member 's > request for input is more general Unfortunately he has receive only 100 > comments, which he broke down as follows > > ISSUE/CONCERN Percentage of Comments > > Stronger Monitoring and Enforcement of IDEA 30% > Support Full Funding for IDEA 26% > Better Assessment of Disabilities (Improperly identifying students with > disabilities) 14% > Reduction of paperwork 10% > Accountability (developing and implementing better academic standards > for children with disabilities) 6% Revising Discipline Requirements and > Encouraging Safer schools 6% Closer Involvement of School Nurses 2% > Parental Choice/ Support Private School Vouchers for IDEA students 2% > Strengthen Part C (early intervention) 2% Support for Assistive > Technology 1% Reduced Class Size 1% Issues of concern to LDA, such as > definition and eligibility for learning disabilities, transition or > qualified personnel, were not mentioned. > > Representative 's website is > http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/ideaform.html. > > His e mail is : idea-dem@... > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 28, 2003 Report Share Posted March 28, 2003 In a message dated 3/28/2003 9:52:08 PM Eastern Standard Time, SpecialEd_Watchdog@... writes: > Thanks for all your help! Keep the faith. > > All the best, > Debbie Brown > THANK YOU, DEBBIE, FOR ALL YOUR VERY HARD WORK IN KEEPING US INFORMED. I APPRECIATE YOUR EFFORTS. DOROTHY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 29, 2003 Report Share Posted March 29, 2003 I second that thank you. Like many of you, I have more than one child with a disability and parents of these children, even one of these children, are at an immediate and ongoing disadvantage because they stay so darn busy just meeting the child(ren)s immediate needs. Even more so when you have to implement the child's therapy, as in chelating and/or gfcf diets. It is so refreshing to have someone put this vital information right into our mailboxes so we can be informed and respond to these matters that have such a profound effect on our children's potential and their futures. My sincere thanks to all who post such critical information and keep the rest of us HM parents (high maintenance) aware! FYI - I respond to every one of these causes posted here when I receive those requests so if you ever wondered if all of your hard work pays off...well I can say it honestly has will continue to do so. Thanks again! Tina a/k/a rainmom4x Re: [ ] IDEA Update In a message dated 3/28/2003 9:52:08 PM Eastern Standard Time, SpecialEd_Watchdog@... writes: > Thanks for all your help! Keep the faith. > > All the best, > Debbie Brown > THANK YOU, DEBBIE, FOR ALL YOUR VERY HARD WORK IN KEEPING US INFORMED. I APPRECIATE YOUR EFFORTS. DOROTHY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2003 Report Share Posted June 27, 2003 SENATE BILL ADVANCES Yesterday, June 25th, the Senate HELP Committee unanimously passed its bipartisan bill to reauthorize the IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (S. 1248). The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) joined with many education, disability and advocacy organizations in applauding the HELP Committee for its efforts to draft legislation that is bipartisan, balanced and respectful of the complex needs of our nation's 6.5 million students with disabilities. The HELP Committee Press Release and Bill Summary is available for download in PDF here. NCLD is pleased to see a new provision contained in S. 1248, as approved by the Committee, that will eliminate the requirement that students exhibit a severe discrepancy between ability and achievement in order to be eligible to receive specialized services under the IDEA. NCLD believes that this new provision opens the door for schools to use a variety of approaches, including interventions and formal evaluations. We urge LD Advocates to voice their continued support of this new provision. (Our new FAQ answers questions regarding the new provisions in both the House and Senate IDEA reauthorization bills concerning LD eligibility) We are, however, extremely dismayed that S. 1248 eliminates the need for 'short-term objectives' or benchmarks to be included as part of the annual goal statements in a student's Individualized Education Program (IEP). Despite the provision that schools must provide regular reports of progress to parents, the elimination of short-term objectives cuts parents out of the planning process and will force them to rely on their school's progress reports as providing adequate and accurate information. We encourage LD Advocates to continue to voice their concern about the elimination of short-term objectives to their Senators. WHAT'S NEXT The Senate bill will now move to the floor for a vote of the full Senate. That action could take place sometime in July, however an exact date is not known at this time. Meanwhile, there are several issues that are expected to be debated at the time of floor action. Among these are: FUNDING: The Senate bill provides no funding authority due to an inability of the Chairman and Ranking Member to reach agreement on this issue. At odds is the long debated issue of whether IDEA funding should be "mandatory" (not subject to the yearly appropriations process) or "discretionary". NCLD has long advocated for both FULL and MANDATORY funding of IDEA and encourages LD Advocates to send messages of support for a MANDATORY FULL FUNDING amendment to the Senate bill. SCHOOL CHOICE: An amendment in support of school vouchers for special education students is likely. While NCLD recognizes the deficiencies of many of the services delivered to students with learning disabilities in public schools, we also believe that a voucher program that doesn't require all of the protections of IDEA is both dangerous for students and damaging to public education. Therefore, NCLD encourages LD Advocates to ask your Senators to reject any amendments to include school vouchers in the final IDEA bill. ACCOUNTABILITY: There is growing concern regarding provisions in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) which require schools to report and be held accountable for the performance and progress of IDEA-eligible students. Yet these provisions offer increased attention for students with disabilities (one-half of which are students with learning disabilities) including enhanced opportunities for access to the general curriculum. NCLD urges LD Advocates to tell their Senators not to weaken the accountability requirements for IDEA-eligible students under NCLB. DUE PROCESS RIGHTS: Despite a variety of provisions already contained in S. 1248 that work to weaken due process rights for parents of students with disabilities, there remains the possibility that a floor amendment could be offered that would mirror the provision contained in the House IDEA bill (H.R. 1350). That provision allows the State to determine the rate that parents' attorneys are reimbursed for attorney's fees after prevailing in due process proceedings. Such a provision would work to dramatically diminish the attorneys willing to represent children and families; especially those with limited resources. NCLD encourages LD Advocates to tell your Senators to REJECT any amendment to restrict awards of attorneys fees. SEND YOUR MESSAGE TODAY! Now is the time to tell your Senators what you think. Use our preformatted message (which includes the issues listed above) to compile your comments to your Senators on S. 1248. Add/edit/delete the message to make it reflect your individual concerns. TELL A FRIEND We need to broaden our advocacy network in order to make a difference for students with learning disabilities. Please forward this message to a friend who you think will join in our efforts. Use the "Send Now" button at the top of this newsletter to help us spread the word. Thanks for your interest and help in protecting IDEA. Sincerely, Kaloi Director of Public Policy National Center for Learning Disabilities Visit our new online policy initiative: www.KeepKidsLearning.org  To Unsubscribe: Send an e-mail to ld_list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 25, 2003 Report Share Posted November 25, 2003 IDEA UPDATE NDSS Parent/ Family Information Advocacy News from the National Down Syndrome Society November 25, 2003 UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT REACHED ON SENATE IDEA BILL In the last NDSS bulletin we informed you that the Senate was considering an agreement that would push S. 1248, the Senate IDEA reauthorization bill, to the floor. Friday night, November 21, the Senate passed a unanimous consent agreement which outlines the terms under which S. 1248 will be brought to a vote on the Senate floor. The consent agreement allows for four amendments to be offered by the Republicans and four amendments to be offered by the Democrats (three specific amendments for each party with a place holder for a fourth amendment on each side). The amendments described in the agreement are the same ones we described in the last bulletin. Republicans: 1. Senator Gregg plans to offer an attorney's fees amendment, which we expect to limit the amount of attorney's fees that will be reimbursed to parents when they prevail. 2. Senator Gregg plans to offer a funding amendment. We have not heard any details. 3. Senator Gregg plans to offer a paperwork reduction amendment, possibly allowing some States to waive federal paperwork rules if they submit their own plans. Democrats: 1. Senator Harkin plans to offer a mandatory full funding amendment. 2. Senator Murray plans to offer an amendment concerning homeless students. 3. Senator Clinton plans to offer an amendment that would coordinate data on developmental disabilities. WHAT YOU CAN DO. It is likely the current version of the bill will be voted on before the session ends for the year. This means we will have to wait until the Conference Committee is convened to continue our fight to restore short-term objectives and " stay put. " Now we have to concentrate on the proposed amendments to S. 1248. Contact your Senators! Urge them to oppose the attorney's fees amendment and the paperwork reduction amendment. Both of these amendments will limit the rights of our children without improving their education. Urge them to support the mandatory full funding amendment. You can get to the NDSS Advocacy Center by using the following link. You can either find your Senators' contact information under " Elected Officials " or you can click on the reference to this alert which will lead you to a sample letter. http://capwiz.com/ndss/issues/alert/?alertid=4319166. THE MESSAGE: * THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS CONCERNING PAPERWORK REDUCTION AND ATTORNEY'S FEES ARE LIKELY TO DIMINISH OUR CHILDREN'S RIGHTS. * IT IS TIME FOR IDEA TO RECEIVE MANDATORY FULL FUNDING TO BE SPENT PRIMARILY FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES. If you have questions or comments about this information sheet, contact Patty at <mailto:psmith@...> psmith@.... If you or others you know would like to be added to the NDSS mailing list, send name(s) and email address to <mailto:alauritzen@...> alauritzen@.... ____________________________________________________________________________ _________ National Down Syndrome Society, 666 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, Phone: 800-221-4602; Fax: 212-979-2873; e-mail: info@...; Web site: http://www.ndss.org <http://www.ndss.org/> ____________________________________________________________________________ __ Our mission is to benefit people with Down syndrome and their families through national leadership in education, research and advocacy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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