FWD: H.R. 4728 - Teacher Training Bill

[Guest guest]

Dear NY Listmates,

Below is a brief overview of Bill # H.R. 4728. The title of this bill is:

Teachers Education for Autistic Children Act of 2002.

On May 14, 2002, it was introduced to the House of Representatives by

Congressmen (R-NJ) and Mike Doyle (D-PA) -

leaders of the Coalition for Autism Research and Education, also known as the

Autism Caucus. (See " <A

HREF= " http://www.autism-society.org/news/2002_teacher.html " >Caucus Introduces

Historic Bill to Fund Teacher Training</A>

" for more information.)

This bill is important to our children and to those who teach them. We need

your help to move this bill forward into the senate.

Please draft a letter, or use one of the enclosed letters, to New York

State's Senator Hillary Clinton who is a member of the Senate's Health,

Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Be sure to include a return address in your letter and on your envelope (mail

will be discarded otherwise).

Please forward this information to others you believe would support the

issue.

Thanks,

Pat Schissel, AHA/AS/PDD

H.R. 4728 provides for the following:

I. Authorizes funding for teacher training. This bill would authorize the

Department of Education to invest $20 million each year for five years in

programs, grants, and scholarships to train teachers who teach students with

autism.

II. Authorizes an additional $5 million each year for states to invest in

similar teacher preparation and education programs.

III. Authorizes an individual tax credit up to $10,000 each year for

educators who undertake and pass certified courses on autism education and

training in autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

IV. Strengthens reporting mechanisms for school-based referral services for

diagnosis and for teacher training.

V. Establishes a task force on autism spectrum disorders (ASD) at the

Department of Education.

VI. Requires a study and report on the effectiveness of federal vocational

training programs for people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

VII. Authorizes grants to create state autism ombudsman offices.

Sample letter from parents, professionals and educators:

Your address

Date

Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton

United States Senate

476 Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20510-3204

Dear Senator Clinton:

I am a (parent/guardian/person who works with) children with autism. Autism

is a unique behavioral disorder that results in varying degrees of

impairments in social interaction and communication, as well as stereotyped

patterns of behavior, interest, and activities. The number of children

diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder has dramatically increased during

the last several years.

Until recently the outlook for children with autism was not very promising.

The only treatment for autism is education. Fortunately, within the last

several years there has been an explosion of information and research into

this devastating disorder - but education of school personnel is sadly

lagging.

There are not nearly enough trained teachers, clinicians and

paraprofessionals to meet the needs of children with ASD. Autism is a unique

disorder that requires unique and specialized interventions for education,

communication, modification of behaviors (i.e., aggressive and self injurious

type behavior), and daily living skills.

Congressman of New Jersey has introduced H.R. 4728, which

provides assistance to train teachers, paraprofessional and other educators

of children with autism, grants to assist educational agencies to improve

results for children with autism, a tax credit for qualified expenses for

teachers, as well as several other provisions.

H.R. 4728 does not have a Senate sponsor. As my Senator and a member of the

Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, I am requesting that you

introduce a companion bill in the Senate.

Please let me know if you will. I pledge that I will work with the autism

associations and advocacy groups for passage of this sorely needed

legislation.

Sincerely,

Those of you outside of the NY area should feel free to cut and paste the

above and make necessary changes to reach parents, professionals and Senators

in your area.