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At
Wrightslaw, our goals are to help you gain the information and skills
you need to navigate the confusing world of special education. This
issue is IDEA reauthorization and advocacy.
Highlights:
IDEA
Reauthorization - status report & homework assignment; how to
avoid the high school exit exam; great deals & free shipping
in our Spring into Summer Sale; Supreme Court upholds employment
law protections for parents of disabled and sick children; how
to disagree with the IEP team without starting WW III; how to put
on a special ed case by Sonja Kerr.
Subscribers on May 29, 2003: 43,072
The Special Ed Advocate newsletter is free! Please forward
this issue or the
subscription link to your friends and colleagues so they can
learn about special education law and advocacy too - https://www.wrightslaw.com/subscribe.htm
1. IDEA Reauthorization - What Next?
We continue to receive questions from readers about H.B. 1350 to reauthorize the IDEA. On April 30, 2003, the House of Representatives voted 251-171 to approve H. R. 1350, the Republican bill to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
What next?
Within
the next couple of weeks, the Senate will introduce a bipartisan
bill to reauthorize the IDEA. After hearings and amendments,
the Senate will vote on this bill. If the Senate passes their
IDEA, they will meet with members of the House of Representatives
and attempt to reconcile the differences between the two versions
of the IDEA.
Your Homework Assignment
You need to educate your Senators about special education
issues now, before battle lines are drawn.
First, read H.R.
1350 Will Not Accomplish the Goals of Its Proponents.
This article will clarify the issues and help you fine-tune
your message.
https://www.wrightslaw.com/news/2003/idea.disrights.advocates.pdf
H.R.
1350 Will Not Accomplish the Goals of Its Proponents
is a short article by disability rights advocates. The article
focuses on whether or not the House version of IDEA (HR 1350)
meets the goals its proponents intended. These goals include:
1. Strengthening accountability and results for students with disabilities.
2. Restoring trust between parents and schools.
3. Reducing the paperwork burden.
4. Reducing litigation.
5. Increased flexibility for school districts to improve early intervention services.
We
converted this article into a pdf file for easier printing
and distribution. As you read it, think about how these issues
will affect your child or children you know.
Also read Changes
to IDEA Discipline Provisions in HR 1350 Will Lead to Unfair
and Inappropriate Treatment of Students with Disabilities
from the Children's Defense Fund. This 3-page article includes
a good list of references.
https://www.wrightslaw.com/news/2003/idea.discipline.tps.pdf
Use the information in these two articles as 'talking points'
when you communicate with the staff in your Senators' offices.
To brush up on your advocacy skills, please reread our April
IDEA Alert. https://www.wrightslaw.com/nltr/03/al.0421.htm
2. IDEA Reauthorization News, Issues & Alerts
Stay current about changes and proposed changes to IDEA. Visit IDEA Reauthorization Issues & News: https://www.wrightslaw.com/news/idea2002.htm
IDEA Reports & Recommendations has reports and surveys about the strengths and weaknesses of the IDEA and how the law should be changed: https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/idea2002.resources.htm
Alerts & Newsletters
IDEA Rapid Response Network. The Disabilities Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) launched the IDEA Rapid Response Network. To receive information about reauthorization and/or participate in the Network, send an email to preserveIDEA@dredf.org Include your name, contact information (postal address, telephone number, and email). More information about the IDEA Rapid Response Network is available on the DREDF site.
Action
Alert.
Get news about federal legislation that may affect your
child; learn what you can do to get involved. To subscribe,
go to http://www.capwiz.com/ld/home/
and click ACTION E-LIST
3. Exit Exams Can Be Optional - If You Plan Ahead
This
spring, thousands of high school students will not graduate with
a high school diploma. These students took the required courses
and received passing grades.
Why? How is this possible?
These
students will not graduate from high school because they did not
pass their state's exit exam. These students
spent at least twelve years in school. Obviously, they learned
something - they have the credits and the grades to prove it.
Do students need to pass their state exit exams before they can
graduate with a high school diploma? What do you think?
Research editor Sue Heath describes a winning strategy to eliminate the state exit exam as an obstacle so otherwise qualified kids can graduate with real high school diplomas.
Read Exit Exams Can Be Optional - If You Plan Ahead at:
Read about advocacy: https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/advo.index.htm
4 . Supreme Court Upholds Employment Law Protections for Parents of Disabled & Ill Children
On
Tuesday, May 27, the Supreme Court rules that state workers can
sue their employers for violations of the Family and Medical Leave
Act, the federal law that grants time off to deal with family
emergencies.
According to attorney Loring Spolter, parents of children with
disabilities and serious medical conditions are at high risk for
employment discrimination.
"The law permits mothers and fathers to take unpaid leaves of absences from work - with the promise of having jobs to come back to. With FMLA, parents can take time off from work when their children are hospitalized or are confronted with 'serious health conditions' requiring routine appointments with medical doctors, mental health counselors, physical therapists, speech therapists and other professionals."
Attorney Spolter describes qualifying conditions, leave, protections,
advanced notice, wages and benefits, awards and damages under
FMLA. He also provides a useful FMLA
Leave Checklist and advice about finding an attorney
in your area.
Read Employment
Law Protections for Parents of Disabled & Ill Children
at -
https://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/fmla.protect.spolter.htm
5. Great Deals & Free Shipping in Our Spring Into Summer Sale - May 28 - June 20, 2003
We are cutting inventory as we prepare to launch our new book, Wrightslaw: No Child Left Behind this summer.
Learn about the good deals, great deals and super deals in our Spring Into Summer Sale: https://www.wrightslaw.com/nltr/03/al.0528.htm
Save $5.00, $10.00 - up to $24.95 on Wrightslaw books - and get free shipping.
Internet
Orders: https://www.wrightslaw.com/store/index.html
Mail,
Fax & Phone Orders: https://www.wrightslaw.com/bks/orderform.htm
6. How to Disagree with the IEP Team Without Starting WW III
Pete
answers questions about IEPs and teaches you how to disagree with
the IEP team without starting World War III. Learn about the Rules
of Adverse Assumptions, how to use tape recording and thank you
letters to clarify issues, and how to deal with an IEP team bully.
Read
How
to Disagree with the IEP Team at:
https://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/strategy.disagree.htm
Read more
articles: https://www.wrightslaw.com/articles.htm
7. How to Put on a Special Education Case by Sonja Kerr, Esq.
Parent attorney Sonja Kerr has good advice for the attorney who is preparing for a due process hearing. Learn why you should not fly solo. Remember whose job it is to educate. This article includes tips about building the "perfect case."
Read How to Put on a Special Education Case at:
https://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/kerr.advice.1stcase.html
Read special education caselaw: https://www.wrightslaw.com/caselaw.htm
8. Subscription & Contact Info
The Special Ed Advocate is a free online newsletter about special education legal and advocacy issues, cases, and tactics and strategies. Subscribers receive "alerts" about new cases, events, and special offers on Wrightslaw books.
Law Library - https://www.wrightslaw.com/law.htm
Advocacy Library - https://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc.htm
Free Newsletter - https://www.wrightslaw.com/subscribe.htm
Newsletter Archives - https://www.wrightslaw.com/archives.htm
Seminars & Training - https://www.wrightslaw.com/speak/index.htm
Yellow Pages for Kids - http://www.fetaweb.com/help/states.htm
Contact Info
Pete
and Pam Wright
Wrightslaw & The Special Ed Advocate
P. O. Box 10s08
Deltaville, VA 23043
Website: https://www.wrightslaw.com
Email: newsletter@wrightslaw.com
