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Alert - National Call Your Senators Day is Wednesday, March 24, 2004
In
November, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
(HELP) "reported out" a bill to amend Part B of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (I.D.E.A.) and to reauthorize Parts
C and D. The full Senate is expected to vote on this bill soon.
This
bill, S. 1248, contains many harmful provisions. If it is allowed
to become law, these provisions will hurt children and youth with
disabilities and erect more barriers for families who are trying to
work with school districts to plan effective education programs for
their sons and daughters.
Even worse, the Senate HELP Committee agreed to allow several harmful
amendments to be introduced when S. 1248 moves to the full Senate
for a vote this spring.
We cannot just sit and wait for this to happen.
We cannot allow S.1248 to move forward unless civil rights for students
with disabilities are protected, research-based educational practices
are restored, and responsibilities that should be shared by school
districts are addressed and made clear in IDEA.
Parents and advocates must make sure that every Senator understands that the current bill is not accept-able to the parents and children they represent, that they must not let any bill containing provisions that damage children and youth go forward in Congress this year, or ever!
What
can you do?
On Wednesday, March 24, call your Senators
and say "VOTE NO!" to S. 1248.
To get the names and contact information of your Senators, go to www.senate.gov
or call the Senate switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
When you call, tell your senator's staff that you want your senator
to vote No to S. 1248. You do not have to give reasons for opposing
the bill. If you do want to give reasons, you may say S. 1248 will
weaken IDEA and hurt children with disabilities. Your Senator's staff
will tally the calls, so every call counts.
Please
take 5 minutes to help our kids!
Learn
More About IDEA Reauthorization
If you are the parent of a child with a disability, you represent
your child's interests. You need to stay informed about changes to
the law that will affect your child. If you are a teacher or special
education service provider, the reauthorized law will affect you and
your job.
To learn why S. 1248 is a bad IDEA, read Parents
Urge Senate to Vote "No" and Advocacy
Groups Speak Out, Organize. Read IDEA
Talking Points.
Visit Our Children
Left Behind for materials you can use when you contact your Senators.
For news, progress reports, and other important information about
the IDEA Reauthorization, please go to the IDEA
Reauthorization News Page.
To learn more about the issues, including reports, surveys and recommendations
about how the law may be changed, please visit the IDEA Resources
page.
The National Association of Protection
and Advocacy Systems, Inc. (NAPAS) published a side-by-side comparision
of H.R.1350, S.1248, and IDEA '97. You can download this publication
from their homepage or click
to download the side-by-side comparison in PDF (This
is a large file so be patient when you download)
If Not Now, When? If Not Us, Who?
National
Call Your Senators Day is part of the March 24 -March 25
Washington Event conceived in the hearts of parents and advocates
across the nation, with the support of TASH, ourchildrenleftbehind,
the League of Special Education Voters , the Association for People
in Supported Employment, and NconSD.
Download
Word and pdf versions of this flyer
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Contact Info
Pete
and Pam Wright
Wrightslaw & The Special Ed Advocate
P. O. Box 1008
Deltaville, VA 23043
Website: https://www.wrightslaw.com
Email: newsletter@wrightslaw.com
