Showing posts with label United States Congress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label United States Congress. Show all posts

Independence Day

Independence Day!Image by CR Artist via FlickrHappy Independence Day!

 The Fourth of July is a big holiday for our country, and these days we really need a big holiday. Independence Day is also a time to reflect on the concept of independence. 
 
For people with disabilities, independence is an important goal. Congress has stated that encouraging independent living for people with disabilities is the policy of the United States government. IDEA, Section 601(c). Indeed, one of the purposes of special education is to prepare children with disabilities for independent living. IDEA, Section 601(d)(1)(A). 
 
Before passage of the EHA, the predecessor of the IDEA, in 1975, education of children with disabilities, who were then called "handicapped," was iffy at best. According to the legislative history of the EHA, which is quoted in the seminal Rowley decision by the Supreme Court, millions of children with disabilities were then either totally excluded from school or were warehoused until they were old enough to drop out. Bd. of Education v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, 191, 103 LRP 31848 (1982). At the time, it was estimated that of the eight million children who required special education, only about 3.9 million were receiving an appropriate education. Bd. of Education v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, 191, 103 LRP 31848 (1982). 
 
These numbers are shocking. 1975 was not long ago. Yet we have made real progress since then. Special education may have its detractors, but it is now widely accepted. Very few children with disabilities are now excluded from school. Some still do not receive an appropriate education, but there are now remedies available when that happens. We have come a long way!
 
I realize that we are not finished. I do not advocate the display of a banner reading "mission accomplished." But as we look forward on this Independence Day to how we can do a better job of educating children with disabilities and preparing them to live independently, let us also look back for a moment and congratulate ourselves on the excellent progress we have made in what in public policy terms is truly a very short time. 
 
Happy Independence Day.

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Special Education Budget Blues

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If you understand the federal government budget process, you could probably be qualified as an expert witness.  The budget process is a minefield of procedural maneuvers and confusing beyond description.In a nutshell, the Congress passed a continuing resolution funding the government, including special education monies, through March 4, 2011.  The Congress must now pass another continuing resolution until the end of the fiscal year, September 30th.  The Council for Exceptional Children has a good summary of the budget process here.

President Obama presented a proposed budget which would have increased special education funding by $250 million directly as well as other increases for general education.  The president's budget proposal is the first step in the convoluted process.  The full budget proposal is available as well as other related resources at the previous link.

Congressional Republicans countered with a budget bill that would have reduced IDEA spending by $557 Million.  Here is another summary.

The full House of Representatives amended the bill and restored the $557 Million cut.  This bill would fund 2011 special education at the same level as 2010.  The severe cuts to general education remain in this bill.  Here is a summary by Disability Scoop.

But the process is not done yet.  There is much more to come!  The U S Senate now gets its chance.  Look for some fireworks here.  

If you have an opinion on special education funding, and I would guess that almost all of the readers of this blog likely do, please call your Senators and advocate for your position.  Now would be a good time!

This process is making me very nervous.  I hope that special education does not become another thing that this country is divided about.  Don't we have enough of those already?


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Rosa's Law: A Great Story

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There was a big development in special education law last October. The Congress passed and the President signed Rosa's Law.  The law removes the offensive word "mentally retarded" from federal legislation and replaces it with "intellectual disability."  The changes include the statute that underlie special education law, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Rehabilitation Act.  Here is the text of the law.  Here are President Obama's remarks when he signed the bill into law.

Rosa Marcellino, for whom the law was named, was on hand for the signing ceremony.  Rosa worked with her parents and siblings to get the offensive word removed from the laws first in Maryland and then in the United States Congress. Here is a report on the law by Disability Scoop. 

This is a big development in the law.  thanks to our friend Mark for suggesting this post.
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Big Changes to §504: Do They Affect Special Education - Part II

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In the previous post in this series, we discussed the buzz during my summer rock tour on special education law concerning the changes to §504 and the ADA. The big question seems to be how the changes will affect the education of children with disabilities.

Congress was very upset with two lines of court decisions stemming from two opinions by the U. S. Supreme Court. One line of cases began with Sutton v. United Airlines 527 US 471, 30 IDELR 681 (1999). There the Supremes ruled that in determining eligibility for employees with disabilities who have used mitigating measures, such as medication or contact lenses, the disability must be measured by taking the mitigating measures into account. (Under §504 and ADA to be eligible, a person must have a disability that substantially affects a major life activity.)

Another involved cases following the decision in Toyota Manufacturing v. Williams 534 U.S. 184, 102 LRP 6137 (2002). In that case, the Court held that people who have impairments that substantially limit a life activity are not protected where the limitation is one that would substantially affect the lives of most people. The Supremes ruled that this would not be a major life activity.

It was in reaction to these changes that Congress changed the laws. More on the changes in the next post in this series.
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How Does Obama's Blueprint for NCLB Affect Kids with Disabilities?

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The Obama Administration has released its blueprint for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, better known as No Child left Behind. It is important to remember that this is just the start. Congress gets to beat the proposal like a pinata and then the President must sign it before it becomes law. Here is a Washington Post article on the President's education plan. This link will give you the entire 45 page blueprint if you'd like to read it yourself.

The proposal has a number of provisions that directly affect students with disabilities. The blueprint calls for more inclusion, that is a goal of educating as many children with disabilities in the general ed classroom as possible. The plan also calls for more accurate tests for special ed kids. Here is a summary of the blueprint by the Disability Scoop blog.

The influential Council for Exceptional Children has praised the inclusion aspects of the plan, but they criticize the lack of details. Here is their position.

So what do you think of the blueprint? I know we still have a way to go, but be ready to contact your congressional reps after you contemplate which tweaks we should make to NCLB.




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Should Private Schools Be Covered by the New Seclusion & Restraint Law?

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The Council For American Private Education, an umbrella group representing a large percentage of private schools in the United States, has written a letter to Congress asking that private schools be exempted from HR 4247, the new Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act.In response, the group called the Alliance to Prevent Restraint and Aversive Intervention and Seclusion, an umbrella group of groups that advocate for parents and children with disabilities, issued their own letter to Congress opposing the CAPE letter. Here is an analysis of the controversy by the Disability Scoop blog.

We have run a number of posts about this issue. I believe that seclusion and restraints is the hot button issue of special education law for the current decade. For example, this is a prior post from this blog with a number of links to resources about the current house bill.

The Senate has not yet taken up this bill. Of course the Senate was recently held hostage by the Senator from Kentucky. (This dates me, but I remember Jim Bunning as a pitcher in the major leagues. It is unfortunate that he will now be remembered as the great enemy of the unemployed rather than the Hall of Fame hurler that impressed so many of us. ) In any event, the Senate is currently tied in knots on other issues. It may be a while before education issues surface there.

But in addition to the pending bipartisan House bill, a larger issue is whether IDEA reauthorization should deal more with behavior issues. IDEA currently only requires positive behavior supports after a proposed disciplinary change of placement is blocked by a finding that a manifestation of the child's disability. There is also a more general and somewhat vague section in the IEP development section that requires the IEP team to consider appropriate strategies if the student's behaviors impede the learning of the student or others. For citations, etc, see this previous post.

Many people think that these provisions need to be beefed up. What do you think?


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