THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY
OF IDEA
Congress passed H. Con Resolution 288, honoring the 30th anniversary
of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the
law that preceded it (P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped
Children Act), and recognizing the strides that have been made in
providing educational opportunities for children with disabilities.
A number of Congressmen also issued announcements on the anniversary.
LEGISLATION
APPROPRIATIONS
The House passed its version of the Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2006 (HR
3010) on June 24. On October 27, the Senate passed its version of
the bill and asked for a conference to settle differences between
the two bills. The final bill would have provided $56.5 billion
for the Department of Education-$169 million below the House-passed
bill, $212 million below the Senate-passed bill, and $59.1 million
below FY 2005 appropriations. On November 17, for the first time
in ten years, the conference report was rejected by a vote of 224
to 209. Twenty two Republicans joined the Democrats in defeating
the bill, which now goes back to the Conference Committee. Congress
then passed a Continuing Resolution to fund programs until December
17. There are several options if the Conference Committee cannot
come to agreement or if the Conference report is again defeated.
Congress may pass a Continuing Resolution to fund programs for the
fiscal year, with or without across the board cuts, or the bill
may be combined with the still pending Defense Appropriations in
an omnibus appropriations bill.
BUDGET RECONCILIATION
On November 3, the Senate passed its budget reconciliation
bill (the Deficit Reduction Act) to reduce funding for entitlement
programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and farm subsidies. The bill
makes slight cuts to health care programs for the elderly, poor,
and individuals with disabilities, but leaves the food stamp program
untouched. The bill also includes
1 ) the Family Opportunity Act, which would allow families with
incomes above poverty level who have children with high cost disabilities
to buy into the Medicaid program;
2) the Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and
3) a $1.66 billion aid package for public and private schools across
the country that have taken in students displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
The plan that passed would give the money to public school districts,
which would then make payments to private and parochial schools,
depending on how many Hurricane Katrina victims they enrolled.
On November 18, the House of Representatives passed by a slim
217 to 215 margin a Deficit Reduction Bill that would cut funding
to Medicaid, food stamps, and student loans. Fourteen Republicans
joined all Democrats in voting against the bill. Controversial proposals
include cutting $10 billion from Medicaid (leaving Medicare alone),
$4.9 billion from Child Support enforcement, $14.9 billion from
Student Loan programs and $844 million from the Food Stamps program.
Some recipients eligible for services under TANF, Temporary Aid
to Needy Families, might lose eligibility for food stamps. The House
bill also includes the House version of the reauthorization of TANF.
The conference committee to reconcile these bills is expected to
be contentious.
TAX RECONCILIATION
By a vote of 64 to 33, the Senate adopted its Tax Reconciliation
bill, which would extend existing tax cuts and authorize new ones
for a total of $60 billion over five years. On November 15, the
Ways and Means Committee adopted by a party-line vote a $51.6 billion
tax cut package, without the controversial capital gains and dividend
tax cuts. No further action is expected until next year.
HURRICANE RELIEF BILLS INCLUDE
* H.R. 3668, 3169, 2132, and 3863 which would waive the requirements
for repayments for loans for students displaced from their academic
institutions
* S 1716 which would extend unemployment benefits to individuals
in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi and evacuees who have exhausted
their unemployment benefits
* S 3971 which would transfer $500 million to Alabama, Louisiana,
and Mississippi to pay for extended unemployment insurance claims.
* H.R. 3864 which would allow the use of vocational rehabilitation
funds to pay for training, mentoring and other employment related
activities for individuals with disabilities affected by hurricane
Katrina or Rita.
* H.R. 3672 which would temporarily waive the TANF work requirements
and time limits for families displaced by Hurricane Katrina
* H.R. 3975, the Hurricane Regulatory Relief Act which would offer
flexibility for K-12 and higher education students, teachers, and
schools; expand access to child care and early childhood education;
promote community-based services through flexibility for the Community
Services Block Grant; offer financial flexibility for displaced
workers; and enhances safety and reduce bureaucracy in relief efforts.
INTRODUCED BUT NO ACTION EXPECTED
H.R. 1790, The Child Medication Safety Act , prohibits school officials
from forcing parents to place their children on medication as a
condition of attending school.
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
IDEA
Final regulations for IDEA 04 have been delayed until January or
February of 2006.
The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has developed
a series of topic briefs around several high-interest areas of IDEA.
These include a summary of all relevant statutory language around
that topic, the citations and a cross-reference, when applicable,
to other related briefs. Topics, which can be found at http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/idea2004.html,
are:
Alignment with the No Child Left Behind Act
Changes in Initial Evaluation and Reevaluation
Children Enrolled by Their Parents in Private Schools
Discipline: Disproportionality and Overidentification
Early Intervening Services
Highly Qualified Teachers
Individualized Education Program (IEP)Team Meetings and Changes
to the IEP
Individualized Education Program (IEP)
Local Funding
National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS)
Part C Amendments in IDEA 2004
Part C Option: Age 3 to Kindergarten Age
Procedural Safeguards: Surrogates, Notice and Consent
Procedural Safeguards: Mediation and Resolution Sessions
Procedural Safeguards
Due Process Hearings
Secondary Transition
State Funding
Statewide and Districtwide Assessments
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
Publication of regulations on 2% flexibility for students who take
alternate assessments based on modified academic standards is expected
by the end of the year.
States that have made a "good faith effort" to meet
the requirement for highly qualified teachers will have until the
end of the 2006-07 school year to meet that goal.
Schools and districts outside of the geographic areas affected
by Katrina and Rita but who have substantial numbers of displaced
students may count these students in a separate subgroup for purposes
of meeting the AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) requirement.
On November 18, Secretary Spelling announced that 10 states will
be allowed to use a growth-based accountability model which gives
schools credit for student improvement over time. For details see
http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/growthmodel/factsheet.html
The National Association of Secondary School Principals has published
its recommendations for the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind.
The recommendations and rationale are available as a PDF at http://www.principals.org/nclb.
STATE ACTIVITES
STATE REGULATIONS FOR IDEA
States are required to amend their laws and regulations to comply
with the mandates of the new IDEA. These may not provide less than
the federal law and regulations but may offer more. However, a new
section of the Act suggests that states minimize the number of rules,
regulations and policies to which the school districts are subject.
Check to see how your state plans to change its regulations.
FUNDING: THE 65% SOLUTION
A group called First Class Education is pushing states to require
at least 65 percent of education funds to be spent in the classroom.
According to the proponents' definition "in the classroom"
includes teacher salaries and benefits, instructional supplies and
materials, computers and technology, and paraprofessionals who provide
direct instruction. The definition does NOT include librarians,
counselors, school nurses, bus drivers/transportation, food services,
plant operation and maintenance, administration, and teacher training.
SUPREME COURT DECISION
On November 14, in a 6-2 decision in the case of Shafer vs Weast,
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that in an administrative hearing challenging
an IEP, the burden of proof is on the party seeking relief, whether
the disabled child or the school district. However, there are limitations.
The ruling holds in states in which courts have ruled that the burden
of proof is on school systems. It does not hold in states which
have laws or regulations putting the burden of proof on the school
system (AK, AL, CT, DE GA, IL,KY, MN, WV). In ruling for the majority
Justice Sandra Day O'Conner noted that "respondents and several
States urge us to decide that States may, if they wish, override
the default rule and put the burden always on the school district.
.. Because neither party made this argument before this Court or
the courts below we decline to address it." In addition, parent
attorney Matt Cohen noted that " the burden of proof is a highly
important but technical litigation rule. Most cases are not so close
that the burden of proof is the legal threshold by which the cases
are determined. In cases which strongly favor parents or schools,
the burden of proof should not be an issue.
REPORTS
THE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS (NAEP)
The results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
tests show that the average reading score for fourth grade students
increased by one point from 2003, while the average reading score
for eight graders was one point lower than in 2003. Education Secretary
Margaret Spellings used the results to push for the President's
High School Initiative. The results can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard.
The number of students with disabilities excused from taking the
National Assessment of Educational Progress tests vary from a high
of 14 % for Louisiana to a low of 2% for reading in the 4th grade
to 10% in Delaware to 3% for reading in the 8th grade. The rates
of exclusion on the 4th grade math tests varies from 1 to 6%. The
Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a champion of high-stakes tests, looked
at eighth-grade reading scores on 29 state tests and found that
two-thirds -- 19 states -- reported gains in the past two years.
None of those 19 states showed progress this year in eighth-grade
reading proficiency on the national test.
ADOLESCENT LITERACY
The National Governors Association report, "Reading to Achieve:
A Governor's Guide to Adolescent Literacy" makes five recommendations
to help governors improve adolescent literacy. The report is available
at: http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/0510GOVGUIDELITERACY.PDF
The National Association of State Boards of Education report "Reading
at Risk: The State Response to the Crisis in Adolescent Literacy"
recommends that every state "develop and vigorously implement
a statewide literacy plan to ensure that all students can read proficiently".
The report is available at http://www.nasbe.org/recent_pubs/reading-at-risk.htm
The National Association of Secondary School Principals report
"Creating a Culture for Literacy: A Guide for Middle and High
School Principals" calls for a greater focus on reading skills
at the middle and high school levels. The report is at: http://www.principals.org/s_nassp
The International Reading Association, with support from Carnegie
Corporation of New York and in collaboration with the National Council
of Teachers of English (NCTE), the National Council of Teachers
of Mathematics (NCTM), the National Science Teachers Association
(NSTA), and the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) has
published a report which outlines the ideal of what a literacy coach
should know and be able to do-in delivering both leadership and
support in individual content areas. It is offered as a blueprint
not only for literacy coaches themselves, but for policymakers,
school and district administrators, and teacher educators, in the
hope that it will help support and develop coaching in ways that
will most benefit adolescent learners. The report can be downloaded
from: http://www.reading.org/resources/issues/reports/coaching.html
LDA News from Washington is a periodic publication of The
Learning Disabilities Association of America, Inc. containing news
of interest to the volunteer and administrative leadership of National
LDA and its State and Local Affiliates. Written by LDA's Washington
Representative, Justine Maloney; Kathy Lawson, Editor.
LDA members wishing to be added to the email list may contact Kathy
Lawson, at klawson@ldaamerica.org.
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