APPROPRIATIONS. An Omnibus appropriations bill was passed
in the House but deferred by the Senate until they return from the
holiday recess in January. A Continuing Resolution (CR) will maintain
funding for federal programs at current levels through January 31,
2004. More below…
IDEA ELIGIBILITY FOR SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES. Thanks
to all who contacted their Senators, the new S 1248 changes Eligibility
For Specific Learning Disabilities, requiring the local education
agency to use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather
relevant information; prohibiting the use of a single procedure,
measurement or assessment as the sole criterion for determining
whether a child is a child with a disability; and requiring the
use of technically sound instruments to assess the relative contribution
of cognitive and behavioral factors in addition to physical or developmental
factors. More below…
HOUSE AND SENATE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE ON IDEA. Once the
bill passes the Senate, House and Senate conferees will be named
to iron out differences between HR 1350 and S 1248. Advocates
must be prepared to urge adoption of the more positive proposals
of the Senate bill!
PERSONNEL CHANGES. Assistant Secretary for the Office of
Special Education and Rehabilitative Services Dr Robert Pasternack
has announced his resignation as of January 2, 2004. Because his
replacement must be confirmed by the Senate, an acting Assistant
Secretary may be named. More below…
CONGRESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
APPROPRIATIONS
As of Thanksgiving, 5 appropriation bills, including that for Labor,
Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, had
not been passed. Before taking a break,
Congress passed a fifth continuing resolution to maintain funding
for these programs until January 31, 2004. The House returned on
December 8 and the Senate on December 9 to try to pass an Omnibus
Appropriations Bill before then: the House did pass the bill but
the Senate deferred it for action in January.
The final bill includes a O.59% across the board cut for all programs.
Funding for Title I grants would increase by 6% (to $12.4 billion)
and for Part B of special education by 13% (to $10.1 billion). Vocational
Rehabilitation State Grants would be funded at $2.6 billion.
IDEA
Eligibility for Specific Learning Disabilities
On November 3, Senator Judd Gregg introduced the latest version
of IDEA for consideration by the full Senate. Thanks to all who
contacted their Senators, the new S 1248 changes ELIGIBILITY FOR
SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES (Section 614(b)(6)(B)) from “In
determining whether a child has a specific learning disability,
a local education agency may use a process that determines if the
child responds to scientific, research-based intervention”
to “In determining whether a child has a specific learning
disability, a local educational agency may use a process that determines
if the child responds to scientific, research-based intervention
as a part of the evaluation procedures described in paragraphs (2)
and (3).”
LDA had feared that the original wording, which is also in the
House bill, could be interpreted to mean that a child’s failure
to respond to the intervention would be the sole criterion for determining
the existence of a learning disability. This should not happen if
Congress accepts the Senate language.
Paragraph (2) requires the local education agency to use a variety
of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant information;
prohibits the use of a single procedure, measurement or assessment
as the sole criterion for determining whether a child is a child
with a disability; and requires the use of technically sound instruments
to assess the relative contribution of cognitive and behavioral
factors in addition to physical or developmental factors.
Paragraph (3) requires the local education agency to ensure that
tests and other evaluation materials are not discriminatory on a
racial or cultural basis, are administered in the child’s
native language, are valid and reliable, and are administered by
trained and knowledgeable personnel.
In addition, the report (108-185) which accompanies S 1248 notes
that although “a local educational agency is not required
to take into account a severe discrepancy between IQ and achievement,”
the use of the model would not be prohibited. “Section 614(b)(3)(A)(iii)
will require that all procedures, including alternate procedures,
be valid and reliable for the purpose for which they are used.”
Defining “Highly Qualified” Teachers
The bill also includes a detailed definition of “highly qualified”
which tries to distinguish between a new and an experienced teacher.
The definition states that:
- A special education teacher must have state certification, may
not have an emergency, temporary or provisional license, and must
demonstrate knowledge of special education
- A new elementary school special education teacher must demonstrate,
by passing a rigorous state test, knowledge of subject matter
and teaching skills in reading, writing, math, and other areas
of the elementary school curriculum
- A new middle school and secondary school special education teacher
must demonstrate a high level of competency in each of the academic
subjects to be taught or successfully complete coursework in each
of the academic subjects to be taught
- A veteran special education teacher must have met the above
standards or have demonstrated competence in the academic subjects
which the teacher teaches
However, a special education teacher who provides only consultative
services to a highly qualified regular education teacher is only
required to meet the standards for a special education teacher.
In addition, a middle or secondary school special education teacher
who teaches elementary school curriculum to students with significant
cognitive disabilities need only meet the requirements for an elementary
special education teacher.
These provisions apply to the bill as presented only. They can
be changed or eliminated either in the Senate action on the bill,
or during the conference to draft the final bill. The Senate proposal
and the accompanying report can be downloaded from the Thomas
website.
Amendments
HELP committee members had hoped that the Senate would vote on
their bill before 2004. The best that they could do was to get a
unanimous consent agreement by which the Senate agrees to consider
the bill with only four amendments each from the Republicans and
the Democrats. The Republican amendments are expected to be on attorney’s
fees, paperwork reduction, IDEA funding (probably discretionary
and not mandatory) and one placeholder. The Democratic amendments
are expected to be on mandatory full funding (Harkin), provision
for homeless/foster children (Murray) and research into environmental
causes of developmental disabilities (Clinton) and one placeholder.
No amendment removing children with disabilities from the annual
yearly progress provisions of the NCLB has been suggested. Details
on these amendments are not available. The unanimous consent agreement
is binding on the second session of the 108th Congress.
Once the bill passes the Senate, House and Senate conferees will
be named to iron out differences between HR 1350 and S 1248. A comparison
of the original S 1248 and HR 1250 can be found in the June-July
News from Washington. Advocates must be prepared to urge
adoption of the more positive proposals of the Senate bill!
THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT (WIA, HR 1261, S1627)
On November 17, the Senate passed their version of the reauthorization
of the Workforce Investment Act. When Congress returns in mid-January,
Conferees will begin to iron out differences between that and the
House Bill.
TEMPORARY AID TO NEEDY FAMILIES REAUTHORIZATION (TANF, HR 4,
S 1523)
Because Congress had not acted on TANF and it has no automatic
extension, a six month extension of the law was passed in October.
BILLS TO BE CARRIED OVER TO THE SECOND SESSION
- HEAD START ( HR 2210) (S1483)
- THE READY TO TEACH ACT (HR 2211)
- THE CHILD MEDICATION SAFETY ACT (HR 1170)(S 1390)
- PASS (PATHWAYS FOR STUDENTS TO SUCCEED) (S 1554)
- GRADUATION FOR ALL ACT (HR 3085) which would provide resources
for schools to improve adolescent literacy and improve graduation
rates. This bill is more targeted than the Senate PASS bill.
- THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH ACT OF 2003 (HR 852, S 1588)
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
PERSONNEL CHANGES
- Susan Sclafani, former counsel to Education Secretary Paige,
has been named Assistant Secretary for Adult and Vocational Education.
- Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services Dr Robert Pasternack has announced his
resignation as of January 2, 2004. Because his replacement must
be confirmed by the Senate, an acting Assistant Secretary may
be named. Scuttlebut about possible candidates for the position
include:
- Troy Justesen, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, whose
permanent position is Deputy Commissioner of the Rehabilitation
Services Administration. Justesen was Deputy Executive Director
of the President’s Commission on Excellence in Special
Education.
- Todd Jones, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights.
Jones was Executive Director of the President’s Commission
on Excellence in Special Education.
- Doug Carnine, Director of the National Center to Improve
the Tools of Educators and a professor at the University of
Oregon. Dr. Carnine testified before the House Committee on
Education and the Workforce on the topic of specific learning
disabilities and appropriate methods of identifying children
with these disabilities.
- Jack Fletcher, the University of Texas Medical School,
is a recipient of an NICHD grant to identify critical research
needs in LD and to implement comprehensive studies to address
issues relevant to identification, prevention, etiology, and
treatment. Dr. Fletcher was a member of the President’s
Commission on Excellence in Special Education.
- Stephanie Lee, Director of the Office of Special Education
Programs.
ANNUAL REPORT ON IDEA
The Annual Report To Congress On The Status Of IDEA is now available.
It can be downloaded from www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/OSEP.
To order copies of this report, write to: ED Pubs, Education Publications
Center, U.S. Department of Education, P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD
20794-1398; fax your request to(301) 470-1244; e-mail your request
to edpubs@inet.ed.gov or
call in toll-free: 1-877-433-7827
OTHER ACTIVITIES
National Leadership Summit On Improving Results For Youth
In September over 250 state leaders and policymakers, representing
secondary education, transition, workforce development, vocational
rehabilitation, youth, families, and others, came together in Washington,
DC, for the first National Leadership Summit on Improving Results
for Youth, hosted by the National Center on Secondary Education
and Transition (NCSET).
The purpose of the Summit was to help states build capacity to
create a result-driven secondary education and transition system
that supports an improved secondary school experience and school
completion, a higher rate of postsecondary school enrollment and
completion, and successful adult outcomes including competitive
employment and community living. The NCSET website is www.ncset.org.
American High School Conference
On November 17-18, the Alliance for Excellent Education held its
first annual invitational conference on the American high school
to discuss some of the most difficult challenges facing the nation's
secondary schools: literacy, adequacy, and equity. The conference
brought together congressional staff, key decision-makers from the
administration, policymakers, and other leaders from the education
community to think about ways to assure that every American child
has the opportunity to graduate from high school with the knowledge
and skills needed for a successful transition into college or a
rewarding job.
The first day of the conference focused on the adolescent literacy
challenge that confronts high schools and the role of the literacy
coach in meeting this challenge. On the second day, participants
examined the adequacy and equity debate surrounding education funding
and the shared responsibility that local, state, and federal governments
have in resolving funding differences among school districts.
The conference also featured the release of four papers that delve
more deeply into these topics: Adolescents and Literacy: Reading
for the 21st Century; The Literacy Coach: A Key to Improving
Teaching and Learning in Secondary Schools; Needs Improvement:
2003 Progress Report on American High Schools; and lastly, Investing
in the Education of Older Students: A Summary of the Evidence.
To download these documents go to www.all4ed.org. |
