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LEGISLATION
FEDERAL AGENCIES
OTHER
THE SUPREME COURT
LEGISLATION
APPROPRIATIONS
Both the House and the Senate passed their versions of Appropriations for Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, but final action on these bills is not expected until the lame duck session starting on November 13. A separate final bill may be passed; all unpassed appropriation bills may be rolled into an Omnibus bill and passed; or a continuing resolution may be passed to continue current appropriations until the new Congress acts in January or February.
BILLS PASSED
Congress passed and the President signed into law the Reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act (S. 250 now P.L. 109-247)
PENDING BILLS
Congress is not expected to act on the Senate Stop Overspending Bill (S 3521); the House Sunset Commission Bills - Government Efficiency Act, (H.R. 5766) and the Abolishment of Obsolete Agencies and Federal Sunset Act, (H.R. 3282), and the Reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act.
NEW BILL
Supporters hoped that Congress might find time to pass the Preemie Act (H.R. 2861/S 707), to reduce preterm labor and delivery and the risk of pregnancy-related deaths and complications due to pregnancy and to reduce infant mortality caused by prematurity.
FEDERAL AGENCIES
IDEA WEBSITE
New materials and "topic briefs" are constantly being added to the OSEP web site at: http://idea.ed.gov/ to disseminate information on the new regulations.
IDEA COMMUNITY MEETINGS
John Hager, Undersecretary of Education for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and Dr. Alexa Posny, Director of the Office of Special Education Programs, presided over a series of free evening meetings to explain the official position on the regulations of IDEA '04. Following the presentations, attendees asked questions as time allowed. The meetings were held in Charlotte, NC; Tampa, FL; Philadelphia, PA; Seattle, WA; Minneapolis, MN; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO and Sacrament , CA. Information on the meetings is posted on the IDEA 2004 web page at http://www.ed.gov/IDEA
KEY RESULTS FROM THE 1997 NATIONAL ASSESSMENT STUDIES
On September 25, findings from seven studies authorized by IDEA '97 were summarized under three major topics:
- From Standards To Access To Outcomes: Trends in academic outcomes, in accessing the general education curriculum, and policy actions supporting standards-based reform.
- As Students Grow. What Happens? Entry into and exit from special education; and academic outcomes of students with disabilities.
- The Importance of Function, Health and Environment.Health; functioning; poverty families and district resources; and behavior
The handouts for these presentations were full of very useful data and included references to relevant websites, as follows: National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study (NEILS), www.sri.com/neils; Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study (PEELS), www.peels.org; Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS), www.seels.net; National Longitudinal Transition Study -2,(NLTS2); www.nlts2.org; Special Education Expenditure Project (SEEP), www.csef-air.org; Study of Personnel Needs in Special Education (SPeNSE), http://ferdig.coe.ufl.edu/spense;The Study of State and Local Implementation and Impact of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (SLIIDEA) http://abt.sliidea.org
POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION
The Office of Civil Rights pamphlet on Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities has been updated. The publication can be downloaded from
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/transition.html or ordered by calling 1-877-433-7827.
TRANSITION
On June 20, 2006, the Government Accountability Office published a report on a Conference on Helping California Youths with Disabilities Transition to Work or Postsecondary Education (GAO-06-759SP) California has wide variation in population, industry, disability rates, and employment rates among its counties, and may offer lessons to other states about the challenges and successes in serving transitioning youths. This report summarizes the views of panelists on challenges they experienced serving this population during critical transition years, and identifies several practices that they believe are helping to address those challenges in California. The report can be downloaded from http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06759sp.pdf .
OTHER
THE COMMISSION ON NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND www.aspeninstitute.org
At the final hearing of the Commission Madeline Will, former Undersecretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, expressed the National Down Syndrome Society's opposition to the 1% and 2% exemptions for meeting the proficiency requirements of NCLB. The Commission's Report is expected in early 2007
A PARENT'S GUIDE TO NCLB AND IDEA
An informative guide on NCLB and IDEA can be downloaded from the National Center on Educational Outcomes at http://education.umn.edu/nceo/OnlinePubs/Parents.pdf
TRANSFORMING HIGH SCHOOL TEACHING AND LEARNING: A DISTRICT WIDE DESIGN. The Aspen Institute Program on Education and Society report offers both an analytic framework and concrete suggestions for a new approach to high school improvement can be downloaded from www.aspeninstitute.org
THE SUPREME COURT
On Friday, October 27, the Supreme Court agreed to consider an appeal by the parents of an autistic child to act as their child's lawyer. The parents, Jeff and Sandee Winkelman, say they cannot afford a lawyer to argue their court case against the school district of Parma, Ohio, near Cleveland, over private school tuition for their son, Jacob. The federal appeals court in Cincinnati ruled that the Winkelmans, suing under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, had to find a lawyer to represent Jacob, although other federal courts have ruled differently in cases involving that law. The Bush administration then urged the justices to take the case, saying that in adopting the measure, Congress clearly intended that parents be able to represent their children in such court proceedings. Whether Jacob should have private schooling at public expense is not before the justices, only the question of his parents' right to go into federal court without a lawyer.
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. LDA members wishing to be added
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