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LDA NEWS FROM WASHINGTON
December 5, 2005 - KATRINA SPECIAL
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.
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 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.
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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