Expert Witness Petition: ok2forward; help get 1,000 signatures!

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From: jessica@... <jessica@...>Subject: Expert Witness Petition: ok2forward; help get 1,000 signatures!Announcements@...Date: Monday, June 22, 2009, 8:16 AMDo NOT forward COPAA Member Annoucements off-list without prior permission of COPAA.Dear COPAAns,We've gotten several questions about last week's message about the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act, which would restore to parents the right to recover expert witness fees in IDEA cases, a right they lost in 2006 with the Supreme Court's decision in Arlington v. . Even though there is a warning above against forwarding, we are giving you permission to forward the message that is BELOW the asterisks (we just cannot remove the warning above, it is automatic). Please help us circulate and

re-post this alert supporting the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act; please forward and share with other folks, lists, , etc. Passing the bill is important; very few parents can afford the high expense of expert witnesses. And if the right to due process is not affordable, it is not meaningful.We are planning a national

"Call Congress" Day on

Thursday, July 9 (more information will follow as we get closer to the day). We'd like to get a large number of signatures on the petitions to use them in advertising the call-in day and to show the breadth of support for the bill. If each COPAA member signs, and recruits friends, it would be great. Please take a moment to sign the INDIVIDUAL PETITION (instructions below) and let your organizations and groups know to sign on as Organizations. Even if you sign the Organizational petition (e.g. you are president of the group), its still okay to sign the individual petition as yourself. It is okay to forward the message below the asterisks below to friends, clients, and colleagues. (You can delete this top part before

forwarding the message below). THANKS MUCH!!!IT IS OKAY TO FORWARD THE MESSAGE BELOW:* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sign-On and

Support the IDEA Fairness

Restoration Act (HR 2740)! Please sign COPAA's

petition in support of the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act (H.R. 2740), a

bill that would permit parents who prevail in due process and

litigation to recover their expert witness fees. Few parents can

afford the high cost of paying technical, medical, and

other expert witnesses themselves; by contrast, school districts can

use taxpayer dollar to pay for experts or use staff on their payroll.

In 2006, the Supreme Court decided that parents could not be reimbursed

for expert witness fees in Arlington Central School District v. . The

decision has made the playing field unlevel and

unjust for parents who are forced to pursue due process. H.R. 2740 will override this decision.SEE INSTRUCTIONS UNDER INDIVIDUAL SIGN-ONS below to sign our petition for individuals. Even if you sign the organizational petition on behalf of an organization or group, you should sign the Individual petition on your own behalf.ORGANIZATIONAL SIGN-ONS. We are seeking organizations and informal groups who would like to sign on in support of the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act. Last

year, over 100 organizations signed on. Current signatories include

COPAA, National Disability Rights Networks, Disability Rights, DREDF,

National Down Syndrome Society, Autism Society of America, Autism

National Committee, Our Children Left Behind, and many state and local

organizations and parent support groups. Your organization does not

have to be incorporated. We welcome sign-ons from disability groups;

informal networks of attorneys and advocates and others; parent support

groups; health, civil rights, and other related organizations or

groups; nonprofit organizations, public interest law firms and

organizations, associations, and any other supportive groups or organizations of people. To sign

your organization or group on, click here: Experts-Org

(If that doesn't work, the full link ishttp://www.surveymonkey.com/s. aspx?sm=ZqaHLUdhQIhctyl6F_ 2bSZEA_3d_3d

** NOTE: This is the link for organizations and groups. There is a different link for individual persons below.INDIVIDUALS: SIGN COPAA's PETITION FOR INDIVIDUALS! If

you are a parent, attorney, advocate, family member, neighbor, friend,

colleague, other professional, please sign COPAA's petition for

individuals who support the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act (H.R. 2740).

Let's tell Congress that we support this bill and want it passed!

More and more parents find that they cannot protect their children's

rights because they cannot afford it. Please send this note to

your friends, family, support groups, listservs, and

others to ask them to sign the petition. There are 7.1 million

children with disabilities and their rights are important. The link to

SIGN COPAA's INDIVIDUAL PETITION IS HERE:

Indiv-Petition(If that doesn't work, the full link is:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s. aspx?sm= Ib9OdiMVf9ZE2rcPz5F2DA_3d_3d

Just click and fill in the information and you'll be signed on.The effects of not being able to afford expert fees can be pernicious.

In one case,In one case, a mother was forced to go to due process to implement the Independent Educational Evaluation recommendations for her child with severe dyslexia and a written expression disorder. She had to borrow $1,400 to pay the evaluator to testify, and for two days of cross-examination by the school district. The parent prevailed and the child received the reading instruction he needed. Before the Supreme Court’s decision, the mother could recover her expert fees; after , she would not. In other cases,

solo practitioners report that they could not take cases pro bono

because they had no way to afford the expert. The IDEA Fairness

Restoration Act would go far to cure these problems.

You can read more about this important issue on COPAA's website at http://www.copaa.org/pdf/ Brochure.pdf

Note

that this brochure may refer to H.R. 4188; that was last year's bill.

This is being updated and the new bill number is H.R. 2740.This information is also available in Spanish, http://www.copaa.org/pdf/ MSSpanish.pdf

Lea aqui en

Espanol: y los derechos de los padres para recuperar el

costo de los expertos. Importante! es el nuevo número H.R. 2740: http://www.copaa.org/pdf/ MSSpanish.pdf

A

copy of the bill will be posted to COPAA's website shortly. In the

meantime, you can find the full bill at www.congress.gov, and in the

box that says Search Bill Summary and Status, type IDEA Fairness and

press search. This will take you to H.R. 2740. For more information, or if you have questions, please feel free to email us at protectidea@....AGAIN, PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION BROADLY, you can re-post and forward as you wish, and please, sign the two petitions!.

Thanks very

much, Berlow and Jess Co-Chairs,

Government RelationsCouncil of Parent Attorneys & Advocates, Inc.a national voice for special education rights and advocacywww.copaa.org

email: protectidea@...

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