IDEA call to action

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Great info and sample letter!!

Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 18:10:11 EDT

From: D0991@...

Subject: IDEA Update - What Can You Do?

____________________________________

OUR CHILDREN LEFT BEHIND

__________________________________

APRIL 18, 2005

IDEA UPDATE - WHAT CAN YOU DO?

People are wondering what they can do now that IDEA 2004 has been

passed and will go into effect on July 1, 2005. The answer

is: " plenty! "

The U.S. Department of Education will soon unveil its draft

regulations, following which there will be a public comment period.

There will be opportunities to comment in person (at a series of

public meetings being held around the country) or in writing (or

both).

It is also important to pay attention to our state governments, as

states may want to weaken their own special education laws and

regulations to mirror the weakened federal IDEA. To do this, states

will have to go through their own legislative and/or regulatory

processes, and there should be opportunities for the public to

comment on these changes as well.

In the meanwhile, here are some concrete suggestions for things you

can be doing right now.

First, brush up on the changes that IDEA 2004 made to previous law.

OSERS (a unit of the U.S. Department of Education) has put out an

analysis of these changes:

_www.directionservice.org/cadre/stat_index_ideia.cfm_

(http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/stat_index_ideia.cfm) . You

can find plenty of other analyses and summaries posted on our site.

And you can view the actual law itself at the Department of

Education's web page:

_www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/idea2004.html_

(http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/idea2004.html) .

Second, you can attend a public meeting and/or submit your comments

in writing to the Department of Education. Below is some information

on these options:

New Round of IDEA Forums Announced by OSERS

Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) H. Hager announced a series of

public meetings that will be held this year after the publication of

proposed rules to implement the legislation to amend the Individuals

with Disabilities Act Education.

All forums will be held from 1 to 4 PM and 5 to 7 PM. OSERS will

announce specific details as to locations through the Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to be published in the Federal Register

later this Spring.

* San , TX :: Monday, June 6, 2005

* Nashville, TN :: Friday, June 17, 2005

* Sacramento, CA :: Wednesday, June 22, 2005

* Las Vegas, NV :: Friday, June 24, 2005

* New York, NY :: Monday, June 27, 2005

* Chicago, IL :: Wednesday, June 29, 2005

* Washington, DC :: Tuesday, July 12, 2005

According to OSERS, people will be able to register to comment at the

door, on a first-come first-served basis. Attendees can provide oral

and written comments at the meetings; written comments that

accompany oral remarks are optional.

What if none of these locations are nearby? You can submit written

comments or suggestions electronically to

_comments@..._ (mailto:comments@...)

or mail them to Office of

Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of

Education, 400 land Avenue, S.W., Potomac Center Plaza, Room

5126, Washington, DC, 20202-2641.

For Additional Information: Questions can be asked by calling OSERS'

main number, . If a telecommunications device for the

deaf (TDD) is needed, people may call the Federal Information Relay

Service (FIRS) at 1-.

Finally, you can write your legislators and continue to keep the

pressure up, letting them know there are people out there who care

about special education and who are watching what they do. Your

state legislators will be called upon by the school lobbies to

weaken state special education law – let them know that families

in

your state do NOT want to see that happen! And while you'

re at it, you can still keep writing to your federal legislators.

They say the time to plan for the next election is immediately after

the previous one.

Well, IDEA will be up for reauthorization in a few short years

(2007), so let's get started on our next campaign! And while

you're

at it, please copy officials at the U.S. Department of Education, so

they can take your feelings into account when writing the federal

regulations. Below is a template letter you

can use:

~ ~ ~

[DATE]

Dear [YOUR LEGISLATOR],

My name is ____, and I am a constituent of yours as well as the

parent of a child with a disability (name the disability and

describe if necessary - even enclose a picture of your child if you

like). My child has been receiving IDEA services since _____ and has

benefited in the following ways (fill in your story - triumphs due

to a strong IDEA, problems due to a weak IDEA, etc.).

I'm writing to ask you to please work to maintain a strong IDEA that

continues to protect students with disabilities and their families.

Please remember that we are the main stakeholders and that IDEA was

designed to protect us and our civil rights. Please keep strong

protections for our children so that they can continue to progress

and to eventually close the achievement gap between students with

disabilities and their nondisabled peers.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME & CONTACT INFO]

cc: [FILL IN NAMES OF PEOPLE COPIED]

~ ~ ~

Send to:

* Your state senators and representatives

* Your U.S. senators and representatives if you like (remember

that the next reauthorization is only a few years away!)

Copy the following:

* The Honorable Margaret Spellings

Secretary

U.S. Department of Education

400 land Avenue SW

Washington, DC 20202

* H. Hager

Assistant Secretary

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

U.S. Department of Education

400 land Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20202

* Troy Justesen

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

U.S. Department of Education

400 land Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20202

* Your State Department of Education

We hope this helps get you started on your continued IDEA advocacy!

Sandy Strassman Alperstein, today's

_parentvolunteer@..._

(mailto:parentvolunteer@...)