please contact the House Education Committee

[Guest guest]

I received permission to forward this your comments are due by Tomorrow!!

Tell House Education and Labor Committee to Keep ESEA Strong

for Students with Disabilities!!

Congress is currently considering amendments to the Elementary and

Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the law most recently

known as No Child Left Behind. Comments are being accepted by email

eseacomments@... that is eseacomments at mail dot house dot gov

- must be submitted by

March 26, 2010.

Principles for the reauthorization of Elementary and Secondary

Education Act

Students with disabilities have benefitted greatly from the

Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) because the

law requires their academic achievement to be measured and

reported. As a result, more students with disabilities have

been afforded the opportunity to learn and master grade level

academic content. Reauthorization of the Elementary and

Secondary Education Act must ensure that all students can learn and

thrive in school and be career and college ready.

It is critically important that you tell

Congress the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

is not an appropriate accountability tool to measure a student's

academic progress. The IEP is an agreement between

parents and schools that details the specific skills, services and

supports a child needs to make progress in the

general education curriculum. Moreover, the final regulations to

IDEA reaffirm that the IEP is not appropriate for

school accountability purposes. ESEA provides academic

accountability for students with disabilities, like it does for

every other student. Therefore, all statewide assessments used for

ESEA accountability purposes, including alternate

assessments, must continue to measure only academic achievement, not

progress on functional goals.

Furthermore - In order for all students to achieve academic

excellence, we urge Congress to incorporate the following

principles, developed by the Consortium for Citizens with

Disabilities Education Task Force, in the reauthorization of

the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA):

..

* All students are general education students first.

* All students should leave high school ready for college or

a career.

* General and special education teachers must have the

skills and knowledge necessary for teaching grade-level

content and diverse learners.

* Struggling learners should be identified early and should

receive targeted instruction or interventions.

* Schools must integrate into the academic curriculum

programs and services to address barriers to learning.

* Assessments must be designed and implemented to ensure

that all students can accurately demonstrate their

academic knowledge and skills.

* If growth models replace the status model as a means of

measuring student growth for all students, they must

include all students with disabilities and ensure all students are

held to high expectations.

* The principles of universal design for learning must apply

throughout ESEA.

* The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is not an

appropriate accountability tool to measure a student's

academic progress.

* Families must be empowered to be effective advocates for

their child and students with disabilities need to be

included in the decision-making process about their academic

opportunities to the extent appropriate.

* The Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act must be

adequately funded so that public schools have the resources they

need to meet the needs of all students.

For a full copy of the CCD ESEA Principles please visit

http://www.copaa.org/pdf/Final%202010%20CCD%20ESEA%20principles.pdf

Please take 5 minutes and send your comments to the House of

Representatives Committee on Education and Labor asking

them to keep the law strong for students with disabilities. It is

absolutely critical for your voice to be heard!!

Email eseacomments@... by March 26, 2010.

For more information see

http://edlabor.house.gov/newsroom/2010/02/lawmakers-announce-plan-for-a.shtml

For information on the Obama Administration's Blueprint for ESEA

released on Saturday, March 13, which would ask states

to adopt college- and career-ready standards and reward schools for

producing dramatic gains in student achievement, see

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint/index.html

It is also important that you contact your own Representatives on

this issue. Email: <http://www.house.gov/writerep>

http://www.house.gov/writerep for the House of Representatives (your

local area Congressman or Congresswoman). For the

Senate, go to <http://www.senate.gov/> http://www.senate.gov/ and

click on Senators and then " Choose a State " and then

select the webform.

For help in finding Your Congressional Representative: Go to

<http://www.house.gov/

http://www.house.gov and put your

zip code in the box in the upper left corner. You can find your

Senators through <http://www.senate.gov/>

http://www.senate.gov/ and clicking on Senators and then " " Choose a

State. " You have one Representative and two

Senators.

Be sure your voice is heard in Congress - and do it today!!