IDEA Fairness restoration act

[Guest guest]

[COPAA-NEWS] Congress introduces IDEA Fairness Restoration Act to

reimburse parents for expert fees

COPAA-NEWS@... <mailto:COPAA-NEWS%40listserv.icors.org>

Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc.

A national voice for special education rights and advocacy

PO Box 6767, Towson MD 21285 www.copaa.org

, Chair, COPAA Board of Directors & Berlow,

Government Relations Chair (email: protectidea@...

<mailto:protectidea%40copaa.org>)

Dear COPAAns,

Today, Congressman Van Hollen of land and Congressman Pete

Sessions of Texas introduced the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act. This

bill, would allow prevailing parents to recoup their expert costs in

litigation under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The

bill would restore Congress' original intent in granting parents the

ability to recover their attorneys' fees and costs when they prevail in

IDEA cases. Congressman Van Hollen's speech in introducing the bill is

here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?r110:14:./temp/~r110qVAiAw:

<http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?r110:14:./temp/%7Er110qVAiAw:>

Parents prevail in IDEA cases only when they show that the school

district provided an education so inferior that it failed its legal

obligations. But while they can recover their attorneys' fees, they

cannot recover their expert witness costs as a result of the Supreme

Court's decision in Arlington Central School District v. (2006).

The IDEA Fairness Restoration Act would override the Supreme Court's

decision and help even the playing field for parents of children with

disabilities.

COPAA is grateful for the hard work and leadership of Congressman Van

Hollen and Congressman Sessions on this bill.

Congress included in the IDEA the right to a due process hearing because

it recognized that parents needed an independent dispute resolution

process to enforce their rights to a free appropriate public education

for their children with disabilities. Expert testimony is often

necessary in such cases.

In 1986, Congress amended the IDEA to allow parents to recover their

attorneys' fees when they prevail in due process. This was necessary to

reverse a Supreme Court decision forbidding such recovery. Congress

amended the IDEA because it recognized that parents need lawyers and

experts to exercise their right to due process. Congress knew that

parents have substantially fewer resources than school districts and

many cannot afford expert witness fees.

Twenty-one years later, that reality still has not changed.

Approximately 36% of children with disabilities live in families earning

less than $25,000 a year; over 2/3 earn less than $50,000 a year. Few

parents can afford the thousands of dollars needed to pay qualified

medical, educational, and technical experts. While parents must hire

expert witnesses to testify, school districts can use therapists,

psychologists, and other expert witnesses on their own payroll.

Approximately 7 million children with disabilities are currently covered

by the IDEA. Nonetheless, parents proceed to litigation only as a last

resort. In 2003, the GAO reported that there were only 5 hearings per

10,000 special education students. Parents should not be deprived of

their right to due process for lack of resources.

COPAA thanks Congressman Van Hollen and Congressman Sessions for

introducing this very important legislation. We call upon COPAAns to

contact their Congressional offices and urge support of the IDEA

Fairness Restoration Act. It is important to send COPAA a copy of your

letters and emails to Congress, so that we can show the strength of

support for this legislation. There are four ways to do this:

(1) Call 202-224-3121 and ask to speak to your Representative'

s Office, When you are connected, ask for the Education aide. (To find

your Congressional Representative's name, go to http://www.house.gov/

<http://www.house.gov/> and use the locator in the upper left corner)

(2) Fax your Representative. You can find your Representative's fax

number on his/her webpage at http://www.house.gov/

<http://www.house.gov/> Be sure to send COPAA a copy of your fax, either

by emailing it to protectidea@... <mailto:protectidea%40copaa.org>

or by faxing it to 410-372-0209.

(3) Email your Congressperson, http://www.house.gov/writerep/

<http://www.house.gov/writerep/> Before you send your email, please copy

it into a word processing document, along with your Congressperson's

name and your name and address, and send that copy to COPAA. You can

email it to us at protectidea@...

<mailto:protectidea%40copaa.org>, fax it to 410-372-0209, or send it to

COPAA, PO Box 6767, Towson MD 21285. This will enable us to collect all

of the letters and emails for key Congressional aides. This is very

important. In the crush of email that reaches Congress about a variety

of issues, we need to present a large number of emails and letters to

show how strong our support is on this issue.

(4) If you are unable to make long distance phone calls and do not have

access to email, please call your local Congressional office. Go to the

" Blue Pages " in your local phone book and look in the federal government

section for the phone number.

After you contact your Congressional Representative, help your friends

and family members write letters and make telephone calls, too!

The IDEA Fairness Restoration Act goes far to remedy the gross imbalance

of resources between parents and school districts. We thank Congressman

Van Hollen and Congressman Sessions for their dedication to the rights

of children with disabilities. While the bill does not deal with

Schaffer v. Weast, COPAA will continue to work hard to seek an override

of that decision about burden of proof. Meanwhile, we thank you in

advance for your letters in support of the IDEA Fairness Restoration

Act. Together, we can make an override of the decision a reality

and protect children's fundamental rights to a free appropriate public

education.

Thank you for your support and joining in our efforts,

Chair, COPAA Board of Directors

Berlow

Chair, COPAA Government Relations Committee

Email: protectidea@... <mailto:protectidea%40copaa.org>

please feel free to share this email with others.

Rick Tallman

[Guest guest]

Autism SocietyFYI

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...

IDEA Fairness Restoration Act

Dear Ellen,

Recently, legislation was introduced to allow parents to recover expert

witness fees in due process hearings and litigation under the Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act. The IDEA Fairness Restoration Act was introduced in

the Senate (S.613) by Senator Harkin (D-IA), Chair of the Senate Health

Education Labor and Pensions Committee, Senator Mikulski (D-MD), and Senator

(I-VT); and a companion bill was introduced in the House of

Representatives (H.R. 1208) by Congressman Van Hollen (D-MD) and

Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX). The Autism Society agrees that all students,

regardless of background or ability, are entitled to receive an education that

gives them the opportunity to live a successful and fulfilling life. " This

legislation will remove the financial barrier that families, especially low- and

middle-income families, face as they pursue their children's rights to the free,

appropriate public education they deserve and are entitled to under the

Fourteenth Amendment, " said Jeff Sell, Vice President, Public Policy, & General

Counsel of the Autism Society.

We are asking you to contact your two U.S. Senators and Representative and

ask them to co-sponsor this important piece of legislation.

Ask your friends and family to do the same.

Autism Society | 4340 East-West Hwy, Suite 350 | Bethesda, land 20814

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