IDEA CALL-IN DAY MAY 3!!

[Guest guest]

Greetings,

Our latest information indicates S.1248 may come to the Senate floor

for a vote on May 5th. TASH (www.tash.org), SpEdVoters

(www.spedvoters.org), and OCLB (www.ourchildrenleftbehind.com) are

organizing a national May Day! Save Our Students call-in day,

Monday, May 3, 2004, to refresh the Senator's memory on the issues with

the bill.

Our (OCLB, SpEdVoters, TASH, and more than 100 other organizations)

position remains the same. We are encouraging Senators to vote NO. We

want them to help Save Our Students (SOS). For additional

information and a copy of the call-in flyer and call-in script please

checkout www.spedvoters.org or www.ourchildrenleftbehind.com.

Please forward this call to action far and wide, and don't forget to

call in.

Thanks.

May 3, 2004

National Call-In Day

S.O.S. -- Save Our Students

Let them know that we will not allow our children to be used as political

pawns.

Tell the Senate that children are more important than special-interest

money.

Let them know that the families of 6.5 million children with disabilities

vote and will remember.

The needs of children MUST come ahead of the convenience of adults.

Don't let them destroy IDEA!

Call your Senators 800-839-5276

Call Senator Frist 202-224-3344

Call President Bush 202-456-1111

Call Senator Kerry 202-224-2742

May Day- The international distress call.

Tell them " May Day! May Day! Vote NO on S.1248! "

Tell them that S.1248 will hurt our children by removing short-term goals and

objectives, by allowing children with disabilities to be removed from the

classroom for non-disruptive, non-dangerous behaviors, and by restricting the

due process rights of families. For a call-in script, go to www.spedvoters.org

or www.ourchildrenleftbehind.com.

Join the 100 disability groups, including www.tash.org, who have come out in

opposition to S.1248

If not us, who?

If not now, when?

SAMPLE May Day CALL-IN SCRIPT

Save Our Students (SOS)

We suggest you use this script to help you be sure to say everything you want

to say. First and foremost, be sure to say your child's name [or the name of

the child about whom you are calling] early and often in the conversation. The

Senate aide needs to know that she/he is talking to a family member and not

an organizational lobbyist or representative.

When you first speak with the Senator's office, be sure to say that you need

to speak with someone about your S.1248 concerns rather than just saying you

oppose S.1248. Your Senators need to understand the reasons why you oppose

S.1248 rather than just knowing that you do.

If the aide asks you what your ideal resolution of the issue would be, tell

her/him that IDEA 97 should remain in full force and effect and S.1248 should

not be introduced. However if S.1248 is introduced, then the Senator must vote

NO.

At the close of the conversation, be sure to ask the aide to give you a call

or send you an email letting you know how your Senator voted.

Please email us at spedvoters@... or

parentvolunteer@... and let us know how your conversations

went and what responses you

received from the Senate aides.

If you've called in the past our gratitude goes out to you. However, now is

not the time for you to be complacent. You are making an impact and we need to

keep the pressure on the Senate. If you haven't had the chance to call before,

now is a great opportunity to get involved! The following script makes it very

easy to present the issues. Everyone, please find the time to call on May 3rd to

help Save Our Students (SOS).

Whatever happens with the IDEA reauthorization battle, we at Our Children

Left Behind and League of Special Education Voters have been humbled and

overwhelmed by the stories and realities you and other parents in the field have

shared with us. We have been honored and privileged to work with you to try to

protect our children and preserve for them the educational services they need to

prepare for the future. We have never worked with a more dedicated and committed

group of people. Thank you for all you have done to save IDEA.

SAMPLE May Day CALL-IN SCRIPT

Replace all <child's name> below with name of child.

Hi. My name is ________________. May I please speak with the Senator's lead

aide on education? I am calling to talk about S.1248.

Aide comes on.

Hi. My name is ________________. My son/daughter/brother/sister/friend,

<child's name>, is one of 6.5 million children in America who receives special

education services. Please tell the Senator May Day, May Day. Vote NO on S.1248.

Help Save Our Students (SOS).

For nearly 30 years IDEA has guaranteed students with disabilities, including

my son/daughter/brother/sister/friend, the right to a free appropriate public

education. We need the Senator to act now to protect us and help Save Our

Students (SOS). We also need the Senator's help to be sure that states and

schools are held accountable for special education services.

S.1248 takes away accountability and exposes <child's name> to poorer special

education services. S.1248 also makes it easier to exclude children

including my son/daughter/sister/brother/friend from school altogether.

Short-term objectives are at the center of a child's individualized

educational programming. S.1248 takes them out altogether. S.1248 eliminates the

primary measuring tool the teachers and parents need to use to make sure

<child's name> is progressing. The testing requirements of No Child Left Behind

do not replace short-term objectives.

S.1248 3-year IEP for high school students scares me because I/parents

already have a hard enough time getting all the right people to attend <child's

name> IEP. Stretching it out to three years, especially at this crucial point

when <child's name> educational program is supposed to be transitioning to

community activities and services, makes me think <child's name> is being

abandoned rather than strengthened in his/her efforts to live a full community

life as an adult. Please help Save Our Students (SOS).

S.1248 proposed weakening of behavior-related protections also scares me.

Stay-put is the only true due process mechanism I/parents have right now to be

sure that <child's name> is treated fairly when his/her behavior is in

question. IDEA current behavior provisions do much more to make sure that kids

like <child's name> who have disability-related behavior challenges are not

suspended or expelled for having a disability.

S.1248 also changes the parent's ability to hold the school accountable using

due process. We all know it is the schools and not the parents who have the

easy access to legal representation and the familiarity with special education

law. S.1248, by gutting the due process mechanisms (through obstacles such as

additional pre-due process steps, parent attorney fee caps, etc.), throws the

balance of power even more toward the administration, leaving them less

accountable and leaving <child's name> more vulnerable.

Finally, do not relieve schools of their obligation to meet any new

performance measures and implement compliance plans even if full funding is not

achieved. Funding issues must not relieve a school of its accountability for

providing <child's name> a Free Appropriate Public Education under IDEA 97,

NCLB, or S.1248.

I know some organizations that claim to represent parents are supporting

S.1248 as a compromise to H.R.1350. We parents/friends of <child's name> hate

H.R.1350. But I am a parent/friend and I speak for <child's name> because I am

committed to protecting <child's name> and advancing her/his rights. I oppose

S.1248 because in the end it takes away <child's name> existing rights and

exposes him/her to educational failure and neglect. Unlike the organizations

that may be talking to you, I cannot and will not compromise <child name> safety

and future over a law -- S.1248 takes away fewer rights than H.R.1350

but still harms <child's name>. I need the Senator to vote NO to keep <child's

name> safety and future intact. Help Save Our Students (SOS).

Please get back to me with how the Senator votes on this issue.

Thank you for your time.

Sandy, Illinois (alpy2@...)

Volunteer Co-Webmaster, www.ourchildrenleftbehind.com (IDEA reauthorization)