REFORMING & REAUTHORIZING IDEA
April 2003
From the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)
preserveIDEA@dredf.org
IDEA Rapid Response Network (RRN)
Subject: IDEA Reauthorization Alert #5 - Attorneys Fees April 9, 2003
TO JOIN THE RRN: Send an email to
preserveIDEA@dredf.org and we'll add you
to our distribution list. To read earlier Briefings, visit
www.dredf.org.
Please forward this briefing to others who want to work to protect IDEA.
The House hearing on H.R. 1350 began today and reconvenes on the morning of
April 10. No action was taken today and the discussion continues.
ATTORNEY FEES: Rep. Ed Case (D-HI) has introduced an amendment to the House
IDEA bill that would give the Governors of each State the authority to
determine rates for awarding fees to attorneys who represent children with
disabilities in special education cases. This amendment will make it much
harder for disadvantaged families to find representation for their children
and it assigns rates for attorney fees unlike those in any other area of
civil rights law.
DREDF ANALYSIS: The Handicapped Children's Protection Act, which established
the fee provisions of IDEA, was enacted in order to ensure that poor,
disadvantaged children had access to the due process protections of the
IDEA. It was well understood at the time that parents are at a disadvantage
in such proceedings when school districts are represented by attorneys or
well trained administrators. It was also clear that parents who are unable
to pay for attorney representation would not have meaningful access to the
process. Finally, it was considered a matter of simple equity that the IDEA
have available the same fee shifting provisions as all other civil rights
laws.
None of these considerations has changed. It is wholly inequitable for
parents of disabled children to have less of an ability to enforce their
children's' civil rights than a women or people of color enforcing their
civil rights. This amendment is an outrage! Why do members of Congress
think that parental rights should be weakened when ANY PARENT knows that it
is very difficult to face a school district in a dispute and that advocates
and attorneys are already in short supply. The Governor of the State does
not assign rates for attorney fees in any other area of civil rights. Why
are disabled children's civil rights on the auction block?
WHAT TO DO: Immediately CALL or FAX Rep. Case:
Ed Case, Hawaii
Washington, DC: 202-225-4906
FAX: 202-225-4987
Please send a copy of your fax or an account of your call to DREDF as well
as to the Committee fax number as a whole. If you have also made a phone
call, please let us know.
DREDF fax: 510-841-8645
DREDF email: jepstein@dredf.org
COMMITTEE CONTACT:
Committee on Education and the Workforce
U. S. House of Representatives
2181 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-4527
TDD/TTY: (202) 226-3372
IDEA
Reauthorization Update -- September 2002
Senators Ted Kennedy and Judd Gregg of the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions (HELP) Committee are expected to introduce a bill to reauthorize the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) during the second week of
September.
IDEA WATCH-Check this page often to keep up to date on this important legislative activity.
Reauthorization of IDEA 2002
Senior Democrat
Committee on Education and the Workforce
IDEA Reauthorization: We Want to Hear Your Ideas!
IDEA was last reauthorized by Congress in 1997 in bipartisan, bicameral process. Town-hall style meetings open to parents, educators, policy experts, and all other interested parties were held to hear concerns and get feedback on draft proposals. This process was a marked change from several failed, partisan efforts to pass an IDEA bill in 1995 and 1996. The next reauthorization effort will be influenced by the soon-to-be-released report by the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education. This report, expected later this month, will likely provide many recommendations that will be the subject of discussion.
I very much hope that the next reauthorization of IDEA be characterized by the same kind of cooperation that marked the 1997 effort and the recently enacted "No Child Left Behind Act." IDEA is a critical national program that must serve all the children and families throughout America who depend on its promises.
Some of the same proposals to significantly alter IDEA that were rejected in 1997 now are being raised again. Many of these, according to experts, could potentially weaken the legal rights of children with disabilities and their families: cessation of services; denial of due process; elimination or severe weakening of procedural safeguards; private school vouchers. Some have even proposed giving states or the federal Department of Education broad authority to waive IDEA statutory and regulatory requirements.
These proposals are being made despite the fact that twenty-seven years after the passage of P.L. 94-142, IDEA's civil rights protections for children with disabilities have yet to be fully implemented. To make matters worse, Congress had an opportunity last year to fund IDEA at the level promised in 1975, but the Bush Administration and its allies in Congress rejected this proposal.
While children with disabilities have made great strides in excelling within our educational system, many issues of serious noncompliance remain. States and localities continue to struggle with the mandate of educating special needs children in "the least restrictive environment" appropriate to their needs, and many other core tenets of the statute.
Increased public input in the IDEA reauthorization process is now possible because of the Internet, and we welcome the views and suggestions of students, parents and organizations. We want to be sure that we have a balanced view on issues to be raised in the IDEA reauthorization: what works for children, teachers, parents and schools, what needs strengthening, and what needs modifications.
That is why I am seeking your ideas about IDEA: please click on the following link to provide your comments:
IDEA COMMENTS http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/ideaform.html
Email: idea-dem@mail.house.gov
I look forward to hearing from you and in staying in close contact with you as we move through hearings and into the IDEA reauthorization in 2003.
Send Your Comments About IDEA Reauthorization to Washington
In order to ensure that your comments are considered by the Washington when
they hold hearings on
reauthorizing the IDEA contact your legislators as well as the following:
IDEA Law Up for Reauthorization in 2002
Eligibility; Discipline Amendments Will Be Debated
Send Your Comments About IDEA Reauthorization to the U.S. Department of
Education
In preparation for the upcoming reauthorization of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the U.S. Department of Education's Office of
Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) is seeking public input.
Two major
parts of IDEA will expire on September 30, 2002: Part C (Infants and Toddlers
with
Disabilities); and Part D (National Activities to Improve Education of Children
with
Disabilities). Thus, OSERS is seeking broad public input regarding changes
needed to
improve implementation of the early intervention program for infants and
toddlers
with disabilities under Part C, and the effectiveness of the National Activities
under Part D.
Although Part B is permanently authorized, the Department is
planning to
take a look at its provisions as well.
OSERS plans to examine IDEA through a framework of four underlying
principles of
education reform:
* Accountability for results
* Local control and flexibility
* Empowering parents to participate more meaningfully in their children's
education
* Employing proven research-based practices that improve student performance.
OSERS is particularly interested in receiving factual information and
research in these broad areas. These same themes provide the basis for the
recently
reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which President Bush signed
into
law on January 8th. OSERS has listed other specific areas for comment in the
Notice.
In order to ensure that your comments are considered by the Department in
preparing its legislative proposal on IDEA, you must submit them before February
25,
2002.
All comments should be addressed to Thomas Irvin, Office of Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education.
Comments can be sent by:
1. Email - It is preferable to send your comments by email:
Comments@ed.gov
You must use the term IDEA Reauthorization in the subject line of your
electronic message.
2. Surface Mail - Alternatively, you may submit your comments via surface
mail to:
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
U.S. Department of Education,
400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
Mary E. Switzer Building, Room 3086,
Washington DC, 20202-2570
To ensure that OSERS does not receive duplicate copies of comments, please
submit your
comments only once - using either email or surface mail.
The full text of the notice can be read in the Federal Register below
Notice of
Request for Public Comment on IDEA Reauthorization
The Secretary invites written comments from the public on the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to assist the Department in preparing for
reauthorization of the Act in 2002. OSERS; Notice of Request for Public Comment
on IDEA Reauthorization (January 10, 2002; Volume 67, Number 7; Pgs. 1411-141.)
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