his informational alert sent to you by
Jim Ward and www.adawatch.org:
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More Time to Organize...
The U.S. Senate H.E.L.P. Committee vote on Gerald Reynolds, Bush's controversial
pick for Assistant Secretary for the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) at the Dept.
of Education (see summary below), has been pushed from March 13 to March 20 at
the earliest. It is possible that it will not happen until after the recess
ending April 8. This gives us more time to organize, to sign-on to the
opposition letter, and to contact Sen. Jim Jeffords.
We met with Senator Jeffords -- his will be the deciding vote -- on Thursday and
he spend a great deal of time with us and listened closely to our concerns. He
expressed deep concern and appreciated the information we prepared for him. The
reality is that Senator Jeffords has not voted against executive level nominees
and it will require a huge effort in Vermont and accross the country to stop
this nominee. We do not want to see this nominee turn back the clock on all the
hard work that Jeffords and other leaders have done on IDEA, ADA, 504, etc.
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Please join us in this campaign and call Sen. Jeffords at 802-658-6001 or
202-224-5141 and ask him to vote NO on Reynolds. You can send a FAX to
Senator Jeffords at 202-228-0776 or Email him at
Vermont@jeffords.senate.gov
To sign-on to our opposition letter, individually or as an organization, contact
us at ADA Watch@aol.com
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ADA Watch White Paper:
Gerald Reynolds and Disability Rights
March 7, 2002
"It is imperative that this Committee disqualify any candidate whose background
indicates that his ideological beliefs will probably lead him to ignore the
spirit, if not the letter, of the law."
- Gerald A. Reynolds
Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee
(Oct. 22, 1997)
· President Bush has nominated Gerald Reynolds to the position of Assistant
Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education. Reynolds is
currently the Senior Regulatory Counsel for Kansas City Power and Light. He has
served as Vice Chairman of the Civil Rights Division of the Federalist Society,
Legal Analyst for the Center for Equal Opportunity, President, Legal Counsel,
and board member for the Center for New Black Leadership, and board member for a
program of the National Center for Public Policy Research.
· The leadership of the Office for Civil Rights is of particular importance to
students with disabilities and their parents. Indeed, 60% of the discrimination
cases reported to OCR are disability cases. (OCR Annual Report to Congress,
1998)
· As head of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Reynolds would be responsible
for the development of civil rights policy, monitoring recipients of
Departmental funds for compliance with anti-discrimination laws, investigating
complaints of discrimination, and bringing administrative actions. In this
position, Reynolds would enforce all relevant OCR regulations and guidance and
major civil rights laws: Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
of 1990, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX
of the Education Amendments of 1972, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975.
· The ADA Watch Action Fund, a project of People For the American Way,
works in coalition with people with disabilities, parents, attorneys, advocates,
and organizations working to protect and advance the rights of people with
physical, mental, and learning disabilities. We have provided Senator Jeffords
staff with our letter of opposition to Gerald Reynolds. The organizations who
have signed include the National Organization on Disability, American
Association of People with Disabilities, National Disabled Student Union,
Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, and many others. Vermont
organizations include the Vermont Coalition for Disability Rights, Vermont Human
Rights Council, Vermont Center for Independent Living, and the Vermont-NEA. We
are also working in coalition with organizations such as the Leadership
Conference on Civil Rights and the National Education Association.
· After careful review of his record, this broad coalition of disability,
education, and civil rights organizations is opposing the nomination of Mr.
Reynolds, concluding that his hostility toward affirmative action and the
disparate impact standard, a key civil and disability rights tool used by the
Department of Education, make him unsuitable for this important position.
· We are also opposing Mr. Reynolds because of his lack of substantive education
policy experience. His career record demonstrates no education experience and
his performance at his hearing before the Senate H.E.L.P Committee revealed his
lack of understanding of essential concepts related to civil rights enforcement.
Indeed, when pressed to illustrate his education experience he stated that he
met with the administrators of four voucher schools four years ago. It is
significant to note that voucher schools are exempt from providing Special
Education services and from complying with many of the federal protections he
would be charged with enforcing.
· The Disparate Impact or "Effects Test" standard has been critical to the
Department of Education's ability to detect and eliminate discriminatory
educational practices. With the Supreme Court's decision in Alexander v.
Sandoval and the lack of private right of action, it will be crucial for OCR to
enforce disparate impact regulations. Mr. Reynolds has consistently expressed
criticism of Disparate Impact enforcement (most notably in his testimony against
Bill Lann Lee). In his hearing before the Senate H.E.L.P. Committee he
repeatedly stated that he would judge each case individually and failed to show
knowledge of how statistical inquiry can be used to protect the rights of
students with disabilities regardless of intent.
· Mr. Reynolds has staunchly opposed affirmative action and discusses
affirmative action in the loaded and legally inaccurate terms of "preferential
treatment" and "quotas." (LCCR) He also suggested that affirmative action should
not apply to various groups, such as white women. Many in the disability
community are understandably concerned that Mr. Reynold's hostility toward
federal civil rights protections will negatively impact enforcement of federal
protections such as the ADA, IDEA, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
· In his testimony to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission (Regulatory Obstacles
Confronting Minority Entrepreneurs, April 5, 1997), Mr. Reynolds chose to point
to the ADA as one of "these statutes and regulations [that] are going to retard
economic development in urban centers across the country."
· Statement from Chairman Kennedy following Senate hearing:
"After reviewing Mr. Reynolds' record, I was struck by his lack of education
policy experience and his longstanding hostility to basic civil rights laws,
which together raise legitimate questions about Mr. Reynolds' qualifications for
the job and his commitment to enforcing and defending basic civil rights
protections. These concerns are shared by a broad coalition of civil rights,
women's, education, and disability groups who oppose his nomination.
Although I recognize that we will not agree on every issue, we do expect the
Assistant Secretary for the Office of Civil Rights to come to the position with
a sense of fairness, a firm understanding of education policy issues, and a
genuine commitment to continuing the progress on civil rights that has been one
of the nation's greatest achievements in recent decades. Now is no time for
on-the-job training or turning back the clock on the progress we've made on
civil rights."
- Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Statement at the Senate H.E.L.P. Committee Hearing on Gerald Reynolds (Feb. 26,
2002)
Additional Background Information:
Disparate Impact:
This long recognized form of illegal discrimination is based on the premise that
even actions which cannot be proven to be intentionally discriminatory may have
a discriminatory impact on legally protected classes of people. The plaintiff
must show that the defendant's policy has the "effect of discrimination" on the
basis of disability (or membership in another protected class.) To a person
with a disability, it doesn't matter why the discrimination exists, only that it
prevents him or her from participating fully in society.
The Rights of Students with Disabilities:
Three federal laws apply directly to the rights of students with disabilities.
In 1975, Congress enacted what is now called the Individuals with Disabilities
Act (IDEA) to address abuses such as public schools refusing to educate children
with disabilities or giving them a third-rate education. IDEA requires that
states and local education agencies provide a "free and appropriate public
education" (FAPE) for all children with disabilities. FAPE consists of specially
designed teaching and individualized support. To the maximum extent possible,
FAPE must help students with disabilities stay in the regular classroom and
learn what all the other children learn. Local education agencies are
responsible for providing the comprehensive services and procedural protections
in IDEA, and states must ensure compliance. Privately funded schools do not have
to provide IDEA services.
Two other federal statutes prohibit discrimination against people with
disabilities in both public and private schools. Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) prohibits recipients of federal funds
from discriminating against people with disabilities. All states, all public
schools, and some private schools receive federal funds. Further, the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits disability discrimination in all services,
programs, and activities provided or made available by state and local
governments or their agencies, and in places of public accommodation. The ADA
applies to states, public schools, and private schools which are not controlled
by religious organizations. Discrimination includes exclusion and denial of
comparable benefits and services, and violations of extensive regulations.
Prepared by:
Jim Ward
Executive Director
ADA Watch Action Fund
2000 M Street, NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 467-2359