NLDline
To Parents and Supporters of IDEA,
I received the following messages through e-mailyesterday. It should be shared throughout the country. Congratulations to bothMarcie Roth and Kathleen Boundy for great work!!!! It is time to takeaction!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Patty Smith
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Forwarded Message:
Subj: IDEA is in serious jeopardy- informative update
Date: 98-04-04 07:56:05 EST
From: [email protected] (Marcie Roth)
To: [email protected]
Dear Friends,
You have been receiving a lot of material about IDEA and whatto do. Please don’t be lulled into complacency in the mistaken belief that someone else istaking care of this.
This memo from Kathy Boundy-Co-Director of the Center for Lawand Education and a TASH board member is very informative, and should give you the detailsyou need to talk with your Senators.
Simply put, call or visit your Senators in their homeoffice and tell them to vote NO to the Gregg amendment to HR 2646. Then call SenatorJeffords and Senator Lott and say the same thing.
Marcie Roth, TASH
To: Colleagues
From: Kathleen Boundy, Center for Law and Education
Date: March 25, 1998 Re: Amendments Threaten Basic Rights of Students withDisabilities
URGENT!!! An amendment to H.R.2636 (Coverdell A+ Education Savings Account Bill) that is referred to as the GreggAmendment regarding IDEA flexibility will be considered in the Senate on April 20, 1998,when the Senate reconvenes following its recess (April 2- 19). H.R. 2636 hasalready passed the House. This Amendment by Senator Gregg (R. N.H.)- whichhas yet to be released – is expected to include the language previously offered by SenatorSlade Gorton (R..WA) on March 23, 1998, denying students with disabilities theirprocedural rights.
Mr. Gregg’s amendment is expected to seek to amend section615(k) of IDEA to authorize states and local educational agencies to establish their owndiscipline policies with respect to students with disabilities. It is expected toauthorize each SEA or LEA to establish and implement uniform policies with respect todiscipline and order applicable to all children within its jurisdiction to ensure safetyand an appropriate educational atmosphere in its schools.
This amendment, if passed, would have the effect ofpermitting the removal of federal statutory protections under the IDEA, as amended, thatprotect students with disabilities from being unilaterally removed from their educationalprograms except in limited instances. If passed, students with disabilities wouldnot be entitled to stay put protections during the pendency of any administrative orjudicial proceedings under section 615(j); they would not be entitled to receive afree appropriate public education during the period of any suspension or expulsion of morethan 10 school days, cumulatively or consecutively; and, they would not be entitled to amanifestation determination hearing under section 615(k)(4) prior to being sanctioned fortheir conduct, including disruptive behavior. Nor would students with disabilitieswho are charged with possession of a weapon or possessing, using, selling or distributingillegal drugs, have a right to be educated in an interim alternative placement. Rather, under this amendment, students with disabilities may be completely denied allpublic education for indefinite periods of time, depending on the state laws where theylive.
More than 25 years ago the Congress passed Public Law 94-142and specifically granted students with disabilities additional procedural safeguardsbecause of the extensive history of mistreatment, exclusion and abuse. If the GreggAmendment is passed, it will result in the wholesale elimination of the zero rejectprinciple.
The timing of this amendment is even more tragic, given thatthe IDEA Amendments of 1997 stress for the first time the importance of qualityinstruction and participation in the general curriculum for all students withdisabilities.
As parents and advocates, we must remember that schoolsbelong to our communities – communities of parents, students, and their neighbors. Go to your elected school boards, your school administrators and teachers. Ask ifthey support the Gregg Amendment and the denial of procedural safeguards to students withdisabilities. Hold them accountable and urge your school boards, schooladministrators, and teachers to call their respective national lobbyists to registertheir disagreement with positions being taken in their names. Urge them to contacttheir Senators to VOTE NO on the Gregg Amendment to H.R. 2646 on April 21st. Askthem to join you in visiting your Senators and Representatives while they are homeduring the recess from April 2 to April 19th. Tell them to leave the IDEA Amendmentsof 1997 alone.
The IDEA Amendments of 1997 were created through extensivebipartisan effort following a lengthy period of input and debate. The time of debateended on June 4.1997, when amidst great fanfare from both sides of the Congress,President Clinton signed the Act, as amended. The time of division and debate isover – the time for educating ALL our children is long overdue!
Ask the student councils, your children’s classmates, yourfriends, neighbors and relatives to speak out – to contact their Senators andRepresentatives. Tell your Senators to VOTE NO on the Gregg Amendment regarding IDEAflexibility. Challenge support of the Gregg amendment as contrary to our beliefs andvalues and the civil rights of students with disabilities.
VISIT OR CALL YOUR SENATORS AND URGE THEM TO VOTE NO ON THEGREGG AMENDMENT TO H.R. 2646 ON APRIL 21st.
Also PLEASE call the majority leader Senator Trent Lott andchair of the Education and Labor Committee Jim Jeffords and tell them that this amendmentis a breach of the agreement reached by the bipartisan effort that brought the IDEAAmendments of 1997 to the floor under their leadership.
To contact: General Senate Switchboard: 1-202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121
Senator Lott
202 224 6253
Senator Jeffords
202 224 5141
When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion!