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June, 2003
Dear Colleagues,
As you may be aware, the Senators Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Edward
Kennedy (D-MA) introduced a bi-partisan bill to reauthorize the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) last week (S.
1248). The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP)
Committee plans to mark-up the bill this WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25th. We
ask that you call, e-mail or fax the Senators from your state,
even if they are not members of the HELP Committee, to state:
The Gregg-Kennedy bill, as introduced, greatly improves the
procedures for parentally-placed private school students with
disabilities to receive evaluations and services under IDEA. WE
URGE SENATORS TO SUPPORT THE PROVISIONS TO PROVIDE EQUITABLE
SERVICES TO ALL CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES INCUDING THOSE IN
NON-PUBLIC SCHOOLS AS OUTLINED IN SECTION 612(a)(10) of S. 1248.
Some of the provisions strengthened by the new language include:
Timely and effective evaluation of private school children
through the Child Find process.
Record keeping requirements by local education agencies and
states to ensure equitable services to private school children
with disabilities.
Consultation on topics such as Child Find, funding, services to
be provided, location of service delivery.
Sign-off by private school officials on the consultation
process.
Provision of services by the school district or through a third
party provider.
In addition to the above improvements, WE ARE WORKING TO ADD
LANGUAGE TO THE BILL THAT OBLIGATES THE LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCIES
(PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS) TO PROVIDE SPECIAL EDUCATION AND RELATED
SERVICES ON-SITE TO CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS
TO THE SAME EXTENT THEY PROVIDE ON-SITE SERVICES TO STUDENTS IN
PUBLIC AND CHARTER SCHOOLS.
Key points supporting the delivery of on-site special education
services:
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that providing services to
private school students on-site is constitutional.
IDEA funds used to transport students reduce funds available for
direct services to students.
Parents are frequently unable to provide transportation during
the school day.
Children with disabilities should not have the added burden of
losing instructional time from their regular classes in order to
travel to services to address their disability.
Students learn best when they receive services in a familiar
setting.
Many of you have your own anecdotal stories to provide to Senators
about the difficulty of accessing IDEA services off-site. Don't
hesitate to describe them.
Please contact your Senators by phone through their state offices
or through their education staff member in the Washington DC
offices. Thank you for any contact you can make by prior to the
mark-up on Wednesday, June 25. Please let us know by e-mail (ipadc@ou.org)
of the nature of your conversations with your Senators offices.
If you have any questions please contact us at 202-513-6484.
We will contact you after the full Committee mark-up on Wednesday
regarding further action in the Senate on these issues.
Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Josh Sussman
Nathan Diament
Associate Director
Director
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