Wrightslaw

Please download and distribute this Alert: https://www.wrightslaw.com/nltr/03/al.0611.htm

Why You Must Act Now

In April, the House of Representatives passed H.B. 1350. At this point, our only hope of derailing several damaging amendments to the IDEA is in the Senate. Read More

The Senate Committee of Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) is drafting its own version of the bill. Legislative experts report that the situation in the HELP committee is fluid and uncertain. While several HELP members are in our corner, there is strong opposition from some quarters, including Senator Lamar Alexander's staff.

Plainly, the Senators are getting a great deal of their information from school districts. Senate staff repeat stories of "Cadillac services" coerced out of defenseless school districts by parents' lawyers who run "IDEA mills." These stories involve dolphins and horseback riding lessons. You get the picture.

It is absolutely imperative that all members of the Senate, especially the members of the HELP committee (names and states listed below), hear from their constituents - that's you!

If you are from Tennessee, your help is urgently needed since Senators Frist and Alexander are HELP members. If you are from Ohio, Kansas or Alabama, you need to educate Senator DeWine and Senator Roberts who are new to IDEA issues, and Senator Sessions who has shown some interest in the parents' positions.

Write about your child or children for whom you advocate. Write, call or e-mail, but please, please let your voice be heard.

As for what you should say to our Senators, here are some ideas.

1. Tell a simple, human story that anyone can relate to.

Personal stories are important. Explain how your child, or a child for whom you advocate, will be hurt by the proposed changes.

Don't focus on diagnosis or specialized interventions. Talk about denial of access to quality education, about lack of opportunity for educational progress. It is important to tell our stories in terms that all Americans can relate to.

Explain why this bill will turn back the clock, harm children, or lead to increased costs to society if children with disabilities do not get the education they need to "prepare them for employment and independent living" (§1400(d) Purposes of IDEA statute)

2. Emphasize how difficult it has been to get the most basic services for your child or the children for whom you advocate.

We need to counteract the stereotype that we are whiny upper-middle class parents who want outrageously expensive services at public expense because we have a sense of entitlement.

Stress that you are a middle class parent who is struggling to ensure that your child receives the medical and educational services - and that you don't know why this has to be such a battle. If you are an advocate, emphasize that you advocate for parents who are often unaware of their rights, whose children have been denied the most basic services, who are poor, who try hard in school but who have received very little specially designed instruction and whose prospects in adult life are dim as a result.

3. Advocates and attorneys need to counteract the myth that we are operating "IDEA mills."

Most attorneys who represent children with disabilities are solo practitioners, public interest lawyers and members of small firms. We often handle IDEA cases on not much more than a wing and a prayer.

We need to emphasize the positive role that parents' lawyers can play as problem solvers, especially in situations where school districts are advised by lawyers from the beginning.

List of HELP members:

Senator Judd Gregg (NH), Chair
Senator Bill Frist (TN)
Senator Edward Kennedy (MA), Ranking Member
Senator Mike Enzi (WY)
Senator Christopher Dodd (CT)
Senator Lamar Alexander (TN)
Senator Tom Harkin (IA)
Senator Christopher Bond (MO)
Senator Barbara Mikulski (MD)
Senator Mike DeWine (OH)
Senator James Jeffords (I) (VT)
Senator Pat Roberts (KS)
Senator Jeff Bingaman (NM)
Senator Jeff Sessions (AL)
Senator Patty Murray (WA)
Senator John Ensign (NV)
Senator Jack Reed (RI)
Senator Lindsey Graham (SC)
Senator John Edwards (NC)
Senator John Warner (VA)
Senator Hillary Clinton (NY)

---

2. Your To Do List

* June 11 & 12: National Call-In Days (Toll-Free #)

ASHA (the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) is sponsoring a toll-free call-in day to Senators on Wednesday June 11 and Thursday June 12 between 9:00-5:00 Eastern time. The number you can use to call in toll-free on those days is 1-800-760-3014.

Theme: Retain IDEA "Highest Qualified" Provider Language So Our Kids Can Get the Support They Need

The focus of this initiative by ASHA is to urge the Senate to retain the current IDEA requirement that our children receive treatment/therapy from the "highest qualified" providers. I.e., our children should remain entitled to help from certified, qualified speech/language pathologists (SLP's), as well as other professional such as occupational therapists (OT's), physical therapists (PT's), etc. If less qualified individuals are allowed to provide treatment, that could hurt our kids by providing them with substandard care.

---

3. Don't Leave Us Behind - IDEA Rally in Washington DC - June 17, 2003

Don't Leave Us Behind, a national rally and press conference to Preserve Civil Rights under IDEA for Students with Disabilities, has been organized for June 17, 2003 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Room G50.

Learn about the IDEA Rally: https://www.wrightslaw.com/news/2003/idea.rally.htm

More information:

East Coast: Sue Hetrick at (866) 885-5733 or by email shetrick@abilitycenter.org.

West Coast: Julia Epstein (510) 644-2555 or email jepstein@dredf.org