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 IDEA
Weekly Update
by Sandy Alperstein,
OutChildrenLeftBehind.org, January 24-25, 2004
For more articles like this
visit
http://www.bridges4kids.org.
Quite a week,
with the first volley in the game we call the presidential
election! Shortly after releasing his comprehensive disability
rights platform (including detailed recommendations on IDEA
reauthorization, recommendations that go well beyond the usual
“full funding” tripe and actually address enforcement and due
process concerns), Senator Kerry went on to an upset victory in
the Iowa caucuses. Coincidence? We think not! Read all about
it on our
Home page, in “Turning
The Tide.” Maybe other
candidates will realize that addressing disability rights,
including IDEA reauthorization, could turn the tide for them as
well!
Also on our
Home page, we have a piece
entitled, “Parent
Trust Betrayed: The Challenge To Win It Back.”
In this piece, we point out that while parents have felt deeply
betrayed by the school lobbies during this IDEA reauthorization
process, it’s still not too late for them to regain our trust.
The Michigan State Board of Education did it – others can too!
Please help your education professionals, at all levels of the
education system, become heroes too! Help the school
lobbyists, and our own legislators, stop playing “The
Name Game.” Ask them to tell
it like it is for a change! So far, this “reauthorization” has
been a sham, just as its name is. There’s no need to
“reauthorize” a law that is already permanently authorized –
tell them to stop hiding behind fancy words and start looking
out for the kids – all of our kids – instead!
In “Crisis
In Confidence Or Crisis In Courage?”
we delve into the twin problems facing parents during this
“reauthorization” process. Parents are dealing with fear (lack
of courage) and resignation (lack of confidence). Together,
these twin evils can paralyze us if we let them. But like our
civil rights forerunners before us, we can’t let them! If
you’re not so sure, read “And
The Beat(ing) Goes On,” for a
devastating reminder of why we must take action to protect our
kids. For 6.5 million children with disabilities in
America,
this “reauthorization” process is about saving lives (and for
some, we mean this literally).
The
Grapevine has been active this
week, with contributions from many of our visitors! We have a
piece by Bev Johns, a parent advocate, on short-term objectives
and the flaws in the Senate Committee Report with respect to
this issue. We also have a piece from Dee Alpert, publisher of
www.specialeducationmuckraker.com,
on how we got into this whole IDEA “reauthorization” mess in the
first place. She attributes it to inaction – waiting for others
to do our job for us. This ties in beautifully with our
Home page articles this week
and our advice over the past weeks and months. Take action –
whatever action you feel is right – to protect our children
before it’s too late!
We also have
several pieces on
The
Grapevine and the
Message Board addressing the
latest breaking news: schools supposedly turning down available
federal funds at the same time they claim to have no money for
our kids. Fact or fiction? Decide for yourself by reading the
various articles from various sources on this topic.
Finally, on
The
Grapevine, one of our visitors
has been kind enough to share her email to Congressman George
Miller of California, a leading Democratic supporter of
disability rights in the House. This visitor follows up on the
theme that it’s not about the money – take a look at her ideas,
and then check out the
Message
Board for thoughts from
other visitors on this important topic.
The
Message Board also has some new
resources posted (one that provides state-by-state data and one
that supports parents’ arguments against discipline/behavior
decisions made by the schools), a piece questioning whether
state takeover of schools under NCLB will actually help
students, and a piece revealing more “code talk” (this time
about vouchers and “opportunity schools”).
Please let us
know what you’re thinking and hearing – your contributions fuel
our continued success! We’re so much stronger together – so
let’s keep fighting!
Permission to forward, copy,
and/or post this article is granted provided that it is
attributed to the author(s) and
www.ourchildrenleftbehind.com.
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