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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PASSES H.R. 1350, “A BAD IDEA”
On to the Senate!
Despite opposition from LDA and virtually every other national parent organization, thousands of individuals who signed petitions or participated in the National IDEA call-in day and many teacher groups, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1350 on April 30th to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
On April 29th the House Committee on Education and Workforce SENT HOUSE REPUBLICANS A DEAR REPUBLICAN COLLEAGUE LETTER WHICH accused opponents of the bill (that would be us!) of "spreading false and misleading information." The House voted the next day, largely along party lines. It is clear that the House paid more attention to certain lobbying groups than they did to parents, teachers and advocates.
H.R. 1350 is controversial because it rewrites sections of the current law and deletes many provisions that protect the rights of children with disabilities. In spite of the numerous concerns from many quarters about this bill, House authors did not significantly change it and pushed to pass it quickly.
Action now shifts to the Senate.
Our sources indicate that the Senate is currently writing a bill that will be released near Memorial Day. It is said that upon release, there will be a two-week comment period before the bill is voted upon in Committee. This means parents, advocates and others concerned about IDEA Reauthorization have a short timeline to make an impact on the Senate bill. YOUR HELP IS NEEDED NOW!
The Senate will be on recess from May 26th-May 30th. Many Senators will be in their state, making public appearances and meeting with groups. Please do the following during the next two weeks:
- Write a letter to your two Senators with this main message: "Please
support a strong bipartisan IDEA reauthorization bill that will not remove
existing rights for children with disabilities." A sample letter is
on the LDA website home page where the Capitol Building icon says “Write
to Congress.” Enter your zip code and go directly to your Senators’ email
addresses. (You can also find their fax numbers there.)
Or write a letter that shares some of the personal stories that show the benefits your child has received from special education support services. Drop the letter off in person to your Senators' state offices. If you can't visit in person, fax a letter to the Senator's local and Washington, D.C. offices. - Find out where your Senators are scheduled to appear in public while on recess. If possible, attend the event and then introduce yourselves afterwards. Tell the Senators how important IDEA is to children with disabilities and encourage the Senators to support a strong bipartisan bill that will not remove existing rights for students with disabilities.
- Share this update with others in your networks. Watch for alerts and be ready to activate your networks. Start now by distributing this update to your networks along with the sample letters.
- In the House, 34 Democrats supported HF 1350 and seven Republicans voted against it. Find out how your Representative voted. THE REPORT OF THE VOTE ON THE BILL CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.THOMAS.LOC.GOV If the vote supported the bill, fax a letter to the local office, stating your disappointment.
IDEA has always been reauthorized with bipartisan support. Do not assume that your Senators will vote based on party lines. All Senators must be contacted regularly. We don't want the Senate to be able to say that parents and advocates didn't weigh in on this important bill. We also do not want them to rely upon the information provided by lobbyists who often have a different perspective on IDEA and children with disabilities.
Thanks for your help. If we work hard with a common message, we have a chance to ensure that there will be a strong Federal IDEA law for children.
Learning Disabilities Association of America
4156 Library Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15234-1349
Phone (412) 341-1515 Fax (412) 344-0224
www.LDAAmerica.org
© 2004 LDA of America