And now for the real stuff today. Please, please, please, please, read this notice and call your congresspeople. This is a national emergency and our kids need help...
"National Call-In Day to Protect IDEA - March 24"
Below please find announcement about an upcoming National Call-In Day for urging members of Congress that they must not pass a bill reauthorizing IDEA that harms the children the law is intended to protect.
An excellent resource for comparing existing law with what has been proposed by the House and Senate is available online at the following link:
National Call Your Senators Day
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
For names and contact information go to www.senate.gov or call the Senate switchboard at (202) 224-3121
In November, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) "reported out" a bill to amend Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (I.D.E.A.) and reauthorize Parts C and D. This bill, S. 1248, contains many harmful provisions which, if allowed to become law, will hurt children and youth with disabilities and erect more barriers for families trying to work with school districts to plan effective education programs for their sons and daughters. Even worse, the HELP Committee has agreed to allow several equally harmful amendments to be introduced when S. 1248 moves to the full Senate for a
vote sometime this spring. We can't just sit and wait for this to happen. We cannot allow S.1248 to move forward unless critical civil rights for students with disabilities are protected, sound research-based educational practices are restored, and the responsibilities that should be shared by school districts are addressed and made clear in I.D.E.A.
Parents and advocates must make sure that every Senator understands that the current bill is not acceptable to the parents and children they represent. That they must not let any bill containing provisions which damage children and youth go forward in Congress this year, or ever!
What can you do? Call your senator and say "JUST VOTE NO!" to S 1248.
If Not Now, When? If Not Us, Who?
The National Call in Day is part of the March 24 - March 25 Washington Event conceived in the hearts of parents and advocates across the nation, with the support of TASH, www.ourchildrenleftbehind.com, the League of Special Education Voters, the Association for People in Supported Employment and NconSD.
For Word and pdf versions of this flyer, please go to:
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