Parents Rally In Washington on
Special Education Issues
by Tricia Luker from OurChildrenLeftBehind.com, June 18,
2003
For more articles like this
visit
https://www.bridges4kids.org.
FAMILIES RESPOND TO “IDEA” REAUTHORIZATION BILLS
A small but determined number of children and parents assembled
at the Dirksen Building in Washington, DC today, braving cold
weather, rain and significant logistical problems to speak up
for saving special education law in America. The strongest
representatives at the rally, which was attended by Senate from
various offices including Senator Kennedy, Senator Gregg and
Senator Clinton, were the children whose lives and future depend
on their continued access to a free appropriate public
education.
The rally attendees from approximately 20 different speakers
representing families and consumer based advocacy organizations.
Each speaker focused attention on a different aspect of special
education law, and many of the speakers tied that focus to
circumstances and situations they had encountered in their own
homes with their own children. Wendy Paddison,
ourchildrenleftbehind’s unofficial representative from Michigan,
moved man and mountain to be sure that she, her daughter, her
friend, Julie and Julie’s daughter could attend the rally. She
spoke briefly as the representative of the International Rett
Syndrome Association and told those assembled about how special
education in its present form has worked so poorly for her
daughter, Noelle that she now is forced to home school her
because even with IDEA ’97 her public school isn’t a viable or
safe option.
Many of the rally attendees also had 20-minute appointments with
members of the Senator Kennedy and Senator Gregg’s staff – the
people primarily responsible for drafting the Senate Bill. Ms.
Paddison, who attended with her friend, Julie and their
daughters, and member of CHADD and Joanne from Rhode Island,
described the Senate staffers as being cordial and significantly
interested in hearing their stories and learning about the
meaning of special education to families who have children with
disabilities. Ms. Paddison described their daughters’
participation as pivotal to staffers’ understanding of special
education law.
Similar meetings are expected to continue with the Senators’
staffers through the remaining eight days of comment before the
Senate takes up SB 1248, its Bill reauthorizing IDEA.
Individuals and family organizations throughout the United
States are trying to mobile individual and family support for
maintaining the progressive provisions of IDEA ’97 over those
changes proposed by the House and Senate in separate bills. Ms.
Paddison described the experiences of attending and speaking and
the rally and meeting with Senator staffers as being
invigorating and affirming to her and her daughter. She also was
favorably impressed at the response received from the Senate
staffers as opposed to the cold shoulder she received when she
tried to inform her Congressman of her concerns when the bill
was being considered by the House of Representatives.
“I don’t know if we will be able to save everything that is good
about the current law,” says Paddison “I do know, whatever
happens, that me and many parents who formerly were naïve about
politics have learned an awful lot in an awful short period of
time. My voice and our voices are going to be heard at the polls
from now on. We can not let politics as usual steal our
children’s future from them or us.”
For more information contact Tricia Luker at 248-542-4128 or
visit
www.OurChildrenLeftBehind.com.
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