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IDEA: Articles & Resources - (ALL RESOURCES PRE-IDEA 2004 ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL OR HISTORICAL RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY)
 

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Bridges4Kids IDEA Reauthorization Update

IDEA = Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

IDEIA = Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004

Articles & Updates

 List of 125 Twitter Pages Related to Disabilities

 

Reexamining Rowley: A New Focus in Special Education Law - Three important events have occurred since the Rowley decision that impact the validity of the "some educational benefit" standard and change the nature of educational services that schools must provide to students who receive special education services under the IDEA.

 

Embracing ‘Response to Intervention’ - “RTI is this big thing that really can transform how we approach teaching all kids,” said W. David Tilly III, the director of innovation and accountability for Iowa’s Heartland Area Education Agency, which provides resources and professional development to 54 districts in the state. In practice, RTI can look quite different from school to school. But several key components are necessary for a successful program, researchers say.

 

Q&A Documents on the IDEA 2004 Regulations from OSEP - The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has published a series of Q&A documents from their recent regional implementation meetings on the IDEA 2004 regulations. The documents address highly qualified teachers serving children with disabilities; IEPs, evaluations, and reevaluations; monitoring, technical assistance, and enforcement; procedural safeguards and due process procedures; Response to Intervention and Early Intervening Services; serving children with disabilities placed by their parents at private schools; the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard; and discipline procedures.
 

OSEP Director’s PowerPoint Presentation on IDEA 2004 Final Regulations Now Available - To provide the public with an overview of the Part B Final Regulations implementing the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the U.S. Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) has been hosting a series of community-based public meetings. The PowerPoint presentation given by Alexa Posny, director of OSERS’ Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), is available online. It covers discipline, Response to Intervention, IEPs, monitoring, highly qualified teachers, private schools, the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS), and procedural safeguards.
 

Special Announcement: Final Regulations Released: IDEA 2004 - The U.S. Department of Education has announced the final Part B regulations to implement the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA). An official copy of the final Part B regulations of the IDEA will be published in the Federal Register on August 14, 2006.

  

Fact Sheet (PDF): Raising the Achievement of Students with Disabilities: New Ideas For IDEA
 

Final IDEA Part D Regs Issued - Service Obligations - The U.S. Dept. of Education has issued final regulations dealing with service obligations under Part D of IDEA - the Personnel Development to Improve the Services and Results for Children with Disabilities program. These regulations went into effect as of July 5, 2006.

 

Coming Soon? IDEA 2004 Regulations Under Review - The U. S. Department of Education sent the IDEA 2004 regulations to the Office of Management and Budget. The review by OMB is usually the last step before federal regulations are published. Why are the federal regulations so important? What changes did Congress make in IDEA 2004? What are burning questions do the regulations need to answer?

 

10 Tips: How to Use IDEA 2004 to Improve Your Child's Special Education - As the new school year begins, parents and teachers have questions about IDEA 2004. Do you know about specific changes in IDEA 2004? How will these changes affect your child? What are your responsibilities? How can you use IDEA 2004 to advocate for your child?

 

Comparisons & Summaries     (top)

starMichigan Protection and Advocacy Service, Inc. (MPAS) Commentsstar

on Proposed IDEA Part B Regulations (PDF)

 

Position Paper on IDEA Reauthorization - The National Committee of Parents and Advocates Organized to Protect IDEA represents millions of citizens who have come together to protect the educational guarantee required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The undersigned national, state and local organizations are united in opposition to the House and Senate bills that amend and reauthorize IDEA. Both of these bills weaken the rights and protections necessary to ensure that students with disabilities are not left behind.

 

Commentary: Demeaned, Diminished, Demoralized, and Drained - In the overall context of IDEA reauthorization from a parent perspective, this week has been full of rumors, anxiety, and emotions on overdrive. This is because amending Part B of the IDEA is one of the most important, if not the single most important, decision that our legislators can make in the lives of 6.5 million students with disabilities.
 

U.S. DREDF Analysis of SB 1248 - SCHEDULE FOR SENATE BILL 1248: The bill could come to the Senate floor at any time; the latest dates under discussion are April 7 or April 8. If the bill passes the Senate, it will go to conference where it will have to be reconciled with the House bill, H 1350.

 

U.S. Comparisons of House and Senate IDEA Reauthorization Bills: Side-by-Side Comparison (PDF size=1.2MB; 385 pages) and Section-by-Section Comparison (PDF size=200kb; 17 pages) from the Congressional Research Service, November 21, 2003

 

A Comprehensive Side-by-Side Comparison of Part C (the Early Childhood Provisions) of IDEA under Current Law, H.R. 1350, and S.B. 1248 - click here (pdf) (by Nancy Peeler, Michigan Department of Community Health Part C State Team Member and Maureen Casey, Parent Representative to the New York Part C State Interagency Coordinating Council)

 

U.S. A Side-By-Side Comparison of Parts A & B of Senate Bill 1248 with HB 1350 and with the Current Provisions of IDEA (Compiled by Debbie Brown)

 

U.S. A summary of the Senate IDEA bill - Prepared by Bonnie Dunham, from Parent Information Center, Concord, New Hampshire.

 

H.R. 1350: Final Table Of Changes to Part C of IDEA - (pdf size=190kb) The final change to Part C was made on 4/29/03, and is in section 635, (a)(16)(B) - regarding the decision making process for determining settings for service.  The next step is for the US Senate to take action on the reauthorization of IDEA. The Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee has responsibility for IDEA reauthorization in the Senate. The committee chair, Sen. Judd Gregg, has announced that a bill will be introduced by this committee before the Memorial Day recess; however, the schedule posted at the US Senate website <www.senate.gov> for May 21-June 18 does not include anything for this committee pertaining to IDEA. So, keep your eyes and ears open! (from Nancy Peeler)

 

Council for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Statement Regarding HR 1350 - (pdf size=297kb) House Bill Jeopardizes the Future of Children with Disabilities, Promotes Litigation; National Disability Coalition Opposes HR 1350.

 

Commentary     (top)

 

U.S. Commentary: Grabbing the Brass Ring: Directing the Press - We are all being constantly reminded by our favorite advocacy organizations and other parent groups to write to our Senators and Representatives during IDEA reauthorization. It is the direct response that is always in order and essentially the proper first-line thing to do, and parents do it very well. The opportunity lies in your ability to help direct your local and favorite press outlets in their approach to IDEA reauthorization stories.

 

Commentary: Parents: The Invisible Majority - It is crunch time. Our last chance to make personal, visual contact with our US Senators is October 4-12, 2003, while they are home during a Senate recess. The Senate almost certainly will consider S1248, the bill to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA], sometime after this early October recess.

 

Commentary: Life and Death and the Battle to Save IDEA - On Monday, August 25, 2003 Michael Renner-Lewis III, a 15-year-old who had autism, went to school at Parchment High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Neither he nor his parents had any idea that he never would come home.

 

Commentary: Proposed IDEA Legislation Does Too Little to Benefit Students with Disabilities

 

Commentary: Signs of the Times - Today’s Detroit News ran an article about the Dearborn, Michigan Public School’s Code of Conduct. The article trumpets the Dearborn School Board’s recent “triumph” in expanding its Student Code of Conduct to 40-pages. Dearborn Schools Director of Student Services, Wageh Saad, is quoted as saying, “the student code of conduct is really a way to have a social contract in the schools -- 'These are things we don't do.' Students need to be aware of these."

 

MI Commentary: Parents Tired of Playing Hide-N-Seek During IDEA Reauthorization - Last Wednesday, when the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (The HELP Committee) moved a meeting, previously scheduled for 10 a.m. to "mark-up" the bill that proposes to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), to another room at an "unspecified time," parents across the country who have students with disabilities felt something fishy was going on in Washington, D.C.

 

Commentary: Now What??? What the Fight Over Special Ed Reform Is All About

 

Learning Disabilities Association (LDA) Comments on the Report of the President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education - click here to view their comments.

 

Miscellaneous Resources     (top)

 

Archived IDEA '97 information - click here.

 

Links to Websites with IDEA Reauthorization Updates

 

Organizations & Groups     (top)

 

Links to Websites with IDEA Reauthorization Updates

 

Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and the Progressive Policy Institute

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NOTE: (ALL RESOURCES PRE-IDEA 2004 ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL/HISTORICAL RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY)