preserveIDEA@dredf.org
News Briefing #25 April 12, 2003
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Please forward this briefing to others who want to work to protect IDEA.
Thank you to everyone who wrote and called members of the House last week. We appreciate your help and commitment to children.
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce voted on Thursday, April 10, to send H.R. 1350, “Improving Education Results for Children with Disabilities Act” to the House floor. As we've stated in earlier RRN's, this bill weakens IDEA in sweeping ways and will harm children with disabilities.
Representative Ed Case (D-HI) introduced his amendment on attorneys fees and it passed with a 27-21 majority. All other Democrats voted to restore the current provisions.
This amendment will give the governors of each state the authority to determine rates for awarding fees to attorneys who represent children with disabilities in special education cases. This amendment will make it much harder for disadvantaged families to find representation for their children and it assigns rates for attorney fees unlike those in any other area of civil rights law.
Currently, a court will set attorney fee rates based on lawyer experience, prevailing rates in the community in which the lawyer works and the difficulty of the case before it. Rep. Case purports to have submitted his amendment as an alternative to strict caps on attorneys fees, but in fact, his proposal allows each state to set its own caps on fees. This is particularly ironic because states may be defendants in the same lawsuits for which they are responsible for setting caps on attorneys fees.
There is no question that this amendment will result in deterring attorneys from taking cases on behalf of parents. Parents who cannot pay out of their own pockets are already having a difficult time finding attorneys willing to take their cases on a contingency basis because of a recent Supreme Court case that denies fees in cases that settle.
How is it that members of Congress seem to think that school districts are victimized by parents? How is it that members of Congress seem to think that school districts are the ones with a disadvantage when a dispute arises?
Obviously, our voice is NOT being heard. We need to let the members know whose IDEA it is anyway. (Wear your DREDF T-shirt! See below for ordering information.)
DISCIPLINE
The House bill allows any child with a disability to be sent to an alternative placement indefinitely, whether or not the “offending” behavior was caused by the disability. A simple amendment to require a determination about whether the behavior was caused by the disability was defeated today in committee. Our new millennium is marked by ancient beliefs that people can be punished simply for having a disability.
Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-CA) introduced an unsuccessful amendment to mandate mediation. We believe that a “mandatory mediation” is an oxymoron because successful mediations are by their very nature voluntarily. No one should be fooled about the reason this amendment was rejected. It was rejected by the Chair because the House bill already contains a far more draconian provision requiring parents to go to an IEP meeting to “explain” their complaint to the school district. This amounts to mandatory mediation with no mediator. To add insult to injury, the House also precludes attorney fees for these mandatory sessions.
What gives Congress the idea that school districts are not well aware of parental grievances and disputes prior to filing a complaint?
What gives Congress the idea that parents should be forced into an intimidating IEP meeting at a time of dispute without representation?
Our voices are being drowned out by the roar of the school lobbies.
Whose IDEA is it anyway?
WE NEED TO BE HEARD IN THIS CRITICAL TIME BETWEEN MARK-UP AND THE FLOOR DEBATE.
In a press release posted on its website on Friday, April 11, 2003, the Committee pronounced that the bill was ?hailed by school administrators as ‘the best special education policy revisions we've seen in decades'.?
SEND THE MESSAGE THAT:
THE IDEA IS TO PROTECT CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES!
THE IDEA IS TO GIVE PARENTS PROTECTIONS IN AN INHERENTLY UNEQUAL POSITION WITH THE POWER OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT!
THE IDEA IS NOT TO MAKE IT HARDER OR IMPOSSIBLE FOR PARENTS TO USE DUE PROCESS PROTECTIONS!
WHOSE IDEA IS IT ANYWAY ?
PRICE REDUCED—THE IDEA T-SHIRT: Wear a bright red IDEA and advertise your support of special education and civil rights for students with disabilities!
Design: is a red light-bulb face with electric hair that spells out Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the slogan is, “Whose IDEA Is It, Anyway?” White, with red DREDF logo on left sleeve and purple SEIU logo on right sleeve.
Specifications: heavyweight 100% cotton, U.S. made and union printed, available in Youth Large and Adult Large and Extra Large sizes.
Shirts are $12, plus $2.50 postage and handling. Buy 3 or more for $10 each. We don't have the capability to process online orders, but you can print out the order form from our website: http://www.dredf.org/ and send checks to DREDF, 2212 Sixth St., Berkeley, CA 94710. The order form has an illustration of the shirt to check out also. Remember to specify quantity and size.
We are also offering these shirts as a special thank you to individuals who donate $100 or more for our work.