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Legislative Update
110th Congress
Washington, D.C.
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Janaury 2008
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In this issue:
Update on NCLD’s Current Legislative Activity
The National Center for Learning Disabilities’ (NCLD) Policy Office continues to work to educate and inform Members of the U.S. Congress and their staff of the long-term benefits and consequences their policies could have on students with learning disabilities and their families. NCLD’s objective is to provide students with learning disabilities the resources and support they need to learn and demonstrate what they know as well as have every opportunity to graduate from high school with a regular diploma. This objective is only possible when our students are adequately supported in federal legislation.
NCLD also advocates for students with learning disabilities by educating parents, teachers and others about what is happening in Washington, D.C. Highlighted below are examples of some of the educational outreach NCLD has conducted over the past four months.
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Developed e-mail action alerts designed to encourage individuals to contact their elected officials on pressing legislative issues such as:
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Fighting for appropriate education appropriation funding levels
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Protecting accountability for students with disabilities under NCLB
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Enhancing higher education opportunities for students with disabilities
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Leveling the playing field for parent advocates in court hearings
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Implemented several in-depth LD Talks providing the public the opportunity to ask questions on pressing topics in the field, such as:
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Launched a Podcast feature on the LD.org Web site to provide a new way for the public to access focused information on specific elements of public policy. The first Podcast focused on education spending, future Podcasts will focus on topics like, Universal Design for Learning and RTI Goes to Preschool.
In December, NCLD supported the passage of legislation to change the name, but not the mission, of the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in honor of her role in establishing the institute. President Bush signed the legislation on December 21, 2007. NCLD has a long-standing history of supporting and partnering with the NICHD as they have led a number of groundbreaking research initiatives focused on early learning, early intervention, reading and math disabilities. Currently, Laura Kaloi, NCLD’s Public Policy Director, serves on the executive committee of the Friends of NICHD Consortium that strives to advocate for and support NICHD on Capitol Hill.
Higher Education Act
NCLD helped initiate and support a number of new provisions that strengthen opportunities for students with learning disabilities to make a successful transition from high school to college. The College Opportunity and Affordability Act (HR 4137), which was passed out of the House Education and Labor Committee in November, includes many significant new provisions to enhance access to higher education for students with disabilities, to address the shortage of special education teachers and faculty and to improve the skills of general education teachers in differentiating instruction for students with disabilities. NCLD wrote Chairman Miller in support of the bill and to applaud the data-driven provisions that respond specifically to the needs of students with disabilities. The provisions that most positively affect students with learning disabilities include:
- A National Center for Information and Technical Support to improve the post-secondary recruitment retention and completion rates;
- An Advisory Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials in Postsecondary Education for Students with Disabilities;
- Model Demonstration Programs to Support Improved Access to Post-Secondary Instructional Materials for Students with Print Disabilities;
- National Study on Higher Education Access and Success for Students with Disabilities;
- Programs to Ensure Students with Disabilities Receive a Quality Higher Education which are reauthorized with new priorities including effective transition practices, distance learning and accessibility of education, including universal design for learning, and
- The definition of universal design for learning.
NCLD will promote and support including the provisions in the Senate bill (S. 1642) to ensure students with learning disabilities will have every opportunity to make a successful transition from high school to college as part of the final Higher Education Act reauthorization
Appropriations Update
Congress’ last act before the December recess was to send President Bush an the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 (or 2008 Omnibus). The Omnibus bundled all domestic spending appropriations including funding for U.S. Department of Education. The President signed the 2008 Omnibus on December 26, 2007. The Omnibus funds the U.S. Department of Education at $59.2 billion, 2.9 percent (or $1.7 billion) more than 2007; and $3.2 billion more than the Bush budget request. NCLD is disappointed that the final funding levels for special education essentially represent flat level funding to states – providing no additional funds in the coming fiscal year. To learn more about the 2008 Omnibus bill and see the impact of education funding on individual states and congressional districts, you can access full state-by-state information on the National Education Association's (NEA) Web site.
NCLB Reauthorization Update
NCLD’s Policy Office worked throughout the summer and fall to ensure both the House and Senate understand the impact proposed changes to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) will have on students with disabilities, especially those with learning disabilities. NCLD fought diligently to ensure students with disabilities remain included in regular assessments, are held to the same standards as their peers – with appropriate accommodations and are able to stay on track to graduate from high school with a regular diploma and have every opportunity to attend college. NCLD provided comments on draft language on the House draft bill to ensure students with disabilities are fairly represented. In addition, NCLD met with key staff members on the House and Senate Education Committees to make sure our key legislative priorities and policy recommendations were understood. The House has not yet brought a bill to the full Education and Labor Committee for debate and the timing in the House is not known. Moving forward, Senator Kennedy has indicated that he would like to continue discussions about reauthorizing the law; however, it is still unclear if a bill will be introduced in the Senate. It is essential for House and Senate, to hear from organizations and individuals about the impact proposed legislation have on the academic success of students receiving special education services. NCLD will continue to work with both the House and Senate as discussions continue. For more information, view NCLD's NCLB policy recommendations.
Head Start Reauthorization
On Wednesday, December 13, 2007, President Bush signed into law a renewal of Head Start through 2012. The Head Start Reauthorization will help more children arrive at kindergarten ready to succeed by raising the eligibility ceiling, setting clear standards and measures for Head Start programs, improving coordination with other early childhood education programs and strengthening program accountability. Key points of the reauthorization include:
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Elimination of the Head Start National Reporting System;
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Improving teacher qualifications by requiring half of all Head Start teachers to hold bachelor’s degrees by 2013;
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Requirement of Head Start agencies to implement research-based early childhood curricula that promote young children’s school readiness in the areas of language and early reading, and
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Requirement that each Head Start agency ensure that all of its teachers receive ongoing training in language and emergent literacy.
For a summary of the changes download this PDF: http://www.reading.org/downloads/resources/071218_HeadStartReauth.pdf
NCLD will continue to keep you informed and updated on federal legislative initiatives.
Previous Legislative Updates:
September 2007
April 2007
December 2006
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