NCLD - Policy Update

Policy Update

LD News: News You Can Use

Policy Update
Briefs from the world of LD policy

NCLD offers recommendations to U.S. Dept. of Education officials for new federal rules governing the IDEA 2004
2004 Learning Disabilities Roundtable releases comprehensive recommendations and comments on new identification process for Specific Learning Disabilities under IDEA 2004
Texas and US Dept of Education at odds over NCLB testing and students with disabilities
Utah legislature passes school choice bill for students with special needs
Supreme Court to hear special education case this fall
New National Center for Special Education Research (NCSR) gets underway
"Making Your Case" teaches important advocacy skills
Juvenile Injustice: Reading Difficulties, Special Education and Juvenile Delinquency

NCLD offers recommendations to U.S. Dept. of Education officials for new federal rules governing the IDEA 2004
The National Center for Learning Disabilities offered recommendations on a host of new provisions contained in the newly amended Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 04) at the final public hearing held by the U.S. Department of Education (ED). Officials at ED sought input as they prepare to draft new federal regulations that will provide additional guidance to States on how to implement the new law.
More information available at:
http://www.ld.org/advocacy/IDEA04FedReg.cfm

2004 Learning Disabilities Roundtable releases comprehensive recommendations and comments on new identification process for Specific Learning Disabilities under IDEA 2004
Representing the coordinated work of 14 organizations concerned with the identification and eligibility of students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) and the effective delivery of special education and related services to those students, these recommendations seek to build on the work of an earlier Learning Disabilities Roundtable as well as work being conducted by the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (NRCLD).
More information available at:
http://www.ld.org/advocacy/LDRoundtable2004.cfm

Texas and US Dept of Education at odds over NCLB testing and students with disabilities
Texas is headed for a showdown with federal education officials over the treatment of scores of students with disabilities under the requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The federal testing rule says that 1 percent of a school's or district's enrollment may be tested against other standards than their grade-level standards and still be considered proficient for accountability purposes.
More information available at:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2005/03/09/26texas.h24.html
(requires free registration)

Utah legislature passes school choice bill for students with special needs
The governor of Utah is expected to sign into law a new bill that would provide $1.4 million in vouchers for parents of students with disabilities to use toward tuition at private schools. The Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarships legislation would provide $1.4 million in voucher money to help parents of students with disabilities send their children to private schools, both secular and religious, that place particular emphasis on helping such students.
More information available at:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2005/03/09/26vouch.h24.html
(requires free registration)

Supreme Court to hear special education case this fall
At issue before the high court in Schaffer v. Weast (Case No. 04-698) is which side bears the legal burden of proof when parents and school districts disagree over the services or placement that children with disabilities require. With the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act silent on that question, judges in federal and state courts repeatedly have come down on opposite sides.
More information available at:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2005/03/02/25scotus.h24.html
(requires free registration)

New National Center for Special Education Research (NCSR) gets underway
One of the most significant changes to the IDEA as amended by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 was the shift of responsibilities for research in special education within the U.S. Department of Education from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to the Institute of Education Sciences. Efforts are now underway to make NCSR a functioning organization and transferring to it the responsibilities for a new generation of special education research.
More information available at:
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ies/ncser/index.html

"Making Your Case" teaches important advocacy skills
A free, Internet-based learning program called "Making Your Case" is now available free of charge for those interested in sharpening their skills at working with boards, policymakers, individuals, agencies, funders or other stakeholders on behalf of people with disabilities. The interactive, self-paced learning program takes about three hours to complete and is available 24 hours per day, seven days a week.
More information available at:
http://www.partnersinpolicymaking.com/makingyourcase

Juvenile Injustice: Reading Difficulties, Special Education and Juvenile Delinquency
Dr. Peter Leone is a passionate champion of children whose work focuses on helping the nation understand the strong correspondence between educational failure, particularly reading failure, and juvenile delinquency. Read an interview with Dr. Leone and learn more about the connection between reading difficulties and juvenile delinquency.
More information available at:
http://www.childrenofthecode.org/interviews/Leone.htm

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