[IABS-Talk] Federal Legislation alert--Please act quickly

[Marilyn Green]

Greetings fellow federationists,

 Please read the following e-mail from our Advocacy and Policy office.
The rights of blind students are subject to compromise if we do not
act swiftly. Please reach out to me to get the e-mail information for
our senators if you choose to send an e-mail.

Thanks for all that you do.

Marilyn


It has come to our attention that IDEA Rights May Be Waived by
Congress! As part of the Senate’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak,
Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) has proposed to include a provision in
the pending stimulus bill that would give the Secretary of Education
authority to approve state waiver requests for any statutory and/or
regulatory requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA) for one year and extensions may also apply. The stimulus
package is expected to drop as early as this weekend. This provision
would be detrimental for children with disabilities. Covered entities
such as Child Find, a free appropriate public education (FAPE),
Individualized Education Program (IEP), all procedural safeguards,
re-evaluations, related services and accommodations and more are at
great risk.
We cannot allow this provision to pass.

Take Action NOW!

Currently offices are swamped with phone calls, so it may be better to
email your two senators and urge them to oppose the Alexander IDEA
Waiver provision.

When you call or email, you might say something like the following:

"Hello, my name is [your name] and I am a constituent of [your
senator]. I live in [city, state]. I am calling to urge [your senator]
to oppose Senator Lamar Alexander’s provision to waive all IDEA
requirements. While the COVID-19 outbreak has placed a tremendous and
unprecedented strain on schools and districts, it is imperative that
we work together to find solutions that allow children to receive
equal access to an education and the services that support them
without undoing all of their civil and educational rights. I am
writing as a concerned (parent, teacher, blind person, etc.) to urge
you to reject any provision that would provide waiver authority to the
Secretary of Education regarding the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA). Over seven million children rely on IDEA to
receive special education supports and services. I hope you will help
schools by providing states with additional funding that can be used
to provide teachers, school leaders, and families with the tools they
need to connect to teach and support students. Please support the
students with disabilities and their families that rely upon the IDEA
to have equal access to education.

Sincerely,
(Your Name)”

Please note that due to the rapidly evolving legislation concerning
the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we find ourselves needing to
focus on multiple issues simultaneously. Therefore, this legislative
alert is in addition to yesterday’s alert on the ATAA. Please be sure
to speak with or write to your senators and representative on both of
these critical priorities.

You can contact your senators by calling the Capitol Switchboard and
asking for the office in question. The number is 202-224-3121. If you
email your senators, please copy Stephanie Flynt at
sflynt at nfb.org<mailto:sflynt at nfb.org>. Your calls and emails do make a
difference.