[il-talk] Fw: Help protect inclusion and supports for students with disabilities in Illinois

Sat May 18 00:20:04 UTC 2013

-----Original Message----- 
From: Abrahamson, Matt
Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2013 11:20 AM

Subject: FW: Help protect inclusion and supports for students with 
disabilities in Illinois

FYI -
May be of interest!

-----Original Message-----
From: Greg Polman [mailto:Greg.Polman at chicagolighthouse.org]
Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 4:44 PM
To: Abrahamson, Matt
Subject: FW: Help protect inclusion and supports for students with 
disabilities in Illinois

FYI  pPlease send on to the membership..

Greg Polman

Senior Vice President/Public Policy

Phone: 312.997.3673

greg.polman at chicagolighthouse.org

cid:image001.jpg at 01CBF83E.9DDBCE40

From: Gary Arnold [mailto:Garnold at accessliving.org]
Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 2:06 PM
To: Greg Polman
Subject: Help protect inclusion and supports for students with disabilities 
in Illinois

Inclusion and supports for students with disabilities in Illinois

The Illinois State Board of Education has proposed eliminating state 
Administrative Rule Part 226.730. Access Living and many other disability 
groups oppose this proposal. Currently in Illinois, under Administrative 
Rule Part 226.730, a general education classroom is one in which at least 70 
percent of the students do not have Individual Education Plans (IEP). Most 
students with disabilities in Illinois have IEPs that call for part or all 
of their day to be spent in General Education Classrooms. The intent behind 
this rule is for students with disabilities to spend time in an integrated 
classroom with non-disabled students. Integrated classrooms have been shown 
to be beneficial for students with disabilities and students without 
disabilities.

If this rule is eliminated, there will be no limit on how many students with 
IEPs could be placed in a general education classroom. If the rule is 
eliminated, a class could be 100% students with disabilities and still be 
labeled General Education. This change would eliminate the intent of placing 
students with disabilities in General Education Classrooms and could further 
segregate students with disabilities.

In addition, the administrative rule would also eliminate class size 
requirements for self-contained classrooms for students with disabilities 
who are placed in non-General Education classrooms. This typically includes 
students with more significant disabilities who require services that are 
more intense. By eliminating this class size requirement, there would be no 
limit to the number of students placed in a special education classroom. The 
goal of limiting class size is to ensure that students with disabilities 
receive the supports and attention they need to be successful. Again, 
eliminating the class size requirement would nullify the intent of 
Administrative Rule Part 226.730.

Recently, two public hearings were held on the proposed repeal of Part 
226.730. One was held in Carbondale, Illinois and one in Elgin, Illinois. 
Last week, Access Living staff traveled to Springfield to testify against 
the proposed repeal. All told, more than 600 notices have been filed against 
the proposed rule change.

For those of you who did not attend the hearings and have not yet delivered 
your thoughts on the issue, Access Living urges you to speak out against the 
proposed repeal, and to voice your support for inclusion and integration of 
students with disabilities in public schools throughout Illinois.

Here is what you can do. Contact members of Illinois' Joint Committee on 
Administrative Rules (JCAR). Deliver this message to committee members:

I urge you to support quality education for students with disabilities in 
Illinois. If ISBE sends JCAR its proposal to eliminate Administrative Rule 
Part 226.730 please vote to keep these rules in place.

Below is a list of JCAR Members. Please make a few phone calls. Calls to 
JCAR members in your home district are particularly important.

Joint Committee on Administrative Rules

Senator Don Harmon, Co-Chair (D-39)
Oak Park Office -- 708-848-2002
FAX -- 708-848-2022
Springfield 217-782-8176

Representative Timothy L. Schmitz (R-49) Geneva, Illinois - 630-845-9590
Email: info at timschmitz.org
Springfield Office - 217-782-5457

Senator Pamela Althoff (R-32)
Crystal Lake Office -- 815-455-6330
Springfield Office -- 217-782-8000
pamela at pamelaalthoff.net

Senator Tony Munoz (D-1)
Chicago Office - 773-869-9050
Springfield Office - 217-782-9415
Fax -- 773-869-9046

Senator Dale A. Righter (R-55)
Mattoon Office -- 217-235-6033
Springfield Office - 217-782-6674
Fax --217-782-7818

Senator Ira Silverstein (D-8)
Chicago Office -- 773-743-5015
Springfield Office -- 217-782-5500
Fax -- 773-743-4750

Representative Gregory Harris (D-13)
Chicago Office -- 773-348-3434
Springfield Office -- 217-782-3835
Fax -- 773.348.3475

Representative Louis Lang (D-16)
Skokie Office 847-673-1131
Springfield Office -- 217-782-1252
RepLouLang at aol.com

Representative David Leitch (R-73)
Peoria Office -- 309-690-7373
Springfield Office -- 217-782-8108
Fax -- 217-557-3047

Representative Donald Moffit (R-74)
Galesburg Office -- 309-343-8000
Springfield Office -- 217-782-8032
217-557-0179 FAX

Representative Andre Thapedi (D-32)
Chicago Office -- 773-873-4444
Springfield Office -- 217-782-1702
rep32district at gmail.com

Thanks for your support,

Access Living

If you no longer wish to receive e-mail from us, please click here 
<http://capwiz.com/accessliving/lmx/u/?jobid=226353696&queueid=9579797651> .

Image removed by sender.

The contents of this message are legally privileged and/or confidential. The 
information is intended only for use of the intended recipient. If this 
message is received in error, please destroy it without reading and notify 
the sender immediately. This message should not be forwarded or distributed 
without the permission of the author. 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: ~WRD000.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 823 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/il-talk_nfbnet.org/attachments/20130517/a932141e/attachment.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 6582 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/il-talk_nfbnet.org/attachments/20130517/a932141e/attachment-0001.jpg>