[Nfbmt] Beware the Vacuum: Cogswell-Macy Bill Introduced

Wed Sep 30 09:20:33 UTC 2015

FYI.  Might be worth keeping an eye on.  Joy 

Dear Colleagues:

I want to reach out to everyone here to let everyone know that a bill has
been introduced that has something to do with blindness, and some people
outside the Federation will likely be approaching us all to ask us to act
upon it.

I am not in a position to read the bill at the moment, but I wanted to
quickly let everyone know that it is out there and offer a word of caution.

A year or two ago, there was a bill that a non-Federation entity was pushing
and was contacting our affiliates to support. Some affiliates mobilized, and
we did not have a chance to coordinate a National Federation of the Blind
front on the bill before that happened. The vacuum of information caught
some of us.

So, I'm looking forward to reading this bill myself sometime soon, but I'm
also looking forward to us taking a united stance on it, whatever it may be,
before I do anything.

A message is below.

Have a great night!

Justin

Justin Salisbury, NOMC

Legislative Coordinator

National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut 

Email:  <mailto:President at Alumni.ECU.edu> President at Alumni.ECU.edu

Twitter: @SalisburyJustin

From: AFB DirectConnect [mailto:mrichert at afb.net] 
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2015 3:24 PM
To: AFB Subscriber
Subject: ALERT!--Cogswell-Macy Bill Introduced!

Image removed by sender. AFB DirectConnect Letterhead

ALERT!--Cogswell-Macy Bill Introduced!
Comprehensive Special Education Legislation for
Blind/Visually Impaired, Deaf/Hard of Hearing, and Deafblind Students

H.R. 3535: The Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act

"Our students will thrive - with Thirty-five Thirty-five!"

Follow this link to read this edition of DirectConnect online:
http://www.afb.org/info/programs-and-services/public-policy-center/directcon
nect- newsletter/cogswell-macy-bill-introduced/1235
<http://www.afb.org/info/programs-and-services/public-policy-center/directco
nnect-newsletter/cogswell-macy-bill-introduced/1235> 

For further information, contact: 

Mark Richert, Esq.
Director, Public Policy, AFB
(202) 469-6833
MRichert at afb.net 

Dear colleagues, friends and fellow advocates for students with
disabilities:

Yesterday, following impressive, dedicated advocacy across the sensory
impairments communities, the most comprehensive legislation to enhance and
reform America's special education system for students with vision/hearing
disabilities and deafblindness has been introduced. H.R. 3535, the Alice
Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act, once enacted, will ensure that: every
child who is deaf, every child who is blind, and every child who is
deafblind, regardless of whether they have additional disabilities, will be
properly counted and served; each of a child's unique learning needs will be
properly evaluated; states will engage in strategic planning to be sure that
they can in fact meet each child's specialized needs; the U.S. Department of
Education will do its part to hold states and schools accountable; students
with sensory disabilities will be served by qualified personnel; and
students who are blind will receive state-of-the-art services and skills
supported through a new major national collaborative initiative addressing
their unique learning needs.

Introduced by Reps. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) and David McKinley (R-WV), H.R.
3535 is named for Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller's beloved teacher; and Alice
Cogswell, the first deaf girl to be educated in a school for the deaf in the
United States. Originally introduced in the previous Congress as H.R. 4040,
this updated version of the Cogswell-Macy Act includes additional language
to support students who are deafblind. Advocates for students who are
blind/visually impaired, deaf/hard-of-hearing, and deafblind have worked
tirelessly with legislators to compose three strong, parallel titles within
the Act, addressing the needs of students in these three sensory- disability
areas.

Read below <>  for the press release from Rep. Cartwright's office, and read
the complete text of the Cogswell-Macy Act on the AFB Policy Center website
at the following link:
http://www.afb.org/info/get-involved/take-action/complete-text-of-macy-act/1
25

Advocates are urged to contact your member of the U.S. House of
Representatives to ask him/her to cosponsor H.R. 3535 today!

Learn how to contact your Representative at the following link:
AFB.org/CogswellMacyAct <http://www.afb.org/cogswellmacyact> 

Tell your Representative that by cosponsoring, he/she will be helping to
make history by ensuring that America's special education system is worthy
of the enormous potential of every child who is blind, visually impaired,
deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind. This year, 2015, is the 40th
anniversary of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Tell your
Representative that by joining in this campaign, they will help us transform
a forty-year-old system from one that has broken down barriers into a system
that finally ensures that kids with sensory disabilities will receiving the
education and supports they need to thrive in our nation's classrooms! 

Advocates should stay tuned to this newsletter and to www.AFB.org/MacyAct
for more information and regular updates as the Cogswell-Macy Act
progresses. Thank you for your advocacy for children and youth with sensory
disabilities!

Press Release [9/17/2015]:

Feel free to link to or share this Press Release, which is posted online at
the following link:
http://www.afb.org/community/announcements/reps-cartwright-mckinley-champion
-comprehensive-
bipartisan-legislation-to-transform-special-education-for-students-with-sens
ory-disabilities/12
<http://www.afb.org/community/announcements/reps-cartwright-mckinley-champio
n-comprehensive-bipartisan-legislation-to-transform-special-education-for-st
udents-with-sensory-disabilities/12> 

Rep. Cartwright's office has posted this release at the following link:
http://cartwright.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/reps-cartwright-mcki
nley- champion-comprehensive-bipartisan-legislation
<http://cartwright.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/reps-cartwright-mck
inley-champion-comprehensive-bipartisan-legislation> 

Reps. Cartwright, McKinley Champion Comprehensive Bipartisan Legislation to
Transform Special Education for Students with Sensory Disabilities

Washington, DC - Today U.S. Congressmen Matt Cartwright (D-PA, 17) and David
McKinley (R-WV, 1) introduced the bipartisan Alice Cogswell and Anne
Sullivan Macy Act (H.R. 3535), named for two pioneers in the education of
deaf and blind students. This landmark legislation would dramatically
improve educational results for students who are deaf, hard of hearing,
blind, visually impaired, or deafblind. 

In 1975, Congress enacted America's federal special education law known
today as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the
Cogswell-Macy Act would amend and modernize IDEA to address the largely
unmet unique needs of students with sensory disabilities. The bill would:
ensure that students with vision and/or hearing disabilities are properly
identified, evaluated and served, especially when they may have additional
disabilities; guarantee that students with sensory disabilities are provided
with the full array of special education and related services they must have
to truly receive a free and appropriate public education; promote and
support teachers and associated professionals who are critical to the
delivery of such services; and hold all levels of our public education
system accountable for these expectations.

"Upwards of 350,000 students are deaf or hard of hearing, and an estimated
100,000 have blindness or vision loss. Yet less than one-third of those
students are reported as having those needs under IDEA. That is completely
unacceptable," Rep. Cartwright said. "This legislation would ensure that
students who are deaf, hard of hearing blind, visually impaired, or
deaf-blind receive an equal and appropriate education and have access to
vital services. I look forward to working with my colleagues to guarantee
that all children can succeed and achieve their potential."

"Americans have made great strides since 1975 toward improving the lives of
children dealing with hearing and sight disabilities but there is still more
work to be done. We need to ensure the nearly-half a million kids with these
disabilities have the same opportunity as other children to learn and
develop skills. This is a common sense step to ensure we are helping these
children," Rep. McKinley said.

The American Foundation for the Blind and Conference of Educational
Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf have endorsed the
Cogswell-Macy Act, along with more than 100 other leading national, regional
and community-based organizations.

"The introduction of this bill represents a momentous step toward the
transformation of this country's special education system in a manner that
will truly allow for students who are blind or visually impaired to succeed
in a twenty-first century classroom." said Kim Charlson, president of the
American Council of the Blind (ACB). "The Cogswell-Macy Act is the most
significant national proposal to improve education for students who are
deafblind we've seen in decades," said Mussie Gebre, President of the
national consumer advocacy group, DeafBlind Citizens in Action (DBCA). "When
America's deafblind children and youth have their unique communications and
learning needs fully met, are provided with essential supports such as
intervener services, and are empowered by our national education system to
rise to their full potential, well then just you look out because they're on
their way to achieve great things. Just watch us and see for yourself!"

"Our national special education law has been a success at getting kids with
disabilities into their neighborhood schools, but what we haven't done yet
is to make sure that students with vision loss get the education they
deserve once they get in the schoolhouse door," said Mark Richert, Director
of Public Policy for the American Foundation for the Blind. "We've waited
forty years, and we're not waiting another forty to give kids who are blind
or visually impaired an education that is worthy of their tremendous
potential. That's why the Cogswell- Macy Act is imperative."

"We expect that the passage of the Cogswell-Macy Act will rectify years of
misapplication of IDEA for deaf and hard of hearing children everywhere.
Deaf and hard of hearing children continue to experience language and
academic delays because their educational environments are not optimal or
even conducive to their learning," said James E. Tucker, Superintendent of
the Maryland School for the Deaf and President of the Conference of
Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf. "Every
student's Individualized Education Program needs to be student-driven and
focused on the child's language, cognitive, and social development."

NAD President Chris Wagner stated "Every deaf or hard of hearing child
deserves access to a quality education, and this Act will be an important
step towards reminding states of their accountability regarding deaf, hard
of hearing, blind, deafblind, and visually impaired children's needs."

Rep. Matt Cartwright represents Pennsylvania's 17th Congressional District,
which includes Schuylkill County and portions of Carbon, Lackawanna,
Luzerne, Monroe, and Northampton Counties. Cartwright serves on the House
Committee on Natural Resources and the House Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform.

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