Government Report 

When Congress returns from its summer recess in September, it will move forward on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The current law expires Sept. 30, 1999. The ESEA was enacted in 1965 to help the most disadvantaged students. It is the federal government’s single largest investment in elementary and secondary education. Title I of ESEA now provides more than $8 billion each year on behalf of over 11 million children in 45,000 schools. The Act also includes programs dealing with safe and drug free schools, teacher training, magnet schools, education technology, bilingual education and testing. ESEA is intended to support all children, including children with disabilities.

This year the reauthorization of ESEA will provide the context for debates regarding broader education policy, including federal versus local control, discipline in the classrooms, ending social promotion, and teacher quality. There is also a concern that the reauthorization of ESEA could be the next vehicle for ongoing attacks on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Education Task Force developed principles for the reauthorization of the ESEA. Thirty-six CCD member-organizations, including The Arc, signed on to these principles, which were then distributed to all members of Congress over the summer recess. CCD urges members of Congress to enact legislation that follows these principles:

1. Do no harm to students with disabilities. The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act should be limited to programs under its jurisdiction. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) must not be weakened during the ESEA reauthorization.
2. All schools should establish research-based, effective programs that prevent school violence. Effective programs include classroom management strategies to help reduce classroom disruption and increase student learning; positive behavior intervention programs that address the emotional, behavioral, and educational needs of students; and professional development to reduce the level of inappropriate disciplinary actions. All school staff must be trained to recognize and respond appropriately to troubled youth. Students must have immediate access to comprehensive school-based consultation and other mental health services.
3. Educational services must be continued for students who are suspended or expelled. Students with and without disabilities must be accountable for their actions when they violate school codes of conduct. To ensure safe schools and communities and continue student achievement, students who are suspended or expelled must have access to immediate and appropriate services, including educational and mental health services necessary to prevent the behavior from reoccurring.
4. Professional development is essential for classroom success. ESEA-supported professional development activities must include activities that enable teachers to appropriately serve all students, including students with disabilities. Professional development activities also must include training for pupil services personnel and paraprofessionals who provide services to children. Professional development activities must be on-going, research-based, reflect state-of-the-art practices and principles as articulated by IDEA, and be carried out by highly qualified personnel. Such training should ensure professionals have the following competencies:

• a fundamental understanding of different kinds of disability and how disability affects student learning and behavior;
• an understanding of how to create school environments and provide instruction that is responsive to the diverse and developmental needs of students; and
• collaboration skills needed to make decisions, solve problems and work together with special education and pupil services personnel to ensure access to and progress in the general curriculum for all students.

5. Shortages in classroom personnel must be addressed. States need to be given the flexibility to use resources dedicated to hire 100,000 new teachers for hiring of special education teachers, pupil services personnel and qualified paraprofessionals who can work with general education teachers to implement IDEA.
6. Social promotion policies must not inappropriately penalize students with disabilities. Social promotion policies must not override the special educational needs described in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) of a student with a disability.
7. Children and youth with disabilities must be included in after-school programs. All applicants to the 21^st Century Community Learning Centers (federal grant program begun in 1998 to fund after school activities in rural and inner city schools ) must describe the specific steps they will take to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities.
8. The number of preschool programs that serve children with and without disabilities must be increased. Preschool programs supported by ESEA must collaborate with preschool programs supported by IDEA.

Congress returns to Washington on Sept. 8 and will hit the ground running. Its work is cut out for it between now and adjournment, which is currently scheduled for late October.

At the top of the Congressional agenda are tax cuts and FY 2000 appropriations. It remains to be seen who will "blink first" on the issues of budget caps and tax cuts – the Congress or the Clinton administration.

While all this is going on, The Arc will be working to ensure the best possible funding for programs of importance in the two remaining – and critical – appropriations bills, Labor-Health and Human Services-Education, and Housing and Urban Development-Veterans-Independent Agencies.

The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published an Interim Final Rule on Patients’ Rights, Hospital Conditions of Participation (CoP) for the Medicare and Medicaid Programs in the July 2 Federal Register. Comments on the Interim Rule were accepted until Aug. 31. HCFA decided to publish a (CoP) specifically on patients’ rights because more and more instances of violations of patients’ rights were being brought to its attention. In addition, a series of articles in the Hartford Courant in the spring brought the inappropriate use of restraints and seclusion into public view. Several months ago The Arc and other advocacy groups, such as the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the National Mental Health Association, and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law met with HCFA to discuss the need for stronger protections against the mis-use of restraints and seclusion with children and adults with disabilities. While this Patients’ Rights (CoP) rule is a step in the right direction and provides protection in acute, psychiatric, children’s, and rehabilitation hospitals, it still does not cover all settings that receive federal Medicaid or Medicare funds.

The Arc’s comments – posted on the Governmental Affairs Web page – make the point that entities that receive federal funds must be required to treat all people with dignity and respect and reflect The Arc’s Position Statement on Behavioral Supports:

The Arc strongly supports the development and use of positive behavioral supports to meet individual needs and the prohibition and prevention of the use of procedures that may cause physical and/or psychological harm, are dehumanizing, and restrict the individual’s right to dignity and self-determination.

The comments target a number of issues. These include the need for:

• strong protections in all settings,
• effective monitoring and enforcement of protections,
• staff training, and
• reporting of abuse and deaths to the Protection and Advocacy System.

Staff of The Arc Governmental Affairs Office continue to work with a bi-partisan group of Senate staff on legislation to reauthorize the Developmental Disabilities Act and the Family Support Act (formerly part of IDEA). The current authority for the DD Act expires this year.

The Senate, led by Sens. Jeffords (R-Vt.), Harkin (D-Iowa), and Kennedy (D-Mass.), is looking at ways to rewrite the DD Act so that it better reflects the current needs of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. They are also looking at ways to increase collaboration between the three DD entities – the Developmental Disabilities Councils, the Protection and Advocacy System, and the University Affiliated Programs. As this issue of Government Report goes to press it appears that the earliest a bill could be introduced in the Senate is mid-to-late September. Time is short for action on a major reauthorization bill since Congress is currently scheduled to adjourn at the end of October. The House has taken no action so far .

The Arc’s efforts on the DD Act have been targeted at ensuring quality services and supports in all settings, including protecting people from abuse and neglect; meeting the specific needs of adults with disabilities and their aging parents; addressing the "waiting list" crisis; and ensuring that people with the most severe disabilities are included in all self-advocacy efforts.

National Council on Disability Establishes Fellowship Program
People with Mental Retardation are Encouraged to Apply

The National Council on Disability (NCD) has established a fellowship program in Washington, DC. The focus of the fellowship program is to provide experience, training and contacts to qualified individuals with disabilities.

Originally, applicants had to be college graduates to be considered for the fellowship. Staff of The Arc and the President’s Committee on Mental Retardation (PCMR) pointed out that the college degree requirement would exclude many self-advocates with mental retardation. NCD agreed and modified its eligibility requirements! To be eligible now, individuals must simply identify as having a disability. The excellent letter written to NCD by Jane Browning, executive director of PCMR, is reprinted in full below.