JOBS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY. In his State of the Union Address
January 20th, President Bush announced a new initiative called “Jobs
for the 21st Century” aimed at improving the quality of secondary
education and allowing workers to access post secondary education
to get the job training and skills needed to fill jobs in emerging
industries. More below…
IDEA REAUTHORIZATION. Hope continues that the Senate will
act before the end of March on its version of IDEA (S 1248). An
earlier agreement that amendments be limited to four from each party
is expected to be honored. More below…
REAUTHORIZATION OF TANF, WIA. Conferees have not been named
for either TANF (Reauthorization of Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (HR 4, S 1523) or the Workforce Investment Act (WIA, HR
1261, S 1627). Congress must act on TANF before it expires completely
on March 31.
2005 BUDGET ELIMINATES KEY EDUCATION PROGRAMS. Education
programs that would be severely cut or unfunded include: “Even
Start” family literacy; Juvenile crime prevention block grants;
Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Program; and Carl Perkins
Vocational and Technical Education. More below…
NEW OSERS HEAD NAMED. Troy Justesen, Deputy Commissioner
of the Rehabilitative Services Administration has been named acting
Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services (OSERS). More below…
RELAXATION OF REGULATIONS ON MERCURY EMISSIONS. On December
24, a federal appeals court blocked the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) rule which would cut mercury emissions from coal burning
power plants by 70% by 2018. Currently, the EPA requires individual
coal burning power plants to reduce mercury emissions by 90% by
2008. More below…
Also…Regulations on Adequate Yearly Progress under No Child
Left Behind; Federal Clearing Houses closed; New Youth website from
Department of Labor; and more…
CONGRESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
The only legislation of interest to people with learning disabilities
which had been passed when the first session of the 108th Congress
ended was the Medicare Bill and the Pediatric Research Equity Act
(HR 2857), which requires drug manufacturers to test their products
for use by children.
JOBS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
The 108th Congress returned for its second session on January 20,
2004. In his State of the Union Address that night, President Bush
announced a new initiative called “Jobs for the 21st Century”
which would improve the quality of secondary education and allow
workers to access post secondary education to get the job training
and skills needed to fill jobs in emerging industries. The next
day, the Senate passed the Omnibus Appropriations bill, which had
passed the House on December 9, 2003. Appropriations for Labor,
Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies include
a O.59% across the board cut for all programs. Funding for Title
I grants would increase by 6% (to $12.4 billion) and for Part B
of special education by 13% (to $10.1 billion). Vocational Rehabilitation
State Grants would be funded at $2.6 billion.
IDEA REAUTHORIZATION
The Senate is expected to act soon on its version of IDEA (S 1248).
An earlier agreement that amendments be limited to four from each
party is expected to be honored. Although no language on amendments
has been published, Republican amendments are expected to be on
attorneys’ fees, paperwork reduction, IDEA funding (probably
discretionary and not mandatory) and one placeholder. Democratic
amendments are expected to be on mandatory full funding (Harkin);
provision for homeless /foster children (Murray); research into
environmental causes of developmental disabilities (Clinton); and
one placeholder.
Proposals that testing results for students with disabilities not
be counted in measuring a school’s Adequate Yearly Progress
(AYP) under No Child Left Behind have been dropped. If the agreement
holds, the Senate language on evaluation for eligibility for learning
disabilities will remain until considered by the Conference Committee.
The Senate hopes to act on the bill in mid March. When it passes
the Senate, conferees from the House and Senate will be named to
iron out differences between the two bills. A comparison of the
original S 1248 and HR 1350 can be found in the June-July
News from Washington.
BILLS PENDING IN CONGRESS
Conferees have not been named for either TANF, (Reauthorization
of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (HR 4, S 1523) or the
Workforce Investment Act (WIA, HR 1261, S 1627).
The following bills are up for reauthorization in the 108th Congress.
This may be tricky because, although staff will continue to work,
members of Congress will be spending a lot of time on the upcoming
elections:
- Head Start ( HR 2210, S1483)
- The Ready To Teach Act (HR 2211)
- The Child Medication Safety Act (HR 1170, S 1390)
- PASS (Pathways For Students To Succeed) (S 1554)
- Graduation for All Act (HR 3085) which would provide resources
for schools to improve adolescent literacy and improve graduation
rates.
- The Environmental Health Research Act Of 2003 (HR 852, S 1588)
- Keeping Families Together Act (HR 3243, S 1704) which would
prevent families from having to give up custody of their children
in order to get treatment for mental illnesses.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
PRESIDENT’S BUDGET FOR 2005
On February 2, 2004, the President introduced his proposed budget
for Fiscal Year 2005. In the Department of Education budget:
- Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
would receive $11.1 billion, an increase of $1 billion over the
2004 appropriations. However, other parts of IDEA (Preschool Grants,
Early Intervention, and Part D) would be increased slightly, level
funded or reduced.
- Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants would receive $2.7 billion,
an increase of $113 million over 2004 appropriations. However,
other vocational rehabilitation programs would be level funded,
reduced or eliminated.
- No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Title I Grants to States would receive
$13.3 billion, an increase of $1 billion over 2004 appropriations.
“Reading First” State Grants would receive $1.1 billion,
an increase of $101 million, and “Early Reading First”
would receive $132 million, an increase of $38 million over 2004
appropriations.
Funding for the new “Jobs for the 21st Century” proposals
include:
- $100 million for a secondary school reading initiative, “Striving
Readers,” to improve the skills of students reading below
grade level;
- $120 million for a secondary education mathematics initiative
to help mathematics teachers meet the needs of struggling students;
and
- Funding to use qualified individuals from business, technology,
and industry as teachers in secondary schools; enhanced Pell Grants
to students who take a rigorous high school curriculum; State
Scholars Programs; and training teachers in low income schools
to increase the rigor of the high school curriculum.
Education programs that would be severely cut or unfunded include:
- “Even Start” family literacy;
- Juvenile crime prevention block grants;
- Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Program; and
- Carl Perkins Vocational and Technical Education.
In the Department of Labor budget:
- Work Incentive Grants to enhance the employment of individuals
with disabilities would receive $19.9 million, the same as 2004.
- The Community College Initiative under “Jobs for the 21st
Century” to prepare workers for high demand occupations
would receive $250 million.
Most programs in the Deparment of Health and Human Services either
received modest increases or were level funded.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
OSERS. Troy Justesen, Deputy Commissioner
of the Rehabilitative Services Administration has been named acting
Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services (OSERS). Prior to moving to the Department of Education,
Justesen was an associate director of domestic policy at the White
House and also served as Deputy Executive Director of the President’s
Commission on Excellence in Special Education.
No Child Left Behind. On December 9, the Department of Education
issued final rules on measurement of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
under NCLB for students with significant cognitive disabilities.
Under NCLB, a student with a disability may take 1) the regular
grade level assessment; 2) the regular grade level assessment with
accommodations; 3) an alternate assessment based on grade level
achievement standards; or 4) an alternate assessment based on alternate
achievement standards. Each state defines the students with “significant
cognitive disabilities” who are eligible for the fourth alternative.
The new regulations allow out of level testing for students with
“significant cognitive disabilities.” Although there
is no limit on the number of students who take these alternate assessments,
the number of these proficient or advanced scores counted toward
meeting the AYP may not exceed 1% of all students in the district
for the grades tested. This cap applies to districts and states
– not individual schools.
Test results for NCLB compliance are posted on a by-school basis
at the state’s website: www.pen.k12.state.us.
The state determines how many students with disabilities must be
in a school before the percentage of these students who meet the
AYP requirements are part of the public record. More information
can be found at www.ed.gov/nclb
Federal Clearinghouses. On December 19, the Department of
Education closed the 16 federally funding clearinghouses, including
that for Disabilities and Gifted Education. A new contractor will
replace this system with a more centralized one which will be operated
like a commercial website engine such as Yahoo or Google. Most of
the clearinghouses have moved their archives to new sites. The Disability
and Gifted Education site is now at www.cec.sped.org.
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
ODEP Website. The website of the National Collaborative
on Workforce and Disability Youth of the Department of Labor’s
Office of Disability Employment Policy at http://www.ncwd-youth.info
answers frequently asked questions and describes resources and programs
related to employment and disabilities for youth.
IN THE COURTS
RELAXATION OF REGULATIONS ON MERCURY EMISSIONS
On December 24, a federal appeals court blocked the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) rule which would cut mercury emissions from
coal burning power plants by 70% by 2018. Currently, the EPA requires
individual coal burning power plants to reduce mercury emissions
by 90% by 2008.
Mercury exposure to fetuses and young children can cause mental
retardation and learning and attention disabilities. The main exposure
to mercury comes from eating contaminated fish. Coal burning power
plants produce about 40% of the mercury pollution found in the United
States. Airborne mercury settles on the ground and/or groundwater
and contaminates edible fish.
OTHER ACTIONS
LEVELS OF MERCURY IN FISH
A consortium of consumer and environmental groups (which includes
the Consumer's Union, the National Resources Defense Council and
the Mercury Policy Project) has accused the Food and Drug Administration
of downplaying the dangers of mercury in fish in its dietary proposals
and of failing to warn consumers about high levels of mercury found
in canned albacore tuna. Methyl mercury is a neurotoxin that can
damage the brain and nervous system of fetuses, infants and children,
and the cardiovascular system of adults. Most of it is released
into the air through industrial pollution and power plant emissions.
LDA News from Washington is a monthly publication
of the Learning Disabilities Association of America. Written by
Justine Maloney; Jane Browning, Editor. Paper copies by mail are
available free to members upon request. Call 1-888-300-6710 or email
info@ldaamerica.org |
