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As this blog's readership grows, so does our clout, Let's use it!
In presidential elections the candidates rarely address special education issues. They all have positions on education (guess what, the are for it!), but they do not go near the tough questions. Here at the special education law blog, however, we feel that our readers should know the detailed special education
positions of the candidates, and so we are going to ask them. This
seems like a very good use of the blogosphere doesn't it?
OK so we are going to ask the campaigns of the presumptive nominees of the major parties, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, how they stand on special education law issues. We'll ask about full funding of IDEA.We'll ask about Reauthorization of NCLB and IDEA. We'll ask about whether they might change Rowley standard. We'll ask about whether they will propose changes to the law in light of Supreme Court decisions like Murphy (expert W fees); Weast (burden of persuasion); Winkleman (pro se parents in court); and Buckhannon (attorney's fees).We will ask how they feel about inclusion. We will ask whether there should be a federal law concerning bullying of students at school. We'll ask whether seclusion and restraints should be regulated by the federal government.
We're also open to suggestions. We need your help. What would you ask the candidates about special education, and especially changes in the law you'd like to see. We will put together the requests and send them to the campaigns around July 1st. If we get responses, we'll publish them here and try to get others to publicize them. If we don't get responses, we'll publish that fact and publicize it as well.
Please submit your suggestions as early as possible. We look forward to hearing from you!
What I want to know more than anything else is how will either politician be reshaping the government budget to allow more money to go to education and the protection of students under law in general. Is there a place that money can come from to allow for serious research into things like special eduation legislation, anti-bullying law, and protective services for bullying victims? And is there the faintest hope both parties will stop slinging proverbial arrows at each long enough to make it all a reality if there is finanicial backing? My concerns spring largely from the fact that too often, money is cut from education first in politics because the typical student, up until the college level, isn’t a voter. If such individuals are our future, as both men like to remind their audience for the purpose of rhetoric, why has the percentage of government payroll spent on students dropped in the past 20 years by nearly 4%?
ReplyDeleteSarah,
ReplyDeleteGood point.
JG
I will vote for whomever pledges to fully fund IDEA
ReplyDeleteCB,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment.
JG
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI want to know if they are willing to look at IDEA and No Child Left Behind and open to making the necessary changes or amendments that will make it easier for the kids who need help to get it. I have a child who has been diagnosed with learning disabilities, but who scores very high on the intelligence testing. She also has inattentive type ADHD, but it is not a concern for her teachers as much the learning issues which are causing anxiety. Unfortunately, because of the ways the laws are written, when she was tested for her IEP, we were told by the school that she didn't score low enough or show enough weaknesses to be considered LD. The only thing they would qualify is the ADHD, which is very mild. So the only help my daughter gets is a 15 minute visit from a social worker once or twice a month. We have a 504, but it is basically useless since the wording dictates that it is at "the teacher's discretion" which means it doesn't get followed. As I continue to watch my child struggle and not receive the assistance she needs/deserves, I have to say that while it is certainly free, this is not by any means an "appropriate" education. There are countless families in my same situation, who are watching their children fall through the cracks because of a broken system and laws that give the schools too many outs. It is time for someone to step up and fight for these kids.
ReplyDeleteOAM,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment.
JG