With reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) scheduled for 2003, both Republicans and Democrats in Washington are seeking ideas and input from the public on how to strengthen and improve the federal special education law.
On June 6, House Education Reform Subcommittee Chairman Michael Castle (R-Del.), along with Reps. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), unveiled a new Web site where parents, teachers and students can offer recommendations on strengthening and improving IDEA. A link to the Web site is at http://edworkforce.house.gov.
"I am excited to hear directly from those who work in special education or have children with special needs," says Castle. "Making education reform work requires a partnership between parents, teachers, principals and elected leaders. This Web site will provide a forum for educators and parents to provide input on how we can strengthen this very important law."
Democrats have set up a Web site of their own. They are asking for comments and ideas about IDEA at http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/ideaform.html.
California Congressman George Miller is the Senior Democratic Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in a letter posted on the Committee Democrats' site, he expresses hope that the reauthorization of IDEA will be characterized by the same cooperation that led to the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act. However, he expresses some serious concerns.
"Some of the same proposals to significantly alter IDEA that were rejected in 1997 now are being raised again," notes Miller. "Many of these, according to experts, could potentially weaken the legal rights of children with disabilities and their families: cessation of services; denial of due process; elimination or severe weakening of procedural safeguards; private school vouchers. Some have even proposed giving states or the federal Department of Education broad authority to waive IDEA statutory and regulatory requirements."
As the 2003 IDEA reauthorization approaches, recommendations from the special education community will be needed, and should be welcomed by members of both political parties, for the crafting of this important legislation.
Richard LaPointe has been appointed director of the Division of High School, Postsecondary and Career Education at the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education. He will serve as the principal program advisor to the Office of the Assistant Secretary on matters related to high school, postsecondary and career education programs.
During his career at the Department of Education, LaPointe has held positions in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Office of Postsecondary Education and Office of the Secretary. He also served as senior advisor to the secretary at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Cheryl Keenan, the former director of the Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education in the state of Pennsylvania, has been named the director of the Division of Adult Education and Literacy. She has served on numerous state and national committees and taskforces on adult education reform, workforce development, program accountability, research and special initiatives. Keenan also played a role in shaping and implementing the new requirements in Title II of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
Assistant Secretary Carol D'Amico appointed Joan Athen as special assistant for community colleges. In addition to her 23 years of experience as an entrepreneur in the telecommunications industry, Athen is the former chair of the Maryland Association of Community Colleges and former board chair and vice chair of Howard Community College.
When Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Senator Max Cleland (D-Ga.) kicked off the Digital Empowerment Campaign on May 15, they also called on the Bush administration to continue federal support of community technology programs. The event was sponsored by the Digital Empowerment Coalition, a bipartisan group of more than 75 civil rights, education and labor organizations.
Mikulski, a member of the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Appropriations Subcommittee, notes that the president's FY 2003 budget proposal would eliminate funding for both the Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) and the Community Technology Centers that offer vital technology projects to low-income areas. Some education and civil rights organizations, such as the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the American Association of Community Colleges, are campaigning to keep such funding, which they see as necessary to bridge the "digital divide" that can separate low-income inner city and rural areas from communities that are better off economically.
"With over 60 percent of African-Americans and 70 percent of Hispanics lacking access to adequate technology, a digital divide exists in America, and technology is the tool of empowerment," says Mikulski.
As she fights to have the Community Technology Center funding restored, Mikulski emphasizes, "We need to make sure that there is money in the budget to build these centers in communities that need them most. This way, children and adults have access to computers to improve their lives and remove barriers like income, race, ethnicity and geography."
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