Hi all.  This is the Our Children Left Behind Home Page for the weekend. 
Every weekend our Home Page consists of a review of what's been added to the
website over the previous week.  I hope you find this information helpful!

SEPTEMBER 6 & 7, 2003

BUSY WEEK ON THE WEBSITE!

There's a lot happening on the website this week!  In preparation for this
month's expected Senate consideration of their IDEA reauthorization bill (S.
1248), we have updated our Resources Page to make it more user-friendly.  We now
have a "Quick Start" section that lists a few "must see" sites, followed by a
more comprehensive listing of resources for those seeking more information. 

We also are kicking off a new campaign called "Leave No Physician Behind." 
As some of you may know, Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the Senate Majority
Leader and HELP committee member, happens to be a doctor.  We have prepared a
sample letter for parents and others to present to their doctors for signature
(quick and easy).  Let's flood Senator Frist's office with letters from his
colleagues!  Go to our September 5 Home Page for details (just scroll down a bit
from the top).

Our Home Page also features the tragic story of a Michigan child with autism
who was killed at school during attempts at restraint. This is not the first
such death.  This truly is a life and death battle we're fighting, folks -
let's not forget it!  Unfortunately, the school lobbies seem to care more about
administrative convenience than about our kids.  As another Home Page article
points out, IDEA must be about courage, not convenience!  Parents of children
with special needs have plenty of courage - let's share it with our legislators
and stand up together for what's right!

With September come more bulletins and action alerts designed to get us up to
speed quickly.  Check out our Breaking News page, where we have posted an
update by CHADD on the status of IDEA reauthorization, as well as Talking Points
for your legislators, prepared by Wrightslaw.

Our Grapevine Page features a piece on Hardball Tactics as well as a call by
governors for increased federal funding for education.  There are also several
pieces on attorney fee caps, given that an attorney fee cap amendment
(similar to that in H.R. 1350) looms large.  We have a bulletin from a law firm
discussing this issue, along with two parent essays about their difficulties in
finding special education attorneys willing to help parents, and how the fee cap
amendment could devastate students and families.

Finally, our Message Board has been especially active this week.  We have
posted a study on special education expenditures, a discussion that occurred at
the National Conference of State Legislatures, and a piece that demonstrates
the current lack of accountability for special education students under NCLB. 
This latter issue will be immeasurably exacerbated by a proposed amendment by
Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, a proposal that would EXCLUDE special
education students from NCLB accountability measures altogether.  This is in
stark contrast to a recent (Aug. 2003) report from the National Center on
Educational Outcomes that illustrates the promise of NCLB for children with
disabilities.  Don't let Congress renege on its promise to teach ALL kids and
leave NO
child behind!  Visit our message board and let us know what you think!  Better
yet, let your legislators know what you think!

As always, thanks for visiting, and keep your input coming!

parentvolunteer@...



Sandy, Illinois (alpy2@...)
Volunteer Co-Webmaster, <A
HREF="www.ourchildrenleftbehind.com">www.ourchildrenleftbehind.com</A> (IDEA
reauthorization)


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