NOVEMBER 15 & 16, 2003 

THIS WEEK ON THE WEBSITE 

On our <A HREF="http://pub60.ezboard.com/fourchildrenleftbehindfrm17">Home
Page</A>, we have several pieces tackling the subtle, yet pervasive,
attitudes of exclusion that have gotten us where we are today in this IDEA
reauthorization process.  In "<A
HREF="http://pub60.ezboard.com/fourchildrenleftbehindfrm17.showMessage?topicID=1\
16.topic">What's Wrong With This Picture?</A>" we explore the
connection between society's marginalization of our children and Congress'
marginalization of parents. We remind ourselves that these attitudes must
change,
and that change must start with us!  Luckily, if anyone can do it, we can - as
we highlight in "<A
HREF="http://pub60.ezboard.com/fourchildrenleftbehindfrm17.showMessage?topicID=1\
15.topic">Incredible Families, Incredible Work</A>."  You have to "<A
HREF="http://pub60.ezboard.com/fourchildrenleftbehindfrm17.showMessage?topicID=1\
13.topic">Keep Your
Eye On The Prize</A>," your child and the 6.5 million other children out there,
and keep telling your child's story to our legislators.  They need to hear
it! 

Also on our <A HREF="http://pub60.ezboard.com/fourchildrenleftbehindfrm17">Home
Page</A>, we compare the mindset of Congress during this
reauthorization to the mindset of schools - both seek to "dumb down" the
curriculum
and give in to low expectations.  In "<A
HREF="http://pub60.ezboard.com/fourchildrenleftbehindfrm17.showMessage?topicID=1\
14.topic">The Twilight Zone</A>," we call on Congress,
our schools, and our state governments to resist the "soft bigotry of low
expectations" and to set the bar, and the stakes, high.  Finally, in "<A
HREF="http://pub60.ezboard.com/fourchildrenleftbehindfrm17.showMessage?topicID=1\
12.topic">A Raw Deal</A>,"
we remind policymakers that H.R.1350, while devastating to parents and
children, would also be devastating to schools.  By decreasing parent
enforcement of
IDEA, H.R.1350 would merely shift enforcement from the administrative arena
to the courtroom - a costly proposition for both sides. 

We have several items on <A
HREF="http://pub60.ezboard.com/fourchildrenleftbehindfrm14">Breaking News</A>
this week dealing with the newly
released Senate bill and its accompanying Senate Report.  Links to the bill and
the
Report are found on this page.  In addition, we have analysis and discussion
from several major advocacy groups.  We have an <A
HREF="http://pub60.ezboard.com/fourchildrenleftbehindfrm14.showMessage?topicID=7\
4.topic">NDSS Alert</A> that points out
where the new S.1248 differs from that introduced in June and also discusses
what
you can do to help.  We have an excerpt from the <A
HREF="http://pub60.ezboard.com/fourchildrenleftbehindfrm14.showMessage?topicID=7\
3.topic">AUCD Legislative News</A> that
briefly discusses the new bill.  We have an excerpt from News from CHADD
discussing the new bill, its changes from the old bill, and what you can do to
help.  Finally, we have an excerpt from the Public Policy Update of the
National
Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, comparing the new Senate
bill to H.R.1350. 

Our <A HREF="http://pub60.ezboard.com/fourchildrenleftbehindfrm16">Grapevine</A>
also has news of S.1248.  We have a partial summary of the new
bill prepared by parent advocates working with a redlining computer program to
highlight the differences between the old and new Senate bills.  We also have
an informative <A
HREF="http://pub60.ezboard.com/fourchildrenleftbehindfrm16.showMessage?topicID=1\
04.topic">Reauthorization Timeline by NASP</A> (current through 9/03). 
Finally, we have a <A
HREF="http://pub60.ezboard.com/fourchildrenleftbehindfrm16.showMessage?topicID=1\
03.topic">piece from Education Week</A> about CEC's push to exclude our
children from NCLB's accountability provisions. 

Lots to read, lots to digest - but we're up to the task! 

Sandy Alperstein, today’s <A
HREF="mailto:parentvolunteer@...">parentvolunteer@ourchild\
renleftbehind.com</A> 

Our Children Left Behind [OCLB] was created and is owned/operated by parent
volunteers (Sandy Alperstein, Tricia & Calvin Luker, Shari Krishnan, and Debi
Lewis).  Permission to forward, copy, and/or post this article is granted
provided that it is attributed to the author(s) and <A
HREF="http://www.ourchildrenleftbehind.com/">www.ourchildrenleftbehind.com</A>.Â\
 
For more about OCLB or to share information, please contact <A
HREF="mailto:parentvolunteer@...">
parentvolunteer@...</A>


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


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