August 15, 2001: Call-in Day to Protect Education Rights of Children with Disabilities

NATIONAL CALL-IN DAY TO PROTECT EDUCATION RIGHTS OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

Your Participation Is Needed on Wednesday, August 15th

Both houses of Congress have passed amendments to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that would amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education ACT (IDEA) and effectively deny educational services to many students with disabilities.

	The amendment passed by the House was offered by Rep. Charles Norwood (R-GA) and denies ALL educational services to students with disabilities for certain types of behavior, even if the behavior is related to their disability.
	The amendment passed by the Senate was offered by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL). It would deny educational services to students with disabilities if the behavior for which they are being disciplined is not related to their disability. Another provision undermines current law, including the right to a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.

The differences will be worked out soon by a conference committee. Before that occurs, it's important for all Senators and Representatives -especially those on the conference committee-- to hear from their constituents. We ask you to join with others across the country and to spread the word about the National IDEA Call-In Day on Wednesday, August 15th.

Please take the following actions:

Call your U.S. Senators and your Representative on August 15th. Since Congress is in recess, you should call their local offices. The message is:

No discipline amendments to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. No denial of education. Not now, not ever!
If one or both of your Senators or your Representative is on the conference committee (see the list of phone numbers below), spread the word to parents, advocates and organizations in your state or congressional district to generate as many constituent calls as possible into their offices. A sample action alert for parents can be found at http://www.bazelon.org/sampleideaalert.html. It is part of the expanded version of this alert on the Bazelon Center's website, which can be found at http://www.bazelon.org/alerts.html.
Call Sandy Kress, President Bush's education advisor. Ask him to urge President Bush to remove the IDEA discipline amendments from the ESEA bill. His number at the White House is (202) 456-5594.
Call the Washington DC offices of Senator Kennedy (D-MA) and Representative Boehner (R-Ohio) and leave the message:

No discipline amendments to ESEA. No denial of education. Not now not ever!!

You can reach their offices through the capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121.
Forward this Urgent Action Alert to parents, advocates and organizations in your network.

THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE:

SENATORS (STATE LOCAL NUMBERS):

Kennedy (D-MA), 617/565-3170 Boston
Dodd (D-CT), 860/258-6940 Wethersfield
Harkin (D-IA), 515/284-4574 Des Moines
Mikulski (D-MD), 410/962-4510 Baltimore
Jeffords (I-VT), 802/223-5273 Montpelier
Bingaman (D-NM), 505/988-6647 Santa Fe; 505/346-6601 Albuquerque
Wellstone (D-MN), 651/645-0323 St. Paul
Murray (D-WA), 206/553-5545 Seattle; 509/624-9515 Spokane
Reed (D-RI), 401/943-3100 Cranston
Edwards (D-NC), 919/856-4245 Raleigh
Clinton (D-NY), 518/431-0120 Albany
Lieberman (D-CT), 860/549-8463 Hartford
Bayh (D-IN), 317/554-0750 Indianapolis
Gregg (R-NH), 603/225-7115 Concord
Frist (R-TN), 615/352-9411 Nashville; 901/683-191 Memphis
Enzi (R-WY), 307/772-2477 Cheyenne; 307/739-9507 Jackson
Hutchinson (R-AR), 501/324-6336 Little Rock
Warner (R-VA), 804/771-2579 Richmond
Bond (R-MO), 314/725-4484 St. Louis
Roberts (R-KS), 785/295-2745 Topeka
Collins (R-ME), 207/622-8414 Augusta
Sessions (R-AL), 205/731-1500 Birmingham; 334/265-9507 Montgomery
DeWine (R-OH), 614/469-5186 Columbus
Allard (R-CO), 719/643-6071 Colorado Springs
Ensign (R-WY), 775/686-5770 Reno

REPRESENTATIVES:

Boehner (R-OH), 513/870-0300 Hamilton; 937/339-1524 Troy
Petri (R-WI), 920/922-1180 Fond du Lac; 920/231-6333 Oshkosh
Roukema (R-NJ), 201/447-3900 Ridgewood; 908/850-4747 Hackettstown
McKeon (R-CA), 661/254-2111 Santa Clarita; 661/274-9688 Palmdale
Castle (R-DE), 302/428-1902 Wilmington; 302/736-1666 Dover
Graham (R-SC), 864/223-8251 Greenwood
Hilleary (R-TN), 931/393-4764 Tullahoma
Isakson (R-GA), 404/252-5239 Atlanta
Miller, Geo (D-CA), 925/602-1880 Concord; 510/262-6500 Richmond
Kildee (D-MI), 810/239-1437 Flint; 248/373-9337 Pontiac
Owens (D-NY), 718/773-3100, 718/940-3213 Brooklyn
Mink (D-HI), 808/541-1986 Honolulu
Andrews (D-NJ), 856/546-5100 Haddon Heights; 856/848-3900 Woodbury
Roemer (D-IN), 219/288-3301 South Bend

This Action Alert was adapted from an alert by the PACER Center, http://www.pacer.org.

Opinions expressed in this web site do not necessarily reflect the views of NAMI Santa Cruz County, NAMI California or any affiliated organizations. We attempt to present a balanced perspective on issues by presenting multiple viewpoints.

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