IDEA

[Update 2/7/09 - If you came to this post directly from Google or somewhere else, go read the latest update.]

I’m dumbstruck by this, but I guess we shouldn’t be surprised.

A group of Senators from both parties has been working to reduce the size of the Stimulus Package by $100 billion dollars. Not surprisingly, the biggest chunk of that is coming from special education, school infrastructure improvements, Head Start, disabilities services funding, and related areas. IDEA funds are currently being cut in half from the proposed original amount. Much of the rest is completely gutted.

It looks almost certain this ‘compromise’ is going to be part of the final Senate bill.

We have two hopes here. First, The Arc has put out the alert and provided a tool by which to contact your Senators. Go to their Action Alert page, type in your zip code, and you can find out how to call from there. It’s too late in the game for writing now. You gotta call. They will most likely be voting on this today or this weekend.

Our only other hope is that because the House version and the Senate version of this legislation aren’t the same, this will likely end up in a conference committee of the two branches of Congress. Here they can hash out the differences before it’s sent to the President, which means funding could be restored since it’s in the House version. I don’t understand all the rules and semantics of conference committees, but there is still hope there.

I don’t know what to say beyond that. Get busy people. As usual, it’s up to us.

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Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 1, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – otherwise known as the Stimulus Package – by a vote of 244-188. Unless I completely missed something, all the disabilities-related provisions survived and were passed along with everything else. Yay!

Among other funding provisions in the legislation, some highlights are:

• $13 billion (with a ‘b’!) for the IDEA State Grant Program
• $600 million for Early Intervention
• $300 million for teachers in general
• $20 billion for school renovations and modernization
• $500 million for state grants for construction and rehab of facilities that help persons with disabilities prepare for gainful employment
• $200 million to assist people with disabilities to live in their communities
• $2.1 billion for Head Start
• $2 billion for Child Care Development Block Grants
• Billions for Medicaid, which is getting crushed under the weight of everyone now unemployed – including parents of special needs kids who have lost their jobs and have had to fall back on Medicaid to have any chance of affording their children’s treatments and therapies.
• Extension of unemployment benefits up to 33 weeks

and much more.

I am under no illusion that any of this is free money. However, people need to differentiate between government spending that invests in people, jobs, resuscitating the economy, and other things that bring a big return for each dollar spent vs. government spending that is like flushing money down the drain, like millions spent on research studies that conclude that oxygen really is good for America’s cows.

I don’t know everything that’s in this legislation, but I do know that the above provisions and many others are about investing in our children’s future – regardless of their abilities – and helping people who struggle to develop the skills needed for gainful employment realize that dream.

End of soapbox. Now go start writing your Senators. I put some tips in my previous action alert.

So far, the above provisions are largely – if not entirely – intact in the Senate version. However, things can change, and this is by no means an easy road for this legislation. Write your Senators even if you think they’ll certainly vote for it or against it. They need to hear our voices!

Thanks for your efforts so far. Keep up the good work!

If anyone has additional information, please post it in the comments.

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[Update - House passes it 244-188! Now go write your Senators!]

OK, people. If you haven’t contacted your Representative in Congress, it’s time to move! The U.S. House of Representatives will debate HR 1, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – otherwise known as the Stimulus Package – TOMORROW (Wednesday, January 28th in case you actually read this tomorrow). You still have time to contact your Representative!

If you missed my previous action alert, start by reading the Justice for All blog for more information about funding provisions in this legislation for services related to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (the IDEA we know and love), Early Intervention, and myriad other services for children and adults with disabilities.

Folks, this is our best – and maybe only – chance to save these services from being slashed and crippled by the budget nightmares affecting our local and state governments. These contacts to Congress may be the most important messages you write this year.

If you’re in a hurry, you can head over to The Arc for a ready-made letter you can send to your Congresspeople. However, if you can carve out 15-20 minutes, I think personally written messages are more effective. Feel free to use The Arc’s letter as a model, but tell a little about your story and ask for their support in your own words. One personal message can often be as effective as dozens of form letters.

Remember, be direct, to the point, and respectful, and tell them why this is important to you. Ask them to both support this legislation and ensure that the funding for these services that are critical to our children’s future remain part of it.

Find your Representative and your Senators and contact them! Most of them have easy-to-fill-out web forms to submit your message. Note – newly-elected members of Congress may have e-mail addresses rather than forms, but their page will tell you.

The Senate will begin debate on this legislation some time after it moves through the House, and it looks like tougher sledding in the Senate. So it’s important to contact your Senators very soon!

You already know this, but we are our children’s best advocates. It’s up to us. Start writing!

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[Update 1/27/09 - It's crunch time! Go read this update!]

While I was feeling a little wait-and-see earlier today about what we’d be able to accomplish legislatively for autism, special education, and disabilities in general in this economic climate, I just discovered there’s plenty of hope to go around! But we must act now!

The much-talked-about Stimulus Package before Congress has in some of its current forms many funding opportunities for federal investment in disabilities programs! Read the Justice for All blog for more information, and then head over to The Arc for a ready-made letter you can send to your Congresspeople.

Better yet, find your Representatives and Senators and call or send them a note personally!

The time is now! This is a major opportunity for us, so get writing!!

Oh, and do it for my cute, snowy, happy kid who refuses to wear gloves!

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