MAY 10, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Our Children Left Behind
Shari Krishnan, Tricia & Calvin Luker, Sandy Alperstein, and Debi Lewis
OurChildrenLeftBehind-owner@YahooGroups.com

EDUCATION REFORM DOOMED
And so are 6.5 million students with disabilities.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This week, the Senate plans to bring S.1248 to the floor. The Senate claims that S.1248 is needed to align the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) with President Bush's well publicized No Child Left Behind Act. However, nothing could be further from the truth. S.1248 smacks of disaster, just like H.R.1350, the draconian House version of an attempt to amend and reauthorize IDEA.

Both the Senate and House bills look to further segregate students and do absolutely nothing to give students with disabilities greater access to the general education curriculum and evidence-based learning experiences. So, as a result, the future and job markets for students with disabilities will be severely compromised. Additionally, schools will be held less accountable for spending taxpayer dollars at a time when greater accountability for results is one of the President's and his education staff's most popular mantras. Many feel that the bipartisan nature of the bill is actually political fluff, hiding the fact that this bill does absolutely nothing positive for students.

If S.1248 passes in the Senate this week, the differences between both disingenuous bills, S.1248 and H.R.1350, will be reconciled in the conference committee. Students with disabilities and education reform would be better off if S.1248 were defeated and the entire reauthorization process were reconsidered with the reality of positive results in mind.