White House Urged To Fully Fund IDEA

A federal agency and more than 130 members of Congress are calling on President Barack Obama to allocate more funding for special education in his upcoming budget proposal.

In separate letters to Obama, the National Council on Disability and a group including both Democrats and Republicans in Congress are asking the federal government to increase special education spending for the coming year and to establish a 10-year plan to fully fund the program.

“We owe it to all students to provide a quality education that will help them graduate and enter successful careers,” reads a letter from more than 130 members of Congress that’s expected to be released Tuesday. “The federal government needs a plan to move us toward full funding for IDEA.”

When the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was enacted in 1975, Congress committed to funding 40 percent of the cost of special education, but the federal government has never actually paid more than 18.5 percent.

Read more of Michelle Diament's Disability Scoop article HERE.

Feds Expand Mental Health Coverage

Health insurers must cover mental health services at the same level as physical ailments under new federal rules.

The Obama administration released final regulations late last week requiring that most insurance plans offer an equivalent level of coverage for mental health as they do for medical and surgical needs.

Traditionally, individuals in need of mental health services have incurred higher out-of-pocket costs and often faced limits on the number of doctor visits or days spent at an in-patient facility.

Under the new rules, however, co-payments, deductibles and limits on the number of visits to mental health providers cannot differ significantly from those imposed for more traditional medical treatments.

“This final rule breaks down barriers that stand in the way of treatment and recovery services for millions of Americans,” said U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius who indicated that the changes will make treatment “more affordable and accessible.”

The rules were long-awaited by mental health advocates, coming five years after Congress passed a law to ensure mental health parity. The new regulations detail how the law will be administered.

Read more of Michelle Diament's Disability Scoop article HERE.

Special Education Essential to Preschool Plans, Says Advocacy Group

Boosting funding for young children with disabilities covered under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act should be a part of the Obama administration's plans to expand early-learning opportunities, says a letter from the Council for Exceptional Children's division for early childhood.

Most of the federal government's funding goes to what is known as Part B of the special education law, which serves students from 3 to 22 years old. However, another part of the law, Part C, helps pay for early-intervention services for babies and toddlers. While school-age children covered under the law receive "individualized education programs," the babies and toddlers get "individualized family service plans," which support that child's family. About 450,000 children were covered by the law in 2011, the latest year for which statistics are available. (In comparison, about 6.5 million students were served that year under IDEA Part B.)

The CEC's early-childhood division says that states applying for early-learning grants should explicitly involve the Part B and Part C programs in their ongoing implementation plans. "Partnerships at the state and local levels will ensure that: young children with disabilities and their families have meaningful access to early-learning programs; service providers that work with these IDEA programs have access to professional development opportunities; and state systems' efforts focus on all young children including those with disabilities," the letter states.

Read more of Christina Samuel's On Special Education article HERE.

Presidential Proclamation -- Blind Americans Equality Day, 2012

See the White House press release HERE.

Presidential Proclamation -- National Disability Employment Awareness Month, 2012

In the 22 years since the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we have made significant progress in giving all Americans the freedom to make of our lives what we will. Yet, in times of prosperity as well as challenge, people with disabilities have had fewer opportunities in our workplaces than those without. As we work to revitalize our economy, it is essential that each of us can bring our talents, expertise, and passion to bear in the marketplace. But a stronger economy is not enough; we must ensure not only full participation, but also full opportunity. During National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we recognize the indispensable contributions people with disabilities make in our economy and recommit to building a country where each of us can realize the full extent of our dreams.

Because America's workforce should reflect the diversity of its people -- including people with disabilities -- my Administration remains committed to helping our businesses, schools, and communities support our entire workforce. To meet this challenge, the Federal Government must be a model employer. That is why I was proud to sign an Executive Order in 2010 that called on Federal agencies to increase recruitment, hiring, and retention of people with disabilities. In 2012, the Office of Personnel Management reported on our progress, revealing that we are moving toward meeting our goal of hiring an additional 100,000 people with disabilities into the Federal workforce over 5 years. Today, more people with disabilities work for the Federal Government than at any time in the past 20 years, and we are striving to make it easier to get and keep those jobs by improving compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Read more of the Presidential Proclamation HERE.

Together as One: Honoring Team USA at the White House

On Friday, more than 400 Olympians and Paralympians were on hand at the White House for an event to celebrate their success in this year's London Games.

Feds Recommend Phasing Out Subminimum Wage

A key federal agency is calling for an end to a controversial government policy allowing some employers to pay workers with disabilities less than minimum wage.

In a report that’s expected to be sent to President Barack Obama on Thursday, the National Council on Disability is recommending that a provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act — section 14(c) — which allows companies to obtain government permission to pay so-called subminimum wage be eliminated over the course of six years.

“The 14(c) program should be phased-out gradually as part of a systems change effort that enhances existing resources and creates new mechanisms for supporting individuals in obtaining integrated employment and other non-work services,” writes Jonathan Young, chairman of the National Council on Disability, in a letter to the president that accompanies the report, a copy of which was provided to Disability Scoop in advance. “NCD recommends a phase-out of the 14(c) program rather than immediate repeal because those who have been in the program for many years need time to transition to a supported employment environment.”

Read more of Michelle Diamente's Disability Scoop article HERE.

WEB TV needs to have needs to have captions starting next month, FCC rules

TV networks and web video sites will have to start providing closed captions for any TV content available online by the end of September, the FCC ruled a few days ago (PDF of the ruling). The ruling reaffirmed the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, which was signed into law by President Obama in October of 2010, as well as an FCC ruling from earlier this year.    However, the industry got a bit of a break, with the FCC ruling that they won’t have to provide customizable captions until early 2014.

Captions for web video have been a bit of a hot button issue for some time: Disability advocates have been arguing that web video providers aren’t doing enough to make their clips accessible to disabled viewers, and have actually sued both CNN and Netflix over missing captions.

Read more of Janko Roettger's GIGAOM article HERE.

On Anniversary of Olmstead, Obama Administration Reaffirms Commitment to Assist Americans with Disabilities

On June 22, 1999, the Supreme Court ruled in Olmstead v.L.C. that the unjustified institutional isolation of people with disabilities is a form of unlawful discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  The Obama Administration has made significant progress continuing to enforce Olmstead as well as more broadly helping to level the playing field for people with disabilities.

“Olmstead affirmed the rights of Americans with disabilities to live in their communities,” said President Obama.  “As we mark the anniversary of this historic civil rights decision, we reaffirm our commitment to fighting discrimination, and to addressing the needs and concerns of those living with disabilities.”

In April of this year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the creation of theAdministration for Community Living (ACL), which brings together key HHS organizations and offices dedicated to improving the lives of those with functional  needs into one coordinated, focused and stronger entity.  ACL combined the Administration on Aging, the Office on Disability and the Administration on Developmental Disabilities into a single agency that supports both cross-cutting initiatives and efforts focused on the unique needs of individual groups, such as children with developmental disabilities or seniors with dementia. This agency will work on increasing access to community supports and achieving full community participation for people with disabilities and seniors.

Read more of the White House press release HERE.

Obama Urges Senate To Ratify Disability Treaty

Nearly three years after signing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Obama administration is asking the U.S. Senate to grant final approval of the treaty.

The United States signed the convention in 2009, but Senate approval is required in order to make participation official.

The convention is designed to expand community access and improve the standard of living for the estimated 650 million people around the world with disabilities. It is the first new human rights convention this century.

President Barack Obama officially sent the treaty to the Senate Thursday and asked lawmakers to ratify it.

“The rights of Americans with disabilities should not end at our nation’s shores,” Obama wrote in his request to the Senate. “Ratification of the disabilities convention by the United States would position the United States to occupy the global leadership role to which our domestic record already attests.”

It is customary for the administration to fully vet any treaty before it is transmitted to the Senate for approval, which accounts for the years that have passed since the convention was initially signed.

Read more of Michelle Diament's Disability Scoop article HERE.

Special Education and Disability Information In the News

Kansas Takes First Step Toward Regulating Restraints, Seclusion

 A Step Forward – The Obama Administration Creates Administration for Community Living

COULD UNIVERSAL DESIGN BE THE NEXT MAINSTREAM MOVEMENT IN ARCHITECTURE, PLANNING?

Feds Resolve Issues In Memphis Over Students With Health Problems

ADA Webinars-Accessible Pools: Means of Entry and Exit

Teen At School For At-Risk Youth Dies While Being Restrained

Actor Noah Wyle, Disability Advocates Arrested In DC Protest


D.C. Says Work Will Take Special Education Services to 'Next Level' 
Parents Compelled to Secretly Wire Children to Track Events at School

Special Ed. Parents Air Concerns with White House, Ed. Dept.Ed. Dept.

In a meeting on Wednesday with President Obama's top advisers on disability issues and special education, a select group of parents, teachers and advocates sought assurances that students with disabilities won't lose hard-fought ground for high academic expectations and access to challenging curricula as the Obama administration grants states waivers from provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Parents and advocates involved with the National Center for Learning Disabilities and the Council for Exceptional Children were invited to the White House to hear what the administration is focusing on when it comes to disability and special education policy and to provide their input.

Kareem Dale, special assistant to the president on disability policy; Alexa Posny, the assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services in the U.S. Department of Education; and Melody Musgrove, the director of the office of special education programs in the Education Department, met with the group for more than an hour, according to several parents and advocates who participated.

"This was the administration's opportunity to share what they are doing and what they are working on," said Hilary Cole, the mother of three sons with dyslexia who is involved with NCLD. "We have many concerns about the state waivers and whether those could open the door to lower expectations for special education students. Our main message to them was that we need to make sure these students are given what they need to go on and be college- and career-ready, to be successful in the work force. We need to make sure people don't quit on these kids."

The officials spent a great deal of time talking about the President's budget proposal for fiscal year 2013, said Steve Kukic, an NCLD board member. Parents and advocates expressed their disappointment that the budget would spend less on preparing education personnel to work with special education students, an issue that is of primary concern for the groups, Kukic said.

Read more of guest blogger, Lesli A. Maxwell's article in On Special Education HERE.

Join the Conversation During the State of the Union

Save the date for Tuesday January 24, at 9 pm EST, when President Obama will give his annual State of the Union address, with education being a likely topic of discussion during the speech. You can watch an enhanced version of the speech with graphics and data at whitehouse.gov/live.

More info HERE.

Critics Question Obama Choice For Disability Committee

A presidential appointment this week to a federal disability committee is drawing backlash from a group of self-advocates.
President Barack Obama said early this week that he would appoint Autism Speaks executive Peter Bell to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.
The committee of 21 citizens and 13 federal representatives is tasked with advising the president and the secretary of health and human services on issues affecting Americans with intellectual disabilities.
Bell’s appointment is now drawing criticism, however. Members of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network say they are disappointed in the selection of Bell who they call “anti-vaccine.” Specifically they cite Bell’s previous role as head of Cure Autism Now, which merged with Autism Speaks in 2007.
“Bell’s appointment shows such contrast to the forward motion the Obama administration has shown in the areas of autism and disability as a whole,” said Melody Latimer, director of community engagement for the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. “The link between autism and vaccines has long been discredited, and so an appointment placing an anti-vaccine leader in a position to influence a greater audience and re-open the issue is disappointing and ill-advised.”
Bell declined to comment on the allegations. In the past, however, he has spoken up about the possibility of a link between autism and vaccines. In one example from his days at Cure Autism Now, Bell disputed the findings of a 2004 report from the Institute of Medicine that dismissed such a link.

Read more of Michelle Diament's Disability Scoop article HERE.

Presidential Proclamation--National Disability Employment Awareness Month

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release October 03, 2011
Presidential Proclamation--National Disability Employment Awareness Month
NATIONAL DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH, 2011

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Utilizing the talents of all Americans is essential for our Nation to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. During National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we recognize the skills that people with disabilities bring to our workforce, and we rededicate ourselves to improving employment opportunities in both the public and private sectors for those living with disabilities.

Read more HERE.

President Obama's committee

Pres. Obama to appoint several individuals to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. To read more click here.

Obama Defends Disability Programs, But Says Reform Needed

On Disability Scoop, "The president sharply defended entitlement programs benefiting people with disabilities as he laid out his plan to reduce the nation’s budget deficit Wednesday, but said some change is needed." To read more on this article: click here.

President Obama Calls on Congress to Fix No Child Left Behind

From The White House, Office of the Press Secretary says that President Obama Calls on Congress to Fix No Child Left Behind Before the Start of the Next School Year to read more click on: Statements & Releases

NHTSA Already Working to Fulfill New Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act

On Tuesday, President Obama signed the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010. In this law Congress requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to ensure that electric and hybrid car manufacturers add noises that alert the blind and other pedestrians. Read more HERE.

Presidential Proclamation- January Is Mentoring Month

President Obama proclaims January is Mentoring Month. See HERE.