Emails/Letters Needed NOW

This message was received today on my email from a colleague. She is hoping teachers don’t have to do goals, objectives, or review IEP’s for three years. I, on the other hand, wrote to oppose these changes because I see it as a way to make sped even less accountable than it is now.

Here is the information:

Hello,

IDEA Comments: Last chance to send

Please everyone, if we let this get by without a fight, you can almost
guarantee you will never see true progress in your child where the SD is concerned again, I beg you - write, call, fax….whatever you can do!

Sent: Sunday, September 08, 2002 4:57 AM
Subject: [COSEP] IDEA Comments: Last chance to send

Please write a letter, and forward this e-mail to other parents, list servs
and disability organizations.

PLEASE WRITE A LETTER TODAY!

OSEP said that they would continue to receive comments until
Wednesday, September 18, 2002. There was some concern
expressed over the overwhelming number of comments
received that support the report’s paperwork reduction
recommendations to:
1. eliminate short term objectives/benchmarks
2. change from annual goals to an IEP that is to “focus on
substantive
educational and developmental outcomes and results “
3. eliminate the reporting to parents on progress (no need
since there
will be no annual goals, short term objectives/benchmarks)

**There is a move to only review the IEP every one to three years,
and to tie the IEP to national and state educational accountability
movements. There seems to be little, if any, discussion about
INDIVIDUAL anything, only more flexibility for the states and
districts to determine the appropriate educational outcomes and
measure those outcomes to determine success.

It seemed that there was not a great deal of parental response to
the report, but a good deal of response from the education fields.
It would be good for parents to comment to Thomas Irvin via
e-mail their concerns about keeping the annual goals, short
term objectives/benchmarks and ACCOUNTABILITY in the IEP
stressing their continued involvement in the development of the
IEP document and the meetings concerning FAPE.
If there is any way you can get the message out to other parents
it would certainly help. The National Down Syndrome Society
has an action alert that they posted on their web site today about
this issue and a sample letter.

Contact information for comments:

Thomas Irvin
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
U. S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Mary A. Switzer Building, Room 3086
Washington, D.C. 20202-2570

or you may e-mail your comments to:

Thomas Irvin at: [email protected]

for the full report go to:
http://www.ed.gov/inits/commissionsboards/whspecialeducation
/reports.html