CEC, together with its members, achieved significant policy victories and pursued significant policy initiatives over the last year all aligned with its 2009-2011 Public Policy Agenda.
Here are some of our highlights:
- Doubling Special Education/Early Intervention Funding Reaching Historic Highs After years of concentrated work, CEC, its members and the community successfully advocated for a doubling in funding for IDEA programs serving infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school aged students with disabilities in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)- better known as the economic stimulus package. This marked a pivotal moment in the history of special education in the United States. While this was a historic achievement, due to the economic circumstances facing the nation it is unlikely to last beyond two years. Regardless, CEC continues to urge Congress and the Administration to retain the amounts provided in ARRA.
CEC has provided its members with a series of resources - including online documents, workshops, and webinars - to assist in learning more about ARRA and using these funds wisely.
Reaching Out to President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Duncan Throughout the year, CEC informed President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, about key policy issues impacting its members, such as, increased funding for special/gifted education; needed changes in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind; negative consequences of implementation of Medicaid regulations; the important role of early intervention and necessary regulatory action on IDEA Part C; need for investment in special education research; and critical personnel shortages in special education.
CEC also addressed the Administration's new initiatives by commenting on the U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top, Investing in Innovation, and School Improvement Grant programs, including in-person testimony at the Race to the Top Assessment Hearing. Many of CEC's recommended changes were accepted, including: using multiple measures to assess teacher effectiveness, rather than solely relying on student performance on assessments as was originally proposed; emphasizing the important role of positive school climate and social-emotional needs of students; and using the principles of Universal Design in the development and administration of assessments.
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Supporting Appropriate Use of Physical Restraints and Seclusion in Schools In May 2009, the Government Accountability Office released a disturbing report which analyzed several cases around the nation where school employees improperly used physical restraint and seclusion techniques, and students were injured or killed as a result. CEC and its division the Council for Children with Behavior Disorders (CCBD) worked diligently with Congress, the Administration and the public to strengthen state and federal responses to this issue and better inform the debate.
CEC and CCBD member Reece Peterson, Ph.D., professor at the University of Nebraska, testified before the House Education and Labor Committee on the state of research and the appropriate use of restraint and seclusion. CEC hosted a standing-room only Congressional Briefing and attended a meeting at the White House to discuss the field's concerns. CEC's Associate Executive Director, Deborah Ziegler, also spoke with several national media outlets educating the public about the use of restraints and seclusion, and evidence-based ways to manage and prevent children's challenging behaviors in schools. As a part of these efforts, CEC updated its policy on physical restraint and seclusion in the schools and played an active role in crafting legislation, introduced in both the House and the Senate in early December, which would help states create strong systems of support for educators and families and monitor the use of physical restraint and seclusion.
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Preventing Harmful Medicaid Regulations Impacting School-Based Health Services/Early Intervention from Enactment CEC, the education, health care and disability communities, initiated a successful campaign to dissuade the Obama Administration from implementing ill-advised Medicaid regulations. Put forth by the Bush Administration, these proposed regulations would have cut or eliminated Medicaid reimbursement for targeted case management, transportation and administrative claiming, and rehabilitation services
Projections indicated that if implemented, this change could cost school districts over $3 billion over five years. In 2009, CEC welcomed the news that the Administration rescinded these potentially devastating regulations.
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Continuing Advocacy for Overhaul of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind (ESEA/NCLB) CEC continues to advocate for inclusion of its recommendations in the reauthorization of the Elementary Secondary Education Act/ No Child Left Behind (ESEA/NCLB), such as: assessment systems that measure the achievements of all children - including those with disabilities and/or gifts and talents; accountability systems that reward quality school performance and seek to improve poor school performance; schools that have a well prepared, diverse, and successful educated workforce; schools that are fully funded to achieve success; systems that are carefully coordinated and balanced between ESEA and IDEA.
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Preventing Elimination of the Only Federal Program Dedicated to Gifted Learners CEC, together with the National Association of Gifted Children, thwarted efforts to eliminate funding for the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act, the only federal program dedicated to addressing the needs of America's 3 million gifted learners.
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Advocating to Ensure the "Nation's Report Card" Includes Students with Disabilities Throughout the year, CEC provided the National Assessment Governing Board - the policy making arm of the National Assessment of Student Progress, better known as the Nation's Report Card - with key recommendations regarding the inclusion of students with disabilities. Such recommendations centered on the need to minimize the exclusion rate which varies dramatically between and within states; ensure that the assessment is accessible to a wide variety of students; and provide school personnel with adequate training in making decisions that address participation of students with disabilities.
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Continuing Advocacy for Increased Funding for Research in Special Education As one of the only national organizations advocating for funding for special education research, CEC has continually urged Congress to increase its investment in the Institute for Education Sciences, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education.
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Providing Critical Feedback to the U.S. Department of Education's National Education Technology Plan CEC urged the U.S. Department of Education to consider the needs of diverse learners and the professionals who work on their behalf, in its formulation of the National Education Technology Plan. CEC's recommendations highlighted the important role of technology in teaching, learning and assessments and the need to address the full continuum of education: early childhood to career preparation; and personnel preparation to continued professional development.
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Advocating for Legislation that Supports CEC's Core Values Throughout the year, CEC supported several pieces of legislation which would bolster the work of special education professionals and assist families raising children and youth with disabilities. As the leading special education professional organization, CEC lead the charge for full funding of IDEA, before and after the economic stimulus package. CEC supported numerous legislative initiatives such as legislation to: implement and fund Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports; create an Early Learning Challenge Fund that would strengthen early learning and coordination of services; Rosa's Law which would replace, the terms "mental retardation" and "mentally retarded" with "intellectual disability" and "individual with an intellectual disability"; and the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE)which would allow families to establish things like a savings account for specified education, medical and community-based services, including housing, transportation, employment training, and supports without disqualifying their child from receiving funds from other needed assistance programs.
CEC Can't Do it Without You...A Look at 2010
Thank you to our members and supporters, who worked so closely with us to support CEC's 2009 policy victories. Our successes directly impact the lives of children and youth with disabilities, their families and the professionals who work on their behalf.
We could not have done it without you! Several thousand of you sent letters to your Representatives and Senators through CEC's Legislative Action Center, speaking out and making your voice heard.
CEC extends a special appreciation to its Children and Youth Action Network Coordinators who worked tirelessly throughout the year to advance policies impacting children and youth with disabilities, including scheduling time to travel to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of Congress. Their dedication is greatly appreciated!
We achieved great success this year, reaching new and historic highs, but as we all know more challenges lie ahead. We look forward to a busy 2010, possibly filled with-the reauthorizations of key legislation impacting special and gifted education such as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Workforce Investment Act, and the Education Science Reform Act; more work on Restraint and Seclusion; strengthening of gifted and talented programs, and much more!
Together, we are the voice and vision of Special and Gifted Education, and together we are making a difference.
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