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Monday, March 22, 2004 8:16 PM
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 7:23 AM
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 11:32 PM
Wednesday, March 24, 2004 3:07 PM
Wednesday, March 24, 2004 10:22 PM
Saturday, March 27, 2004 12:51 AM
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----- Original Message -----
Subject: Two important things you can do today.
1. Pennsylvania Statewide Independent Living
Council (PA SILC) forums are scheduled for this week.
All people are encouraged to attend or send comments, not only
folks with disabilities. You can also share your concerns,
frustrations and ideas for a better quality of independent living
services for people who experience Brain Injury in PA.
Several options are available if you cannot attend a
forum:
- You may call your comments into the SILC office Monday
-Friday from 2:00 - 4:00 PM AT 1-800-796-9163,
- Fax your comments to them at 717-236-8800,
- email them to
BJMPASILC@HOTMAIL.COM,
- or mail them to the postal address below prior to
April 2, 2004.
PA STATEWIDE INDEPENDENT LIVING COUNCIL
2 N. SECOND STREET, SUITE 100
HARRISBURG, PA 17101
2. Protect IDEA! Protect Our Kids!
National Call Your Senators Day
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Folks in Pennsylvania can contact Senator Santorum at (202)
224-6324
and Senator Specter at (202) 224-4254
Folks in other states can find their Senator's names and contact
information at www.senate.gov
Or call the Senate switchboard at (202) 224-3121
Or check out this list of Senate phone numbers:
http://www.senate.gov/general/resources/pdf/senators_phone_list.pdf
In November, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Committee (HELP)
"reported out" a bill to amend Part B of the Individuals with
Disabilities
Education Act (I.D.E.A.) and reauthorize Parts C and D. This
bill, S. 1248,
contains many harmful provisions which, if allowed to become law,
will hurt
children and youth with disabilities and erect more barriers for
families trying
to work with school districts to plan effective education programs
for their
sons and daughters. Even worse, the HELP Committee has agreed to
allow several
equally harmful amendments to be introduced when S. 1248 moves to
the full
Senate for a vote sometime this spring. We can't just sit and wait
for this to
happen. We cannot allow S.1248 to move forward unless critical
civil rights for
students with disabilities are protected, sound research-based
educational
practices are restored, and the responsibilities that should be
shared by school
districts are addressed and made clear in I.D.E.A.
Parents and advocates must make sure that every Senator
understands that the
current bill is not acceptable to the parents and children they
represent. That
they must not let any bill containing provisions which damage
children and youth
go forward in Congress this year, or ever!
What can you do? Call your senator and say "JUST VOTE NO!" to S
1248.
If Not Now, When? If Not Us, Who?
The National Call in Day is part of the March 24 -March 25
Washington Event
conceived in the hearts of parents and advocates across the
nation, with the
support of TASH, www.ourchildrenleftbehind.com, the League of
Special Education
Voters , the Association for People in Supported Employment and
NconSD.
For Word and pdf versions of this flyer, please go to:
OR
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----- Original Message -----
Subject: Testing the server
This message is only a test. You may ignore
it. We had some difficulty with this mail server. I am only testing to
make sure our messages are delivered.
John Pistorius
----- Original Message -----
Subject: Fw: IDEA CALL-IN DAY INSTRUCTIONS AND SCRIPT PASTED
BELOW
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2004 10:02 PM
Subject: IDEA CALL-IN DAY INSTRUCTIONS AND SCRIPT PASTED
BELOW
TODAY (Wed., 3/24) is National Call-In Day to Save IDEA! We're
asking AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE to please call their Senators
(local offices and/or DC offices) to ask them to "Vote No to
S.1248!" Please call TODAY between 9AM - 5PM!
If you want to make the call quick, feel free to speak with
whoever answers the phone and simply say something like: "Hi. My
name is _________ and I am a resident of ______ (name your
state). I'm calling to ask the Senator to Vote NO to S.1248, the
reauthorization of IDEA. This is a bad bill that will hurt kids!"
Or, if you want to get more deeply into the issues, please read
below where I've included a sample script developed by OCLB. But
first, a bit of background:
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In November, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Committee (HELP)
"reported out" a bill to amend Part B of the Individuals with
Disabilities
Education Act (I.D.E.A.) and reauthorize Parts C and D. This
bill, S. 1248,
contains many harmful provisions which, if allowed to become law,
will hurt
children and youth with disabilities and erect more barriers for
families trying
to work with school districts to plan effective education programs
for their
sons and daughters. Even worse, the HELP Committee has agreed to
allow several
equally harmful amendments to be introduced when S. 1248 moves to
the full
Senate for a vote sometime this spring. We can't just sit and wait
for this to
happen. We cannot allow S.1248 to move forward unless critical
civil rights for
students with disabilities are protected, sound research-based
educational
practices are restored, and the responsibilities that should be
shared by school
districts are addressed and made clear in I.D.E.A.
Parents and advocates must make sure that every Senator
understands that the
current bill is not acceptable to the parents and children they
represent. That
they must not let any bill containing provisions which damage
children and youth
go forward in Congress this year, or ever!
The National Call in Day is part of the March 24 -March 25
Washington Event
conceived in the hearts of parents and advocates across the
nation, with the
support of TASH, www.ourchildrenleftbehind.com, the League of
Special Education
Voters , the Association for People in Supported Employment and
NconSD.
SAMPLE CALL-IN DAY SCRIPT
We propose you use this script to help you be sure to say
everything you want to say. First and foremost, be sure to
say your child’s name [or the name of the child about whom
you are calling] early and often in the conversation. The
Senate aide needs to know that she/he is talking to a family
member and not an organizational lobbyist or representative.
When you first speak with the Senator’s office be sure to
say that you need to speak with someone about your S.1248
concerns rather than just saying you oppose S.1248. Your
Senators need to understand the reasons why you oppose
S.1248 rather than just knowing that you do.
If the aide asks you what your ideal resolution of the issue
would be, tell her/him that IDEA ’97 should remain in full
force and effect and S.1248 should not be introduced.
At the close of the conversation be sure to ask the aide to
give you a call or email letting you know how your Senator
voted.
Please email us at
parentvolunteer@ourchildrenleftbehind.com
and let us know how your conversations went and what
responses you received from the Senate aides.
Whatever happens with the IDEA reauthorization battle, we at
Our Children Left Behind
have been humbled and overwhelmed by the stories and
realities you and other parents in the field have shared
with us over this past year. We have been honored and
privileged to work with you to try to protect our children
and preserve for them the educational services they need to
prepare for the future. We have never worked with a more
dedicated and committed group of people. Thank you for all
you have done to save IDEA.
Hi. My name is ________________. May I please speak with the
Senator’s lead aide on education? I am calling to talk about
S.1248.
Aide comes on.
Hi. My name is ________________. My
son/daughter/brother/sister/friend, _________________, is
one of 6.5 million children in America who receives special
education services. I am asking the Senator to vote NO on
S.1248.
For nearly 30 years IDEA has guaranteed students with
disabilities, including my son/daughter, the right to free
appropriate public education. We need the Senator to act now
to protect us. We also need the Senator’s help to be sure
that states and schools are held accountable for special
education services.
S.1248 takes away accountability and exposes my child to
poorer special education services. S.1248 also makes it
easier to exclude children – including mine – from school
altogether.
Short-term objectives are at the center of my child’s
individualized educational programming. S 1248 takes them
out altogether. S.1248 eliminates the primary measuring tool
the teachers and I need to use to make sure my child is
progressing. No Child Left Behind testing requirements do
not replace short-term objectives.
S.1248’s 3-year IEP for high school students scare me
because I have enough trouble getting all the right people
to attend my child’s IEP. Stretching it out to three years
especially at this crucial point when my child’s educational
program is supposed to be transitioning to community
activities and services makes me think my child is being
abandoned rather than strengthened in his/her efforts to
live a full community life as an adult.
S.1248’s proposed weakening of behavior-related protections
also scares me. Stay-put is the only true due process
mechanism I have right now to be sure that my child is
treated fairly when his/her behavior is in question. IDEA’s
current behavior provisions do much more to make sure that
kids like my child who have disability-related behavior
challenges are not suspended or expelled for having a
disability.
S.1248 also changes the parent’s ability to hold the school
accountable using due process. We all know it is the schools
and not the parents who have the legal representation and
the familiarity with special education law. S.1248, by
gutting the due process mechanisms, throws the balance of
power even more toward the administration, leaving them less
accountable and leaving my child more vulnerable.
I know that some organizations that claim to represent
parents are supporting S.1248 as a compromise to H.R.1350.
We parents and organizations hate H.R.1350. But I am a
parent and I speak for my child because I am the one charged
with protecting my child and advancing her/his rights. I
oppose S.1248 because in the end it takes away my child’s
existing rights and exposes him/her to educational failure
and neglect. Unlike the organizations that may be talking to
you, I cannot and will not compromise my child’s safety and
future over a law -- S.1248 – that takes away fewer rights
than H.R.1350. I need the Senator to vote to keep my child’s
safety and future intact.
Please get back to me with how the Senator votes on this
issue.
Thank you for your time.
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----- Original Message -----
Subject: Fw: No More Lip Service! MiCASSA! Money Follows the Person!
Your call needed today
----- Original Message -----
From: <stephanieadapt@earthlink.net>
To: "micasa-list" <micasa-list@adapt.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 10:05 AM
Subject: No More Lip Service! MiCASSA! Money Follows the Person!
Your call needed today
129 People were Arrested at the Capitol Yesterday in an effort to pin
down real support for MiCASSA, Money Follows the Person and Real Choice.
Call Senator Grassley's office and tell him it is essential to include
MiCASSA (S. 971) and Money Follows the Person (S. 1394) in the hearing.
And tell him that ADAPT representatives need to be part of the hearing!
Senator Charles E Grassley (R) Iowa
202/224-3744
202/224-6020 fax
202/224-4479 TDD
http://grassley.senate.gov/webform.htm
Your call will make a difference.
****
Yesterday Senator Grassley finally announced the long awaited hearing on
the
institutional bias in long term care! But deeply disturbing is the fact
that the Senator refused to commit to including MiCASSA (S 971) and/or
Money Follows the Person (S 1394) in the agenda for the hearing.
Senator Grassley has, for over seven months (since before September of
last year), allegedly been working on an alternate bill to S. 1394 (Money
Follows the Person) for the Bush Administration. However, although the
Adminstration professes great enthusiam and support for the bill and has
been promising that this bill was "just about" to be introduced since
September, nothing has been forthcoming. Meanwhile Senator Grassley has
not signed on to either MiCASSA (S. 971) or Money Follows the Person (S.
1294).
There is a pattern of lip-service and window dressing on the issue of real
choice and the institutional bias in long term care. An annoucement --
with great fanfare -- of some fancy sounding initiative, and then little
to no real movement.
Since 1990 we have been trying to get this issue addressed in a real way.
Since 1997 we have had a bill in Congress to address this issue. For
SEVERAL YEARS now we have offered a more conservative first step, and yet
there has been stonewalling in response.
In order to confront this pattern, yesterday ADAPT tried to get a
commitment
from the Senator and the Senate Finance Committee that this hearing would
cover MiCASSA and Money Follows the Person. They were met with more
stonewalling and finally 129 people were arrested for occupying the
Senate Finance Committee room, where they were holding a People's
Hearing on the bills and the issue.
People with disabilities have had the carrot of real choice dangled in
front of us for over a decade. Even as we make some progress we are told
to wait. Be patient. Hold on. People with disabilities (old and young)
die, or have their lives stolen away in other ways over and over, year and
year, waiting for their time to come. "More important" issues and
"better" solutions (that do not address the problem) are continuously put
before ours, as those who are locked out of sight and out of mind are told
again and again to wait.
Over 690 groups from across the nation, spanning all kinds of
disabilities, all age groups, all different aspects of long term care, are
signed on as MiCASSA Supporters. The disability community has a united
voice. It is time for the lip service to stop and for Congress to listen
to the real experts, those who want Real Choice in their lives.
**********
For more on the action you can go to the ADAPT website
www.adapt.org and go to the action
update links at the bottom of the page!
NATIONAL ADAPT MAILING LIST - Adapt MiCASA List
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----- Original Message -----
Subject: testing the server
This is only a test. Messages have been
bouncing. I hope the problem is resolved.
John
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 10:32 PM
Subject: QUERY PABIA-NEWS
QUERY PABIA-NEWS
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----- Original Message -----
Subject: Statewide Independent Living Council
Ok,
I'm making this one personal. Each of us
have problems that beg for resolution. But none of us will ever have
true resolution if we refuse to participate in the only process that
exists for us to make it happen.
I'll write about Independent Living in the
near future, but right now, I need you to spend a very small amount of
time writing your ideas, concerns and suggestions down on a piece of
paper. What will help people with disabilities live in the community
like everyone else?
What kinds of needs are you aware of that
can be addressed?
Think about schooling, employment,
transportation and socialization.
How can we improve the system in PA?
What do you need to improve your life or the
lives of your loved ones with disabilities?
Come on now people-
We do everything we can to help you. Now I'm
asking you to do something to help yourself. Know that you will have a
positive effect on the outcome of service provision in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
I'm asking you to spare a few moments of
your life like the change that you drop into the Salvation Army bucket.
Write your ideas down and send them to the PA Statewide Independent
Living Council.
Here are several ways to reach the PA SILC.
- You may call your comments into the SILC office Monday -Friday from
2:00 - 4:00 PM AT 1-800-796-9163,
- Fax your comments to them at 717-236-8800,
- email them to
BJMPASILC@HOTMAIL.COM,
- or mail them to the postal address below prior to April 2, 2004.
Do this. Please give just this small bit of
time to this most important issue. It matters and you can make a
difference. It will not take much time and every comment has value. Do
it now, that's right, get your paper and pen or pencil and start
writing. CALL YOUR NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS, ASK THEM FOR IDEAS AND INPUT.
WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? DO IT. Just do it now.
John Pistorius
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