TO: NDSC Members and Affiliated Parent Groups
FROM: Susan Goodman, Director, Governmental Affairs
DATE: April 27, 2006

Keep Pressure On Congress

Congress has returned from its spring recess. Because of the pressure from advocates, the House of Representatives was unable to pass its budget resolution. However, the pressure on House members to make budget cuts that are harmful to programs and services for people with disabilities will continue!

Starting Monday, May 1, you can call your Representative through a toll-free number, 1-800-459-1887 and ask for your House member's office. The message should be:

"Please oppose any proposal that forces cuts in programs for individuals with disabilities. This would happen if spending is set as low as the budget the President sent to Congress."

You can find out the name of your Representative by going to www.congress.org and entering your zip code.

Supreme Court Hears Another Special Education Case

On Wednesday, April 19, the U. S. Supreme Court heard its second case this year dealing with the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In this case, Arlington (NY) Central School District v. Murphy, the Court will decide whether a school district must reimburse the fees of experts who are not lawyers when the parents prevail in a due process hearing brought under IDEA. The lower Courts ruled that the parents were entitled to receive reimbursement for expert consulting fees. The school district appealed. The U.S. Justice Department supported the school districts position, against the parents, by filing an amicus brief (friend of the court).

In a defeat for parents earlier this year, in Schaeffer v. Wiest, the Supreme Court decided that the burden of proof is on the parents. For example, if the parents are challenging the appropriateness of the IEP, they must prove the IEP is inappropriate. Before this decision, the school district was required to prove the IEP is appropriate.