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TO: NDSC Members and Affiliated Parent Groups
FROM: Susan Goodman, Director
Governmental Affairs
DATE: May 24, 2007
NDSC ACTION ALERT!
Prevent Inappropriate Use of IEP Goals for NCLB
On May 23, 2007 a joint Action Alert was issued by the National Down Syndrome Congress and National Down Syndrome Society addressing a recommendation in the U.S. House of Representatives to use IEP goals to measure proficiency for all or some students with disabilities under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). We feel this would be a serious setback for the law which holds schools accountable for educational progress for ALL children, including children with disabilities. We are asking our membership to contact members of the House of Representatives Education and Labor committee with the following message:
Oppose the use of IEP goals to measure proficiency under NCLB for any student with disabilities. The IEP says how these students will learn. No Child Left Behind says what they will learn.
To find information on your Representative, go to www.congress.org and type in your zip code. The entire text of the Alert is reprinted below.
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ACTION ALERT
From the National Down Syndrome Congress and the National Down Syndrome Society
Prevent Inappropriate Use of IEP Goals for NCLB
A recommendation that is getting attention in the U.S. House of Representatives is to use IEP goals to measure proficiency for all or some students with disabilities under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Even if IEP goals are used for a subset of students with disabilities, it is likely that students with intellectual disabilities will be targeted. If this recommendation is accepted it will effectively eliminate most academic accountability for these students.
IEP goals address the skills that students with disabilities need to acquire in order to access the general education curriculum. These goals do not replace the curriculum. You would never want to limit your child’s education to his or her IEP goals, therefore accountability for your child’s education should not be limited to those goals. IDEA requires states to include all students with disabilities in its assessments because IEPs goals are not an appropriate measure for state and district accountability and because equity demands that these students be an equal part of the accountability system. NCLB must remain aligned to IDEA on this issue.
One of the most important benefits of NCLB is the requirement that all students receive instruction and assessments that are aligned to the grade-level content standard. Teachers are beginning to see that students with intellectual disabilities can master more grade-level content than they thought possible, especially using modifications, adaptations and accommodations. This development is leading to higher expectations and the realization that students with intellectual disabilities can be successfully placed in regular classes. High expectations are critically important to academic success. WE CANNOT LET THIS IMPORTANT ADVANCE GET ROLLED BACK.
Please contact your Representative, especially if he or she is on the Education and Labor Committee (see the list below with links to your Representative’s website). You can call his or her Washington office by using the Congressional switchboard at (202) 224-3121, send an email by clicking on the “Take Action” on this alert at ADD LINK BELOW or contact your Representative locally during the Memorial Day Recess (May 29-June 1).
It would be helpful to give some examples of your child’s IEP goals and emphasize how much more your child is working on in the classroom. For example, science is being assessed under NCLB but there are rarely any science goals on the IEP even though your child receives science instruction.
MAIN MESSAGE: Oppose the use of IEP goals to measure proficiency under NCLB for any student with disabilities. The IEP says how these students will learn. No Child Left Behind says what they will learn.
DEMOCRATS
George Miller, Chairman (CA-07)
Dale E. Kildee (MI-05)
Donald M. Payne (NJ-10)
Robert E. Andrews (NJ-01)
Robert C. Scott (VA-03)
Lynn C. Woolsey (CA-06)
Rubén Hinojosa (TX-15)
Carolyn McCarthy (NY-04)
John F. Tierney (MA-06)
Dennis J. Kucinich (OH-10)
David Wu (OR-01)
Rush D. Holt (NJ-12)
Susan A. Davis (CA-53)
Danny K. Davis (IL-07)
Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07)
Timothy H. Bishop (NY-01)
Linda T. Sánchez (CA-39)
John Sarbanes (MD-03)
Joe Sestak (PA-07)
Dave Loebsack (IA-02)
Mazie Hirono (HI-02)
Jason Altmire (PA-04)
John Yarmuth (KY-03)
Phil Hare (IL-17)
Yvette Clarke (NY-11)
Joe Courtney (CT-02)
Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01)
REPUBLICANS
Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, Ranking Member (CA-25)
Thomas E. Petri (WI-06)
Peter Hoekstra (MI-02)
Michael N. Castle (DE-At Large)
Mark E. Souder (IN-03)
Vernon J. Ehlers (MI-03)
Judy Biggert (IL-13)
Todd Russell Platts (PA-19)
Ric Keller (FL-8)
Joe Wilson (SC-02)
John Kline (MN-02)
Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05)
Kenny Marchant (TX-24)
Tom Price (GA-06)
Luis G. Fortuño (PR)
Charles W. Boustany, Jr. (LA-07)
Virginia Foxx (NC-05)
John R. "Randy" Kuhl, Jr. (NY-29)
Rob Bishop (UT-01)
David Davis (TN-01)
Timothy Walberg (MI-07)
Dean Heller (NV-02)
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