TO: NDSC Members and Affiliated Parent Groups
FROM: Susan Goodman, Director, Governmental Affairs
DATE: December 15, 2006

TNDSC Signs on to Supreme Court Brief Supporting Parents in I.D.E.A. Case

The NDSC has joined the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) and other national organizations in filing an amicus (friend of the court) brief in a special education case scheduled to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. On October 27, 2006, the Court granted review of the case, which will address whether or not parents who are not lawyers have the right to represent their children with disabilities in federal court pro se (themselves). The case, Winkelmann v. Parma, originated in Ohio.

The Supreme Court will probably hear oral arguments on this case in early 2007.

"Lame Duck" Session of Congress Ends -- No Progress on Budget

Congress adjourned last week without passing the FY '07 appropriations bills that fund most domestic programs including the plethora of programs that fund disability services (e.g., health, education, employment, transportation, housing, long-term care). The fiscal year begins on October 1st of each year. Since that time, the government has been operating on a continuing resolution which continues funding at the FY `06 level. The current continuing resolution operates until February, 2007.

There is some speculation that the Congress will pass a continuing resolution through the end of the current fiscal year (October 1, 2007). If this happens, they will immediately begin focusing on the FY `08 appropriations cycle. This cycle begins in early February after the President's State of the Union address.

Senator Kennedy Announces Priorities for Next Congress

Senator Edward Kennedy (D.MA), who will chair the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee, has announced its priorities for next year. Some of those important to people with disabilities and families include:

• Expanding access to affordable healthcare;
  
  
• Funding and reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act;
  
  
• Fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act;
  
  
• Reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act;
  
  
• Raising the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour over a three year period;

Recent Publication

An interesting article entitled Ten Effects of the No Child Left Behind Act has been published by the Center for Education Policy (CEP), which describes itself as a national independent advocate for public education and for more effective public schools. CEP gathered its information for this article by surveying officials in the state departments of education, sending questionnaires to a nationally representative sample of school districts, conducting case studies of individual school districts and monitoring implementation of the Act. To read this article, go to: http://www.cep-dc.org/nclb/NCLB-TenBigEffects.pdf