In this issue:

• Update on NCLD’s Current Legislative Activity
• Proposed Timing for NCLB Reauthorization in the House and Senate
• House and Senate Appropriations Update
• NCLD Provides Comments on the Draft House ESEA/NCLB Reauthorization Language

Update on NCLD’s Current Legislative Activity
The House and Senate continue working to craft language for the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). NCLD’s Policy Office is focused on working with House and Senate to ensure they understand the impact proposed changes to the law will have on students with disabilities, especially those with learning disabilities.

In July, NCLD held House and Senate briefings to highlight NCLD’s recent reports, Rewards and Roadblocks: How Special Education Students are Faring Under No Child Left Behind (PDF)  and State Testing Accommodations: A Look at Their Value and Validity (PDF) which generated tremendous interest in the vital issues at the heart of the controversy about students with disabilities and the NCLB law. As a result, NCLD met with key House and Senate staff interested in learning more about the recommendations presented in our reports.

In order for Congress to appreciate the impact special education students have in our Nation’s classrooms, NCLD’s message focuses on ensuring staff have a basic understanding of:

• Who special education students are (over 85% of whom do not have a cognitive disability);
• Where they spend their time during the school day (48% of whom spend more than 80% of their day in regular education classrooms); and
• How special education students, with appropriate accommodations, fare on general assessments (special education student scores are distributed across the performance range similar to general education students).

In addition to providing the rationale behind why special education students are important to general education considerations, NCLD highlighted specific areas of the law that have directly benefited students with disabilities such as the increase in participation rates for students taking state reading and math tests as well as the rise in reading proficiency scores on the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) for students receiving special education services and supports.

The draft language that will have a detrimental impact on special education student learning outcomes relate to:

• Codifying the experimental 2 Percent Regulation in statutory law;
• Raising the percentage on the number of students eligible to take modified assessments
• Using Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) as the basis for achieving adequate yearly progress (AYP); and
• Allowing schools to count the scores of students exiting special education services for up to three years for accountability purposes.

Proposed Timing for NCLB Reauthorization in the House and Senate
On August 27, the House Education and Labor Committee released draft language for Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  Comments were submitted on September 5th by NCLD (PDF file). The House has conducted a hearing on Title I and Chairman Miller has stated that the House will pass the bill before the end of September. To connect to additional information about the draft language and hearing, please visit the Committee on Education and Labor's page on the hearing.

In the Senate, Chairman Kennedy and Ranking Member Enzi have stated they will introduce a bill by the end of September. Two key draft bills included in the discussions regarding the reauthorization are the Gregg-Burr Bill (S. 1775) and the Graduation Promise Act (S. 1185) proposed by Senators Kennedy, Bingaman and Burr. To access copies of these bills, visit the Library of Congress Web site and enter the bills by number.

House and Senate Appropriations Update
The appropriations process will not be completed by the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1. Congress must pass legislation to temporarily fund the government while the appropriations work is being completed. The House has passed all 12 of its fiscal 2008 spending bills, but the Senate has passed only three; and, there is little agreement on the funding amount for the Labor, Health, Human Services and Education appropriations bill which was passed by the House (with a modest, 4.8 overall increase for programs). Senate appropriators will not speculate on when they expect to pass the Labor/HHS bill.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), said a continuing resolution to temporarily fund the government would likely last for “weeks, not months.” House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD), said it is too early to predict whether it would continue funding at fiscal 2007 levels or provide some programs with more spending. NCLD will track this process and provide updates on changes.

NCLD Provides Comments on the Draft House Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)/No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Reauthorization Language
NCLD was pleased with several additions and modifications to the Title I ESEA draft language provided to the public, including:

•  Maintenance of requirement for AYP to be based primarily on academic assessments;
• Addition of graduation rate as factor in adequate yearly progress;
• Addition of language allowing coordination of Title I with early intervening services under IDEA;
• Requirement for school improvement plans to include review and analysis of interventions such as “response to intervention, school-wide positive behavioral interventions and tiered instructional interventions,” “formative assessments and data-based instructional decision-making,” and level of access and availability of specialized instructional support services that support students with “diverse learning needs,” including “students with disabilities.”

NCLD strongly urged the House Committee to reconsider several additions and modifications to their bill, particularly in the areas connected to the 2 Percent Regulation and the inclusion of modified academic achievement standards. NCLD drafted comprehensive comments and rationale for changes.  Download a PDF version of NCLD’s submission of support and comments to Chairman Miller regarding Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

It is essential for House and Senate representatives, and their staff members, to hear from organizations and individuals about the impact proposed legislation and their votes have on the future learning outcomes of special education students. NCLD continues to prioritize our advocacy work to ensure our network of advocates and community members are informed of the risks and benefits posed by changes in current legislation.  As the reauthorization of NCLB moves forward, NCLD’s goal is to keep our network informed, engaged and ready to take action in Washington.

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