House Bill 610 will destroy special needs programs in schools

[vlyons]

https://www.romper.com/p/how-house-bill-610-could-affect-kids-with-disabilities-because-theres-been-some-confusion-43297

It starts the defunding process of public schools.

Important!! This is happening while Trump is trying to distract us. Pay close attention to House Bill 610 when voting during the midterm elections (this dismantles gifted programs, school nutrition standards, special needs support, disability support, and all the jobs that go along with these wonderful things in the public school systems):
The school voucher system proposed by Education secretary Betsy DeVos does not mean you can choose any school you want your kid to go to. It means the public education program will be dismantled.
If your child has an IEP (individual education plan for students with special needs), kiss it goodbye.
If you have a job in special-education, if you're a special education teacher, physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech pathologist, a para, a teacher's aid, or an ESL (English as a second language) teacher, you'll go first.
House Bill 610 makes some large changes. Inform yourselves. This bill will effectively start the school voucher system to be used by children ages 5-17 and starts the defunding process of public schools. The bill will eliminate the Elementary and Education Act of 1965, which is the nation's educational law that provides equal opportunity in education. ESSA is a big comprehensive program that covers programs for struggling learners, advanced and gifted kids in AP classes, ESL classes, classes for minorities such as Native Americans, Rural Education, Education for the Homeless, School Safety (Gun-Free schools), Monitoring and Compliance, and Federal Accountability Programs.

The Bill also abolishes the Nutritional Act of 2012 (No Hungry Kids Act) which provides nutritional standards in school breakfast and lunch.
The bill has no wording whatsoever protecting Special Needs kids, no mention of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), and FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education). Some things ESSA does for Children with Disabilities:
-Ensures access to the general education curriculum.
-Ensures access to accommodations on assessments.
-Ensures concepts of Universal Design for Learning.
-Includes provisions that require local education agencies to provide evidence-based interventions in schools with consistently underperforming subgroups.
-Requires states in Title I plans to address how they will improve conditions for learning including reducing incidents of bullying and harassment in schools, overuse of discipline practices and reduce the use of aversive behavioral interventions (such as restraints and seclusion).
Please call your representative and ask him/her to vote NO on House Bill 610 (HR 610).
PLEASE make this go viral.

[niyad]

1. and it goes right along with the fcc basically destroying children's programmimg onair.

[backtoblue]

2. K&R nt

[Scurrilous]

3. K&R

[ChazII]

4. This is very useful information

as I will be at a meeting next week for the Super. of Public Instruction next week for Arizona. They are taking questions from the audience.

[AZ8theist]

11. please tell me when and where..

I will show up as well. My wife works in Special Ed so this hits close to home.

[ChazII]

16. #KJZZEdDebate

It was last night and I apologize for the mix up. I have been trying to attending debates covering the different offices and I honestly thought it was next week.

[Separation]

5. This makes my blood boil

My son has autism, I was also moving every 4 years due to my job. So when we finally got everything settled we got to start the battle over. Those IEP' were sometimes my sons only saving grace from literally having his education thrashed. There is a special place in hell for these people.

Thank you for the info, will be passing it along to everyone I know here in Tn. Especially my sons former teacher.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. It's why people need to go vote and vote Democratic in November. . . . nt

[BigmanPigman]

7. Spread the word.

You may be aware of this and educators may be but a lot of parents aren't and won't be until it is too late. I taught in Elementary School and taught gifted kids and special needs kids in my regular mainstream classroom. One third of each class had IEPs. It took tons of work on the part of educators and parents to get these laws into place. Now it will go back to prehistoric times.

[angrychair]

8. This article is over a year old

It’s unlikely that bill exist anymore.

As best as can be told that bill died in a subcommittee last year in the 115th Congress.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/610/all-actions

[sakabatou]

9. Good

[AZ8theist]

12. Introduced by Steve King

WTF is wrong with Iowa???

How can you keep reelecting this Nazi prick???

[tclambert]

10. If Trump had his way, he would deport all special needs kids.

Where to? Trump doesn't care about such details. If they're not white and healthy, he'd just as soon they disappeared.

[Ilsa]

14. I wish we could move away, but I'm not

sure where we could go to insure my child gets what he needs.

[teach1st]

13. This article about the bill from EdWeek is more reassuring

March 14, 2017

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2017/03/voucher_bill_steve_king_few_things_to_know.html

So how do choice advocates feel about the bill? We checked in with a prominent one, Thomas B. Fordham Institute President Michael Petrilli, who's also a former U.S. Department of Education official. We asked Petrilli whether he 1) would support the bill, 2) thinks it has a chance of passing Congress, and 3) supports repealing the ESEA in particular, as the bill proposes to do. Here are his responses in their entirety:

1) No

2) .000000001%

3) No

[Ilsa]

15. 13% of students in public education receive special education services

for a variety of disabilities.

Defunding public education will destroy these families' ability to get what their children need.

Shame on anyone supporting this.