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Democrats Present Education Platform at Convention

The Democratic Platform Standing Committee presented its platform to the 2004 Democratic National Convention, as approved by its Platform Committee meeting July 10, 2004. The Platform highlights improving education by maintaining high standards and resources, providing a great teacher in every classroom, securing high achievement for all students, making schools work for children, making college affordable and teaching good citizenship and good values. The Kerry-Edwards campaign provides specific recommendations to achieve these goals.

CEC will also provide details on the Republican Platform in a future Update.

Kerry-Edwards Education Plan
Senators Kerry (D-MA) and Edwards (D-NC) propose a National Education Trust Fund of $200 billion for several education priorities paid for by rolling back the tax cuts for families making over $200,000 a year.

Fully Funding NCLB
Kerry would provide $30 billion over 10 years for teacher quality. The additional funding would help recruit 500,000 high-qualified teachers over the next four years for high-need schools in the areas of math and science; provide teachers with the professional training, mentoring and support services needed; and reward teachers who teach in high need areas with pay hikes of $5,000.

In return, Kerry proposes a "New Bargain with America's teachers" that would bind states and school districts to implement: rigorous new tests to measure teachers' performance, mechanisms to remove teachers who are not performing well, and develop new pay systems to reward teachers that make a difference.

Kerry and Edwards would also invest in school construction and modernization, allowing the federal government to issue $24.8 billion in school modernization bonds for school repair and modernization.

Strengthening Middle School and High School
Kerry aims to help 1 million more students graduate from high school within five years by focusing resources on mentoring, literacy, and in programs like GEAR UP. His plan would support more rigorous high school curricula and breaking up troubled large high schools. Kerry would provide incentives to states that hold young people accountable by revoking driver's licenses to dropouts. In addition, Kerry would require that dropout rate data is accurately reported. The plan would also simplify college financial aid application forms. A new "I Have a Dream" scholarship would provide an additional $1,000 for students to participate in early intervention programs to help prepare for college.

College and Lifelong Learning
Kerry proposes College Opportunity tax credits on $4,000 of tuition for all four years of college to help students afford a college education. Simultaneously, he proposes to offer $10 billion in fiscal relief to states for higher education purposes provided colleges commit to keeping tuition increases no more than the rate of inflation. Kerry also proposes additional counseling and support services for college students.

Kerry proposes to engage 500,000 more Americans in national service within a decade, including 75,000 people to help educate children in troubled schools and 300,000 Americans in college serving part time to teach children while earning resources to pay for school. Specifically, this would entail 100,000 more college students to teach Head Start and early childhood programs, 100,000 to tutor young children in reading and 100,000 students to mentor at-risk teens. These initiatives would require $13 billion over 10 years paid for by an initiative to eliminate the subsidized and guaranteed profits for banks making student loans.

For workers of all skill levels, Kerry would encourage community colleges to develop online technologies for those seeking higher paying jobs. In addition, he would expand the National Science Foundations' Advanced Technological Education program and create new on-site training opportunities.

For further information on the Kerry-Edwards Education Plan see:
http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/education/

GAO: Lack of Coordination Resulting in States¹ Failure to Meet Special Ed Teacher Requirements under NCLB

(Following are highlights from a report issued by the Government Accountability Office [formerly known as the General Accounting Office] on the status of NCLB implementation.)

During the 2001-2002 school year, more than 400,000 special education teachers provided instructional services to approximately 6 million students with disabilities in U.S. schools. Two federal laws contain teacher qualification requirements that apply to special education teachers: the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Given the committee's interest in issues related to highly qualified special education teachers, we are providing information about (1) the state certification requirements, including the use of alternative certification programs, for special education teachers, and how they relate to NCLBA requirements; (2) the factors that facilitate or impede state efforts to ensure that special education teachers meet NCLBA requirements; and (3) how different offices in the Department of Education (Education) assist states in addressing NCLBA teacher requirements.

In the 2002-2003 school year, all states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico required that special education teachers have a bachelor's degree and be certified to teach--two of NCLBA's teacher qualification requirements--and half required special education teachers to demonstrate subject matter competency in core academic subjects, which is the third requirement. Specifically, 24 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico required their teachers to demonstrate some level of subject matter competency by having a degree or passing state tests in the core academic subjects that they wished to teach. Teachers of core academic subjects in the remaining states that did not have such requirements might not be positioned to meet the NCLBA requirements. To meet NCLBA teacher requirements, teachers would need to demonstrate competency in core academic subjects by the end of the 2005-2006 school year.

State education officials reported that the availability of funds to support professional development facilitated implementation of the NCLBA teacher requirements, while other factors, such as uncertainty about how to apply the subject matter competency requirement to special education teachers, impeded implementation. State education officials and national education organizations' representatives we interviewed cited the need for more assistance from Education in explaining NCLBA's teacher requirements and identifying implementation strategies. Education has provided a range of assistance, such as site visits, Web-based guidance, and financial assistance, to help states implement the highly qualified teacher requirements. However, department coordination related to the implementation of NCLBA's teacher requirements for special education teachers has been limited.

GAO recommends that the Secretary of Education provide additional assistance to states in explaining NCLBA teacher requirements and identifying implementation strategies for special education teachers, and formalize its efforts to improve the department¹s internal coordination related to the implementation of these teacher quality requirements.

CEC hopes the Department will provide additional guidance to states in their efforts to comply with the requirements under No Child Left Behind.

To read the full report, Special Education: Additional Assistance and Better Coordination Needed among Education Offices to Help States Meet the NCLBA Teacher Requirements, go to: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04659.pdf

President Bush Issues Executive Order for Emergency Preparedness and Persons with Disabilities

(Following is a press release from the U.S. Department of Education¹s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services [OSERS].)

Troy R. Justesen, delegated the authority to perform the functions of Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), U.S. Department of Education, is excited to share with you the following message announcing the signing of an Executive Order, by President George W. Bush, "Individuals with Disabilities in Emergency Preparedness."

Bringing Emergency Preparedness to the Government's Workers and Customers With Disabilities

An enduring story from September 11, 2001, concerns two friends - Ed Beyea and Abe Zelmanowitz - who worked for Blue Cross/Blue Shield on the 27th floor of One World Trade Center. During the evacuation of the building, Ed, who was quadriplegic, decided to wait behind while others evacuated first. Abe directed Ed's aide to get out of the building, and volunteered to wait with Ed until he could be carried out. This proved not to be possible in the ensuing minutes until the building collapsed, and both men died.

This is one example of the vulnerability facing people with disabilities in times of crisis. When natural disasters or acts of terrorism threaten American citizens, providing for the safety and security of people with disabilities requires careful planning and coordination.

Yesterday, President Bush took an important step in securing the safety and security of government workers, and those they serve, who have disabilities. With the Executive Order, "Individuals with Disabilities in Emergency Preparedness," the President is making government agencies responsible for properly taking into account agency employees and customers with disabilities in the agencies' emergency preparedness planning. The order also calls for facilitating cooperation among government entities in the implementation of emergency preparedness plans as they relate to individuals with disabilities.

Additionally, the President is establishing the Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities to coordinate this effort, under the leadership of the Department of Homeland Security.

Here at the Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) plays an important role in this new partnership. Research conducted at NIDRR has led to new applications of the principles of universal design to the built environment, information technology, telecommunications, transportation, and mass-market consumer products. The tools that NIDRR research puts in the hands of people with disabilities will be essential to their emergency preparedness.

The focus on safety and security is part of an ongoing process under the President's New Freedom Initiative, which is designed to tear down the remaining barriers to full integration into American life that many of the nation's 54 million citizens with disabilities still face. The New Freedom Initiative will increase investment in and access to assistive technologies and a quality education, and help integrate Americans with disabilities into the workforce and into community life.

To read the Executive Order, click on the following link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/orders/

Questions about it can be directed to Tracy Justesen at the White House Domestic Policy Council at (202) 456-5228.

The 14th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

President Bush has issued a proclamation celebrating the Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. You can read the full Proclamation at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/07/20040726-5.html

In addition, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement on the occasion of the 14th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):

"Fourteen years ago, landmark civil rights legislation -- the Americans with Disabilities Act -- was enacted 'to provide a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities.'

"The ADA recognized, and made the law of the land, the simple premise that every American has the right to live independently and to fully participate in all aspects of our society -- including our schools, our businesses, and our communities.

"Today, we celebrate the successes of the ADA and the hard-fought victories that have prevented discrimination against individuals with disabilities. The ADA has promoted inclusion so that individuals with disabilities should not be isolated, living separate lives, but instead should have full access to public accommodations, governmental services, and the right to vote.

"But we would be remiss to think that all the barriers are behind us or that we are close to meeting the goals of the ADA. Despite the clear intent of Congress, courts in recent years narrowed the scope of the ADA and have limited the enforcement of key provisions, especially those related to the workplace and the application of the ADA to state law. And the number of people with disabilities employed by the federal government has decreased.

"We must renew our efforts to realize the promise of the ADA and work to restore its full protections. We will fight the attempts of the Bush Administration to appoint judges who try to chip away at the ADA and their attempts every year to cut funding for key programs in Medicaid, Section 8 housing, vocational rehabilitation, and assistive technology.

The ADA brought our nation closer to the ideals of equality and opportunity that are both our heritage and our hope. Democrats are leading the way in our national effort to make those ideals a reality for all Americans."

Students with Disabilities to Gain Improved Access to Learning
-- New standard expected to help students who are blind, print-disabled

(Following are excerpts from a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Education.)

Students with blindness, low vision and print disabilities are expected to gain improved access to textbooks under a voluntary standardized format for electronic files, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige has announced. On behalf of Secretary Paige, Deputy Secretary of Education Gene Hickok discussed the new standard at an event commemorating the 14th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The event was co-sponsored by the Departments of Commerce and Education in Washington, D.C.

When textbooks and classroom materials are produced using this voluntary standard, they will be in a standard electronic format that can be adapted to products ranging from Braille editions of textbooks to on-screen displays of text and graphics. In past years, the lack of a standardized format meant that publishers had to produce materials in multiple formats- often causing delays that meant students with disabilities did not receive their textbooks in time for the beginning of the school year.

To address these challenges, the Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs provided funding to the National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum at the Center for Applied Special Technology, Inc. to convene an expert panel to establish a voluntary, standardized format for materials. The 40-member panel included educators, publishers, technology specialists and advocacy groups.

In addition to establishing the new standard, the Department of Education will fund two centers to support further development and assist states with implementing the voluntary standard, thus improving academic results for students with disabilities.

For more information on the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard, please visit: http://www.cast.org/NFF/NIMAS/