Please call your Senators (202-224-3121) and ask them to vote against the likely Senate Minority Amendment to the Strengthening America’s Schools Act. The Amendment would allow schools to significantly lower the academic expectations for students with disabilities by allowing an overuse of alternate assessments.The amendment is expected to come up for a vote in the Senate Committee early this week and Senators need to hear from you on Monday and Tuesday.If you cannot call, then send an email, senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm and look for your Senators and their contact forms. You can copy the message below if you want to. But if you can call, it will really help very much! Basic Message. The Senate HELP Committee is considering the Strengthening America’s Schools Act this week. Please vote against the likely Senate Minority Amendment to the bill that would allow schools to overuse alternate assessments set to weaker achievement standards (called the Alternate Achievement Standards and Modified Achievement Standards). These standards are not grade-level standards.The amendment would allow schools to take millions of students with disabilities off track for a regular high school diploma as early as 3rd grade when assessment decisions are made in schools, relegating them to lower career and college expectations—simply because they receive special education.The amendment promotes the false view that most students with disabilities can’t learn or achieve.In reality, most students with disabilities can achieve grade-level work when given the right access to high quality instruction, with qualified teachers and appropriate accommodations for both instruction and assessment.Senator Harkin’s bill will give them the opportunity to be educated in the general curriculum, be assessed against grade-level standards, and achieve a standard diploma.High school graduates on average make $9,000 more a year than those who do not graduate. Please support the language in Senator Harkin’s bill, the Strengthening America’s SchoolsAct, that would sharply limit use of weaker achievement standards and ensure that schools provide grade-level educations with appropriate supports.The Harkin bill would end the use of Alternate Assessment to Modified Achievement Standards entirely. It would cap the use of the Alternate Achievemnt standards at 1% of students in the state (10% of students with disabilities). The Harkin approach will enable students with disabilities to obtain standard diplomas, and the higher quality education they need for college and career success.Please vote against the likely Senate Minority Amendment that will strip this language and allow schools unlimited power to use the Alternate Achievement Standards and Modified Achievement Standards. Please also oppose Senator Alexander’s bill, which would also strip this language. U.S. Senate: Senators Home senate.gov contact_list U.S. Senate: Senators Home senate.gov contact_list
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 02:31:19 +0000
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