AFT Resolution

REAUTHORIZATION OF THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT

WHEREAS, the 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) included specific yearly appropriations that would dramatically increase the federal share of the cost of educating students with disabilities; and

WHEREAS, Congress has failed to meet its promise by continuing to underfund IDEA resulting in a total loss to states and school districts of $12 billion from 2004 to 2007; and

WHEREAS, the IDEA diminishes the level of funding to support special education programs and services by allowing a school district to use up to 15 percent of its IDEA funds to support general education early intervention services for students with learning and behavioral problems and, by requiring a school district found to overrepresent students by race and ethnicity in special education to use 15 percent off IDEA funds to support intervention programs to specifically reduce overrepresentation; and

WHEREAS, the IDEA allows school districts to change Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) with the agreement of the child’s parent after an annual review, thereby denying professional staff an opportunity to provide input and participate in educational decision making for students with disabilities and severely limiting the communication and advocacy necessary for sound and appropriate program development; and

WHEREAS, the IDEA allows school districts and parents to agree to excuse teachers and related service providers from the IEP Team meetings, thereby limiting their role in decision making and advocacy in determining appropriate education programs for students with disabilities; and

WHEREAS, the IDEA removes the IEP Team from making decisions about triennial evaluations, thereby denying the professional service providers on the IEP Team the opportunity to discuss the need for a re-evaluation; and

WHEREAS, the final IDEA regulations state that only a parent of “public agency” (i.e., school district) can make a referral for an initial special education evaluation, contrary to Section 4401-a of Education Law, which authorizes teachers and other professional members of the school district to make a direct referral documenting that a student has a disability; and

WHEREAS, the highly qualified requirements of IDEA do not allow New York State to continue its collaborative teaching model, which enables a student with a disability enrolled in a special class to access the general education curriculum in a core academic subject by receiving instruction that is collaboratively planned by the student’s special education teacher and an appropriate general education teacher:

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers strongly urge Congress to appropriate the funding levels established in the 2004 IDEA; and

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers work with federal parental advocacy organizations to urge Congress to repeal the provisions in IDEA relating to the excusing of IEP Team members and the waiver of the necessity of a triennial review; and

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers work with its state affiliates to urge Congress to delete the provision in IDEA that allows school districts to use up to 15 percent of their IDEA allocation for early intervention services, while maintaining the same appropriation levels included in the 2004 IDEA, and to establish a new provision in the No Child Left Behind Act or other federal legislation to support general education early intervening services to address the needs of struggling learners and to help school districts found to overrepresent students by race and ethnicity; and

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers work with federal parental advocacy organizations to urge Congress to repeal the provision in IDEA that allows school districts to change the IEP after the annual review without the benefit of an IEP Team meeting; and

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers urge Congress to amend the highly qualified teacher requirements under IDEA authorizing states to implement a collaborative model permitting special education teachers to provide instruction in core academic subjects in special classes if they are involved in ongoing consultation with highly qualified general education teachers related to subject area.

(2009)