Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Congress Members Request GAO Analysis of School ADA Compliance, Protest Equity Delays

Last week, three U.S. Representatives from two states--  José E. Serrano, a Democrat form New York, Jerrold Nadler, also a Democrat from New York, and Bobby Scott, a Democrat from Virginia, sent a letter to the Government Accounting Office (GAO) urging the agency to launch a nation-wide anaysis of school compliance with the Americans with Disability Act. The congressmen are the Ranking Member of the House Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee, Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, and Ranking Member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, respectively.

The letter noted, "...localities continue to undermine the law by limiting the number of schools students with disabilities can physically access through negligence and lackluster enforcement of the ADA. That is why we write to request the Government Accountability Office to analyze and issue a report on ADA compliance in our nation’s schools.”

Full text of the GAO letter can be found here: https://democrats-edworkforce.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-serrano-leads-joint-effort-to-help-ensure-students-with-disabilities-can-access-public-education-

Mr. Scott along with Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) is also engaged in ongoing efforts to prevent delays and possible rollbacks of civil rights protections for students with disabilities under the Equity in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) rule, which addresses disproportionate identification, placement, and disciplinary treatment of students of color in special education. Congressman Scott and Senator Murray are especially concerned since February, when the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services announced plans to postpone the compliance date of the “Equity in IDEA” or “significant disproportionality” regulations for K-12 students until July 1, 2020, and for children ages three through five until July 1, 2022.


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