Got this on a listserv..Just passing it on! Feel free to cut n' paste and distrubuate freely!
FROM OUR FRIENDS AT NDSU:
On June 13th 2003 the National Disabled Student Union
(NDSU) will
launch a
nation wide demonstration demanding equal education.
Disabled students,
parents, and disability rights activist have planned
numerous events
around the
nation as part of "NDSU's Speak Out for Equal
Education". NDSU planed
the "Speak Out" in direct response to a bill that the
US House of
Representatives recently pasted, that activist say
weakens the
Individual's
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA - a
federal law that
establishes
Special Education guarantees equal education to
disabled students in
America's
schools.
In less than a month of planning, the event has
attracted hundreds of
interested individuals. Sarah Triano - disability
rights activist and
co-
founder of NDSU, states, "We Refuse to Be Left Behind
- Maintain the
Integrity
of IDEA!" Triano, says, "We are doing this because of
the hack job that
is
being done to the law that protects our right to equal
education." On
April
29th The House of Representatives passed a bill that
activists say
overhauls
IDEA and guts protections for disabled students.
Organizers are
planning
marches, street theatre, and even an online petition.
Naomi Ortiz says, "congress says they don't want to
educate us, that it
costs
too much" Ortiz, a NDSU member and leader in Kids As
Self Advocates
(KASA),
sees the changes to IDEA as something that could
affect not only the
education
of disabled students but also the future employment of
disabled people.
She
states, "they affect if and what kind of job we can
get and if we are
able to
go to college". Recent statistical data indicates that
close to 70% of
the
disabled population in America are unemployed.
The House past these sweeping changes on the same day
the Senate
confirmed
Jeffery Sutton. Sutton, a Bush nominee to the Sixth
Circuit Court of
Appeals
met strong opposition in the Senate during his
confirmation process
from the
disability community. Activist claim that Sutton has a
history of
conservative
activism and has worked to weaken and or eliminate
federal protections
for
disabled people and other minorities.
Now with the Senate expected to introduce its own
version of the IDEA
legislation soon, some advocates are looking for a
much more positive
policy
from Senators that may want to regain a better
relationship with their
disabled
constituency after letting them down with Sutton.
Joe Hall, a NDSU Responsibility Co-Chair says that
equal education is
one of
NDSU's primary concerns. "We are made up of disabled
students that face
the
system everyday - and have to live with the
consequences that bad
policies
bring." Hall says that the "Speak Out" has shown a
positive affect in
the
development of NDSU. Hall states, "we are gaining
allot of momentum and
things
are starting to pick up."
For more information on "NDSU's Speak Out for Equal
Education"
organizers are
urging interested individuals to visit their website
at
www.disabledstudents.org
Joe Hall
803-524-6029
joehallndsu@hotmail.com
FROM OUR FRIENDS AT NDSU:
On June 13th 2003 the National Disabled Student Union
(NDSU) will
launch a
nation wide demonstration demanding equal education.
Disabled students,
parents, and disability rights activist have planned
numerous events
around the
nation as part of "NDSU's Speak Out for Equal
Education". NDSU planed
the "Speak Out" in direct response to a bill that the
US House of
Representatives recently pasted, that activist say
weakens the
Individual's
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA - a
federal law that
establishes
Special Education guarantees equal education to
disabled students in
America's
schools.
In less than a month of planning, the event has
attracted hundreds of
interested individuals. Sarah Triano - disability
rights activist and
co-
founder of NDSU, states, "We Refuse to Be Left Behind
- Maintain the
Integrity
of IDEA!" Triano, says, "We are doing this because of
the hack job that
is
being done to the law that protects our right to equal
education." On
April
29th The House of Representatives passed a bill that
activists say
overhauls
IDEA and guts protections for disabled students.
Organizers are
planning
marches, street theatre, and even an online petition.
Naomi Ortiz says, "congress says they don't want to
educate us, that it
costs
too much" Ortiz, a NDSU member and leader in Kids As
Self Advocates
(KASA),
sees the changes to IDEA as something that could
affect not only the
education
of disabled students but also the future employment of
disabled people.
She
states, "they affect if and what kind of job we can
get and if we are
able to
go to college". Recent statistical data indicates that
close to 70% of
the
disabled population in America are unemployed.
The House past these sweeping changes on the same day
the Senate
confirmed
Jeffery Sutton. Sutton, a Bush nominee to the Sixth
Circuit Court of
Appeals
met strong opposition in the Senate during his
confirmation process
from the
disability community. Activist claim that Sutton has a
history of
conservative
activism and has worked to weaken and or eliminate
federal protections
for
disabled people and other minorities.
Now with the Senate expected to introduce its own
version of the IDEA
legislation soon, some advocates are looking for a
much more positive
policy
from Senators that may want to regain a better
relationship with their
disabled
constituency after letting them down with Sutton.
Joe Hall, a NDSU Responsibility Co-Chair says that
equal education is
one of
NDSU's primary concerns. "We are made up of disabled
students that face
the
system everyday - and have to live with the
consequences that bad
policies
bring." Hall says that the "Speak Out" has shown a
positive affect in
the
development of NDSU. Hall states, "we are gaining
allot of momentum and
things
are starting to pick up."
For more information on "NDSU's Speak Out for Equal
Education"
organizers are
urging interested individuals to visit their website
at
www.disabledstudents.org
Joe Hall
803-524-6029
joehallndsu@hotmail.com
