e-NEWSJanuary 6, 2006
Dear Family and Friends,
Happy New Year. We share with you our first edition of the 2006 eNEWS. We bring you information about the latest legislation updates, upcoming events in our community, new resources and opportunities, as well as news from the National Down Syndrome Society.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
1/09/2006 1:00:PMIDEA 04- Presented by Sheila Weinberg at the Wiggin Center, 4350 Mt. Everest Blvd, San Diego, 92110. To register, please call 858-573-5959. San Diego City Schools Special Education Programs Division professional development workshops are open to parents and other interested parties. Registration required.
1/09/2006 6:30:PM - Community Advisory Committee meeting and educational presentation. Held at North County Coastal Consortium for Special Education office in conference room #270, 570 Rancheros Drive, San Marcos, CA 92069. For more information, contact Lisa Houghtelin at 760-471-8208 x210.
1/10/2006 1:00:PM"Managing the Challenges of an IEP Team Meeting" presented by Sheila Weinberg at the Wiggin Center, 4350 Mt. Everest Blvd, San Diego, 92110. To register, please call 858-573-5959. San Diego City Schools Special Education Programs Division professional development workshops are open to parents and other interested parties. Registration required.
1/10/2006 5:30:PM “Talking with Toddlers” - Learn how to stimulate your toddler's language development in this 4 week 1-hour class at Children's Hospital. This is a parent class, so there is no childcare. The fee is $15 for the materials. For more information, please call Jill at 858-576-1700 ext 4460 or to enroll in the class call 858-966-5838.
Children's Hospital & HealthCenter is located at 3030 Children's Way, MC 5010, San Diego, CA92123, Attention: Speech Scheduler. Class dates: January 10, 17, 24 & 31, 2006
1/11/2006 8:00:AM “Reading Coaches” - San Diego County Office of Education Professional 3-day training at the Handlery Hotel in San Diego. $250 fee includes breakfast, lunch and materials for all three days. For more informationgo to or call Renee Evans at 858-571-7201.
1/12/06 6:30pm “Cookies with Cohn” – Come meet the new San Diego City Schools Superintendent at the Community Advisory Committee for Special Education meeting at the West Campus Auditorium of Lindbergh-Schweitzer Elementary School, 4133 Mt. Albertine Ave, San Diego 92111. CAC general meeting to follow at 7:30pm. Directions: From Hwy 805 exit west on Balboa Avenue then turn left on Mt. Albertine Ave.
1/12/2006 9:00:AM Community Services for Families presenta Grupo de Apoyo financiero -de 12 semanas (Gratis). Cuando - Todos los jueves empezando el 1ro de Diciembre 2005. Lugar:WillowElelmentarySchool, salon 12, 226 Willow Road, San Ysidro, CA92173. Aprenda como mejorar la administración de su dinero y hacer un presupuesto, aprenda como leer su reporte de crédito, y sus derechos como un consumidor. Comparta sus ideas y experiencias con un educador. Cuidado de niños será disponible! Para registrar, comuniquese con Irene Lopez al 619-428-4476 ext 3783.
1/17/2006 6:30 -9:00pm “IEPSchool Problems Part I”
IEPSchool Problems Part I & Part IIworkshops are designed to assist parents in navigating the special education system and securing the most appropriate services and placement. Location:AtonementLutheranChurch located at 7250 Eckstrom Ave, San Diego, 92111.
Part II on January 24 $35 feeto San Diego County Learning Disabilities Association
at P.O. Box 421111, San Diego, CA 92142-1111. Call 858-467-9158 or visit LDASanDiego.org
1/17/2006 6:30:PM "Raising Optimistic Children" at HeritageElementary Schoolat 1450 Santa Lucia Ave, Chula Vista91913. Please RSVP by calling 619-477-0242.For more information go to to view flyer click here.
1/18/2006 8:30:AM"Youth Violence" training offered by the San Diego County Office of Education Safe Schools Unit and presented by Phillip Hubbs at the South County Regional Education Center, located at 800 National City Blvd., National City, CA 91950. For more information please contact Gabriela Baeza at 858-569-5440 or , Mayra Nuñez at 858-571-7261 or or Aida Estrella at 858-569-5443 or .
1/18/2006 9:30:am Learn how to Set Up a Childcare Business in your own home, For National City Residents -free professional training by the Southwestern College Family Resource Center at 880 National City Blvd. Must RSVP by calling 619-216-6672. Limited childcare will be offered. Also offered this date at night 6:30-8:00pm
CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
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1/10/06 6:00-7:30pm Support Group for parents of children with Downsyndrome (birth-5) at HOPE Infant Program's Parent Room, 920 W. San Marcos Blvd, San Marcos, CA 92069. Supervised playtime available by advance reservation only. For more information or to RSVP PLease call 760-510-3994 or email . VIEW FLYER at VIEW MAP at
1/13/2006 9:30:AMApoyo para familias de niños con necesidades especiales mayores de 5 años. El segundo y cuarto viernes del mes de 9:30 a 11:00am.Lugar: Centro de Pública, 690 Oxford Street, Chula Vista, CA91911.Sálon de conferencias #3.Para mas informacion llamaral Laura Cervantes 619-498-8171 o Tessie Salcedo 619-594-7391. VER EL VOLANTE
1/13/2006 Couples Connection- North County Parent group for moms & dads to attend together.Meets from 6:00-7:45 p.m. at HOPE Program’s Parent Room, 920 San Marcos Boulevard, San Marcos. Discussion topic, light refreshment, couples’ activitity. Limited supervised playtime for children through age 5 by advanced reservation only. Reserve early, as spots can fill up quickly.Please RSVP to attend so we can plan accordingly. Christine Sugg (760)736-6371.
SUPPORT GROUPS:
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NDSS NEWS:
NDSS is pleased to introduce a comprehensive guide for new and expectant parents of children with Down syndrome entitled “A Promising Future Together.” This new 40-page booklet, which is free to new parents, is an expansion of the smaller NDSS brochure by the same name. It is filled with information and resources to help new parents and their baby get off to the best start possible and provides reassuring answers to common questions on the minds of new parents. Affiliates and other groups can supplement the information by adding their own materials and lists of local resources to the folder. Every active affiliate group will receive a free copy of the booklet in the mail in the coming weeks. Individual booklets are also free to new parents and family members. The price for bulk orders (orders larger than 5) is $3.50 per booklet for NDSS affiliates and $4.00 per booklet for all others.You can download “A Promising Future Together” for free at To download the Down Syndrome Growth Charts referred to in the booklet, visit: To obtain the Health Care Guidelines for Individuals with Down Syndrome, go to:Secretary Spellings Announces Proposed NCLB Regulation for Students With Disabilities
On April 7, 2005, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced that the Department would issue proposed regulations permitting States to develop modified achievement standards and assessments based on these standards. These proposed regulations were announced by Secretary Spellings on December 14, 2005 and published in the Federal Register the following day. There is a 75-day public comment period before the final regulations are developed. As NDSS develops its comments and recommendations, you will be given more details. A preliminary discussion of the proposed regulations appears below.
These proposed regulations describe modified achievement standards and explain how States can develop them. They also describe the criteria for determining which students may be assessed based on modified achievement standards and how the scores from these assessments will affect Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). AYP is the measure that determines whether schools, school districts and States are doing an acceptable job educating their students or whether they "need improvement." AYP is calculated using proficiency rates on test scores, and other factors. A variety of escalating steps must be taken when a "needs improvement" designation has occurred.
Currently regulations permit assessments based on a State’s grade-level achievement standard and alternate achievement standards. Alternate achievement standards are only supposed to be used for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. The new assessment based on modified achievement standards is supposed to be used for students with disabilities who are not likely to achieve grade-level proficiency within the school year but who are not students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.
The addition of modified achievement standards may help students by bridging the gap between grade-level achievement standards and alternate achievement standards, thereby creating a continuum toward grade-level achievement. Students should be given the opportunity to move along this continuum to maximize their achievement level. If your child is currently taking assessments based on an alternate achievement standard he or she may be able to take an assessment on modified achievement standards. You should raise this issue with your child’s IEP team and determine whether such an assessment will be offered.
One of NDSS’s main concerns is whether States will use assessments based on modified achievement standards thatpromote high expectations and grade-level instruction. These tools are necessary in order for students with disabilities to make as much academic progress as possible.
In addition, we are concerned about whether IEP teams will accurately determine which students should be assessed on modified achievement standards because they are not likely to achieve grade-level proficiency within the school year. Until grade-level assessments are “universally designed”(designed to be inherently accessible and valid for the widest possible range of students) it will be difficult to know if students are prevented from demonstrating grade-level proficiency because of their disability or because of the way the assessments are designed.
NDSS is also concerned that these proposed regulations may operate as an incentive to raise AYP by taking students with disabilities out of assessments based on grade-level achievement standards. The student proficiency rate for AYP is generally calculated using the advanced and proficient scores from assessments based on grade-level achievement standards. Prior to modified achievement standards, the only exception to this rule was for advanced and proficient scores from assessments based on alternate achievement standards. The use of these scores for calculating the AYP proficiency rate is capped at a number that equals 1% of students tested on any type of assessment. This 1% cap translates into 10% of students with disabilities since non-disabled students do not take this assessment.
The proposed regulations will allow advanced and proficient scores from assessments based on modified achievement standards to also be used to calculate the AYP proficiency rate. There is a 2% cap on these scores (equal to 20% of students with disabilities). If the 1% and 2% caps were fully utilized, the combination would affect 30% of students with disabilities and significantly compromise the NCLB goals of high expectations, grade-level instruction and universal design.
The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), a professional organization that includes special educators, shares this concern. Last Wednesday, CEC released a special report on the new regulation. Included in the report was a position statement that placed conditions on CEC’s support for the modified achievement standard policy when it was initially announced in the spring of 2005. According to this statement: “CEC worries about those who will view the proposed 2% cap as an invitation to fill that cap with as many students with disabilities as possible to shield school authorities and schools from any negative impact brought forward by AYP.” Although NDSS and CEC sometimes have different positions, it is significant that theyare sending the same message to the Department of Education on this issue.
The fact that a child has Down syndrome or any other intellectual disability does not mean that the child cannot take the grade-level assessment with accommodations. This must be decided on a case-by-case basis. NDSS will continue to advocate for the universal design of grade-level assessments to ensure that students with disabilities have every opportunity to demonstrate grade-level proficiency before being put in assessments based on modified or alternate achievement standards.
More information on this regulation can be found on the Department of Education website at
In addition, you can find three NDSS bulletins that address the policy on modified achievement standards that was announced in April and May of 2005 at the following links:
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National Down Syndrome Society, 666 Broadway, New York, NY 10012
Phone: 800-221-4602; Fax: 212-979-2873; e-mail: ; Web site:
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NDSS FAMILY MEMBER SURVEY
NDSS is in the process of developing a new Strategic Plan for 2007-2010 to build upon the current 2003-2006 plan. The purpose of the Strategic Plan is to determine NDSS objectives and define how we will get there. In order to ensure that we are focusing our limited resources in those areas that are of priority to various NDSS stakeholders, we have created the following survey for parents and family members:
PDF version:
Word version:
Please return the completed form to NDSS, Strategic Planning Committee, 666 Broadway, New York, NY 10012 or fax (212) 979-2873 by December 30, 2005. If you have questions, please contact Suzanne Elliott Armstrong, (212) 763-4370, (800) 221-4602 .
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LEGISLATION UPDATES:
Parents’ Now Bear the Burden of Proof on Appropriateness of IEP
Parents Must Prove Claims of Inadequate IEP - On Nov. 14, 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that parents, not school officials, have the burden of proving a parents' claim that an individualized educational program (IEP) for a child with a disability does not satisfy the child's needs.
The 6-2 ruling came in the case of Schaffer v. Weast . The case focused on who has the burden of proof in disputed cases under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). NEA supported the position that educators should not have the burden of proving that an IEP is appropriate but rather that parents who reject the IEP need to be able to prove why the IEP is not appropriate.
Justice O'Connor: Burden Placed on Party Seeking Relief - The Supreme Court agreed with that position. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote for the majority: "The burden of persuasion in an administrative hearing challenging an Individual Educational Plan is properly placed on the party seeking relief, whether that is the disabled child or the school district." In the Weast case, the Fourth Circuit had ruled the same way, reversing a District Court ruling putting the burden on the school district.
The parents' appeal to the Supreme Court argued unsuccessfully that school officials must always justify the appropriateness of a disabled child's IEP.
The key issue with the Schaffer v. Weast decision is that it is the "complaining" or "challenging" party that owns the burden of proof. If the parents are alleging that the IEP is not appropriate, then they have the burden to prove this is so. If the school district alleges that the child's education is not appropriate (e.g., if the parents refuse to sign an IEP that has been changed or refuse to allow the child to be evaluated), then the district has the "burden of proof."
Ruling Will Impact Different States Differently
Patti Ralabate, NEA's special education expert, saidthe ruling will impact states differently depending upon what is already in place in the states. There are some states that have already determined who has the burden of proof by legislation or previous court action.
In those states that have already determined that the school district has the burden of proof no matter whether the district or the parents are challenging the IEP, then the Schaffer v. Weast decision will have no effect. Likewise, some states already had determined that it is always the "challenging party" that has the burden of proof.
The Supreme Court rulingaffects the state of California. For more details, go to (Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., took no part inthis decision. Dissents were filed by Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.)
TheCourt brief is on the Supreme Court's Web site(PDF, 26 pages).
November 2005National Education Association
From the San Diego Disability Coalition January 3, 2006
Congress Completes Action on Fiscal Year 2006 Appropriations; FY 2006 Budget Reconciliation Still Unresolved - As the First Session of the 109th Congress came to a conclusion, the final two FY 2006 appropriations bills were sent to the President for his signature three months after the start of the fiscal year. Both bills markedly impact federal spending for disability discretionary spending. The bill will provide states license to cut Medicaid services and supports to very low-income Medicaid recipients. It reauthorizes TANF with onerous work requirements that make it almost impossible for TANF recipients with disabilities or those caring for family members with disabilities to meet these requirements while putting states in a financial predicament for maintaining these individuals in the TANF program. Prior to the final vote, however, a “point of order” was allowed, stripping several non-germane provisions from the bill. This “point of order” now necessitates another House vote before the bill can be sent to the President for his signature.
FY 2006 Departments of Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Appropriations - For the first time in decades, the Congress actually provides less funding for these three departments than in the previous year. Total FY 2006 funding is almost $170 million lower than the FY 2005 appropriation. Overall spending in each department is cut. Disability programs in the departments, which constitute more than 90 percent of all disability discretionary spending, are mostly frozen or receive small increases, with the exception of the Supported Employment State Grant Program (20 percent cut) and the Office of Disability Employment Programs (40 percent cut). These funding percentages do not take into consideration the one percent across-the-board cut.