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Disability Rights Nation

From Ragged Edge's D. R. Nation department May/June 1998

Amendment threatens to turn IDEA back to local schools The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is once again under attack in the Senate. The IDEA Flexibility Amendment would give school districts local control over educating disabled kids. . It was the failure of local school districts, after all, that necessitated a law in the first place, says the group Justice For All. "Local control opens the door to abuses which in years past resulted in segregation." Justice For All reports that... Thanks to your assertive advocacy, and the willingness of Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN) to withhold another amendment (his Welfare Reform/Education Amendment), Senator Gregg (R-NH) did not offer the IDEA Flexibility Amendment. However, Senator Gregg continues to speak on the Senate floor regarding damaging amendments to the IDEA.   Senator Gregg's decision not to offer the IDEA Flexibility Amendment is great news - - but indications now are that this is only be a *postponement* NOT a *cancellation*.     There is no doubt that the forces of retreat are working long and hard against the IDEA. These folks have made headway in convincing many in Congress to weaken the IDEA.   WE CANNOT RELENT IN OUR ADVOCACY. TOO MUCH IS AT STAKE. ONLY A GROUNDSWELL OF SUPPORT FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE IDEA WILL TURN THE TIDE!   ONLY *YOU* CAN CREATE THAT GROUNDSWELL!!!   ACTION NEEDED: First, contact Senator Wellstone and thank him for sacrificing his amendment to save the IDEA! (V. 202-224-5641; FAX 202-224-8438; e-mail senator@wellstone.senate.gov)   Next, contact Senator Gregg and ask him to support immediate implementation of the IDEA with NO AMENDMENTS! (V. 202-224-3324; FAX 202-224-4952; e-mail mailbox@gregg.senate.gov   And then, call/write/FAX/e-mail your Senators and encourage them to oppose any amendments to the IDEA. Our message should be: Implement the IDEA NOW! NO AMENDMENTS! Nothing but a statue will do, FDR-in-a-wheelchair advocates tell Park Service At National Park Service FDR Memorial Advisory Committee hearings in early March, several dozen Roosevelt-in-a-wheelchair advocates called for a "freestanding statue.".A law passed last year requires "depiction" of FDR in a wheelchair. The law doesn't say "statue" though ("believe me, we tried to get that in there," said Mark Breimhorst). At the hearings, Sen. Tom Harkin (D.-Iowa), along with dozens of representatives from groups, including the United Cerebral Palsy Association, Justice for All, The National Organization on Disability, Disabled Sports USA, Americans with Disabilities Vote and The National Council on Disability insisted the depiction be a statue, rather than a bas relief or other representation "that might be missed." Hundreds more supporters sent written or electronic mail messages pressing the case for a statue. At Ragged Edge press time, the Park Service had not made a decision. Good or bad? Quote or misquote? Here's how an Associated Press reporter quoted Sen. Tom Harkin's (D.-IA) statement at the Roosevelt-in-a- wheelchair hearings:. "I think a statue portraying Franklin Roosevelt using his wheelchair would not be a statue to disability in any way."   Universal Design Will Travel An exhibit on universal design will be part of "Designing for the 21st Century: An International Conference on Universal Design" at Hofstra University June 18-21. Afterwards, it will become a traveling exhibit available for meetings, universities and other groups "The intent of the exhibit is to engage people so that they understand what universal design is, and who benefits," says Elaine Ostroff of the Adaptive Environments Center. "We want the exhibit to show both the breadth of universal design as well as how it gets beyond the double standard of good design vs 'handicapped' design." Contact: Adaptive Environments Center 374 Congress Street, Suite 301 Boston MA 02210 (617) 695-1225 email: eostroff@adaptenv.org . Update New study disputes findings that led to Chronicle report on deaths in community A new study funded by the state of California has found that developmentally disabled people do not face a greater risk of dying if they live in private group homes rather than institutions ("Fighting to keep 'em in," Jan./Feb.) The Citygate Associates study was immediately condemned by groups like Voice of the Retarded who last winter won the ear of the San Francisco Chronicle. The paper ran a series of articles based on findings by University of California-Riverside statistician Dr. David Strauss that were interpreted to show higher mortality rates in group homes than institutions. The stories criticized the state's efforts to move people out of institutions. Word that the Chronicle series is up for a Pulitzer Prize has now prompted researchers whose data Strauss used in his controversial report to issue a statement of their own, taking sharp exception to the press's use of Dr. Strauss' analysis. The Chronicle series "represents a poor example of investigative reporting and has done a disservice to readers by presenting a very narrow perspective of the issues," wrote Sharon Borthwick-Duffy, Ph.D., Keith F. Widaman, Ph.D., and Herbert J. Grossman, M.D. "The public and policy makers are reading far more into Dr. Strauss's findings than can be justified by the data," they said. More D. R. Nation

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