Recent legislative activities affecting students with learning disabilities (LD).

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), frequently referred to as the Recovery Act or stimulus bill.

The ARRA spends $787 billion to revive the nation's economy and make investments in the future. Included in the ARRA is $115 billion to support education initiatives. Of that, local school districts are receiving one-time federal appropriation of $12.2 billion in support of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which includes:

$11.3 billion for IDEA Part B Grants to states for school aged students
$400 million for IDEA Part B Section 619 for preschool children
$500 million for IDEA Part C Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Program
According to the U.S. Department of Education (USED), these funds:

"will provide an unprecedented opportunity for states, LEAs, and EIS programs to implement innovative strategies to improve outcomes for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities while stimulating the economy."

(Source: USED Guidance, April 2009)

The USED released half of the IDEA ARRA funds on April 1, 2009, sending the following amounts to states for quick distribution to local school districts:

$5.650 billion for IDEA Part B Grants to states for school aged students
$200 million for IDEA Part B Section 619 for preschool children
$250 million for IDEA Part C Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Program

The balance of the IDEA ARRA funds will be released in September 2009. Local school districts must spend all IDEA ARRA funds by September 30, 2011. The ARRA funds for education are in addition to the normal annual federal appropriates (discussed below) to support education programs in the nation's school. Use of all ARRA funds must be reported separately through a process outlined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

To access ongoing information and resources regarding all of the education funds in the ARRA, visit the USED website.

Federal Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2009

On March 11, 2009, President Obama signed P.L. 111-8, the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009, which provides fiscal year 2009 (FY09) funding for most federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Education.

The FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Act includes $12.3 billion to support IDEA programs, an increase of almost 5% over the fiscal year 2008 appropriation of $11.8 billion. These funds are separate from the IDEA ARRA funds discussed above.

2009 Distinguished Advocacy Award

The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) will award five Members of Congress with its 2009 Distinguished Advocacy Award: Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA), Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Chairman George Miller (D-UT) and Ranking Republican Member Howard 'Buck' McKeon (R-CA). Their work on the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (see below) exemplifies the kind of advocacy NCLD likes to honor with this award.

The award was created by NCLD to spotlight leading individuals who have dedicated their work and talents to make a profound difference in the lives of our nation's individuals with learning disabilities — by standing up and speaking out on their behalf.

Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008

The Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Act Amendments Act of 2008 became effective on January 1, 2009. The Amendments Act broadens the interpretation of disability, aligning it with the intent of the original 1990 legislation. The Act also makes important changes to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that affects the meaning of the term "disability" in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. These changes are particularly important to students with LD and their families.

To help understand these changes, NCLD conducted "The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008: The Impact on Students with LD and AD/HD," a webinar on the topic on March 18, 2009. Presented in collaboration with Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders (CHADD) and the National Resource Center on AD/HD, the webinar drew over 400 participants. For more information, click here to download the webinar handouts.

The Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education just released an updated version of its Frequently Asked Questions About Section 504 and the Education of Children with Disabilities, which reflects the changes made by the ADA Amendments Act.

Every Student Counts Act

The Every Student Counts Act (ESCA) was introduced in both the House of Representatives (H-1569) and the Senate (S 618) on March 17, 2009. The ESCA creates a graduation rate calculation that is consistent across states, requires reporting of subgroup graduation rates including the graduation rate of students with disabilities, sets meaningful graduation rate goals and targets, and removes incentives for schools to push out low-performing and at-risk students.

The ESCA strengthens recent federal regulations released in October 2008 by the previous administration. Those regulations impose several new requirements regarding graduation rates. The current Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, has released a statement indicating that he will allow these new regulations to remain in effect.

The Alliance for Excellent Education (AEE) has effectively led a broad coalition to help both Congress and the Administration focus on improving federal policies to ensure more students graduate with a regular diploma. NCLD is supporting the bills and has worked closely with AEE to ensure that students with disabilities have been appropriately included in the legislation.

Details of the bills are available on the AEE website, which includes both a summary and FAQs.

First-ever Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy

On February 12, 2009, Vice President Biden announced the appointment of Kareem Dale as Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy. Dale, a Chicago attorney who is partially blind, served as National Disability Director for the Obama campaign.

According to the White House press release, Dale "will coordinate the Administration's efforts to see that people with disabilities are on a level playing field with all Americans."

Reading Rights Coalition

A new coalition of disability rights organizations, the Reading Rights Coalition, has formed to oppose recent actions by Amazon and the Authors Guild regarding the text-to-speech (TTS) capability of Amazon's new ebook reader, the Kindle 2.

NCLD has joined the Reading Rights Coalition in order to support access to TTS for the millions of children and adults with reading disabilities. To date, we have worked alongside other dedicated groups to develop educational materials, press releases, and a website. NCLD is hopeful that the issues in dispute can be quickly and satisfactorily resolved.

Information courtesy of the Naitonal Center for Learning Disabilities.