Dear AER members, friends and colleagues,
As seems to be a regular feature of the current American policy process and political experience, we are once again riding a rough rollercoaster of developments with significant impact on the future of special education for children and youth with blindness or low vision and who may have additional disabilities. As always, your willingness to take just a few moments to weigh in with your advocacy for students and clients is critical to righting what’s wrong and promoting what’s possible.
The Administration has recently now made known what had only been rumored for months, namely that they are moving the entirety of the US Education Department’s special education and rehabilitation functions to the US Department of Health and Human Services. This will effectively mean that special education and rehabilitative services will be housed within a bureaucratic structure lacking educational expertise and which would view disability primarily through a health and healthcare lens decidedly at odds with the philosophy and practice underpinning the appropriate and effective delivery of special education and vocational rehabilitation services. The legality of this move is dubious at best, but the disruption and diminishment of quality services is certain.
In Congress, however, there is good reason for hope thanks to a strong bipartisan and bicameral cohort of congressional champions who have once again stood up specifically for the students we care so much about. Recently, the Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act has been reintroduced (S. 4676; H.R. 9195) which would affirm and strengthen the federal role in supporting states to dramatically improve educational outcomes for students with sensory disabilities. Once enacted, the Cogswell-Macy bill will:
- ensure the provision of braille by empowering parents;
- infuse all domains of the Expanded Core Curriculum in the specialized instruction guaranteed to all blind and low vision students;
- rank Vision Rehabilitation Therapists alongside Occupational Therapists and Orientation and Mobility Specialists as recognized related service personnel;
- promote innovative and research-based services and methodologies;
- ensure each child’s vision loss is properly acknowledged and addressed regardless of disability label or category;
- better define and amplify early intervention services tailored to the unique needs of infants and toddlers with vision loss and their families;
- support parents, educators and administrators alike with up-to-date policy guidance and technical assistance; and so much more.
Not only should all members of Congress be urged to cosponsor the Macy bill, the best way to push back against the transfer of America’s special education and vocational rehabilitation systems to HHS is to demand that Congress take an unmistakable stand to preserve and significantly improve existing federal commitments, which is precisely what the Macy bill affirms.
Please take 30 seconds to send a message to your Members of Congress urging them to cosponsor and support the Cogswell-Macy Act. A message has already been drafted for you, but we encourage you to personalize it with your professional perspective, your experience as a family member, or a brief story about why specialized instruction and services matter to you.
