New ACTION ALERT re Disastrous Nomination of Betsy DeVos for SecEd: (Stop Special Needs Vouchers, 29 January 2017)

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Stop Special Needs Vouchers

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Jan 29, 2017, 8:52:01 AM1/29/17
to J Juhnke, stopspecialn...@googlegroups.com, ssnv-ch...@googlegroups.com, ssnv-p...@googlegroups.com, ssnv-s...@googlegroups.com
Greetings from Stop Special Needs Vouchers!  Please forward this new Action Alert widely and quickly!

Massive Outcry Against DeVos' Nomination Prior to 1/31 Committee Vote: Keep It Up!

As we learned in her Senate confirmation hearing for U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos is either TERRIFYINGLY uninformed about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the federal law that guarantees students with disabilities the right to a free and appropriate public education.

Since then, the committee vote on her confirmation has been delayed until Tuesday 1/31 in the wake of a massive outpouring of opposition. The fate of students with disabilities has been an important, highly-visible component of the opposition!
"Anti DeVos Calls Jam Senate Lines" - The Hill, 1/26/17

With a few days to go until the hearing, it is more important than every that we keep up the pressure!  
Please call Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson first, and then the three HELP Committee members below.

New brief script: "My name is [NAME], and I'm calling as [PARENT / PERSON WITH DISABILITIES, etc] to ask Senator [NAME] to vote NO on the confirmation of Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education. Thank you." -- When you are calling your own Senator, give them your ZIP code as well.

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson 202.224.5323 / 414.276.7282

Sen. Susan Collins (ME) 202.224.2523 / 207.622.8414
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (AK) 202.224.6665 / 907.586.7277
Sen. Johnny Isakson (GA) 202.224.3643 / 770.661.0999

Bonus THANK-YOU call: let Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin know that you appreciate her commitment to vote NO on the DeVos nomination.  Thank you, Senator Baldwin!
(202) 224-5653
"Senator Baldwin Announces She Will Not Support Betsy DeVos’ Confirmation for Secretary of Education"
https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/press-releases/statement-on-devos

THANK YOU for standing up for students with disabilities!

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SSNV Press Release: Parents Aghast at DeVos Confirmation Hearing Statements

Madison, WI – “Goodbye, special education.” That was the despairing online response of one Wisconsin parent of children with disabilities, upon watching the Senate confirmation hearing Betsy DeVos for Education Secretary. The families of Stop Special Needs Vouchers from across Wisconsin watched in disbelief as DeVos told Sen. Tim Kaine that meeting the requirements of the federal law known as the  Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was “a matter that is best left to the states.” The educational rights and protections that families worked so hard in previous decades to win were suddenly declared as optional by the nominee for the position responsible for administering them.

Read more at: http://www.stopspecialneedsvouchers.org/uncategorized/press-release-parents-aghast-at-devos-confirmation-hearing-statements/

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Fixing the "Alternative Facts" on Vouchers


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Additional Press Coverage and Statements

From Wisconsin Family Ties: "Understanding the IDEA is a Required Qualification for Secretary of Education"
http://www.thewheelerreport.com/wheeler_docs/files/0119wft.pdf

From the Survival Coalition of Wisconsin Disability Organizations: "Students with Disabilities Must be a Priority for Incoming Administration"
http://www.survivalcoalitionwi.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Press-Release-Survival-Coalition-Education.pdf

Is Betsy DeVos against enforcing disability rights laws — or does she not understand them?
by Ari Ne'eman, 1/19/2017

DeVos-Backed Company Makes Questionable Claims on Autism, ADHD
Ed Week, 1/24/2017
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2017/01/devos_company_questionable_claims_autism_adhd.html

Republican educators say DeVos nomination for Secretary of Ed violates GOP values
Education Votes, 1/28/2017
http://educationvotes.nea.org/2017/01/28/republican-educators-say-devos-nomination-for-secretary-of-ed-violates-gop-values/

Democrats to Vote En Bloc Against Education Secretary Nominee DeVos
U.S. News & World Report, 1/27/2017

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A Smiling, Determined Sign-off

Grizzly bears? The most awkward moments of Betsy DeVos' hearing


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