The Autism Society of Maine Board of Directors remains deeply concerned about an issue that we first brought to your attention in mid-December that would significantly impact children with ASD.

 

 

 

Here is what you can do:  

 

Please attend the public hearing on Monday, February 8 at 10 a.m. before the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, Room 202 Cross State Office Building in Augusta (directions). Testimony by parents is especially encouraged, as the proposed changes will have a significant negative impact on students. If you can arrive by 9:30 a..a.m., please join us in the cafeteria on the 1st floor of the Cross Building as speakers will be coordinated. (You will still be able to testify at 10 a.m. even if you cannot make the 9:30 meeting with advocates.) It is likely that each person testifying will be limited to speaking only 3 minutes. Your written testimony can be longer (see template at bottom of this e-mail). Please bring 15 copies of your written testimony for distribution to Committee members.

 

If you cannot attend the Public Hearing on Monday, please e-mail Education Committee members with your concerns and contact your own Senator and Representative to ask them to oppose the myriad bad changes in DOE's proposed special ed rule. Remind them that most of the proposal contradicts existing state law, some of it contradicts existing federal law, most of it would generate zero savings, and some of it would actually cost money.

 

Issues of concern in the rule include:

1. DOE has adopted in emergency rule several provisions that do the opposite of what the Legislature told them to do in three separate laws over the past three years.  Ask the Legislature not to permit this executive overreach.

2. DOE wants to ignore previous legislative directive and change the age to start transition planning from 14 years (beginning of high school) to 16 years (middle of high school).

3. DOE wants to ignore previous legislative compromise and change statute of limitations for due process from 4 years to 2 years. (It used to be 6 years, but DOE is not satisfied with the compromise of 4 years that the legislature has already adopted.) This means that when a child is denied appropriate services, the child is limited to the amount of compensatory education remedy.

4. CDS timelines for evaluations. DOE wants to ignore the legislature decision from just months ago to tell CDS to take 60 calendar days to conduct an evaluation of preschoolers. Instead of following this FEDERAL STANDARD that the legislature has adopted, DOE seeks to go back to a 45-school-day timeline in CDS, which could mean that preschoolers have to wait up to 5 months for an evaluation.

 

5. Under the guise of "data based" process for decision making, DOE is recycling previously rejected "adverse effect" language for special ed eligibility that the Legislature has already rejected. This would probably put Maine BELOW THE FEDERAL FLOOR and lead to LITIGATION, with EXTRA COSTS for everyone involved..

6. DOE seeks to repeal existing criteria for "change in eligibility". Schools have kicked kids out of special ed because they're making progress... even when the progress is attributable to their getting the special ed that they need. Instead of enforcing existing rule about change of eligibility, DOE seeks to change the rule.

7. DOE seeks to forbid schools from paying higher than MaineCare rates to contracted providers. That's fine as long as it doesn't cause kids to go without services. But in some schools that will be the effect. And since that's against federal law, this will put schools in the position of having to violate state rule in order to comply with federal law.

8. DOE seeks to let each school district have its own definition of "educational performance" for purposes of determining eligibility for special ed. That will lead to INCREASED VARIABILITY among districts. And since federal law requires state standards, this probably falls BELOW THE FEDERAL FLOOR. DOE books no savings for this provision.

Here is a template for written testimony for Monday's hearing (of course, please feel free to change it to add your own voice):

 

"February 8, 2010
 
Senator Justin L. Alfond, Chair
Representative Patricia B. Sutherland, Chair
Committee Education and Cultural Affairs
State House, Room 228
Augusta, ME 04333
 
Re:  LD 1741, "Resolve, Regarding Legislative Review of Portions of Chapter 101: Maine Unified Special Education Regulation, a Major Substantive Rule of the Department of Education"
 
Dear Senator Alfond, Representative Sutherland, and Members of the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs:
 
[Introduce yourself: name, your child's name, grade/age, where you live.]
 
I am writing to request that LD 1741 be amended, and that specific sections of the Provisional Rules be rejected.  Specifically, those sections that address the following issues:
 
a.    Post-secondary transition (Page 59);
b.    Statute of limitations for due process hearings (Page 161);
c.    A limit on "stay put" to due process hearings (Page 178);
d.    Changing the timeline for evaluations for 3-5 year olds to 45 school days;
e.    "Adversely affected" / "Data Based Procedure for Eligibility Determination" (Page 83);
f.     "Criteria for Change in Eligibility" (Page 85);
g.    Payment for Contracted Services (Page 198);
h.   IEP Implementation (Page 94);
i.     Abbreviated School Day  (Page 4, 64);
j.     Change in the eligibility standard for "Other Health Impaired" (Page 75); and,
k.    "Educational Performance" (Page 6)

 

[State which aspects of LD 1741 you find most important/concerning]
[If appropriate, tell a story about what happened to your child related to one of the items above.]
 
For the reasons stated above, I request that the Provisional Rules be amended to remove these provisions. 
 
Sincerely,
[Insert name and town here]

We encourage you to make your voice heard on this important issue.