________________________________
From: [log in to unmask]
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tracy
McKinless
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2008 11:44 AM
To: [log in to unmask]; dan lindsi arcaini;
[log in to unmask]; norma bresnick; kristie
collinsworth; Jill US - Tulsa Conley; [log in to unmask] nathan;
nora giglio; Emma Guilarte; walter peggy hatton; jodi klawinski; watkins
Laura; Sue Loftis; marianne marcus; Charles McKinless; w mckinless;
buddy mckinless; Meredith McMillan; lisa miller; maranda miller; lindee
morgan; joan nilan; cindy stanton; corey tisch; [log in to unmask]
Subject: [AutismRecoveryNetwork] Attorney J. Laviano on candidates'
knowledge of IDEA, etc.
This letter from attorney Jennifer Laviano (below) was featured in David
Kirby's Huffington Post piece after the last debate. Ms. Laviano
specializes in special education law. On October 14th, she sent this
email to share her impressions of what we might expect from Palin if
elected Vice President.
Happy voting!
Tracy McKinless
Sent: Tue, 14 Oct 2008 2:14 pm
Subject: Palin and Special Education
Dear clients, friends, colleagues, and all of the above,
As we near the Presidential election in just three weeks, I have been
asked by many of you to comment on my thoughts on Gov. Palin and what
she can and will do for special education students. As an attorney whose
practice focuses exclusively on the representation of children with
disabilities, I always investigate candidates' positions and records on
this very critical moral and financial issue. One of my clients recently
suggested that I share with others what I have learned, and so here it
is.
When Gov. Palin first came to my attention, I was, as I am sure all of
you who care about this issue, intrigued to have someone on the national
platform who talks about children with special needs. Since hearing her
say this repeatedly in speeches, I have been waiting, and waiting, to
hear some specifics on special education reform. Most of all, I want to
know what her stance is on the IDEA, the federal statute that governs
special education. The IDEA is up for reauthorization by Congress in
2010, and it is crucial that it reflect the policies and funding
structure necessary to protect and appropriately educate our children
with disabilities. I needed to know what Gov. Palin thinks about the
future of special education legislation in this country.
I know where the other three on the tickets stand; Senators Obama and
Biden have issued position statements on the IDEA to various parent
groups, strongly supporting full funding for the IDEA and the rights of
children with disabilities and their parents. The Obama-Biden website
has a direct link to the ticket's position on disabilities. Senator
McCain's website does not have such a link and neither he nor Palin have
provided those positions on the IDEA to parent advocacy groups. Senator
McCain does have a supportive position on the ADA (Americans with
Disabilities Act) which has been published. I was, however, extremely
disappointed in his discussion on the Senate floor regarding the
Reauthorization of the IDEA 2004, in which he expressed his concerns
that parents of children with disabilities who have to sue to secure
appropriate services for their children under the Statute and win
against districts shouldn't have their attorneys' fees covered.
This is not just a matter of self-interest for me, t is the difference
between families, especially poor families, being able to vindicate
their civil rights or not. But I knew those things, I did not know where
Palin stood, and I wanted to find out.
Having waited for some specifics from her on just how she is going to be
an advocate for children with special needs in the White House, I
finally got close. In her recent interview with Greta Van Susteren on
Fox News, she was asked what her position is. While never mentioning the
IDEA at all or what needs to be changed, kept, or fixed in it, she
stated that the issue that needs to be addressed is "equal access" for
children with special needs.
EQUAL ACCESS? Seriously? We HAVE equal access, that is what the original
version of the Statute fought for in the early 70s, when children with
disabilities were literally prohibited from attending our public
schools. Equal access is so far in the minority of what needs to be
addressed in special education I hardly know where to begin. Our
problems are not that children with disabilities aren't allowed into the
buildings; our problem is what happens when they get there! What about a
Free and Appropriate Public Education? What about "meaningful
educational benefit?" What about giving children with special needs the
tools to thrive and prosper and be fully independent adults, which is
what the IDEA now stands for? We are decades fro m equal access being
the key question, and apparently Gov. Palin is not aware of that fact.
Now, you might say "well, Jen, I am a parent of a child with special
needs and I didn't know that either." Okay, my response: "are you
running for Vice President of the United States? Are you telling the
nation that you would see yourself as the voice for those children
within the federal government? If you were, do you think you might have
looked into it a little bit?"
It is not terribly surprising to me that Gov. Palin's views on this are
so far outdated. I have traveled to Alaska to give a speech to parents
and professionals on the subject of the rights of children with special
needs, in particular children with autism spectrum disorders. I was
stunned by how far behind the State was from the vast majority of the
rest of the country on the education of children with disabilities.
Perhaps, for Alaskans, "equal access" IS the problem, but it is
certainly not the case in Connecticut or most of the rest of the
country. I am in regular contact with a colleague of mine who is a
Parents' attorney in Alaska, who has had to fight tooth and nail for
children with special needs in Alaska simply to secure them the most
basic of services that we take for granted here. I for one do not want
the rest of the country to use Alaska's system of educating our most
vulnerable children as a paradigm.
Okay, yes, you all know I'm a liberal...but that's one of the reasons
that I chose to get into the field of representing children with special
needs, because I believe in my heart that this last bastion of civil
rights is absolutely critical to fight. We need major fixes in our
special education system, and if you think that who is in the White
House does not effect you on this issue, you couldn't be more wrong. IT
MATTERS. It matters in terms of funding and at least as, if not more,
importantly, enforcement. Our IDEA enforcement, even in States like CT
where we have zealous advocacy, is woefully inadequate. School districts
routinely violate the procedural and substantive rights of children and
parents and only in a small fraction of cases are they taken to task for
it. It also matters because the next President will have at least a few
Supreme Court appointments to make. We have had more decisions from the
United States Supreme Court in the area
of special education law in the last few years than we had for decades.
Those decisions have tremendous impact on whether parents have the right
to have proper evaluations done for their children, how and when parents
can exercise their rights under the IDEA, who has the burden of proof in
Due Process Hearings, and a myriad of other issues which directly impact
our children with special needs.
Whether we properly educate and embrace our children w ith disabilities
is crucial to the future of this country, as the cost of NOT doing so
will be far larger than the cost of doing so...leaving out the fact that
it happens to also be the right thing to do in a great society. This
issue should be front and center for any candidate for the White House,
and I write to let you know that, at least as far as Gov. Palin is
concerned, it has been an opportunity not only missed, but frighteningly
misunderstood. It does not bode well for her, for us, or most
importantly, for the children we love who need and deserve better in an
"advocate in the White House."
I will be casting my vote on November 4th for Obama-Biden, and I hope
you will join me. They and their party have been on the side of children
with special needs historically, and they will be on their side in the
future. As our economy implodes and State and local educational budgets
tighten, if we do not turn this around now, I fear that we will, once
again, be fighting only for "equal access" for our kids. That is
unacceptable to me.
Finally, for any of our more conservative clients who I may have
offended, my apologies; I respect your views even if I disagree with
them. However, to calm your concerns, Attorney Dana Jonson and I have
convened a Personnel Board consisting of the two of us, which has
investigated the matter and determined that you continue to have
excellent legal representation.0
Thanks for reading, please feel free to forward this email to any and
all people you know who care about the future of special education in
this country.
Best, Jennifer Laviano
The Law Offices of Jennifer Laviano, LLC
Sherman, CT
[log in to unmask] <mailto:Lavlaw3%40aol.com>
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