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Wrightslaw Special Education Law Conferences – 2Q 2010

Melissa — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Although the Wrightslaw conferences aren’t specific to autism spectrum disorders, they are one of the best resources available for parents that want to learn more about special education law. The more you know about IDEA 2004, 504s, IEPs, etc, the better advocate you can be for your child. The following is a list of the Wrightslaw Special Education Law Conferences scheduled in the second quarter of 2010.

April 10, 2010: Davenport, IA
April 15, 2010: Hackensack, NJ
April 22, 2010: Bowie, MD
April 30-May 1, 2010: Portland, ME

Registration is limited at most of these events so early registration is key. For more information, visit the Wrightslaw website.

Be a 15 Minute Advocate – Support the Restraint and Seclusion Bill!

Melissa — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:21:06 +0000

COPAA-News is a service of The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc. and may be shared with others.
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Be a 15 Minute Advocate! Tell Congress:

Support Restraint and Seclusion Bill!

Make sure it protects all children, in public and private school.

On FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, WE WILL KICK OFF A WEEK OF ADVOCACY TO ASK CONGRESS TO COSPONSOR AND SUPPORT THE PREVENTING HARMFUL RESTRAINT AND SECLUSION IN SCHOOLS ACT (H.R. 4247 AND S. 2860).

Dial 202-224-3121 (TTY 202-225-1904) and ask for your Representative and then your Senators. See instructions at the end.

The Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (H.R. 4247 and S. 2860) is a bill in Congress to stop schools from restraining children, confining them in seclusion rooms, and using aversive interventions on them. It is important to let Congress know that the bill must continue to protect children in public and private school. It is important to ask members of Congress to cosponsor and support the bill so that it passes.

The House Education and Labor Committee has approved the bill, but it must go to the full floor for a vote. Members of the House of Representatives should be asked to support and cosponsor the bill. Members of the Senate should be asked to co-sponsor the bill.

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATORS.

(1) PLEASE SUPPORT AND COSPONSOR THE PREVENTING HARMFUL RESTRAINT AND SECLUSION IN SCHOOLS ACT. Please ensure that all children are protected at school.

H.R. 4247 and S. 2860 will do much to protect children with disabilities from abuse. This bill prohibits restraint and locked seclusion of schoolchildren unless there is an imminent risk of physical injury that less restrictive interventions would not stop. Restraint and seclusion could not be used as punishment or behavior modification, or to deal with educational disruption and the like. Schools could not use mechanical and chemical restraints or restraints the impede breathing. Schools must notify parents within 24 hours; no school will be able to hide abuse. The bill bans aversives that affect health and safety.

The bill will create a minimum floor of protection in those 23 states with weak or no laws.

(2) ASK CONGRESS TO ENSURE THE BILL PROTECTS ALL CHILDREN, IN BOTH PUBLIC OR PRIVATE SCHOOL. DON’T LET PRIVATE SCHOOLS USE ABUSIVE TECHNIQUES ON CHILDREN.

Private schools want to be exempt from the bill. They claim its one more form of federal intrusion and will stop them from breaking up playground fights.

The bill will not prevent private school staff from stopping a playground scuffle or a coach from separating two hot-tempered players. Both the law and legislative history make clear that escorting a child away from a fight or playground scuffle, holding a child to comfort him, and temporary touch are not restraint. And the law allows all staff to use restraint when any child is in danger of injury. It is very important to share these points in this paragraph with Congress. The private schools have been making inroads with this argument.

The bill should protect all children, in public and private schools. Private schools exist to serve children and parents, not to injure or traumatize children. Asking private schools to notify parents that their child was restrained or secluded is not an unfair burden. Parents must know to watch for trauma or injuries. Many children with disabilities are placed in private schools by school districts and they should not lose vital health and safety protections. Other parents choose to send their children to private school for religious or other reasons; they should not be forced to give up protections from abuse.

The bill only applies to schools that receive federal education aid. This is just like the ADA and Civil Rights Act.

(3) CONGRESS SHOULD PROTECT THE EXISTING PROVISION THAT RESTRAINT AND SECLUSION MAY NOT BE PLANNED INTERVENTIONS IN AN IEP.

Restraint and seclusion are not therapeutic treatments or educational services and may actually deny a student access to education. So, they should not be included in IEPs or BIPs as planned interventions. Instead, IEPs and BIPs should include positive behavioral supports and other services to prevent the use of restraint and seclusion and to provide a student with FAPE. IEPs should also protect children by describing the special needs a student may have because of the nature of their disability or prior trauma. The new law applies to all children, and the IEP should not become a way to avoid the law.

TAKE ACTION! CALL OR EMAIL CONGRESS ON FRIDAY.

FOLLOW THESE EASY STEPS:

Call or email Congress and ask them to support and cosponsor H.R.4247 and S.2860. Ask them to ensure the bill continues to protect all children, in public school and private school. Ask them to protect the bill provision that prohibits using restraint and seclusion as a planned intervention. When you call or write, be sure to include the bill’s name, “The Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act,” and its number (H.R. 4247 in the House and S.2860 in the Senate).

Even if your Representative has already cosponsored the bill, you should call to share the points above about private schools and IEPs.

Telephone/TTY: Call your Congressional Representative and Senators at 202-224-3121 (TTY 202-225-1904). This is the switchboard, so you will need to know your Representative’s and Senators’ names. When you are connected, ask for the aide who handles education or disability. If you get voicemail, please leave a detailed message. (If you can only make one call, call your Representative. This is the top priority.) See instructions below to find out who your Representative/Senators are.

You can find local numbers, direct dial numbers, and fax numbers on your Representative’s webpage at http://www.house.gov and Senators’ webpages at http://www.senate.gov/ (click on Senators).

Email: A call is best because it is more personal. But if you are unable to call (e.g. due to a disability, work schedule, etc.) and need to use email, go to http://www.house.gov/writerep for the House of Representatives (your local area Congressman or Congresswoman). For the Senate, go to http://www.senate.gov/ and click on Senators and then “Choose a State” and then select the webform.

If you cannot call on Friday, it is okay to call on another day, before or after Friday. We’d like to get as many calls over the next week as possible.

Find Out Who Your Congressional Representative is: If you do not know who your Congressional Representative is, go to http://www.house.gov and put your zip code into the box in the upper left corner. (You usually only need your five digit zip code.) You can find your Senators through http://www.senate.gov/ and clicking on Senators and then “”Choose a State.” You have one Representative and two Senators.

If you have already contacted Congress about this bill, please do it again. Please ask your Congressional Representatives and Senators to support the bill, and ensure it applies to all children, in public and private schools.

For more information on the dangers of restraint and seclusion, see COPAA’s report “Unsafe in the Schoolhouse: Abuse of Children with Disabilities” (Jessica Butler, 2009),” which can be found at http://www.copaa.org/pdf/UnsafeCOPAAMay_27_2009.pdf.

See www.govtrack.us for full text of the bills, to track bill progress or to see if your Congressman is a cosponsored.

PLEASE SHARE THIS ALERT BROADLY!

Support the Arizona Autism Spectrum Disorder Task Force – SB1181

Melissa — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:58:25 +0000

Tomorrow, the Arizona State Senate Health Committee will hear SB1181 – the Arizona Autism Spectrum Disorder Task Force – for the first time. The hearing is scheduled for 9:00 am. If you live in Arizona, contact your State Senator to show your support for this task force. Details about the purpose of the task force follow.

REFERENCE TITLE: autism spectrum disorder task force

State of Arizona
Senate
Forty-ninth Legislature
Second Regular Session
2010

SB 1181

Introduced by Senators Aguirre, Leff: Aboud, Allen C, Burton Cahill, Lopez; Representatives Goodale, Jones, Pancrazi

AN ACT

Establishing the autism spectrum disorder task force.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Autism spectrum disorder task force; membership; duties; reports; delayed repeal

A. The autism spectrum disorder task force is established consisting of the following members:

1. Two members of the senate who are appointed by the president of the senate and who represent different political parties.

2. Two members of the house of representative who are appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and who represent different political parties.

3. The director of the department of economic security or the director’s designee.

4. The director of the department of health services or the director’s designee.

5. The director of the Arizona health care cost containment system administration or the director’s designee.

6. The superintendant of public instruction or the superintendant’s designee.

7. One employee of a school district in this state who oversees special education services. The president of the senate shall appoint this member.

8. One representative of an organization in this state that advocates for persons with autism spectrum disorder. The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint this member.

9. One representative of an organization in this state that provides services to persons with autism spectrum disorder. The president of the senate shall appoint this member.

10. One parent of a child with autism spectrum disorder. The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint this member.

11. An adult who has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. The president of the senate shall appoint this member.

12. A developmental pediatrician who is licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 13 or 17, Arizona Revised Statutes, and who has expertise in diagnosing autism spectrum disorder. The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint this member.

13. A behavior analyst who has expertise in autism spectrum disorder. The president of the senate shall appoint this member.

14. A faculty member of a university under the jurisdiction of the board of regents. The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint this member.

15. A member of the business community. The president of the senate shall appoint this member.

B. The task force shall:

1. Review the coordination of services provided by state agencies, schools and organizations relating to the treatment of persons with autism spectrum disorder, including resources available to the families and other caregivers of persons with autism spectrum disorder.

2. Identify problems and recommend solutions regarding the availability of services to persons with autism spectrum disorder and their families and caregivers and the efficient delivery and coordination of those services.

3. Identify current funding sources for services provided to persons with autism spectrum disorder and determine if there are additional available federal or other funding sources that are not being used.

4. Identify and recommend opportunities for the sharing of resources of services to persons with autism spectrum disorder, including partnerships between the public and private sectors.

5. Identify evidence-based treatments and best practices for autism spectrum disorder.

6. Identify state models and service systems for persons with autism spectrum disorder.

7. Submit to the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives an interim report of its findings and recommendations on or before June 30, 2011 and a final report of its findings and recommendations on or before December 15, 2011. The task force shall provide a copy of its interim and final reports to the secretary of state.

C. Task force members are not eligible to receive compensation, but members appointed pursuant to subsection A, paragraphs 8, 9 and 10 are eligible for reimbursement of expenses under title 38, chapter 4, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes.

D. This section is repealed from and after September 30, 2012.

Wrightslaw Special Education Law Conferences – 1Q 2010

Melissa — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:00:24 +0000

January 15, 2010: Tampa, Florida
March 18, 2010: Lake Charles, LA
March 20, 2010: Wheaton, IL
March 25, 2010: Bakersfield, CA
March 27, 2010: Grand Rapids, MI

Registration is limited at most of these events so early registration is key. For more information, visit the Wrightslaw website.

Wrightslaw Conference in Indiana IDEA 2004 & NCLB

Melissa — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:39:38 +0000

Wrightslaw, one of the biggest names in special education advocacy and information, is preparing for the Wrighstlaw Indiana Conference. The theme for the September 18, 2009 conference is IDEA 2004 & NCLB: What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You! with Wayne Steedman, Esq.

IDEA = Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
NCLB = No Child Left Behind

This six hour conference will provide parents with the information they need to better advocate for special education services for their children. While this conference is not autism-specific, the same laws apply to all children in the special education system. Speaking from personal experience, being armed with a solid understanding of your child’s rights under IDEA 2004 will help you when it comes to IEPs, placement, therapy requests, etc.

Registration for this one day conference is $135.00 and the event will be held at:

Junior Achievement of Central Indiana
7435 North Keystone Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46240.

Obama to Sign United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Melissa — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 23:12:11 +0000

July 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — President Obama today announced his intention to sign the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, marking an evolution in the perception of disability as a human rights issue as opposed to a health or social welfare issue. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2006, and has become one of the fastest negotiated Human Rights treaties in history.

Of particular interest to advocates of accessible Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), the Convention clearly indicates that accessible technology is a primary component in ensuring the rights of people with disabilities.

“This is a historic occasion that impacts over 650 million persons with disabilities worldwide,” said Debra Ruh, founder of TecAccess, a provider of accessible Information and Communication Technology solutions. “The Convention demonstrates respect for full and effective participation and inclusion of people with disabilities in society.”

The Convention enumerates the human rights of persons with disabilities, which include:

— the right to equality before the law without discrimination;
— the right to live in the community;
— the right to education;
— the right to health;
— the right to work; and
— the right to participate in political, public and cultural life.

To encourage greater access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), the Convention requires State Parties to promote the research and development of universally designed goods and accessible technologies, and to take appropriate measures to ensure persons with disabilities have equal access to information, communications and the internet.

“With two-thirds of all persons with disabilities living in the developing world where usage of Information and Communication Technologies is growing quickly, the Convention is vital to ensuring that while the growth of ICT transforms the world, people with disabilities are fully participating in the process,” said Ruh.

ACTION ALERT: Let the Florida Department of Education Know Restraints are Not Acceptable

Melissa — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:29:44 +0000

I just received an email about the Florida Department of Education. The state is looking at implementing new rules governing the use of force, including restraints, to maintain order in their classrooms.

This action alert is designed to tell the Florida Department of Education that their proposed rule on the “Use of Reasonable Force” in the classroom is inadequate and inappropriate for the protection of students with and without disabilities in Florida.

Read the alert and take action here: Protect Florida’s Students Against Abuse through Aversives, Restraint and Seclusions

ACTION ALERT: HR3200 Does not Include Autism Insurance Reform Provisions

Melissa — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:10:37 +0000

I just received this via email, please spread the message!

HR 3200 which is the House Health Reform bill does NOT have provisions for autism insurance reform included – yet.

So here is the analogy. The ship has pulled out of port. We have to get on at the next dock because they didn’t hear us the first time. We can still get on but if we don’t yell really loudly we don’t even have a chance to be a rat in the cargo hold must less enjoy getting some sun and fun on the lido deck.

We have to get an amendment attached now that will include autism insurance reform. To do that we MUST grab the attention of Speaker Pelosi.

An action alert will be coming out shortly but in the meantime, I need EACH AND EVERYONE of you right now to get busy spreading this word through your own personal email methods because that bill is in markup at this very moment. She needs to hear from us and it needs to be an unusually high volume of calls.

One or two calls or even 300 is NOT GOING TO DO THIS when there are 300 Million people in the country she reports to so figure out what you can do personally to drive up volume…and follow up and make sure everyone realizes this is it. Game on. Now.

Please forward an email that says this:

The health reform ship has sailed and autism insurance reform is not on it. H.R. 3200 is currently in mark up and our hope of acheiving autism insurance reform as part of the larger health reform initiative will require an amendment.

Now more than ever I need you to call Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office at 202-225-0100 and tell her office that health insurance reform that does not stop autism insurance discrimination is unacceptable.

You need to get 20 people in your life MINIMUM to call within the next two hours and you must keep the pressure up and keep the pressure on if you want to see this for your children.

All you have to say is this:

“Hi. My name is ________. I believe that health insurance that does not stop autism insurance discrimination is unacceptable and I am counting on Speaker Pelosi to be sure that children with autism have appropriate coverage for the treatments and therapies they deserve access to for their medical condition. Thank you.”

Spread it far and wide…go go go!

Shelley Hendrix
Autism Speaks

New Autism Speaks Advertisement Targets Autism Insurance Woes

Melissa — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:33:13 +0000

California Department of Managed Health Care – Autism Lawsuit

Melissa — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 06:27:43 +0000

The mother of an autistic child joined Consumer Watchdog and its attorneys today to announce a lawsuit against the California Department of Managed Health Care (“DMHC”), the Schwarzenegger Administration agency responsible for regulating many of California’s health insurers. The suit alleges that the DMHC has wrongfully allowed insurance companies to refuse to pay for autism treatments, resulting in the denial of critically needed, medically necessary treatment for autistic children.

The suit, filed by Consumer Watchdog and Strumwasser & Woocher LLP, alleges that the DMHC, and its Director Cindy Ehnes, recently changed the state agency’s policy to permit insurers to deny coverage for Applied Behavioral Analysis (“ABA”), an essential treatment for autism, in plain violation of the California Mental Health Parity Act. That law requires health insurers to cover and pay for all medically necessary treatments for autism, including ABA. If successful, the suit would require the DMHC to bar insurers from refusing to cover medically necessary ABA treatments. The suit also seeks to compel the DMHC to turn over records that would expose the full extent of the DMHC’s violations of the California Mental Health Parity Act and the Knox-Keene Act.

“Californians, including those stricken by autism, and their parents and caregivers, expect regulators to enforce the law, not to side with insurance companies seeking to boost their profits by denying patients the care they need,” said Harvey Rosenfield, founder of the non-profit advocacy group Consumer Watchdog and author of the landmark insurance reform initiative Proposition 103. “Governor Schwarzenegger, a longtime and vocal supporter of the Special Olympics and developmentally disabled children, will now have to explain in court why his administration is allowing health insurers to evade state mental health laws and shift health care costs to already beleaguered taxpayers.”

Governor Schwarzenegger, who appointed the current Director of the DMHC, has received $711,200 in campaign contributions from Blue Cross, Kaiser and Blue Shield — three health insurers regulated by the DMHC that commonly deny coverage for autism treatments.

The DMHC’s actions upholding heath insurance denials for medically necessary autism treatment puts children at risk by forcing parents to seek treatment through over-stretched taxpayer-funded programs, or to forgo treatment altogether.

“HMOs and health insurers are denying autistic children the most effective medical treatment that is available, with severe consequences for them, their families, and the state’s taxpayers,” said Fredric D. Woocher, lead counsel in the suit. “Insurance companies are blatantly violating California law. Yet the Department of Managed Health Care is not only standing by and doing nothing to prevent these violations; it is actually supporting the insurers as they abandon autistic children and their families.”

Insurer’s New Tactic in the Battle to Avoid Paying for Autism

ABA is a form of behavioral therapy that has been scientifically proven to improve brain function in autistic children. For years, insurance companies refused to pay for ABA on the grounds that it was “experimental” and that there was insufficient medical evidence to show that it was an effective treatment for autism. But the evidence supporting the efficacy of ABA is now overwhelming. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the United States Surgeon General all agree that behavioral interventions, such as ABA, are a critical component of any comprehensive autism treatment program.

According to the lawsuit, until March of this year, health care consumers were able to appeal an insurer’s denial of ABA through the DMHC’s Independent Medical Review (“IMR”) system, in which a treatment denial is reviewed by a team of doctors that is unaffiliated with the insurance company that denied the treatment and independent of the DMHC.

The suit alleges that as the IMR doctors increasingly overturned insurer treatment denials, compelling the insurers to pay for ABA, insurers privately urged the DMHC to change its procedures and process the treatment denials through the DMHC’s own internal grievance review system. Unlike the IMR system, in which independent doctors evaluate whether a treatment should be provided on the basis of whether it is medically necessary and effective, the grievance system is conducted by DMHC staff, who are not doctors and who simply defer to the insurers’ determination of whether the claim is even covered by their health care policies.

“Health insurers want to re-write the law to benefit their bottom line and the regulators are holding the pen,” said Pam Pressley, Consumer Watchdog’s Litigation Director. “California’s mental health laws are clear: doctors get to decide whether care is needed, not insurance company bureaucrats or government lawyers.”

Consumer Watchdog has learned that the health insurance industry mounted a lobbying campaign to convince the Schwarzenegger Administration that ABA is an “educational” program not covered by health insurance policies. On March 9, 2009, the DMHC issued a memo indicating that the agency would review ABA and other autism treatment denials through the DMHC’s internal grievance system as urged by insurers.

Consumer Watchdog has evidence that the DMHC has in fact upheld the insurers’ denials of ABA on coverage grounds in violation of the Mental Health Parity Act. That law requires insurers to pay for any “medically necessary” and effective autism treatment — a decision that must be made by independent doctors, not by insurance company bureaucrats or government lawyers.

Kristie Sepulveda Burchit, mother of Aidan who suffers from autism, joined the group to announce the lawsuit. Kristie’s insurer, Blue Cross, first refused to provide ABA in 2008 on the ground that it was not medically effective as a treatment for autism. Kristie requested an IMR and the independent physicians who reviewed her appeal overturned the Blue Cross denial. Then, in 2009, shortly after the DMHC issued its March 9 memo, Blue Cross again refused to pay for Burchit’s continued ABA autism treatment, this time on the basis that it supposedly was “not covered” by Kristie’s health insurance policy because ABA is an “educational service.” Burchit has now appealed the denial to the DMHC through the grievance system and is awaiting a decision from the regulator. Consumer Watchdog said that if it wins the lawsuit, the DMHC would have to order Blue Cross to provide ABA treatment for Aidan.

The suit also alleges that the DMHC and its Director Cindy Ehnes:

— Illegally instituted a policy of denying ABA treatment on the ground
that providers were inadequately licensed, despite the fact that the
law clearly requires health insurers to cover all medically necessary
treatments for autism, including ABA, whenever such services are
either provided or supervised by a licensed or certified professional.
— Illegally withheld public documents properly requested under the
California Public Records Act, which would expose how the DMHC
conducts its “grievance system” and would reveal the full extent of
the DMHC’s violations of the mental health parity law.

Nearly 1 out of every 150 children born in the United States is diagnosed with autism. As of December 2007, the California Department of Developmental Services provided care to nearly 37,000 Californians with autism.

On a different note, don’t forget to register to win a free WELLalarm Medical ID Sticker product (retail value $30).