Help Students with Disabilities to Meet State Education Standards – Call Your Senators Today!

The Senate is scheduled to begin debate the Every Child Achieves Act (ECAA) on July 7. While the bill includes important provisions that support students with disabilities, it still does not include two critical requirements: 1) school intervention when groups of students (including students with disabilities) are not meeting state standards; and 2) full certification for teachers.

Presently, the ECAA only requires intervention and support for schools that fail to meet state performance standards overall, rather than for schools where any subgroups of students (including those with disabilities) fail to meet those standards.  Language must be included that assures targeted instruction and other supports when student groups in any school do not meet reading, math or graduation goals.

The current version of the ECAA eliminated the “highly qualified” provision for teachers, requiring only that they be state certified.  States have multiple levels of certification, some of which do not reflect full preparation or full qualification, such as temporary or provisional certification.

Find your elected officials

What To Say:

• I am a member of The Arc Alliance.
• I am calling to ask Senator _________ to support the amendment to the Every Child Achieves Act on student group accountability.
• We must ensure that student groups that are not meeting state-set academic and graduation goals for two years or more are provided targeted intervention and instructional support.
• I am also calling to ask that a requirement be added for teachers to be “fully” certified. Students with disabilities are disproportionately taught by teachers who are not fully prepared to be teachers.
• Students with disabilities deserve accountability and qualified teachers so that they can be prepared for work or college.