Dear Friends,
Please take a couple of minutes to send a lettter to Speaker Perez to oppose SB 1317 which is a very bad bill for parents. It will make it so that school districts can send parents to jail for "chronic truancy". However, chronic is anything over 3 absences per year and the bill is not clear on how disability related absences would be treated.
Action Items:
1.) Attached is a template, please feel free to edit to personalize. You can fax it to 916 319 2146.
2.) Call the speaker John Perez at 916 319 2046. When calling you will get a staff person on the phone who you can leave a message with. You can say that you would like to leave a message for the speaker to oppose SB 1317 Leno because you are concerned that it will negatively impact children with disabilities. They log numbers of calls.
Speaker of the Assembly
John Perez
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0046
Tel: (916) 319-2046
Fax: (916) 319-2146
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0046
Tel: (916) 319-2046
Fax: (916) 319-2146
It would also be good if you could send a note/make a call to your Assemblymember.You can find out who your state legislator is by going to the following link and entering your zip code
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From Disability Rights California (DRA):
Disability Rights California participates in variety of ADA events July 24-28
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation gathered the wheelchair community at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on July 25 to make a little history of their own. The morning festivities culminated when the crowd of LA wheelers demolished the Guinness world record for most wheelchairs in a moving line. Read about it here.
Today, the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, cited by President Obama for its emphasis on independence rather than dependence, is being celebrated in each of the 50 states. In California, thousands of supporters turned out for events including parades and rallies, celebrations of disability milestones, and community fairs. Disability Rights California helped to sponsor a few and joined in others with information and "know your rights" booths. Following are a selection of events that just concluded:
- the West Coast's first Disability Pride Parade and Festival was held in San Jose on July 24, organized by the Silicon Valley Center for Independent Living;
- in Hayward, a 20th ADA Anniversary Festival was put together by Community Resources for Independent Living (CRIL);
- from 9-1 today, a huge ADA Rally took place at the Capitol Building in Sacramento, with a variety of speakers and entertainment assembled by the Department of Rehabilitation;
- a celebratory Youth Leadership Forum (YLF) luncheon was held today, featuring leaders from the 1990 ADA signing ceremony as well as young activists; and
- on the afternoon of July 28, the YLF, sponsored by the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers, invited everyone to participate in an exhibition of adaptive sports at Raley Field in Sacramento, followed by a River Cats (baseball) game that recognized the YLF leadership and featured an accessible sing-along of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." Watch this space for more details as we receive them.
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From Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF):
American Council of the Blind v. Michael Astrue, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, et al.
October 20, 2009
Judge William Alsup of the US District Court, Northern District of California in San Francisco, granted final judgment in favor of the Plaintiff classes under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504). The Court ruled that by April 15, 2010, the Social Security Administration (SSA) must provide blind and visually impaired SSI recipients, retirement benefits recipients and representative payees a choice of receiving notices and other communications in the alternative formats of Braille, navigable Microsoft Word CDs, or a telephone call from an SSA representative. The agency is also required to take steps to notify class members of these alternative format options, as well as class members’ right under Section 504 to request any other alternative format in accordance with procedures set forth under regulations enacted under Section 504. This ruling signals a major victory for the disability rights movement, and it sets precedent for the obligations of other federal and state agencies to provide alternative formats and effective communication to people who are blind or have visual impairments, and to notify such individuals of their rights under federal law. ___________________________________________________ Janeen Steel, a Member of CAPCA, Tells House Subcommittees that More Needs to Be Done to Guarantee Quality Education.
Janeen Steel, foreground, preparing to testify before Congress on March 12, 2009 Press Release March 12, 2009 3:45 PM WASHINGTON, D.C. – Janeen Steel, Executive Director of Learning Rights Law Center, expressed concern at a joint hearing of the Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee and the Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee in Washington D.C. over what she sees daily in her representation of at risk and foster youth in Southern California. Ms. Steel gave moving testimony in which she shared her own troubled personal experience as a youth growing up in Los Angeles. Ms Steel, who graduated from UCLA Law after being finally diagnosed with a learning disability as an adult, astutely pointed out that she and the students she serves “are one in the same.” “When working with youth placed in any alternative setting due to foster care placements or juvenile justice proceedings, urgency drives us to get them out as soon as possible. Priority one: These 'alternative' schools are really just warehouses for youth that society has not cared enough to invest in educating,” said Ms. Steel. Learning Rights Law Center is a nonprofit legal services organization whose mission is to ensure education equity for all students. Learning Rights focuses on students in the K-12 school system, including children who are in the foster care and juvenile systems. “We can’t afford for any of our children or at-risk youth to fall through the cracks. Addressing the educational needs of students from the beginning of a child’s school career is not only economically sound, but it is simply the right thing to do,” said U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), the chair of the Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee. “Families and educators alike are concerned that instead of addressing the individualized needs of children, these alternative schools are pushing students out of school and into the juvenile and criminal justice system.” said U.S. Rep. Robert “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), the chair of the House Crime Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee. “The school system has become a gateway into the juvenile justice system through disciplinary policies such as 'zero tolerance' that require school suspension, expulsion, and arrest for an increasing number of common student behaviors and rule violations. All students must have a challenging curriculum that will prepare them to pass state standardized tests and in many states allow them to graduate from high school.” As witnesses explained today, letting at-risk students slip through the cracks poses severe economic losses to society. The economic cost of losing a single student, for example, is $2.2 million over a lifetime. Oversight for these alternative programs varies largely by state, county and school district – making it unclear if at-risk youth are receiving the same quality of education as they would in traditional schools. Consistent regulations are needed to make sure that students can transition more smoothly between alternative education facilities and traditional schools – or that students don’t fall through the cracks. Witnesses also explained today that early identification and assessments of problems of these students are crucial to make their time in these facilities successful.