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Alert Number 125       May 6, 2005       Action Suggested

RALLY FOR THE REHAB ACT -- THE 'MUST' MARCH IN MAY

To: Members of the Legislative Network
From: Patricia Leahy, Director of Governmental Affairs

On, Thursday, May 26, 2005, please join the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), the National Rehabilitation Association (NRA), Consortia of Administrators for Native American Rehabilitation (CANAR), the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind (NCSAB), the Council for State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR), The American Council for the Blind (ACB), and many other nationally-known, very well-respected disABILITY advocacy organizations, for 'THE MUST MARCH IN MAY' ON THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.

The 'MUST MARCH IN MAY will take place in front of the U. S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, beginning at 10:30 a.m. on May 26, and concluding at around 1:30 p.m., in front of the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C.
Metro (subway) access: The L'Enfant Plaza Stop on the Blue and Orange Lines. Take the Maryland Avenue, S.W. EXIT from Metro which will put you as close as possible to the U.S. Department of Education.

The ' May 26 MUST MARCH IN MAY' is intended to be and will be peaceful and promises to draw a diverse, cross-section of the community.

So, why are we marching?

It began with the U.S. Department of Education and, in particular, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), recommending to the Congress that the Office of the Commissioner of RSA be DOWNGRADED FROM a Presidential-Appointment, confirmed by the full U.S. Senate, to a Director selected by the U.S. Secretary of Education.

Then came the WIA PLUS BLOCK GRANT AMENDMENT, which again, the U.S. Department of Education and in particular, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, championed BEHIND CLOSED DOORS as a way empower Governors to take unlimited amounts of money from Title I of VR, absent accountability for those funds.

Then came the elimination of RSA's Regional Offices which, once again, was discussed BEHIND CLOSED DOORS by the-then Acting Assistant Secretary of OSERS, Troy Justesen, who tells the community that the U.S. Department of Education can do this by administrative fiat -- it does not have to be approved by your elected representatives in the U.S. Congress.

And, the latest?

Once again, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, discussions in OSERS about the elimination in RSA of the DIVISION OF BLIND SERVICES AND THE DEAFNESS AND COMMUNICATION DISORDERS BRANCH.

We all have fought long and hard for the safeguards and protections inherent the Rehabilitation Act. If we lose any of those protections, it will take us at least a generation --if that -- to retrieve what we have lost. We are including NFB¡¦s Alert regarding the plan to dismantle RSA.

THE MUST MARCH IN MAY IS MANDATORY FOR ALL OF US.

SAFEGUARD THE PROTECTIONS INHERENT IN THE REHAB ACT -- JOIN THE 'MUST MARCH IN MAY'.

FIGHT ON, VR, FIGHT ON.

We are including NFB¡¦s Alert in this regard.
Fact Sheet: Department of Education Planning to Dismantle RSA
Prepared by the National Federation of the Blind (April 25, 2005)

Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and her staff at ED have failed to listen to their experienced career employees, to the trade organizations of the agencies with which it partners, and, most importantly, to the consumers that it serves. The devaluing of persons with disabilities is prominently evident in the following actions of the Department of Education under the Bush Administration, as ED is now planning to systematically dismantle Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), the single most important program in history for persons with disabilities. ED explains this under the guise of updating programs and saving money by consolidating services, especially employment services, in one place. The current Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program is NOT just a job placement service, but a comprehensive rehabilitation program that changes people¡¦s lives. It prepares people for work and for independent living.

The ED proposal would:

„h Cut the number of RSA staff persons in half by closing the regional offices that provide support, assistance, and oversight to state VR agencies and grantees;
„h Unilaterally direct these major staff cuts at RSA;
„h Eliminate half of 65 positions in RSA¡X43 percent of those fired are persons with disabilities;
„h Promote WIA Plus super waiver authority which effectively allows Governors to consolidate programs;
„h Allow governors, under WIA Plus super waiver authority, to raid the funding of the VR program to provide support for a struggling Workforce Investment System of One-Stop Centers, many of which are not programmatically or physically accessible;
„h ¡§Consolidate¡¨ all job placement under One-Stop Centers which lack the expertise to provide the comprehensive and specialized services needed by persons with disabilities in order to go to work;
„h Consolidate and reorganize RSA to dissolve specialized services; and
„h Downgrade the position of the ¡§Commissioner¡¨ of RSA (a presidential appointee confirmed by the Senate) to that of ¡§director¡¨ of RSA, despite the nationwide protests by persons with disabilities who have advocated for an increased profile within ED.

People with disabilities have worked too hard to build a successful partnership with the federal government for a handful of powerful and misguided individuals to tear it down for their own purposes. Rest assured that we will not stand silent on these assaults.

Join us May 26 for a peaceful but determined rally in front of the ED, 400 Maryland Avenue, Southwest, Washington, DC, from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM. (Preliminaries begin 9:30 AM behind the ED at the Holiday Inn Capitol, 550 C Street, Southwest.)

Call, Email, or Fax a letter to Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and send a copy to your elected officials in the Congress.
„h Email Margaret.Spellings@ed.gov, and her secretary, Christina.Wilson@ed.gov.
„h Or Fax Secretary Spellings: (202) 401-0596.
„h Call Secretary Spellings: (202) 401-3000.

Get personal. Tell Secretary Spellings how the proposed changes would negatively affect your life and the lives of other persons with disabilities. Tell her it is proper that ¡§No Child Is Left Behind,¡¨ but tell her, ¡§You are leaving US behind!¡¨

For more information: call the Rally Coordinator at (410) 659-9314,
or email to nfb@nfb.org, Subject line: ED Rally May 26.


 
 
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