Virginia Legislators: I urge you to stop Education Secretary Arne Duncan from stripping the constitutional power of the states to govern over their own educational systems. Final action is due on January 1, 2015 for an amendment of the regulations governing Title 1, part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Once amended, the authority of the States to define modified academic achievement standards and develop alternative assessments based on those modified academic achievement standards will be phased out.
Under section 612(a)(16)(A) of the IDEA and 34 CFR 100.160(a), a State must ensure that all children with disabilities are included in all general State and district-wide assessment programs, including assessments described under section 1111 of the ESEA, if necessary, with appropriate accommodations and alternate assessments, as indicated in their respective individualized education programs (IEPs). The amendment is a step towards the dismantling of IDEA as it will disallow an alternative assessment accommodation for students that will not meet the general assessment requirements, but are not considered at a level low enough to qualify for an alternate assessment based on an alternate set of academic standards.
One of our goals in education is to close the achievement gap and provide equal access to educational success for all students. This amendment sends us backwards from the recognition that all students are individuals with different learning needs. I ask that you take measures to stop the implementation.
