A bi-weekly e-brief of the DEC Children's Action Network
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Call to Action

★ Stay tuned for next steps on contacting your Senators regarding the AHCA. 

★ Please continue to share our message of #WeBelieve in inclusion and the civil rights of all children and youth with disabilities and their families across social media.

You can also tweet your Senators or tweet your Representatives.
WHAT'S
HAPPENING
IN
WASHINGTON

★ DEC joined fellow member organizations of the Save Medicaid in Schools Coalition to voice concern regarding the American Health Care Act (AHCA). In particular, districts and programs rely on Medicaid reimbursements to ensure children with disabilities have access to services to help ensure a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) and early intervention. The letter was signed and delivered to Capitol Hill on May 2, 2017.

★   On May 11th, DEC provided comment on proposed modifications to the 2017 National Survey of Children’s Health [NSCH]. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is proposing to delete from the 2017 NSCH a question on whether children have experienced suspension or expulsion from child care or preschool. A number of organizations are writing letters to urge HHS to retain this question in its survey. 

DEC strongly opposes removal of this question as it would eliminate a critical opportunity to obtain nationally representative data on the incidence of child care and preschool suspensions and expulsions from a parental perspective as well as across a multitude of early childhood settings. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is proposing eliminating this question, because “[s]ponsorship of this item [by the Administration for Children and Families] is no longer anticipated, nor does this item address an identified analytic need.” This is the only item HHS is proposing to remove from the survey.

The NSCH is an important tool to obtain data on preschool expulsion from a representative pool of families who may use a range of child care and preschool settings. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights collects data on preschool expulsions but that is limited to preschools operated by public schools and therefore does not provide information on the incidence of preschool expulsions or suspensions in other early childhood settings.

★ On May 4th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA) with a 217-213 vote. Twenty Republicans joined all House Democrats in opposing the legislation. CEC and DEC have taken a strong stance against the AHCA, given that it slashes funding for Medicaid, which is critical to many children – especially those with disabilities. The U.S. Senate has not yet scheduled a date to vote on this bill. 

★ President Donald Trump signed a $1.07 trillion fiscal year 2017 omnibus spending bill on May 5th that will fund government operations through the end of September. Section 619 of Part B and Part C have been level-funded, while Part B has received a modest increase overall. For more information, see this comprehensive table and summary from the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD).  

★ The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) is seeking input regarding the IDEA.ed.gov website. The input is intended to support the Department in updating the site and ensuring there are easy-to-navigate resources available. A blog is available for users to provide comment. 

Other updates, courtesy of the Council for Exceptional Children:
DEC Policy & Advocacy News
★ Reminder: The DEC Policy website now has a repository of past and significant Advocacy Letters written or signed on by the organization. The page includes letters sent to Congress, government agencies, and cabinet members. DEC’s Priority Recommendations to the Trump Administration and the 115th Congress, delivered directly to new Secretary DeVos, can be found here.   
UPCOMING DEC POLICY & ADVOCACY EVENTS
  • Mark your calendars! The next DEC advocacy webinar will be Friday May 26th from 12:30pm-1:30pm EDT. The webinar will focus on DEC’s new policy and advocacy structure, and how Subdivision CAN fits into this. Monthly “drop-in” hours for CAN Coordinators will be discussed, as well as opportunities for Subdivisions to work with national CAN to address state-specific issues. Not a CAN Coordinator? No problem! Join us to learn more about the purpose of CAN and what you can do to get involved. Register here to attend.
  • Beginning in June, there will be two DEC Subdivision CAN “drop-in” hours available to current CAN Coordinators, Subdivision leadership, and/or interested members. Potential uses of drop-in hours will be discussed further during the May 26th webinar. Call-in information will be provided at a later date. The tentative schedule for 2017 is as follows:
      o June 13th 12pm-1pm ET (2nd Tuesday)
      o June 29th 5pm-6pm ET (4th Thursday)
      o July 11th 12pm-1pm ET (2nd Tuesday)
      o July 27th 5pm-6pm ET (4th Thursday) 
      o August 8th 12pm-1pm ET (2nd Tuesday)
      o August 24th 5pm-6pm ET (4th Thursday)
      o September 12th 12pm-1pm ET (2nd Tuesday)
      o September 28th 5pm-6pm ET (4th Thursday)
      o October 10th 12pm-1pm ET (2nd Tuesday)
      o October 26th 5pm-6pm ET (4th Thursday)
      o November 14th 12pm-1pm ET (2nd Tuesday)
      o November 30th 5pm-6pm ET (5th Thursday, as the 4th is a holiday)
      o December 12th 12pm-1pm ET (2nd Tuesday)
      o December 28th 5pm-6pm ET (4th Thursday)   
Have an early childhood special education or early intervention policy or advocacy story you would like to share? Whether you are a Subdivision leader/member or just an interested DEC member unaffiliated with a Subdivision, contact  brittany@dec-sped.org or DEC CAN Coordinator anlyons@kent.edu  to share what's happening in your state or Subdivision or just to bring awareness to an important policy or advocacy issue relevant to DEC. 

Please note that all story submissions must be non-partisan in nature. If you are interested in guidance on how to craft your story and/or how to ensure it is non-partisan, DEC will be happy to help! Selected stories will be shared in a future issue of YES DEC CAN! 
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