June 24, 2004

Dear Representative:

This week, Representative David Obey intends to offer a budget resolution to increase funding for education programs. The undersigned members of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Education Task Force urge you to support the Obey Resolution. The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities is a coalition of approximately 100 national disability organizations working together to advocate for national public policy that ensures the self determination, independence, empowerment, integration and inclusion of children and adults with disabilities in all aspects of society. The Education Task Force consists of parent, service provider, disability advocacy and special education organizations.

Children with disabilities and their families will greatly benefit from this legislation. First, by increasing funding for Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), students with disabilities in our public schools will have greater access to the services, technologies and qualified personnel they need to be academically successful. Second, by increasing funding for after-school programs, students with disabilities will have greater opportunities to receive the supportive services they need to be successful in life.

Please vote YES on the Obey Resolution. Thank you for considering our views.

Sincerely,

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American Association on Mental Retardation
American Counseling Association
American Dance Therapy Association
American Music Therapy Association
American Occupational Therapy Association
American Physical Therapy Association
American Psychological Association
American Society for Deaf Children
Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Brain Injury Association of America
Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders
Children’s Defense Fund
Council for Exceptional Children
Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children
Easter Seals
Helen Keller National Center
Higher Education Consortium for Special Education
IDEA Infant Toddler Coordinators Association
International Dyslexia Association
LDA, the Learning Disabilities Association of America
National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
National Association of Private Special Education Centers
National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems
National Association of School Psychologists
National Association of Social Workers
National Association of State Directors of Special Education
National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
National Coalition on Deaf-Blindness
National Mental Health Association
National PTA
School Social Work Association of America
Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children
The Arc of the United States
Tourette Syndrome Association
United Cerebral Palsy