| Home | Site Search | Outreach | See/Hear Index |

Winter 2002 Table of Contents 
Versión Español de este artículo (Spanish Version)

Reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

The Secretary of Education invites written comments from the public on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), to help the Department of Education prepare for reauthorization of the Act in 2002. To ensure that your comments are considered by the Department as its legislative proposal on IDEA is prepared, we encourage you to submit them before February 25, 2002. All comments concerning the reauthorization of IDEA should be addressed to Thomas Irvin, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education, and submitted by one of the following methods.

1. Comments can be submitted by e-mail to Comments@ed.gov. You must write "IDEA Reauthorization" in the subject line of your electronic message.
2. You can also submit your comments via surface mail to Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Mary E. Switzer Building, Room 3086, Washington DC 20202-2570.

Please submit your comments only one time. For further information contact JoLeta Reynolds or Thomas Irvin at (202) 205-5507 (voice) or (202) 205-5465 (TDD). This document is available in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to Katie Mincey, Director of the Alternate Formats Center, at (202) 205-8113. For information about IDEA, you can go to this website http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2002-1/011002c.html. 

IDEA is the major legal basis for special education service delivery on our country. Many advocacy groups in the fields of blindness and deafblindness have developed position statements to prepare for IDEA reauthorization. You may want to contact one or more of the following organizations to see what issues they believe are important to address in the next revision of IDEA.

1. The Alliance of and for Visually Impaired Texans (AVIT)
   Phone: (800) 394-0666
2. The Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER)
   Phone: (703) 823-9690, Website: http://www.aerbvi.org/ 
3. The American Council of the Blind (ACB)
   Phone: (800) 424-8666, Website: http://www.acb.org/ 
4. The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
   Phone: (800-232-5463), Website: http://www.afb.org/ 
5. The Deaf-Blind Multihandicapped Association of Texas (DBMAT)
   Phone: (972) 287-1904, Website: http://www.dbmat-tx.org/ 
6. The National Family Association for Deaf-Blind (NFADB)
   Phone: (800) 255-0411, extension 275, Website: http://www.nfadb.org/ 
7. National Federation of the Blind (NFB)
   Phone: (410) 659-9314, Website: http://www.nfb.org/ 

| Winter 2002 Table of Contents | Send EMail to SEE / HEAR |

Please complete the comment form or send comments and suggestions to: Jim Allan (Webmaster-Jim Allan)

Last Revision: July 30, 2002