CEC | Policy & Advocacy

Policy & Advocacy
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The Council for Exceptional Children works to improve public policy affecting children and youth with disabilities and gifts and talents, their parents, and the professionals who work with them, at all levels of government.

In advocating on behalf of children with exceptionalities, CEC examines policy issues, develops appropriate responses to those issues, and influences local, state, provincial, and federal legislation. CEC also monitors and makes recommendations for program regulations and funding. In addition, CEC maintains a network among its units for influencing policy.

CEC is the recognized leader in advocacy for special education policy. CEC has a long history of success in impacting policy and legislation in the special education, gifted and talented, and general education areas. CEC played a large part in developing the predecessor of today's IDEA, then known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (PL 94-142). This law established the right to a free, appropriate public education for children with disabilities.

CEC’s Public Policy Agenda for the 111th Congress
Read CEC’s public policy priorities for 2009-2011 on IDEA, No Child Left Behind, gifted education, Medicaid, and more.

CEC's Policy Insider E-newsletter and Blog
Our Policy Insider offers two ways to learn about the special and gifted education issues facing Congress and the administration: an up-to-the-minute blog and weekly e-mail updates.

News

Special Educators Support New Legislation on Restraint and Seclusion
HR 4247 is the first national effort to address harmful restraint and seclusion and will serve to protect some of the nation’s most vulnerable students -- children and youth with disabilities.

2011 Budget is “Missed Opportunity” for Special, Gifted Ed
While signaling an ambitious new direction for federal K-12 education policy, President Obama’s budget is a disappointment to national special education advocates.

Restraint and Seclusion Legislation Introduced in the Senate
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) has introduced legislation to protect children from misuse of restraint and seclusion practices. The Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act, which includes CEC and CCBD recommendations, was introduced simultaneously in the House of Representatives on Dec. 9.

Special Educators Applaud Proposed Legislation on Restraint and Seclusion
CEC and CCBD recommendations are key elements of new bipartisan legislation, introduced today by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), that aims to protect children from misuse of restraint and seclusion practices.

Share Your Successes for a CEC Policy Publication!
CEC is collecting stories for its annual policy publication, the Federal Outlook for Exceptional Children, which is distributed to policymakers as a tool to advocate for increased special and gifted education funding. Share how critical funding is to the development of children with exceptionalities: Submit your story by Dec. 31, 2009.

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Policy Insider e-Newsletter

02/03/2010- The President's Budget Request: A Look at IDEA and Javits; 2011 Education Budget is "Missed Opportunity" for Special, Gifted Education; Duncan Responds to Obama's State of the Union; IES Announces Two Special Education Grant Competitions; Share Your Class

01/27/2010- Tune into the State of the Union Tonight!; Majority of States Submit Race to the Top Applications; Report on Growth Models Highlights the Difficulties States Have Including Alternative Assessment Scores; Share Your Classroom and Program Successes for a CE

01/20/2010- Forest Grove Case Revisited: A Win for the School District?; Share Your Classroom and Program Successes for a CEC Policy Publication!; Institute for Education Sciences Newsletter Highlights Goals for Education Research; Institute for Education Sciences N

01/13/2010- The Year Ahead in Funding; Share Your Classroom and Program Successes for a CEC Policy Publication!; President Obama Nominates Individuals to National Council on Disability; Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation Seeks Public Policy Fellows

01/06/2010- Seeking Co-Sponsors for the Restraint and Seclusion Bills; Race to the Top Application Deadline Nears; Program Provides Funding for Education Reforms; Share Your Classroom and Program Successes for a CEC Policy Publication!; GAO Examines Whether Increasin

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