The Coalition for Children with Disabilities is pleased to share its 2006 legislative goals with you. The Coalition for Children with Disabilities is comprised of eight statewide organizations representing over 114,000 children and young adults with disabilities. Additionally, the coalition works in collaboration with several other organizations which provide advocacy and support services to children and young adults with disabilities.

Legislative Goals
Click on the individual links below to read each goals' complete fact sheet.

1. Increase Funding for Special Education
2. Maintain Minnesota’s Historical Commitment to Students with Disabilities by Opposing Efforts to Sunset State Laws and Rules
3. Maintain Minnesota’s Statute on Burden of Proof in Special Education Due Process Hearings
4. Improve Competencies for School Administrators in the Areas of Mental Illness, Autism Spectrum Disorders and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports
5. Increase the Number of Licensed Teachers for Students who have Emotional-Behavior Disorders
6. Enhance Minnesota’s Early Childhood Special Education Services

Position

1. Add language to statute which clarifies a non-resident’s district’s obligation to provide early childhood special education services when a child with a disability attends pre-school or child care programs in the district. Adopting language similar to that found in the k-12 statutes would address this issue.
2. Update Minnesota’s eligibility criteria for early childhood special education services. Currently, Minnesota’s eligibility criterion does not meet federal requirements. Changing the definition to meet the federal requirements should not jeopardize Minnesota’s birth mandate and should provide services to infants who do not need special education services.
3. Ensure early identification of infants and toddlers with autism and then implement intensive services as appropriate. Research indicates that when specialized early intervention services are provided to infants with autism or autism spectrum disorders, the need for publicly funded services later in life diminishes.
4. Reduce suspensions of pre-schoolers with disabilities from early intervention programs, pre-schools, Head Start programs, and privately funded day care programs. Suspending children in these programs does not lead to changing behaviors and may exacerbate problem behaviors in subsequent school years. Instead of suspending, technical assistance and additional funding should be made available to increase capacity to utilize positive behavior supports within these programs.

We are looking forward to working with you this session.

Paid for with private funding.