Advocacy

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) is upon us, and as ACRES members we want to make sure that our rural voices are heard.  Please use the following as a template for communicating the needs of rural special education teachers, students and their families, and related service personnel to your senators and representatives.  Sending letters as email attachments works particularly well for legislative staffers!
 
Dear Senator/Representative [Name]: 
 
My name is _________________ and I live in_____________________.   As a member of the American Council on Rural Special Education (ACRES) and a constituent in your state/district, I want to first of all thank you for representing our state/district and considering the needs of rural special education students and the families and teachers who work with them every day.
 
As a teacher/administrator/teacher educator/student/parent of a child with a disability at/in (school district/university), I would like to express several concerns I have regarding the manner in which special education services in rural schools are addressed in two important pieces of legislation, namely: the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA).   
 

  1. Recruitment and Retention of Highly Qualified Teachers.

Recruiting and retaining special education teachers who meet the requirements to be highly qualified under these laws can be challenging for rural school districts.  We want our teachers to be the most qualified teachers in the nation, but the salaries in rural districts tend to be lower than in urban and suburban districts, making recruitment difficult.  There are many capable individuals within our communities who would like to develop the skills and knowledge to be highly qualified, but this also takes time and money.  To this end, more money for loan forgiveness programs for teaching in rural schools would be helpful, as would allow states to establish state and region specific requirements for highly qualified special education teacher status.

     
  1. Need for better personnel development/continuing education in rural areas.

The rural districts in our state/district do not receive the same quantity and/or quality of continuing education for our special education teachers and related service personnel as districts located closer to (specify urban centers in your area). Improving internet connections in rural areas would allow our rural school personnel to participate in state and national web-based conferences.  Travel money for rural teachers and related service personnel to travel to metropolitan areas where state trainings and conferences are held is also a critical need, as is tailoring personnel development to needs of rural school districts.
 

  1. Problems with data reported for Annual Yearly Progress (AYP).

The methods for reporting AYP and identifying schools and districts in need of improvement continue to be problematic for rural schools.  The statistical formulas used to calculate AYP can either under-identify schools in need or unfairly categorize a school as failing. In addition, special education teachers don’t get “credit” for the hard work they do towards helping students with special education needs perform successfully on statewide assessments.     

     
    These issues can greatly impact the moral within a rural school and frequently leads to teacher and staff attrition.  Our rural special education teachers and related service personnel work hard to serve our children with special education needs, but the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) marginalizes them by not differentiating the unique needs of rural schools from urban and suburban schools.  
     
    I thank you for your time in reading this letter, and I urge you and your colleagues to examine these issues carefully as you discuss the reauthorization of the ESEA and IDEIA.  
     
    Sincerely,
     
    Name
    Contact information:
    Email and/or phone number and/or mailing address 
     
    For additional information about these issues, see: 
     
    Jimerson, L. (2005). Special challenges of the “No Child left Behind” Act for rural schools and districts. The Rural Educator, 26(3), 1-4. 

Kossar, K., Mitchem, K., & Ludlow, B. (2005). No Child left behind: A national study of its impact on special education in rural schools. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 24(1), 3-8.