Subject: FW: Items of Interest from the Washington Disability Lawyers Digest
From: James Levy (jrlevy@u.washington.edu)
Date: Wed Feb 14 2001 - 10:17:06 PST
I thought people on this list might be interested in some of this week's
posting of the Washington Disability Lawyers Digest. I will edit out those
items that have already been mentioned on this list.
Jim Levy
-----Original Message-----
From: WA_LAWYERS-owner@u.washington.edu
[mailto:WA_LAWYERS-owner@u.washington.edu]On Behalf Of James Levy
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2001 11:40 AM
To: Disability law forum for Washington State lawyers
Subject: Washington Disability Lawyers Digest - 2/13/2001
In this edition of the Washington Disability Lawyer's Digest:
1. Federal Reports on the discipline of students under the IDEA.
2. Medicare now covering Augmentative and Alternative Communication
(AAC) Devices as DME.
3. 4th Annual Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA)
Conference
4. Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel teleconference
meeting on Feb. 15th.
5. U.S. Dept. of Transportation issues Interim Final Rules on
Accessibility of Over-The-Road Buses (OTBs).
6. GAO Report finds that Social Security reform may reduce benefits for
people with disabilities.
James R. Levy, J.D.
Research Associate
Center for Technology and Disability Studies
University of Washington
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1. The Office of Special Education Programs has issued a report
directed
towards school administrators on the disciplining of students with
disabilities. The recommendations in this report are based on current
research, the 1997 amendments to the IDEA, and the 1999 IDEA regulations.
To download or look at it, see:
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/OSEP/adminbeh.web.pdf
In addition the federal GAO has issued a report on actual practices
of discipline based on surveys of principals nationwide. "STUDENT
DISCIPLINE:
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" can be downloaded at
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?rptno=gao-01-210
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2. As of January 1, 2001, Medicare will begin covering Augmentative and
Alternative Communication (AAC) Devices as Durable Medical Equipment (DME).
AAC devices (now called speech generating devices) may be covered if "the
contractor's medical staff determines that the patient suffers from a severe
speech impairment and that the medical condition warrants the use of a
device...." For more information on the policy decision see HCFA's web site
on AAC coverage: http://www.hcfa.gov/coverage/8b3-s.htm
Also, attached at the end of this digest is a good summary and commentary on
Medicare AAC coverage from Lewis Golinker of the Assistive Technology Law
Center.
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3. The 4th Annual Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates
(COPAA)Conference will be held March 8-11 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City,
Arlington, VA. For information about the conference, speakers, and to
register, please go to: http://www.copaa.net
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4. On February 15, 2001, from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM (Pacific), the
Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel of the Social Security
Administration (SSA) is holding a public meeting by teleconference to
collect ideas and reactions from all interested parties on the proposed
regulations the Social Security Administration issued on December 28, 2000.
These regulations spell out the program rules and the SSA implementation
plans for the new Ticket to Work program in TWWIIA. To participate in the
teleconference, please dial the following toll-free number and enter the
pass code:
1-800-779-3141
Pass code 12211
You can download a copy of the proposed regulations at:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2000_register&doci
d=00-32924-filed
Questions to consider from the TWIIA Advisory Panel are attached below
(TWIIA Public Questions.Doc).
For important commentary on the proposed regulations visit the ARC of the US
website: http://www.thearc.org/ga/ticket_comments.htm
They ask that your oral comments be limited to five minutes, but written
comments can be accepted at any time.
For more information on this event, please contact Conwal, the meeting
coordinator at (703) 448 - 2300 ask for Robin at extension 338 or
robint@conwal.com, or Rona at extension 326.
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5. On February 6, the U.S. Department of Transportation published the
Interim Final Rule on Information Collection for companies using
over-the-road buses (OTRB)'s. The rule includes the requirement that OTRB
companies receiving requests for accessible service from passengers with
disabilities must provide documentation of the request to the passenger. The
information is to be transmitted after the request is made, by the next
business day. This rule, along with a discussion of the comments DOT
received, can be found at:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2001_register&doci
d=01-2853-filed
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6. A new study by the GAO has concluded that current Social Security
reform proposals would result in a reduction of benefits to people with
disabilities by as much as 18%. For the NYT story, see:
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/07/national/07BENE.html?printpage=yes.
For a copy of the report itself, see the GAO's web site:
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0135.pdf
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