URGENT: File a Witness Slip to Support Students with Disabilities
We need your help TODAY to support a critical education bill in the Illinois General Assembly. The Senate Education Committees will hear HB 2748 and vote on it next Tuesday.
HB 2748 COVID-19 Recovery for Students with Significant Disabilities
HB 2748 offers COVID-19 learning recovery for students with significant disabilities in transition programs statewide. These are the young adults whose transition training matters most for their adult life, but their educations were abruptly cut short due to COVID-19 before they developed essential skills or a plan for moving forward. Our allies, Senator Koehler and Rep. Ness, are working hard to pass the bill with support from Access Living, Legal Council of Health Justice, Raise Your Hand for IL Public Education and numerous special education and disability rights advocates.
The key provisions of HB 2748 are:
- Students who were enrolled in school up to their 22nd birthday-primarily students with intellectual or developmental disabilities- but turned 22 during the pandemic (the end of the 2021-22 school year) will have an option to receive an additional year of transition services in the 2021-2022 school year.
- Participation is completely voluntary.
- The costs of providing these COVID-19 recovery transition services may be funded through available federal COVID-19 relief education funds.
- Students who opt in to this additional transition year waive any claims for compensatory services due to events that occurred between March 17, 2020 and the resumption of services in the 2021-2022 school year.
What can you do to help TODAY?
Filing a Witness Slip for HB 2748: Witness slips are tallied and reported before the committee votes. Numbers matter! Please file an electronic witness slip at this link to show that you support a recovery school year for students with disabilities! Please be sure to sign as a “proponent” (supporter) and to check “Record of Appearance Only.” Slipping Due Date/Time: Tuesday May 18th 1pm.
*For witness slips: when you go to each link to file your slip, fill out the info about who you are and who you represent. If you do not represent a group, you can say “self”, “parent/guardian/family of a student with a disability” or any occupational title which would represent you, such as “disability advocate, teacher, therapist, supporter, etc.” in Section II, Representation. In Section III, Position, check “proponent,” which means you support the bill. In Section IV, Testimony, check “record of appearance only” to show that you are only filing electronically.
Please share this with your fellow disability advocates and families and friends of students with disabilities in Illinois! If you have any questions, please contact our legal advocate Barb Cohen, at 312-605-1948 or [email protected].