Here is a letter to fax to Senate Majority leader, Bill Frist and Tom Daschle. It should be easy for parents to use most of this letter and cut out my legal cast and paste in your own personal one.

I think faxing is more effective right now because most senators have staff that reads and responds to email which is easier for them to delete and ignore.

SENATOR BILL FRIST (R-TN) November 17, 2003
SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: REPUBLICAN
461 Dirksen Senate Office Building T 202-224-3344
United States Senate F 202-228-1264
Washington, DC 20510 Re: SB1248

My name is Jane Doe. I am the mother of an autistic 3 year old.

There is much to applaud in Senate Bill 1248, especially when compared with H.R. 1350. There remain provisions which I am unhappy about. I respectfully ask that you do not ALLOW any limits on families' ability to find legal counsel to represent their children.

My agenda is clear. I have a son with a severe disability, which entitles him to a free, appropriate, public education. Even though my son's rights are set forth in federal and state law, negotiating his special education plan (IEP) has been a frustrating, time-consuming, and overwhelming process.

My son's school district, Cambrian School District, San Jose, CA, made several procedural violations and did not adhere to the law set forth in IDEA-implementing a free, appropriate, public education by his 3rd birthday. Therefore, I was forced to hire a special education attorney and filed a due process request.

Currently, I am paying for my son's education because I refuse to accept the unacceptable. I am confident that we will prevail with our due process hearing but it could take a year before I get reimbursed for my son's education expenses and for our attorney's fees, which in total will likely cost me and my husband somewhere between $70,000.00 and $90,000.00 just for 2003 - 2004. I would like to remind you that many families must file due process hearings year after year in order to continue getting their school district to comply with an appropriate education plan.

To date my son's school district has spent 100% of my hard-earned tax dollars toward fighting me in a due process hearing, including charging me $40.00 for copying his school records. Since my son's third birthday, 5/9/03, my school district has not spent one cent on educating my child, yet they have racked up quite a legal bill at the public's expense-fighting me and my son because we attempted to hold them accountable to John's civil rights as a disabled person.

The autism rate in the public education system has jumped 1,354% in the period from 1991-92 - 2000-01. Autistic students being served in the public schools has increased at a rate almost fifty (50) times higher than the rate of all disabilities combined during the eight year period from 1991-92 - 2000-01. (U.S. Department of Education's 2002 Report to Congress on Individuals with Disabilities Education Act-IDEA).

Inappropriate special education programs lead to increasing legal and administrative costs to deal with the disagreements between parents and school districts through due process hearings. IDEA and state education codes ensure nothing. School districts are notorious for noncompliance and many families must hire attorneys just to scare school districts into compliance.

The parents, grandparents, friends, relatives, and professionals serving special needs children represent a population exponentially greater than the 6.5 million special needs students in the US-a bipartisan "voice" that must not be silenced or ignored. Senators running for re-election must know that we will not forget if we are ignored and limits are placed on our ability to find legal counsel for our children.

On behalf of the 100,000 autistic students being served in the public school system, I thank you in advance for not allowing any limits on families' ability to find legal counsel to represent their children and for expeditiously getting this bill to the floor for a vote.

Sincerely,

Jane Doe