Today Congressman Loebsack introduced legislation entitled the Reducing Barriers To Learning Act of 2007. This legislation takes necessary steps toward increasing student access to critical services so that schools can better address the non-academic needs of students and reduce barriers to learning.
“We have to give every student the opportunity to succeed, and for some children that means providing services to address their safety and wellbeing in addition to meeting academic needs,” said Congressman Loebsack. “This bill will reform the No Child Left Behind Act so schools in Iowa and across the country can better serve students and address their varied needs.”
Many important services are provided by specialized instructional support personnel, these include school counselors, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech and language pathologists, vision and hearing specialists and other specialized teachers. Unfortunately, very little attention is paid to these personnel and the services they provide for struggling students.
Provisions in this legislation include:
§ Creating a grant program for State Education Agencies to build the capacity of Local Education Agencies to develop programs and personnel dedicated to removing barriers to learning. These grants will help recruit and retain coordinators at the local level; establish and expand instructional support services programs; and provide technical assistance regarding the effective implementation of instructional support services programs.
§ Clarifying conflicting terminology, definitions, and roles of specialized instructional support personnel. Establishing one common statutory term would ease confusion between conflicting terms and would more accurately reflect the nature and purpose of the services that these professionals provide to students in schools.
§ Establishing an Office of Specialized Instructional Support within the U.S. Department of Education. This office will administer, coordinate, and carry out programs and activities concerned with providing specialized instructional support services in schools. It will also improve cross-agency coordination of these services and programs.
As a result of reforming and improving the No Child Left Behind Act, this legislation will better allow schools to address shortages of student counselors, social workers and psychologist, improve coordination of supportive services at the federal, state and local levels and highlight the importance of early intervention in addressing non-academic needs of students. After today’s introduction, the legislation will be referred to the House Education and Labor Committee for consideration.
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