Inauguration Here I Come

The Presidential Inaugural Committee just informed me that I've been approved for a media credential for the swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 20! I will be reporting live from the Mall that morning on Twitter. If you're not on Twitter, it's a great place to keep up with special needs issues (and anything else you can think of), and this is a great time to try it out. If you already have a Twitter account, follow me at "mmiller20910" and sign in that day.

If you're not on Twitter, sign up for a free account at http://www.twitter.com and follow me.

To get updates on children's health issues -- including parenting tips and patient success stories -- follow my professional account at "childrenshealth"

Disability Groups to Obama Team: We Want a Voice

Saying the disability community is underrepresented in decision-making by the presidential transition team, a group of disability organizations is calling for more inclusion, job for people with disabilities in the new administration, and a domestic policy adviser who is knowledgeable about disability issues. The groups include the American Association of People with Disabilities, National Council on Independent Living, and Special Olympics. Read their letter.

Former Special Ed Teacher on Obama's Education Secretary

Besides being an excellent writer, blogger and former special education teacher Sue J has a good perspective on President-elect Obama's selection of Arne Duncan to be the secretary of education. She concludes:

"I’ve been there. I have seen a child’s face light up when he or she 'gets it.' And I have also seen them give up when the lesson moved too fast or was presented in a way they could not understand due to their disability. It doesn’t have to be that way, and to see Barack Obama name someone who (A) has no teaching experience, and (B) is a part of this corporatization of education, makes me wonder where the 'Change' is."

Chicago Analysis: Duncan Unimpressive on Special Needs

Catalyst Chicago, which reports on Chicago school reform, examines Duncan's record on special needs. Some highlights (or maybe lowlights) from this report:

"One area where there was no improvement or reform under Duncan was special education, long a trouble spot for CPS. Performance continues to be dismal. Fewer than 25 percent of elementary students receiving special education services met state standards last year; less than 10 percent of those in high school did. Half of high school students with learning disabilities drop out; only a third of those who graduate enroll in college, most in two-year programs, according to 2007 data.

"The average performance gap on state tests between students in special education and those who aren’t is 45 points -- a gap that has widened during Duncan’s tenure and that is higher than the statewide average. Overall, about 12 percent of CPS students receive special education services (11 percent in elementary schools; 16 percent in high schools). In some high schools, as many as one in three students are in special education."

This is part 2 -- read part 1 for other aspects of his record.

You know I'm an Obama supporter, and I've been encouraged by most of his actions since being elected. It bothers me that the one selection I have concerns about happens to be one of the most important positions for families with special-needs children. I continue to look for reassuring signs that he will make special ed a priority -- have you seen any?

Arne Duncan, Education Secretary -- What Does It Mean for Special Ed?

On Tuesday, President-elect Obama announced he will appoint Arne Duncan as head of the Department of Education. As the head of Chicago Public Schools since 2001, Duncan has earned a reputation as a tough reformer who's not willing to enforce high standards, but also sees education as a civil right for all students. But his views on special education have not been widely reported.

One source I often turn to is Christina Samuels, who writes the special education blog for Education Week. But her only item about Duncan is titled "So What Do We Know About Arne Duncan?" In researching his positions on special education, she writes, "I've been scouring the web and have come up empty" -- and she's invited readers to post comments about what they know. So far, no one has. Over at Autism Vox, Kristina Chew asked the same thing, and got just this one response: "Chicago Public Schools does have an autism program, but I don’t know any more information beyond the fact that it exists. I also know that cotaught classrooms, where special ed and regular ed students learn in a room with one regular ed teacher and one special ed teacher, are becoming very popular in Chicago Public Schools. CPS was a mess in the early '90s - he really did help turn it around, although they definitely have a ways to go." That's hardly a rousing endorsement.

Who can enlighten me, Christina, Kristina, and all the parents of special needs children who will be affected by this appointment? If special ed just isn't his thing, needs to appoint a real leader to the Office of Special Education Programs and even consider elevating that position.

Policy Ideas -- What Do You Think?

The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities has made detailed recommendations on disability policy for the Obama-Biden transition team and the 111th Congress. The group's 47-page document covers topics including autism and other developmental disabilities, education, employment and training, health, housing, long-term services, disability rights, Social Security, and much more. Does it cover the topics you care most about? If not, what's missing? And what are you doing to make your voice heard?

Your Seat at the Table

In the spirit of transparency, the presidential transition team has announced that all policy documents from official meetings with outside organizations will be publicly available for review and discussion on change.gov. The transition office says, "We're inviting the American public to take a seat at the table and engage in a dialogue about these important issues and ideas -- at the same time members of our team review these documents themselves."

Read the memo from transition head John Podesta to all transition staff, and get more information (and a video) here.

Some materials are already available in the new "Your Seat at the Table" section of change.gov. If you see something interesting you'd like to raise on this blog, send me an email or add a comment to this post.

Another Disability Advocate in the White House: Lisa Brown, Staff Secretary

If you need more evidence that the Obama White House will have plenty of people who have a real understanding of people with disabilities, here's another new appointee you should know about. Profiled today by the New York Times, new staff secretary Lisa Brown was an in-house counsel to Vice President Gore and a member of the Executive Board of the President’s Committee for Employment of People with Disabilities. Previously, when she was a partner at the Washington law firm of Shea & Gardner, she active in pro bono work, focusing on cases that involved disabled people.

By the way, the "staff secretary" is a much more senior job than it sounds. The Times profile calls this position "the nerve center of the White House and the gatekeeper for nearly every piece of paper that reaches the president's desk." John Podesta -- former Clinton White House chief of staff and current transition head for President-elect Obama -- held that position in the early days of the Clinton Administration. And he was my boss's boss.

She will also bring a mother's perspective and a healthy appreciation of science to the job -- her husband is the head of the cancer center at the University of Maryland, and they have a 6-year-old son.

Mom, Advocate Given Key Transition Role

Loyal reader Stephanie H. passed along this news about another member of the Obama transition team. She tells me, "Sharon Lewis is someone from my local area in Portland, Oregon, who is a parent of a child with a disability that graduated from the advocacy training I just went through a few years before me. She has done a lot of good things in our local community before heading on to politics and is a devout believer in full inclusion and fully funding IDEA among other things. She lives and breathes the book Getting to Yes and she knows how to get things done. She is definitely one to watch."

Lewis, the former senior disability policy adviser for Chairman George Miller (D-CA) on the Committee on Education and Labor, has been named to the transition's Education Agency Review Team. She's the lead person reviewing the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and other disability-related matters in the Department of Education. OSERS includes the Office of Special Education Programs, the Rehabilitation Services Administration, and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

Thanks, Stephanie!

Help Wanted

Blogger Stothers makes a good point: "Time is ripe for urging, encouraging, pushing, or even hectoring folks to start applying for jobs in the new and historic Obama Administration. People with disabilities especially ought to be sending resumes to change.gov ASAP."

So read "How to Get Hired in Washington," from U.S. News & World Report, get on over to change.gov, and get your name in the mix! Sure, it's going to be super-competitive and there are no guarantees, but what do you have to lose?

Another Pick Who Gets Disability Issues

I'm looking out for signs that President-elect Obama is taking disabilities seriously in his very first steps. In addition to appointing David Axelrod and Michael Strautmanis to senior positions, he's put Seth Harris, his campaign's co-chair for disability policy, on the working group that will help set budget and personnel decisions for labor, education, and transportation agencies.

The Washington Post reports: "Seth Harris...is a professor and the Director of Labor & Employment Law Programs at New York Law School. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Life Without Limits Project of the United Cerebral Palsy Association and a member of the National Advisory Commission on Workplace Flexibility. He served as the Chair of Obama for America's Labor, Employment, and Workplace Policy Committee and a Co-Chair of its Disability Policy Committee. During the Clinton Administration, he served as counselor to the Secretary of Labor and Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Policy, among other policy-advising positions."

Harris's writing includes "The Misdirected Debate Over the Economics of Disabilities Accommodations," an essay that cites the inadequacy of employer-provided health insurance and discrimination in the workplace.

Another One to Watch

I was happy to see that Michael Strautmanis was appointed to a key position in the presidential transition office -- as the director of public liaison and intergovernmental affairs. Strautmanis, 39, was the chief counsel and deputy chief of staff in Obama’s Senate office and has known Michelle and Barack Obama since 1991. Also, as I've mentioned before, one of his three children has autism. If Strautmanis takes a leadership position in the White House, we'll have at least two fathers (him and David Axelrod) who have firsthand experience with special needs.

Here's a good profile of Strautmanis.

Share Your Ideas with President-elect Obama

When's the last time an incoming president asked for your ideas about disability issues (or any issues)? Well, here's your chance to have a say. The new change.gov transition site says: "There is no more important resource for changing the direction of this country and defining the ideas that will transform America than the American people. Tell us your ideas and be part of the change you want to see."

So get over to change.gov, submit your ideas, and tell us what you offered.

Watch this Man

One of the superstars of the Obama campaign is his senior strategist, David Axelrod. As a political consultant based in Chicago, a former Chicago Tribune reporter, and a passionate Bulls fan, Axelrod has resisted previous offers to relocate to Washington, but people are starting to speculate about what role he may play in the Obama Administration. Here's an article from Chicago Business News.

Whatever he does, in Chicago or Washington, Axelrod will likely have an influence in the administration's policy related to disabilities. His daughter, in her 20s, has developmental disabilities, and Axelrod's wife Susan co-founded Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Alexrod has accepted the position of senior advisor in the White House.

Will Obama Administration Step into Autism/Vaccine Controversy?

There is no question that among the special needs community, the presidential campaign has been divisive -- with parents and other advocates passionately supporting Sen. Obama (because of his positions on autism and disabilities) or Sen. McCain (particularly after his nomination of Gov. Palin).

But if you think that was controversial, just wait for the vaccine debate to heat up. You may know that many parents are convinced that vaccines are a contributing cause to autism (and you may be one of those parents). On the other side of the debate are scientists and organizations (including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) that say there is no medical evidence of that link.

Early in the campaign, McCain mentioned a possible link, until his advisors informed him there was no solid evidence, and he backtracked. Obama was asked directly about the connection at a campaign rally, and he didn't commit either way, but said more research is probably needed.

The reason this could become an issue very soon is because there are rumors that Obama may nominate environmentalist Robert Kennedy Jr. to be head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Kennedy, if you don't know, is the nephew of Sen. Ted Kennedy has actively campaigned against the CDC, the World Health Organization, and the pharmaceutical industry because he is convinced they are covering up a link between vaccines and autism. Some think if Obama appoints him, it will be an implied endorsement of that controversial position. According to the Huffington Post, Kennedy said he has not been asked but would say yes if offered the position.

UPDATE: More on this issue from Daily Kos -- "Divided We Fall."