Action Alert: National Call-In Day

National Call-In Day to oppose moving IDEA

out of the U.S. Department of Education

Call your member of Congress to tell them you oppose moving special education out of the U.S. Department of Education

The American Music Therapy Association is joining other disability advocacy groups across the country in a National Call-In Day today, Thursday, June 25, to oppose the U.S. Department of Education’s recent transfer of OSERS (the agency that oversees the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We also oppose the move of the Office for Civil Rights to the U.S. Department of Justice.

You can help by calling your U.S. senators and representatives and asking them to urge the U.S. Department of Education to reverse this decision. (Please call rather than email to have the most impact!). Use the links above or call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Call script

Once connected, you can speak to whoever answers the phone using the following script as a guide:

Hi, my name is ______ and I live in ________ (City and State). I am a (music therapist/parent of a child with a disability/educator/concerned community member, etc.) calling to express my opposition to the U.S. Department of Education moving special education to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Special education programs are education programs first and should be administered by an agency with that expertise.

I urge the Senator/Representative to publicly call on the Administration to reverse this decision and keep OSERS and the Office for Civil Rights within the Department of Education. Families and schools rely on OSERS’ education-focused expertise to support the implementation of IDEA and protect the rights of students with disabilities.

Please let (congress member’s name) know how important this issue is to their constituents. Thank you for your time.

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