The U.S. Department of Education Presents:

Serving Students with Disabilities:
Helping All Children Achieve

Tuesday, May 20, 2003 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm PT

All children deserve the kind of high-quality education that makes possible a fulfilling, independent life. That is why special education and related services for children with disabilities must be an integral part of a system that expects high achievement for all. Despite progress made in the last decade, too many students with disabilities remain trapped in bureaucracies that create and encourage dependence, denied the tools they need to reach their full educational potential.

The statistics are startling for U.S. children and adults with disabilities:

• Young people with disabilities drop out of high school at twice the rate of their peers.
• Enrollment rates of students with disabilities in higher education are still 50 percent lower than enrollment among the general population.
• Of those students with specific learning disabilities," 80 percent are there simply because they haven't learned how to read.
• One in five adults with disabilities has not graduated from high school, compared to less than one of ten adults without disabilities.
• The unemployment rate for Americans with disabilities hovers at 70 percent.
• And Internet access for Americans with disabilities is half that of people without disabilities.

The good news is schools, districts and communities around the country are now working to turn these statistics around by expanding access to quality education for Americans with disabilities. In doing so, those school systems are applying the principles of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001: accountability for results; flexibility; scientifically based programs and teaching methods; and full information and options for parents.

The May 2003 broadcast Education News will address questions such as:

• How can schools and districts provide a quality education for students with disabilities?
• What do parents need to know about early reading intervention for children classified with disabilities?
• How can schools increase the number of students with disabilities graduating from high school?
• How can students make a successful transition from secondary school to the "adult world," either to pursue higher education or vocational endeavors?
• How can children with disabilities be successfully integrated into general education classrooms?
• In what ways can parents work with schools, districts and groups to ensure their children have the best possible education?

For more information about this broadcast, please visit the Department of Education's website: http://www.ed.gov