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June 10, 2000
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TENTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Volume 11, Number 6
SOURCES
RESOURCES
June 10, 2000
LEGISLATIVE WRAP UP 2000 Legislative Session In Review by Charlie Smith, publisher
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A Decade In Review by Charlie Smith, publisher
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t’s hard for me to believe that 10 years have passed since the creation of Access Press. In January of 1990, my father and a good family friend, Michael Sheehan sat in the living room and talked about starting newspaper for people with disabilities. The big questions were: Is there a need for a newspaper focusing on people with disabilities? Are there enough people with disabilities who will read the paper? Can we find enough advertisers to financially support this new venture? I spent the next two months doing research, talking to individuals and organizations, asking those questions. The answer to the first two questions was an overwhelming yes. Everyone thought it was a great idea. All of the disability organizations I talked to mentioned that they had thought about starting newspaper but they never had the time to take on a new project. The individuals and advocates in the community that I talked to felt it would be valuable asset to the disability
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community. At that time statistics show that between 16 percent and 20 percent of everyone living in MN had some type of a disability. That meant there were as many as 800,000 people with disabilities and certainly we could find enough advertisers to support our new venture. In June 1990 we started to publish, the immediate response was positive. The office started to get calls from all over the metro area, “I just found a copy of Access Press. It looks great. Where can we pick up more copies?” In the early days we were dropping the paper at about 100 locations around the metro area and people started to subscribe. Disability organizations called with story ideas, suggestions of having regular columnist and a directory of organizations. The directory which we put together originally had about 100 organizations serving all types of disabilities in Minnesota. Within two months the directory grew to over 180 organizations and the office received
many calls from people who found it to be a valuable resource. In July of 1990 the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) passed and was signed into law by President Bush. Access Press covered this historic law by printing sections of the law and analysis of what it would actually mean to the disability community. Again the community embraced the paper and started to rely on the information we were able to provide. The next few years the paper continued to improve and respond to the readers’ suggestions which were plentiful. As I look back the disability community and Access Press have evolved and grown. The disability community in Minnesota has rich and active history of providing valuable services and getting laws changed to improve people’s lives. But, in the last 10 years the disability community has become more powerful and more effective when it comes Decade - cont. on p. 13
he Minnesota State legislative session for 2000 ended on May 17th. It was the longest session in the states history for a non-budget year. Throughout the session, people with disabilities, parents, advocates, and staff of disability organizations worked tirelessly to educate legislators and the governor on the importance of a great number of disability related bills. ACCESS PRESS has provided monthly updates on the progress of many of the bills. This article will summarize some of the legislation that many people with disabilities have been closely watching. Information for this and previous articles has been provided by community organizations who worked on these bills. I would like to thank all of the advocates who provided information to ACCESS Press during the legislative session. Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) An additional 3% reimbursement increase was approved for all Home and Community Based and Waiver (CAC, CADI, TBI, AC, EW, & DD) services including Personal Assistance Care (PCA) services effective July 1, 2000. This means that all reimbursement rates for Home and Community Based Services and PCA services will increase by 6% because of legislation that was passed last year. The 6% increase has specific language that spells out how the additional money must be used by providers who bill for these services. The additional 3% increase this year money, shall be split in three ways; at least 40% to increase the wages paid to employees other than the administrator and central office staff; at least 50% to increase the per-hour pay rate of all employees other than the administrator and central office staff by an equal
dollar amount and to pay associated costs for FICA, Medicare, workers compensation premiums, and federal and state unemployment insurance. The remaining 10% for other purposes such as administration. This language is subject to interpretation by the Minnesota Department of Human Services. A copy of the provider’s plan for complying with the above language must be made available to all employees. If an employee does not receive the salary adjustment described in the plan and is unable to resolve the problem with the provider, the employee may contact the Commissioner at a phone number provided by the Commissioner and included in the provider’s plan. The information above was provided by Jeff Bangsberg from the Becklund Home Health. Special Education Funding: Special education received over $60 million in new funds. A little over half of it was funneled into the special education funding formula for Fiscal Year 2002 and beyond. The remainder will be distributed by giving districts $8.15 for every pupil in FY 2000 and $19 in FY 2001. *Secondary Vocational Education funding was restored for one more year. *The Commissioner of CFL can make grants to nonprofit organizations for supplemental Adult Education programs including programs that serve students with disabilities. School Safety: There were several items that were passed to address the school safety issue. *Districts will be allowed to expand the use of their crime-related costs levy for a variety of methods to increase student and staff
safety. *The legislature also placed in the education statutes current language that allows teachers to use reasonable force to correct or restrain students under certain conditions. This information will also be included in districts’ student handbooks. *Districts can refuse to enroll a student under the open enrollment option if they have been expelled due to weapons, drugs or third degree assault. *School districts are given more freedom to share information on students who have been through the juvenile justice system. There are requirements on how the information is to be shared and when it is to be destroyed. Special Education Personnel: Requires people who provide American sign language/English interpreting or transliterating services to meet RID certification and have completed an accredited training program. For people currently working in a school district who haven’t passed RID certification, they can obtain a provisional license from CFL if they develop and implement an education plan in collaboration with a mentor during the next year. New graduates can have a two-year provisional license, again provided they have plan and are working with a mentor. The bill defines the qualifications of a mentor. Districts will receive reimbursement for staff holding a provisional license and for those who are mentors. Other: For students who have sensitivity to toxins, the legislature will now require schools to notify parents and employees if they plan to apply certain types of pesticides. If parents want to know the date it will be applied, they must request that the school notify them.
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Wrap Up - cont. on p. 15