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asked some questions about challenges the Act may receive in that it could
cost more money for Congress. Mark suggested that the argument be
countered with the fact that Congress has not fully funded special education
and that states already shoulder the responsibility for it. The Cogswell-Macy
Act is in alignment with larger special education efforts to fully fund IDEA.
Another attendee asked about the research center that is included in the
language in the Act for students with visual impairments, agreeing that this is
a critical area of need for the field. Rebecca described the need for students
to be identified and counted correctly, not merely reported as students with
multiple disabilities. A research center could serve as a mechanism for not
only assisting in best practices around child find, it would also support
systematically reviewing interventions for all students with visual impairment
and deafblindness. With the current challenges in getting funding for low
incidence research, the research center component of Cogswell-Macy is a
way to ensure that our fields are prepared to infuse the best of what we know
into the practice of serving students.
After the dialogue with our colleagues at AFB, the forum was opened up
to discuss other observations, happenings and needs that participants
experience in their practice and everyday lives. Dr. Sarah Ivy from Florida
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