Less than a week ago, Rep. Michael Castle introduced a bill to reauthorize a law that requires the education of disabled children, called Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Buried in the proposed legislation is language reminiscent of the 1996 Istook amendments that would have restricted the advocacy voice of nonprofits. At this time, the provision only addresses grants going to nonprofits that provide training and information to parents of children with disabilities. The Castle provision would make a nonprofit that does any type of “federal relations” – no matter how little and no matter whether it was paid for with private dollars – ineligible for these parent center grants. Moreover, a nonprofit would be prohibited from receiving these grants if a board member or a paid staff serves on the board of another organization that engages in any “federal relations.” Two other factors add to the troubling nature of this provision. First, “federal relations” is not defined. The proposal specifically prohibits lobbying at the federal level on disability education issues, but adds that “federal relations” would also disqualify the organization from receiving grants. So “federal relations” must go beyond federal lobbying. We cannot imagine what type of federal government interactions would not be considered “federal relations.” Second, it has been reported that a House staffer indicated that this model might be applied to all Part D grantees under IDEA. This would mean a much broader set of nonprofits would be affected. It is clear that this is the slippery slope. If good for these grantees, why not for others? The nonprofit community stood together during the Istook fight, even when there were attempts to carve out certain types of nonprofits. This Castle proposal may require the same type of unified voice from the nonprofit sector raising objections. The bill will be considered by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. The first stage will be a mark-up in the Subcommittee on Education Reform, which is chaired by Castle. A date for the Subcommittee mark up has not yet been set. We strongly urge you to let the Subcommittee members know of your concern about this provision. To facilitate, we have created a sample letter on our web site that you can modify and send to all Committee Members. One button from the web site will send the letter to all Committee Members. The letter and service is available at URL. The Subcommittee staff is also taking comments directly . It is also helpful to call Congressional offices. A list of Subcommittee Members is below. The national organizations and individuals that led the opposition to the Istook attack on nonprofit advocacy a few years ago will be convening this week to discuss this newest threat. Stay tuned. U.S. Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121 Subcommittee on Education Reform Republicans (11)

• Mike Castle, Chairman (DE)
• Tom Osborne, Vice Chairman (NE)
• Jim Greenwood (PA)
• Fred Upton (MI)
• Vern Ehlers (MI)
• Jim DeMint (SC)
• Judy Biggert (IL)
• Todd Platts (PA)
• Ric Keller (FL)
• Joe Wilson (SC)
• Marilyn Musgrave (CO)

Democrats (9)

• Lynn Woolsey, Ranking Minority Member (CA)
• Susan Davis (CA)
• Danny Davis (IL)
• Ed Case (HI)
• Ra?ijalva (AZ)
• Ron Kind (WI)