[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 135 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
106th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. CON. RES. 135
Recognizing the 25th anniversary of the enactment of the Education for
All Handicapped Children Act of 1975.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 13, 2000
Mr. Jeffords (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Dodd, Mr.
DeWine, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Enzi, Ms. Mikulski, Ms. Collins, Mr. Bingaman,
Mr. Hagel, Mr. Wellstone, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Reed, Mr. Frist, and Mr.
Hutchinson) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Recognizing the 25th anniversary of the enactment of the Education for
All Handicapped Children Act of 1975.
Whereas the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (Public Law 94-
142) was signed into law 25 years ago on November 29, 1975, and amended
the State grant program under part B of the Education of the Handicapped
Act;
Whereas the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 established the
Federal policy of ensuring that all children, regardless of the nature
or severity of their disability, have available to them a free
appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment;
Whereas the Education of the Handicapped Act was further amended by the
Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1986 (Public Law 99-457)
to create a preschool grant program for children with disabilities 3 to
5 years of age and an early intervention program for infants and
toddlers with disabilities from birth through age 2;
Whereas the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1990 (Public Law 101-
476) renamed the statute as the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA);
Whereas IDEA currently serves an estimated 200,000 infants and toddlers, 600,000
preschoolers, and 5,400,000 children 6 to 21 years of age;
Whereas IDEA has assisted in a dramatic reduction in the number of children with
developmental disabilities who must live in State institutions away from
their families;
Whereas the number of children with disabilities who complete high school has
grown significantly since the enactment of IDEA;
Whereas the number of children with disabilities who enroll in college as
freshmen has more than tripled since the enactment of IDEA;
Whereas IDEA has raised the Nation's expectations about the abilities of
children with disabilities by requiring access to the general education
curriculum;
Whereas improvements to IDEA made in 1997 changed the focus of a child's
individualized education program from procedural requirements placed
upon teachers and related services personnel to educational results for
that child, thus improving academic achievement;
Whereas changes made in 1997 also addressed the need to implement behavioral
assessments and intervention strategies for children whose behavior
impedes learning to ensure that they receive appropriate supports in
order to receive a quality education;
Whereas IDEA ensures full partnership between parents of children with
disabilities and education professionals in the design and
implementation of the educational services provided to children with
disabilities;
Whereas IDEA has supported the classrooms of this Nation by providing Federal
resources to the States and local schools to help meet their obligation
to educate all children with disabilities;
Whereas, while the Federal Government has not yet met its commitment to fund
part B of IDEA at 40 percent of the average per pupil expenditure, it
has made significant increases in part B funding by increasing the
appropriation by 115 percent since 1995, which is an increase of over
$2,600,000,000;
Whereas the 1997 amendments to IDEA increased the amount of Federal funds that
have a direct impact on students through improvements such as capping
allowable State administrative expenses, which ensures that nearly 99
percent of funding increases directly reach local schools, and requiring
mediation upon request by parents in order to reduce costly litigation;
Whereas such amendments also ensured that students whose schools cannot serve
them appropriately and students who choose to attend private, parochial,
and charter schools have greater access to free appropriate services
outside of traditional public schools;
Whereas IDEA has supported, through its discretionary programs, more than two
decades of research, demonstration, and training in effective practices
for educating children with disabilities, enabling teachers, related
services personnel, and administrators effectively to meet the
instructional needs of children with disabilities of all ages;
Whereas Federal and State governments can support effective practices in the
classroom to ensure appropriate and effective services for children with
disabilities; and
Whereas IDEA has succeeded in marshalling the resources of this Nation to
implement the promise of full participation in society of children with
disabilities: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring),
That the Congress--
(1) recognizes the 25th anniversary of the enactment of the
Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (Public Law
94-142);
(2) acknowledges the many and varied contributions of
children with disabilities, their parents, teachers, related
services personnel, and administrators; and
(3) reaffirms its support for the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act so that all children with
disabilities have access to a free appropriate public
education.
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