[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 288 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 288
Recognizing the 30th anniversary of the enactment of the Education for
All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 and reaffirming support for the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act so that all children with
disabilities have access to a free appropriate public education in the
least restrictive environment.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 2, 2005
Mr. Castle (for himself, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Boehner, Mr. George Miller of
California, Mr. Norwood, Mr. Kildee, Mrs. Biggert, Mr. Owens, Mr.
Fortuno, Mr. Payne, Mr. Boustany, Mr. Hinojosa, Mrs. Johnson of
Connecticut, Mrs. McCarthy, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Kucinich, Mr.
Ramstad, Mr. Holt, Mr. Bass, Ms. McCollum of Minnesota, Mr. English of
Pennsylvania, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. LoBiondo, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Fossella,
Mr. Moore of Kansas, Mr. Sessions, Ms. Millender-McDonald, Mr. Shimkus,
Mr. Filner, Mr. Reynolds, and Ms. Slaughter) submitted the following
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education
and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Recognizing the 30th anniversary of the enactment of the Education for
All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 and reaffirming support for the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act so that all children with
disabilities have access to a free appropriate public education in the
least restrictive environment.
Whereas the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (Public Law 94-
142) was signed into law 30 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 priority 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 aged
3 through 5 and an early intervention program for infants and toddlers
with disabilities under 3 years of age and their families;
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 269,000 infants and toddlers, 679,000
preschoolers, and 6,000,000 children aged 6 to 21;
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 with
standard diplomas 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 promotes partnerships between parents of children with disabilities
and education professionals in the design and implementation of the
special education and related services provided to children with
disabilities;
Whereas IDEA has raised the Nation's expectations regarding the abilities of
children with disabilities by requiring access to the general education
curriculum;
Whereas the 2004 reauthorization of IDEA ensures that children with disabilities
are guaranteed a quality education based on the high academic standards
required under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-
110);
Whereas the 2004 reauthorization strengthens IDEA's focus on the educational
results of children with disabilities and better prepares those children
for employment or further education beyond high school;
Whereas the 2004 reauthorization further enables special education teachers,
related services providers, other educators, and State and local
educational agencies to focus on promoting the academic achievement of
children with disabilities;
Whereas the 2004 reauthorization maintains the necessary procedural safeguards
that guarantee the rights of children with disabilities and their
parents while encouraging the mutual resolution of disputes and reducing
unnecessary litigation;
Whereas the 2004 reauthorization continues to ensure the provision of a free
appropriate public education to students referred to a private school by
a public agency and ensures the provision of special education and
related services to students placed by their parents in private schools;
Whereas, although the Federal Government has not yet met its commitment to fund
IDEA at 40 percent of the average per pupil expenditure, it has
increased IDEA funding over the last decade from $2.3 billion to $10.6
billion and increased its percentage share of the average per pupil
expenditure from 7.8 percent to 18.6 percent;
Whereas the 2004 reauthorization ensures that the vast majority of funds will go
directly to the classroom and provides States and local educational
agencies additional flexibility to provide for the costs of educating
high need children with disabilities;
Whereas IDEA has supported, through its discretionary programs, three decades of
research, demonstration, and personnel preparation in effective
practices for educating children with disabilities, enabling teachers,
related services providers, and other educators to effectively meet the
educational needs of all children;
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 for children with
disabilities: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That the Congress--
(1) recognizes the 30th 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 and their parents, teachers, related
services providers, and other educators; 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.
<all>