[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 110 (Wednesday, August 10, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                      IDEA IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1994

                                 ______


                        HON. WILLIAM F. GOODLING

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, August 10, 1994

  Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, today, I am pleased to join as an original 
cosponsor of the IDEA Improvement Act of 1994 which is being introduced 
by Representative Cass Ballenger.
  Over the last year, my Republican colleagues and I on the 
Subcommittee on Select Education and Civil Rights have heard from 
parents, teachers, administrators, and State officials about the 
successes and challenges within special education under the Individuals 
with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA]. In examining these issues, 
three themes have emerged that we believe need attention: increasing 
the achievement of students with disabilities in school; helping 
parents be more involved in their children's education; and, finding 
ways to avoid costly and adversarial litigation.
  Opportunities for individuals with disabilities have opened up 
significantly over the last several years. Unless the quality of 
education disabled students receive also improves, many of these 
students won't have the skills and confidence they need to take 
advantage of these new opportunities. The changes in this bill will 
hopefully place a greater focus on quality education and achievement 
for children with disabilities.
  We also include provisions that strengthen the role of parents in 
their children's education. One provision of particular interest to me 
would encourage special education programs to coordinate with programs 
like Even Start and Head Start that offer family literacy services. A 
significant number of children being served by special education have a 
disability related to their difficulty in learning to read. If one or 
both of the child's parents also suffer from difficulty in reading, 
then it will be doubly hard for them to help their child overcome their 
reading difficulty. By improving coordination between special education 
and family literacy programs in specific circumstances, we can 
encourage more effective strategies to assist disabled children and 
their parents.
  I believe both the mediation proposal and the requirement that 
parents try to work out disputes before filing a formal complaint in 
order to have attorney fees reimbursed are important provisions to 
encourage disputes to be resolved in an informal manner that avoids 
unnecessary and costly litigation.
  I am also very pleased that we have written this bill in a way that 
helps move IDEA in a positive direction, but does not create new 
federal mandates or require excessive Federal intervention in the ways 
schools operate their special education programs.
  I want to express my thanks to Mr. Ballenger for introducing this 
valuable legislation, and I look forward to working with him to see 
that these provisions are included as improvement to the Individuals 
with Disabilities Education Act.

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