[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 116 (Tuesday, September 26, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9259-S9260]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       THE IDEA FULL FUNDING ACT

  Mr. SMITH of Oregon. Mr. President, I rise to make a few remarks 
concerning the IDEA Full Funding Act of 2000.
  Mr. President, before I begin, I would like to take this opportunity 
to thank

[[Page S9260]]

my colleague, Senator Gregg, for his leadership on this important 
legislation.
  I rise today to lend my support to S. 2341, the IDEA Full Funding Act 
of 2000. One of my top priorities as a United States Senator has been 
to provide equal access to high quality public education for all 
children, including those with special needs. My commitment to 
education for those with special needs began while I was a State 
legislator and worked with the Oregon Disabilities Council to ensure 
that children with special needs had equal access to a quality 
education. I have continued that work here in the Senate, but realize 
that we have a long ways to go.
  This legislation takes a step in the right direction by funding the 
federal mandates put forth in the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act (IDEA). These federal funds will free up state and local 
dollars that can then be used in the classroom for new textbooks, 
pencils and computers that are necessary for students to learn.
  In 1954, the Supreme Court established, in Brown v. Board of 
Education, that all children are guaranteed equal access to education 
under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. Despite this decision, it 
was estimated that one million children with disabilities were being 
denied access to public education. It was not until 1975, with the 
passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, that equal 
access to education was extended to children with disabilities.
  The purpose of the 1975 IDEA legislation was ``[T]o assure that all 
children with disabilities have available to them, a free appropriate 
public education which emphasizes special education and related 
services designed to meet the unique needs, to assure the rights of 
children with disabilities and their parents or guardians are 
protected, to assist States and localities to provide for the education 
of all children with disabilities, and to assess and assure the 
effectiveness of efforts to educate children with disabilities.''
  With the passage of IDEA the federal government promised to assist 
states with 40 percent of the national average per pupil expenditure 
for disabled children. Based on the national average per pupil 
expenditure for the year 2000, 40 percent of that average would 
represent approximately $2,500 per student. However, since 1975 the 
federal government has not met this commitment. In fact, the federal 
government gets an ``F'' in arithmetic in this instance, currently 
paying only 12.7 percent of the per pupil expenditure.
  But, we are slowly working to improve this grade. In 1997, funding 
for IDEA was only $2.6 billion. In the last 3 years, the Republican-
controlled Congress has nearly doubled Federal funding on IDEA to 
approximately $4.9 billion. Although Congress has allocated more money 
to IDEA, current funding levels are 3.1 times less than what is needed 
to fully fund the forty percent commitment.
  The purpose of providing this additional funding to the IDEA program 
is to free up local and state dollars. Currently state and local 
education agencies have been forced to divert their precious resources 
to pay for the additional costs, due to federal mandates, of educating 
children with disabilities.
  As a result, Washington has created an inappropriate and unfair 
conflict between children with disabilities and children without. We 
owe it to all children to live up to our responsibility and resolve 
this conflict.
  This important legislation would take a step in that direction by 
authorizing funding for Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act to reach the Federal government's goal of providing 40 
percent of the national average per pupil expenditure to assist states 
and local education agencies with the excess costs of educating 
children with disabilities.
  By steadily working to increase IDEA funding to $2 billion each year 
annually until 2010, Congress would increase opportunity and 
flexibility for local school districts to fund the programs that they 
feel are best for their students, whether it be school construction, 
teacher training or smaller classrooms.
  I was pleased to see that the House of Representatives passed similar 
legislation, H.R. 4055, on May 3, 2000 with a 421-3 vote. It is my hope 
that the Senate can follow the strong lead of the House and work for 
swift passage of this necessary legislation.

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