[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 29, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E104]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        INTRODUCTION OF THE IDEA PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN A. BOEHNER

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 29, 2003

  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, today I am proud to join my colleague 
Representative Rick Keller in introducing the IDEA Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 2003. This legislation will go a long way in providing relief 
from the IDEA paperwork burden, and in reducing time spent by teachers 
on non-instruction activities, as required under the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
  Last year, the House Education and the Workforce Committee conducted 
an aggressive series of hearings exploring major issues that would 
likely be addressed in the Committee's reauthorization of IDEA. 
Numerous witnesses at these hearings testified to the need for the 
Department of Education to identify and simplify burdensome regulations 
under IDEA and for Congress to adopt statutory changes that would 
provide relief to the nation's special education and general education 
teachers who labor with great dedication to educate children with 
special needs.
  In our hearings, the Committee heard from school principals and 
administrators voicing frustrations about their schools' efforts to 
provide services to students as required by their IEPs when unnecessary 
paperwork requirements compete with the available instructional time. 
Teachers find themselves between a rock and a hard place, if you will, 
with unyielding demands made on their time. When something gives, the 
impact is either on the teacher or the student, two of our most 
valuable resources.
  In fact, studies from the Department of Education show that we are 
facing a significant shortage of special education teachers, and many 
special educators leaving the field cite the burden of unnecessary 
paperwork as one of the primary reasons for their departure. This 
crushing burden of paperwork serves as a major disincentive for 
teachers to enter the field of special education, and as a result, too 
many of our children with special needs do not have a qualified teacher 
in the classroom.
  Representative Keller's proposed amendments to IDEA are an excellent 
start to the Education and the Workforce's effort to identify and 
simplify burdensome statutory provisions in IDEA. They are innovative 
and provide much-needed flexibility to the nation's special education 
system.
  This legislation directs the Secretary of Education to submit a 
report to Congress detailing regulatory proposals he may find advisable 
for reducing both the IDEA paperwork burden on teachers and 
administrators and the amount of non-classroom time spent by teachers 
and administrators in order to comply with the requirements of IDEA. It 
also directs the Secretary to identify, develop, and disseminate model 
forms for individualized education programs (IEPS), procedural 
safeguard notices, and prior written notice report requirements that 
incorporate all relevant Federal statutory and regulatory requirements 
under IDEA.

  In addition, the legislation provides that local educational agencies 
may offer to parents the opportunity to develop a 3-year IEP (in lieu 
of an annual IEP) for each child with a disability, with IEP goals 
coinciding with natural transition points for the child. This would 
mean IEPs would be redeveloped close in time to the transition of a 
child with a disability from preschool to elementary grades, from 
elementary grades to middle or junior high school grades, from middle 
or junior high schools grades to high school grades, and from high 
school to post-secondary activities, but in no case longer than 3 
years. In the ``in-between'' years, the law would provide for a 
streamlined annual IEP review focusing on the child's current levels of 
performance and progress toward meeting the measurable annual goals in 
the IEP, but a comprehensive review and revision of the IEP document 
would not be done every year.
  Most importantly, this is a voluntary option for parents. Many 
parents will choose to use this flexibility, and some may not. But I 
agree with Representative Keller that it is important to provide this 
flexibility and this choice to parents so that they can determine the 
best way to interact with their child's school.
  Representative Keller's bill would also allow the Secretary to grant 
waivers of paperwork requirements under IDEA to 10 States based on 
proposals submitted by States for addressing reduction of paperwork and 
non-classroom time spent fulfilling statutory and regulatory 
requirements. This will promote innovation and provide much-needed 
flexibility as States grapple with better implementing IDEA, and the 
Federal, State, and local regulations under it.
  I am pleased to join my colleagues in introducing this bill, and I 
look forward to working with them to address these important ideas.

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