[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 45 (Thursday, March 20, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E527]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E527]]


          IMPROVING RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL N. CASTLE

                              of delaware

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 19, 2003

  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Improving 
Education Results for Children with Disabilities Act, which 
reauthorizes special education programs in our nation's schools. This 
legislation improves the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to 
ensure that children with special needs receive the high-quality 
education they deserve. I would like to thank the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Boehner), the chairman of the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce, for his assistance in bringing this bill to this point.
  For too many years, children with disabilities were denied access to 
public education. However, with the passage of the Education of All 
Handicapped Children Act in 1975, the doors of educational opportunity 
were opened. Today, more than ever, students with disabilities have an 
opportunity to accomplish their goals. According to the Department of 
Education, about 6.6 million students currently participate in these 
programs across the nation. Of those, almost 50 percent of students 
with disabilities spend 80 percent or more of their day in the regular 
education classroom. In addition, graduation rates for students with 
disabilities with a standard diploma are at an all-time high, while 
drop-out rates continue to fall.
  Despite IDEA's many success stories, there is room for improvement in 
serving children with disabilities. These children are still among 
those at the greatest risk of being left behind. Now more than ever, we 
must make sure that children with disabilities are given access to an 
education that maximizes their unique abilities and provides them with 
tools for later successful, productive lives. We must continue to be 
vigilant in our efforts towards improving the quality of education of 
all children, including children with disabilities. We must shift from 
the current focus on compliance with bureaucratic rules to ensuring 
that children with disabilities are making progress and achieving to 
high expectations so that no child is left behind.
  The Improving Education Results for Children with Disabilities Act 
aims to improve current law by focusing on improved education results, 
reducing the paperwork burden for special education teachers, and 
addressing the problem of over identification of minority students as 
disabled. In addition, this bill seeks to reduce litigation, and reform 
special education finance and funding.
  One of the great benefits of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is 
that we have raised expectations and will hold school districts 
accountable for the annual progress of all their students, including 
students with disabilities. Although we have made great progress in 
including students with disabilities in the regular classroom, we now 
must make equally great progress in ensuring that they receive a 
quality education in the regular classroom. We must carefully align the 
IDEA with NCLB to ensure that students with disabilities are included 
in the accountability systems of States and school districts.

  This bill will help reduce the paperwork burden so that school 
districts are able to retain and recruit highly qualified special 
education teachers. The excessive amount of paperwork currently 
inherent in special education continues to overwhelm and burden 
teachers, robbing them of time to educate their students. Teachers must 
have the ability to spend more time in the classroom rather than 
spending endless hours filling out forms that do not lead to a better 
education for students.
  Furthermore, we are committed to implementing reforms that would 
reduce the number of students that are misidentified or over 
represented in special education programs. Minorities are often 
significantly over represented in special education programs. In fact, 
African Americans are nearly three times more likely to be labeled as 
mentally retarded, and almost twice as likely to be labeled emotionally 
disturbed. Current methods of identifying children with disabilities 
lack validity or reliability. As a result, thousands of children are 
inappropriately identified every year, while many others are not 
identified early enough or at all.
  This bill seeks to reduce litigation and restore trust between 
parents and school districts. All too often miscommunication damages 
this relationship and results in a proliferation of litigation. We are 
committed to implementing reforms that provide ample opportunities for 
positive interaction before a problem becomes serious. We are also 
committed to ensure that parents are actively involved in their child's 
education experience. This bill will give parents greater access to be 
involved in making decisions about their child's education.
  Finally, we are very proud of our record in securing the largest 
funding increases for IDEA over the past 7 years. Since 1995, Congress 
has nearly tripled federal spending for special education. This bill 
continues to lead the way in increasing funds for IDEA by creating a 
path to attain full funding of the federal government's 40 percent goal 
within 7 years.
  We remain committed to build upon reforms already implemented and 
must keep these challenges in mind as we reauthorize IDEA. I look 
forward to working with the member of the Committee, other Members of 
Congress, and stakeholders as we work to craft legislation that will 
build upon and improve previous reforms and continue to ensure that 
children with disabilities receive a quality education. I urge my 
colleagues to join me and the other original co-sponsors in support of 
the Improving Education Results for Children with Disabilities Act.

                          ____________________