[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 45 (Thursday, March 20, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  IMPROVING PARENTAL CHOICE FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN A. BOEHNER

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 20, 2003

  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, today, I join my colleague from South 
Carolina in offering this important legislation to improve and increase 
the options available to parents of students with disabilities under 
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The IDEA 
reauthorization is a top priority for my Committee this year. We want 
to build on the success of the No Child Left Behind Act and align IDEA 
with NCLB.
  One of our key principles for reauthorization is the encouragement of 
innovative approaches to parental involvement and parental choice. IDEA 
already contains choice, for the educated and the wealthy. There is no 
reason to deny millions of parents those same opportunities. We should 
empower all parents to expand their participation and increase 
knowledge of their rights and responsibilities under the law.
  This bill would accomplish three goals:
  Encourage states to develop innovative, flexible choice programs for 
children with disabilities and permitting states that have such 
programs to allow federal funds to follow the child based on the 
parents' choice. According to a report by Education Week, Florida's 
pioneering program, launched two years ago under Governor Jeb Bush and 
Lieutenant Governor Frank Brogan, resulted in state education officials 
receiving more than 14,000 inquiries from parents interested in 
exploring scholarships as a means of securing the best education 
possible for their children. Federal law should not discourage other 
states from emulating the Florida model or from engaging in other 
innovative efforts to improve choices for the parents of children with 
special needs.
  Permit districts to use their funds under this Act to provide 
necessary accommodations (including reasonable, additional expenses) to 
allow children with disabilities being educated in schools designated 
for improvement under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to participate in 
supplemental educational services. NCLB, enacted in 2002 with 
overwhelming bipartisan support, guarantees parents with children in 
underachieving federally-funded schools--including children with 
disabilities--the right to obtain tutoring and other supplemental 
educational services for their children from providers reimbursed with 
their children's share of federal education funds. Eligible providers 
include private and faith-based providers of educational services. NCLB 
established an important historical precedent for the portability of 
federal Title I education funds, in which the money follows the child. 
The same principle should be applied to federal special education funds 
when children with special needs are otherwise being denied the 
opportunity for a quality education.
  Expand the options of parents and decrease transition problems for 
the youngest children with disabilities by allowing states to expand 
current Part C (currently ages 0-2) programs to children that would 
otherwise be participating in Section 619 (ages 3-5). Parents can 
choose for their preschooler to remain in the Part C program with their 
current providers (including private providers) without interruption or 
transition from traditional Part C at age 3.
  School choice, particularly for children with disabilities, provides 
a constructive way to continue to improve public education by insisting 
on excellence for every child. I strongly believe that parents are in 
the best position to determine where their child should be educated. We 
should allow all parents the right and the responsibility to have that 
choice.
  I urge my colleagues to support this measure to give parents and 
children with disabilities the choice they deserve.

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