[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 127 (Tuesday, September 16, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11569-S11570]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. MURRAY (for herself and Mr. DeWine):
  S. 1619. A bill to amend the individuals with disabilities Education 
Act to ensure that children with disabilities who are homeless or are 
wards of the State have access to special education services, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, today I am pleased to join my colleague 
Senator DeWine in introducing legislation to provide a high-quality 
education to homeless and foster children with disabilities. The 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is based on the 
bedrock American principle of equal opportunity. IDEA recognizes that 
students have a civil right to a free, appropriate public education, 
even if their special needs require additional resources. Because most 
foster and homeless children face distinct challenges, they require 
even more attention and consideration to make sure their educational 
needs are met. The Improving Education for Homeless and Foster Children 
with Disabilities Act would make small but critical changes to ensure 
these children have a real opportunity to fulfill their potential.
  Students with disabilities face additional challenges in school as do 
foster and homeless children. But to live in a foster home or in no 
home at all and to have a disability is truly to have the deck stacked 
against you. Congress has a long and proud tradition of supporting and 
protecting educational opportunity for our most vulnerable young 
people. It's what we did when we passed the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act in 1965. It's what we did when we created Head Start, and 
it's what we did when we started giving out Pell Grants. It's time for 
us to step up once again and make the changes to make IDEA work for 
homeless and foster children with disabilities.
  The bill that Senator DeWine and I are introducing today addresses 
the unique educational needs of children with disabilities who are in 
foster care or who experience homelessness. Foster children and 
homeless children face a unique set of challenging circumstances. There 
are over 500,000 children in foster care. Thirty percent of them are in 
special education. We know that foster children often do not function 
well in school. Foster children have usually been separated from their 
biological families as a result of child abuse or neglect, which can 
leave both emotional and physical marks for life. Given the shortage of 
foster parents in this country, children in foster care are often 
shuttled between many different homes and schools. One young man has 
shared with me his story of living in more than 100 homes throughout 
his childhood. Every time these children move to a new home, they may 
have to attend a new school. And every time these children enroll in a 
new school, they must start over in securing the supports and services 
they need to receive the free and appropriate public education that is 
their civil right.
  In addition to frequent absences and transfers, foster children often 
don't

[[Page S11570]]

have parents to advocate for their educational needs. Almost every 
parent whose child has a disability will tell you that their role as 
advocate for their child correlates directly to the quality of the 
education their child receives. Without a parent to advocate for them, 
foster children can languish for years with unrecognized disabilities 
or insufficient services to help them succeed in school. These 
experiences can leave children in foster care without the education and 
support to lead functional, productive lives.
  Homeless children in our country also face significant hurdles to 
succeed in school, which are exacerbated for children with 
disabilities. The Urban Institute estimates that 1.35 million children 
experience homelessness each year. A high proportion of homeless 
children with disabilities also need special education services, yet 
many homeless children have great difficulty accessing these services.
  Children who experience homelessness desperately need stability in 
their lives, but they often lack the continuity of staying in one 
school or even in one school district long enough for an Individualized 
Education Plan--or IEP--to be developed and implemented. In addition, 
like foster children, some homeless youth have no legal guardian to 
watch out for their educational needs and to advocate for their best 
interests.
  Despite this difficult situation, we can help these children with a 
high-quality education. The Improving Education for Homeless and Foster 
Children with Disabilities Act amends IDEA to help States and districts 
meet these challenges. It facilitates greater continuity for students 
who change schools or school districts, by ensuring that students' IEPs 
follow them from school to school. It increases opportunities for early 
evaluation and intervention for homeless and foster infants and 
toddlers with disabilities. It also provides for representation of 
foster and homeless children on key committees that make critical 
decisions affecting special education. This bill expands the definition 
of ``parent'' to include relatives or other caregivers who are equipped 
to make sound decisions in a child's best interest when there is no 
biological parent available to do so. Finally, it improves coordination 
of services and information so educational and social services agencies 
can function more efficiently to benefit these children.
  As we reauthorize IDEA, we have an obligation to pay extra attention 
to these children and to provide the resources and support they need. 
The real test of how we treat children in America is measured in how we 
treat the most vulnerable among us, and this bill gives us a chance to 
do the right thing. I urge the Senate to truly ensure that no child is 
left behind by passing the Improving Education for Homeless and Foster 
Children with Disabilities Act.
                                 ______