[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 67 (Thursday, May 13, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5451-S5452]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE SPECIAL EDUCATION REAUTHORIZATION BILL

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I would like to take a few minutes 
today to talk about the special education reauthorization bill, S. 
1248, that was passed on the Senate floor today.
  I start by thanking Senators Gregg and Kennedy, in particular, for 
their hard work in crafting this bill over the course of the last two 
Congresses. This reauthorization process has truly been a bipartisan 
effort and is an example of what happens when partisan differences are 
set aside to work toward common goals. There are few more appropriate 
issues on which to work together than ensuring all children, regardless 
of their lot in life, are guaranteed an education that suits their 
needs.
  I support this bill because it is a step in the right direction. It 
is not perfect, but it reaches a fair compromise by giving States and 
schools greater administrative and fiscal flexibility, while continuing 
to provide parents with disabled children the assurances that their 
children will continue to get an appropriate education.
  This bill focuses on two main concepts: aligning special education 
law with No Child Left Behind and ensuring greater mechanisms are in 
place to allow disabled students to transition into mainstream society 
after high school graduation.
  No Child Left Behind requires States and school districts to ensure 
that all students are learning and are reaching their highest 
potential. Special education students should not be left out of these 
accountability mechanisms. They should have the same level of support 
and guidance as nondisabled students, and have the same opportunities 
to enter the workforce and continue their education after high school. 
The goal of this reauthorization bill was to put provisions in place to 
allow teachers and parents to plan early for special education students 
to make a life for themselves after graduation.
  I believe it is going to really help my State and other States around 
the country by giving teachers more guidance and support to do their 
jobs, and

[[Page S5452]]

giving parents greater involvement in how their children are educated. 
I also hope that it will help identify children early--as infants and 
toddlers--so that they can receive the services they need before it is 
necessary for them to enter a special education classroom.
  One notable provision that the Senate attached to this bill on the 
floor this week is a mechanism to guide Congress toward meeting its 
commitment to provide States with 40 percent of the excess costs 
associated with educating students with special needs.
  Although the original special education law, which was passed in 
1975, gave States assurances that the Federal Government would 
reimburse States for the cost of educating special education students, 
Congress has never come close to meeting its goal.
  Today, for instance, States are receiving about 19 percent or $10 
billion in Federal funding to be used for educating special needs 
children. And while Congress has worked hard over the last 7 years to 
make greater investments in special education, States continue to 
struggle to educate special needs students because of how costly it is 
to teach them.
  The amendment offered by Senator Gregg and supported by myself and 95 
other Senators sets up a timeline by which Congress will move toward 
its goal of funding 40 percent of the cost of special education. Every 
year, from now until 2011, Congress can use its discretion to 
appropriate up to $2 billion each year for special education.
  This new funding mechanism will mean States could see their Federal 
share of special education funds double over the course of the next 6 
years.
  In California, where State schools educate 11 percent--or roughly 
675,000 students--of the Nation's special education K through 12 
population, school districts will receive $1.7 billion in Federal 
dollars this year. In spite of the large amount of funding the State 
receives, I am told that they have been forced to transfer billions of 
dollars annually from general education to special education due to 
Congress' failure to keep its promise to fully fund special education.
  An increase in the Federal funding commitment will mean that 
California could receive up to $2.7 billion a year in special education 
funding by 2011 and will no longer have to shuffle money from their 
general education budgets to underwrite the cost of educating special 
needs students.
  So this funding promise will make a huge difference to States and 
school districts and one that I was happy to support. Schools will now 
have predictable special education funding that they can count on when 
balancing their budgets and planning for future years.
  I also urge the Senate's support, in conference, of a provision 
adopted by the House which would require that increases in Federal 
funding above fiscal year 2003 levels be directly allocated to the 
local level. This would ensure that all IDEA funding gets down to our 
school districts that are responsible for providing quality education 
to children with disabilities.
  In California, this provision is critical in meeting the Federal 
responsibilities to assist all students with disabilities, including 
the thousands of students with physical and mental disabilities served 
by the State's large county education offices, such as Los Angeles, San 
Francisco, and San Diego, that are tasked with educating the State's 
vast majority of special needs children.
  So I am satisfied that this bill will meet the needs of both school 
districts and parents. I hope it will help give students the tools they 
need to become productive citizens, teachers more flexibility to do 
their jobs, parents greater ability to work with schools to ensure that 
their children are getting the services to which they are entitled, and 
States the funding and oversight necessary to make sure that education 
for disabled students is as seamless as for nondisabled students. I am 
pleased to support it.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.

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