[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 141 (Wednesday, September 11, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H5188]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          FULLY FUND THE IDEA

  (Ms. TLAIB asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
Act, or what we call IDEA, is a landmark civil rights law in our 
country, offering a promise of equal education for all of our students 
living with disabilities.
  We continue as a country to fall short on this promise, a 50-year-old 
law that is now chronically underfunded. Teachers and parents in my 
district repeatedly tell me how we are not doing enough to meet the 
demands and requirements for IDEA.
  The Federal Government promised to cover 40 percent of the extra 
costs of special education with the passage of IDEA in 1975. That 
pledge has never been met. Federal funding covers just under 15 
percent, creating a shortfall of billions for many of our districts 
across the country.
  My colleagues have been introducing a bill over and over again for 
almost 25 years to get it fully funded, and we haven't seen it yet.
  We must follow on the promise of IDEA. That is why I cosponsored the 
IDEA Full Funding Act.
  The problems today are real for our children. When we fail to fully 
fund these services, school districts are stuck and end up providing 
less than the law requires, cuts are made, and children are turned 
away.
  Mr. Speaker, let's fund the IDEA.

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