[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 14481-14483]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. KAINE (for himself, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Casey, and Mr. 
        Warner):
  S. 2788. A bill to provide support for the development of middle 
school career exploration programs linked to career and technical 
education programs of study; to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, the key to America's continued success lies 
in improving our Nation's educational system to meet the demands of the 
21st century job market. Today, many students enter high school and 
college with little knowledge of the careers available to them outside 
of traditional pathways. With college costs continuing to rise, it is 
critical that students have exposure to the wide range of available 
work and career choices early in their academic careers so that, by the 
time they enter high school, they are more informed about future paths 
and what they need to do to pursue them.
  Career and technical education, CTE, are a proven way to help 
students explore their own strengths and preferences, as well as how 
they match up with potential future careers. However, limited funding 
for middle school CTE programming often means students have to wait 
until high school for this exposure.
  Studies have found that middle school students greatly benefit from 
career and technical education development programs that promote career 
exploration skills, as well as increase knowledge of career options and 
career pathways. Middle school is an important time for students to 
explore their own strengths, likes, and dislikes, and career and 
technical education exploration programs are great tools to educate 
them about the type of course or training that goes into a career field 
that matches their interests.
  This is why I am pleased to introduce the Middle School Technical 
Education Program Act, which establishes a pilot program for middle 
schools to partner with postsecondary institutions and local businesses 
to develop and implement career and technical exploration programs. 
This legislation will provide support for middle schools to create 
career and technical education programs that will provide students with 
introductory courses, hands-on learning, or afterschool programs. 
Career guidance and academic counseling is vital to ensuring that our 
students understand the educational requirements for high-

[[Page 14482]]

growth, in-demand career fields. Many times students receive this 
information too late in their academic careers.
  We need to make middle school more career-relevant and expose 
students to the career pathways they may choose. This legislation also 
requires that programs help students draft a high school graduation 
plan that demonstrates what courses would prepare them for a given 
career field. If we give students at a younger age applied career and 
technical opportunities, they will be more informed about future paths 
and what they need to do to pursue them. I hope this bill spurs 
discussion on how vital middle school is for exposing students to 
career choices.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Murray, 
        Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Reed, Mr. Johnson of South Dakota, Mr. 
        Bennet, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Casey, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Warren, 
        and Mrs. Hagan):
  S. 2789. A bill to amend part B of the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act to provide full Federal funding of such part; to the 
Committee on Finance.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, throughout my career in public service I 
have focused on ensuring that each and every child with a disability is 
ensured the right to a good education. To this end, I have fought 
tirelessly to safeguard the rights of children with disabilities under 
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA, landmark 
legislation that has been improving the educational outcomes of 
millions of students across the nation since 1975 on the bedrock 
principles of inclusion and equality.
  When Congress passed IDEA, we understood that our commitment to 
provide high-quality educational opportunities and serve the needs of 
students with disabilities in our classrooms entailed excess costs 
compared to others students, which would have a significant financial 
impact on States and school districts. That is why Congress committed 
to covering up to 40 percent of the excess cost of educating students 
with disabilities. However, we have failed to deliver on that promise, 
and the law has been consistently and grossly underfunded.
  This is why I am pleased to introduce the IDEA Full Funding Act, 
which will allow us to make good on the full federal commitment. Given 
the current financial difficulties that many state and local 
governments are facing, this legislation is more essential than ever 
for ensuring that students with disabilities get the high-quality 
education and services they need in order to fulfill their potential.
  Since enactment of IDEA, students with disabilities across the United 
States have made tremendous progress. Today, nearly 6.6 million 
students receive special education services designed to meet their 
individual needs. Ninety-five percent of students with disabilities 
attend a neighborhood school, and almost two-thirds of those students 
spend at least 80 percent of their day in the regular school 
environment. Nearly 350,000 infants and toddlers receive early 
intervention services. More than 6 out of 10 students with disabilities 
graduate high school with a regular diploma--twice the percentage of 25 
years ago. Moreover, approximately half of students with disabilities 
enroll in postsecondary education. We must do our best to continue this 
progress and make good on our 39-year-old promise because there is 
still a long way to go. For instance, students with disabilities who 
graduate from high school have an employment rate that is less than 
half the employment rate of the general population.
  Today, the Federal Government provides about 16 percent of the 
additional cost of educating a student with a disability, less than 
half the 40 percent that Congress committed to when we passed IDEA. In 
the current fiscal year, this means Federal funding for IDEA is almost 
$24 billion short, which forces states and school districts to make up 
the federal shortfall at a time when they are cash strapped.
  The IDEA Full Funding Act will fully fund the federal commitment to 
IDEA by gradually increasing the federal government's share of the 
excess costs of educating students with disabilities to its committed 
level over 10 years. Specifically, this legislation will increase the 
Federal dollars appropriated from $11.5 billion in fiscal year 2014 to 
$35.6 billion in fiscal year 2023.
  This bill is supported by 34 organizations including: ACCSES, the 
Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs, the Autism National 
Committee, the Autism Society of America, the Council of Parent 
Attorneys and Advocates, the Collaboration to Promote Self-
Determination, the Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools 
and Programs for the Deaf, the Disability Rights Education and Defense 
Fund, the Epilepsy Foundation, Easter Seals, the Kentucky Protection 
and Advocacy Division, the Jonathan Foundation for Children with 
Learning Disabilities, the National Association of School 
Psychologists, the National Association of State Directors of Special 
Education, the National Center for Learning Disabilities, the National 
Center for Special Education in Charter Schools, the National Down 
Syndrome Congress, the National Down Syndrome Society, the National 
Disability Rights Network, Perkins School for the Blind, TASH, the 
School Superintendents Association, the American Federation of 
Teachers, the American Speech Language Hearing Association, the 
Association of Educational Service Agencies, the Council of Great City 
Schools, the Council for Exceptional Children, the National Association 
of Elementary School Principals, the National Association of Secondary 
School Principals, the National Association of State Directors of 
Special Education, the National Education Association, the National 
School Boards Association, the National Rural Education Advocacy 
Coalition, and the National Rural Education Association.
  By making good on our 39-year-old promise, we will supply schools 
with the necessary funding to enhance the quality and range of services 
available to students with disabilities. The funding increase will help 
to raise salaries for teachers and related services personnel, thereby 
allowing districts to enhance recruitment and retention high-quality 
staff. It will support school districts in increasing graduation rates 
and postsecondary enrollment rates of students with disabilities.
  In these difficult times, it is essential for Congress to provide 
these revenues without increasing the deficit. The IDEA Full Funding 
Act is fully paid for by increasing income taxes for those with an 
adjusted gross income greater than $1,000,000 per year. This increase 
in funding for schools will have a powerful impact on the lives of 
children with disabilities by improving their educational and future 
employment outcomes.
  I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this long-
overdue legislation.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. HARKIN (for himself and Ms. Mikulski):
  S. 2790. A bill to amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
Act to permit a prevailing party in an action or proceeding brought to 
enforce the Act to be awarded expert witness fees and certain other 
expenses; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President: Ensuring that all students, regardless of 
background or ability, have access to an education that gives them the 
opportunity to live a successful and fulfilling life has always been a 
major focus of my career in public service. To achieve this goal, I 
have fought hard for students with disabilities to have access to the 
general education curriculum and the services and supports they need to 
succeed, and to safeguard their rights under the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act, IDEA. That is why I am pleased to 
reintroduce the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act. This critical 
legislation will remove the financial barrier that families, especially 
low- and middle-income families, face when they pursue their children's 
rights to the free, appropriate public education they deserve and are 
entitled to under the Fourteenth Amendment.

[[Page 14483]]

  When Congress originally passed IDEA, we recognized the vital 
importance of parent and school collaboration in special education and 
required they jointly develop an Individualized Education Plan, IEP, to 
identify goals to promote the academic achievement of students with 
disabilities. Usually, this partnership serves students well. There 
are, however, times when parents believe schools have not fulfilled 
their responsibilities to provide an appropriate education to their 
children. In these cases, IDEA provides parents the right to challenge 
the schools through mediation and due process. The educational needs of 
children with disabilities can be quite complex and when there is a 
disagreement between the family and the school it may be necessary for 
experts to lend their help in determining what interventions and 
supports are best for the child. For families asking for mediation or a 
due process hearing, the use of expert services can be costly, ranging 
on average from $100 to $300 per hour. In one case, a single mother 
whose son struggled with dyslexia and written expression disorders had 
to borrow $1,400 to pay an independent evaluator to testify at a 
hearing. She also had to pay for the expert's time spent being cross-
examined by the school district for two days. Without access to expert 
witnesses, families may be unable to make an argument for the 
educational needs of their children.
  When Congress amended IDEA in 1986, it recognized the financial 
barriers that parents face in pursuing due process to resolve 
disagreements with their school and specified in the Conference 
Committee Report that when the court finds in favor of the parents a 
judge could award attorney's fees, including ``reasonable expenses and 
fees of expert witnesses and the reasonable costs of any test or 
evaluation which is found to be necessary for the preparation of the 
parent or guardian's case.'' For years, parents who prevailed in 
judicial proceedings were awarded these fees, as Congress intended. But 
in 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Arlington Central School 
District v. Murphy that courts could no longer award these fees because 
Congress made its intention explicit in the Conference Report rather 
than in statute. As a result, many parents are discouraged and even 
prevented from pursuing meritorious cases to secure the rights of their 
children. Low- and middle-income families are particularly put at a 
disadvantage by this ruling.
  The IDEA Fairness Restoration Act clarifies Congress' express intent 
that parents should recover expert witness fees, as they currently can 
do with attorneys' fees, if they prove that the school system has 
wrongfully denied their child an appropriate education as defined by 
IDEA. By including ``reasonable expenses and fees of expert witnesses 
and the reasonable costs of any test or evaluation which is found to be 
necessary for the preparation of the parent or guardian's case'' and 
reestablishing the right of judges to award such fees to parents who 
prevail in IDEA cases, as Congress intended, this legislation will 
level the playing field and restore the ability of low- and middle-
income parents to be effective advocates for their children's 
educational needs.
  This bill is supported by 18 advocacy organizations including: 
ACCSES, the Autism National Committee, the Autism Society of America, 
the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, the Conference of 
Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf, 
Collaboration to Promote Self-Determination, the Disability Rights 
Education and Defense Fund, the Epilepsy Foundation, Easter Seals, the 
Kentucky Protection and Advocacy Division, the Jonathan Foundation for 
Children with Learning Disabilities, Our Children Left Behind, the 
National Center for Learning Disabilities, the National Center for 
Special Education in Charter Schools, the National Down Syndrome 
Congress, the National Down Syndrome Society, the National Disability 
Rights Network, and TASH.
  This legislation is an essential step for protecting the rights of 
students with disabilities and ensuring that all families, regardless 
of their financial resources, can advocate for and protect their 
children's rights through due process, consistent with Congressional 
intent and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

                          ____________________