    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [June 4, 1997]
    [Pages 699-701]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Signing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
    Amendments of 1997
    June 4, 1997

        Thank you very much. He did a great job, didn't he? Thank you, Josh,
    for your story. Thank you, Judy, for your work and the power of your
    example. And thanks to your mom. [Laughter]
        I thank Secretary Riley. I thank all the children who are here with
    me on the platform who have come to symbolize what this legislation is
    all about and all the children who are out there in the crowds. I thank
    those of you who have helped me over the years to know and understand
    what is at stake in this issue more clearly. I thank especially the
    people who deserve the credit for what we're doing today, the Members of
    Congress, the committee chairs: Senator Jeffords and Congressman
    Goodling and Senator Kennedy and Senator Harkin, Congressmen Clay and
    Martinez and Riggs. I'd like to say a special word of thanks to all the
    staff people who worked on this but especially to David Hoppe, Senator
    Lott's chief of staff, who did such a fine job here. Thank you, David.
        I would like to ask--they're all going to come up here later when we
    sign the bill, but there must be 30 Members of Congress here. And this
    bill, as you know, received virtual unanimity of support across party
    lines and regional lines. And in addition to the Members whose names I
    mentioned, I'd like to ask all the Members of Congress to stand here and
    be recognized for what they did. Thank you all.
        I thank all the advocates who are here. I dare not start to identify
    you all, but I will say I am glad to see Eunice Shriver here, and thank
    you for what you have done to help me understand this issue better.
        For 22 years now, the IDEA has been the driving force behind the
    simple idea we have heard restated and symbolized here today, that every
    American citizen is a person of dignity and worth, having a spirit and a
    soul, and having the right to develop his or her full capacities.
    Because of IDEA, disabled children all over America have a better chance
    to reach that capacity. And through IDEA, we recognize our common
    obligation to help them make the most of their God-given potential.
        We are here today to reaffirm and to advance that goal. Education
    clearly will become even more important to our people in the days ahead;
    that is why I have made it my number one priority as President. That is
    why last month, when we announced the bipartisan agreement to balance
    the budget, I was most proud that we could do that and include an
    historic investment in education, the most significant increase

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    in funding for education at the national level in 30 years.
        America Reads, a massive volunteer effort to help make sure all of
    our children can read independently by the time they're 8 years old;
    millions of families getting a tax cut to help them pay for a college
    education; hundreds of thousands more deserving students getting Pell
    grants; tens of thousands of schools across America now will be wired to
    the Internet; support for raising academic standards--we know that this
    is the right thing to do for every American. But just as we heard from
    Judy, for far too long children with disabilities were closed out of
    those kinds of opportunities, trapped in a system without guideposts,
    influenced by stereotypes, dominated by assumptions that people like
    Josh couldn't take the courses that he just enumerated.
        In 1975, Congress began to change that when the IDEA was enacted. It
    has meant the right to receive an education that all children deserve.
    It has given children who would never have had it the right to sit in
    the same classrooms, to learn the same skills, to dream the same dreams
    as their fellow Americans. And for students who sat next to them in
    those classrooms, it has also given them the chance to learn a little
    something, to get rid of the baggage of ignorance and damaging
    stereotypes, and to begin to understand that what we have in common is
    far more important than what divides us.
        Since the passage of the IDEA, 90 percent fewer developmentally
    disabled children are living in institutions; hundreds of thousands of
    children with disabilities attend public schools and regular classrooms;
    3 times as many disabled young people are enrolled in colleges and
    universities; twice as many young Americans with disabilities in their
    twenties are in the American workplace. We have to continue to push
    these trends, to do everything we can to encourage our children with
    disabilities not only to dream of doing great things but to live out
    their dreams.
        Our job is not yet done. All of you know that despite this progress,
    young people with disabilities still drop out of high school at twice
    the rate their peers drop out of high school and into less certain
    futures. For those who stay in school, lower expectations and exclusion
    still are far too common. Too many parents still find themselves
    fighting for educational resources and services that are their
    children's right and their hope for a brighter future.
        Today we are taking the next steps to do better. The expanded IDEA
    reaffirms and strengthens our national commitment to provide a world-
    class education for all our children. It ensures that our Nation's
    schools are safe and conducive to learning for children, while
    scrupulously protecting the rights of our disabled students.
        First, this bill makes it clear once and for all that the children
    with disabilities have a right to be in the classroom and to be included
    in school activities like work experience, science clubs, and field
    outings. It requires States and school districts to help to get disabled
    children ready to come to school and to accommodate them once they are
    there with services ranging from preschool therapy to sign language
    interpreters, from mobility instructors to an extended school year.
        Second, this legislation mandates that with appropriate
    accommodations, children with disabilities learn the same things with
    the same curricula and the same assessments as all other children. We
    know from every teacher and every principal, from every parent and every
    coach, that children rise to expectations when they are set high. And
    children with disabilities are no exception.
        I have asked America to embrace high national academic standards for
    all our children. So far, education leaders from California to Carolina,
    from Michigan to Maryland have endorsed this effort. I believe very
    strongly that all children can make progress. Today I call upon those
    States to give every child the chance and the expectation of meeting
    those standards.
        Third, we know our children's success depends upon the quality of
    their teachers and the involvement of their parents. This legislation
    will help more regular classroom teachers get the full range of teaching
    skills they need to teach children with disabilities. And it will
    require regular education teachers to be involved in the development of
    individual education plans to help disabled children succeed.
        This legislation also gives parents a greater voice in their
    children's education. At long last, it will give them something other
    than what parents have expected from their schools for decades. It will
    give them what we know all parents should be entitled to: simply,
    regular report cards on their children's progress.

    [[Page 701]]

        High school is a make-or-break time for all young people, but
    teenagers with disabilities often need more help to succeed as they make
    the transition from school to work. This legislation will require
    schools to give students that help by developing individual plans that
    may include independent living skills, job training, and preparation for
    higher education. And because acquiring these skills may take extra
    time, these plans must begin by the time the students with disabilities
    reach the age of 14.
        Now, that is what the expansion of the legislation these Members of
    Congress have passed will achieve. In a few moments I will sign it into
    law. As I do, I want you to think about what it really accomplishes.
        To the 5.8 million children whose futures are in the balance, we are
    saying: We believe in you. We believe in your potential, and we are
    going to do everything we can to help you develop it.
        To the millions of families who are depending upon us to help them
    prepare their children to take their place in the world, we are saying:
    We are proud of you for your devotion to your children, for your belief
    in them, for your love for them, and we are going to do everything we
    can to help you succeed in preparing them.
        To the teachers and the administrators who make all the difference,
    we are saying: We are depending upon you, and we are going to do what we
    can to support you.
        To the American people, we are saying that we do not intend to rest
    until we have conquered the ignorance and prejudice against disabilities
    that disables us all.
        And to the world, we are sending a message, the same message that
    the FDR Memorial I was honored to dedicate last month will send: In
    America, you are measured by what you are and what you can achieve. In
    America, the American dream is alive for all our people. In America, we
    recognize that what really counts is the spirit and the soul and the
    heart, and we honor it with this legislation.
        Now I would like to ask the children and the people here with me on
    the platform to join me as I sign the legislation. And I would like to
    ask the Members of Congress who are here, every one of them, to come up,
    along with Tom Hehir, the Director of the Office of Special Education,
    as we sign into law the Individual with Disabilities Education Act of
    1997.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:12 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to student Joshua Bailey, who
    introduced the President; Assistant Secretary of Education Judith E.
    Heumann; and Eunice Shriver, founder, Special Olympics International.
    H.R. 5, approved June 4, was assigned Public Law No. 105-17.