[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.