Post by Jenifer on May 14, 2004 11:55:59 GMT -5
I know many of you try to keep up on the political issues surrounding special education and advocacy, so I thought I would post this article from today's edition of CNN.com. Have a great weekend!!
Senate Split on Special Education
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate, nearing its first major update to special education since 1997, agreed Wednesday to accelerate spending on disabled children but refused to lock in specific increases.
Senators hashed over competing plans to fulfill the promise that Congress made almost three decades ago: the federal government's commitment to cover 40 percent of the cost of educating children with special needs.
The matter is significant because states and school districts must pay for whatever expenses the Congress does not. That can amount to billions of dollars that local communities say they need for teachers, training, supplies and construction.
Spending is the major sticking point in the Senate's renewal of the Individual with Disabilities Education Act, the 1975 law guaranteeing equal education to children with disabilities. As many as 6.7 million students are in special education.
Senators of both parties agree on the underlying bill, which aims to improve identification and intervention of those with disabilities, simplify paperwork for teachers, reduce lawsuits by parents and give schools more flexibility over money.
The Senate likely will pass the bill Thursday, aides said.
Congress spends $10.1 billion on special education, or 18.6 percent of the total cost -- less than half the amount originally promised.
Sens. Tom Harkin of Iowa and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska proposed mandatory spending increases so the federal total would reach the overdue figure of 40 percent within six years.
"We have never lived up to that pledge. In fact, we're not even halfway there," Harkin said. "This is really about the credibility of the United States Congress."
Locking in money each year is the only way to keep the promise, Harkin said.
He and other sponsors needed 60 votes to keep the amendment alive because it violated the budget act. They fell short, 56-41, in a largely party-line vote.
Sen. Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, said mandatory spending is bad policy because it boosts the deficit and doesn't allow Congress to set priorities. It also would lead to offsetting cuts in education spending, he said, making any increases "illusory."
Gregg offered a competing plan to reach full funding within seven years, leaving the yearly spending increases up to Congress. Senators approved his amendment 96-1.
Federal spending on special education has increased from $2.3 billion to $10.1 billion since 1996, a pattern the Senate has every intention of continuing, Gregg said.
"We come to this argument with significant credibility to our commitment to fund special education, and fund it aggressively," Gregg said.
Both spending proposals were built on yearly increases of roughly $2.2 billion, about twice the size of those that Congress has settled on in recent years.
Despite funding concerns, key education groups have backed the bill. Still, they want changes before the law is passed in such areas as the definition of "highly qualified" teacher and the education secretary's power to withhold money.
The bill would allow disabled children to be disciplined in the same manner as other students, provided their disability is not the cause of their bad behavior.
The House passed its version a year ago. It would increase the federal spending commitment to 40 percent over seven years at the discretion of Congress.
Senate Split on Special Education
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate, nearing its first major update to special education since 1997, agreed Wednesday to accelerate spending on disabled children but refused to lock in specific increases.
Senators hashed over competing plans to fulfill the promise that Congress made almost three decades ago: the federal government's commitment to cover 40 percent of the cost of educating children with special needs.
The matter is significant because states and school districts must pay for whatever expenses the Congress does not. That can amount to billions of dollars that local communities say they need for teachers, training, supplies and construction.
Spending is the major sticking point in the Senate's renewal of the Individual with Disabilities Education Act, the 1975 law guaranteeing equal education to children with disabilities. As many as 6.7 million students are in special education.
Senators of both parties agree on the underlying bill, which aims to improve identification and intervention of those with disabilities, simplify paperwork for teachers, reduce lawsuits by parents and give schools more flexibility over money.
The Senate likely will pass the bill Thursday, aides said.
Congress spends $10.1 billion on special education, or 18.6 percent of the total cost -- less than half the amount originally promised.
Sens. Tom Harkin of Iowa and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska proposed mandatory spending increases so the federal total would reach the overdue figure of 40 percent within six years.
"We have never lived up to that pledge. In fact, we're not even halfway there," Harkin said. "This is really about the credibility of the United States Congress."
Locking in money each year is the only way to keep the promise, Harkin said.
He and other sponsors needed 60 votes to keep the amendment alive because it violated the budget act. They fell short, 56-41, in a largely party-line vote.
Sen. Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, said mandatory spending is bad policy because it boosts the deficit and doesn't allow Congress to set priorities. It also would lead to offsetting cuts in education spending, he said, making any increases "illusory."
Gregg offered a competing plan to reach full funding within seven years, leaving the yearly spending increases up to Congress. Senators approved his amendment 96-1.
Federal spending on special education has increased from $2.3 billion to $10.1 billion since 1996, a pattern the Senate has every intention of continuing, Gregg said.
"We come to this argument with significant credibility to our commitment to fund special education, and fund it aggressively," Gregg said.
Both spending proposals were built on yearly increases of roughly $2.2 billion, about twice the size of those that Congress has settled on in recent years.
Despite funding concerns, key education groups have backed the bill. Still, they want changes before the law is passed in such areas as the definition of "highly qualified" teacher and the education secretary's power to withhold money.
The bill would allow disabled children to be disciplined in the same manner as other students, provided their disability is not the cause of their bad behavior.
The House passed its version a year ago. It would increase the federal spending commitment to 40 percent over seven years at the discretion of Congress.
jackie