Honorable Robert E. Andrews
          House of Representatives
          Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congressman Andrews:

I am writing to urge the conferees on H.R. 1, the "No Child Left Behind            Act of 2001" and the "Better Education for Students and Teachers Act            of 2001," to delete the Senate amendment that would remove the Individuals            with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) from the annual appropriations            process. I am sending this letter separately from the Administration's            views on a range of issues in these bills so I can more thoroughly articulate            our position on this very important issue. The IDEA reauthorization            will be a top priority of this Administration, and we have already begun            to prepare for this process. While I look forward to working with Congress            on this reauthorization, the ESEA bill is not the appropriate vehicle            for enacting changes to the IDEA.

I would like to commend you once again for your efforts to enact President            Bush's No Child Left Behind proposal. As you know, when the President            speaks of leaving no child behind, his commitment includes all students,            including those with disabilities. The passage of the Education for            All Handicapped Children Act (now the IDEA) nearly 26 years ago has            helped millions of students with disabilities achieve high academic            standards and participate fully in American society. Yet, notwithstanding            this progress, there are still significant gaps between children with            disabilities and their peers on such key indicators as graduation and            student achievement.

The Administration recognizes the many challenges faced by States and            localities in carrying out their responsibility to educate children            with disabilities. While IDEA funding has nearly tripled over the last            five years, we recognize the importance of providing additional funding.            That is why the President's budget includes a $1 billion increase for            the IDEA for fiscal year 2002, the largest increase ever proposed by            a President in his budget. However, the Administration strongly opposes            the Senate bill's full-funding amendment because it would remove the            IDEA from the appropriations process and substantially increase Federal            funding without improving educational results for children with disabilities.            Like other critical education priorities, IDEA funding should remain            subject to the annual appropriations process, where Congress has discretion            to scrutinize federal spending and determine how best to allocate limited            resources.

Special education is filled with complex issues and problems, including            discipline, finance models, and possible overidentification and disproportionate            placement of minority students. We believe that solutions to these challenges            should be addressed within the context of a thorough review of the IDEA            and as part of a comprehensive package of reforms, not as part of the            ESEA reauthorization.

As our experience with the ESEA over the past three decades has proven,            additional funding alone will not improve student performance. We need            to take a hard look at what works in special education to ensure that            children with disabilities have the opportunity to reach high academic            standards.

In the case of discipline, the President and I strongly believe that            all students deserve to be educated in safe schools free from violence            and drugs. While the Administration understands the goals behind the            House and Senate amendments, we also recognize that IDEA discipline            policy is a very complex and controversial issue. As such, it deserves            a careful and thorough review during the IDEA reauthorization.

In addition, as a practitioner, I am aware of various problems with            the implementation of the IDEA. In particular, I am very disturbed with            the recent findings that, in many districts, minority students are overrepresented            in special education classes. While the reports find that there are            many different reasons for this, it is clear that we need to look more            closely at this issue.

For example, we need to look at how to distribute Federal special education            funds without creating inappropriate incentives regarding the referral,            placement, or provision of services to children. I am pleased that both            the House and Senate have adopted the President's Reading First proposal,            which was intended, in part, to ensure that children are not unnecessarily            referred to special education because of inadequate reading instruction.            The Senate's full-funding amendment could create a fiscal incentive            to refer children to special education at the same time that we are            working hard to minimize inappropriate referrals.

While this letter only touches on some of the issues in special education,            I urge you to delay consideration on all IDEA-related amendments until            we have had a comprehensive, evidence-based review of the Act. Please            be assured that the Administration has already begun to prepare for            the IDEA reauthorization. I look forward to working with you to address            these critically important issues.

Thank you for your commitment to achieving excellence in education            through the reauthorization of the ESEA.

The Office of Management and Budget advises that there is no objection            to the submission of this report from the standpoint of the Administration's            program.

Sincerely,

/s/

Rod Paige

|Last Modified: 09/15/2004
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