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[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 135 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 135

Recognizing the 25th anniversary of the enactment of the Education for 
                 All Handicapped Children Act of 1975.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 13, 2000

   Mr. Jeffords (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Dodd, Mr. 
DeWine, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Enzi, Ms. Mikulski, Ms. Collins, Mr. Bingaman, 
  Mr. Hagel, Mr. Wellstone, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Reed, Mr. Frist, and Mr. 
 Hutchinson) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
Recognizing the 25th anniversary of the enactment of the Education for 
                 All Handicapped Children Act of 1975.

Whereas the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (Public Law 94-
        142) was signed into law 25 years ago on November 29, 1975, and amended 
        the State grant program under part B of the Education of the Handicapped 
        Act;
Whereas the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 established the 
        Federal policy of ensuring that all children, regardless of the nature 
        or severity of their disability, have available to them a free 
        appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment;
Whereas the Education of the Handicapped Act was further amended by the 
        Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1986 (Public Law 99-457) 
        to create a preschool grant program for children with disabilities 3 to 
        5 years of age and an early intervention program for infants and 
        toddlers with disabilities from birth through age 2;
Whereas the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1990 (Public Law 101-
        476) renamed the statute as the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
        Act (IDEA);
Whereas IDEA currently serves an estimated 200,000 infants and toddlers, 600,000 
        preschoolers, and 5,400,000 children 6 to 21 years of age;
Whereas IDEA has assisted in a dramatic reduction in the number of children with 
        developmental disabilities who must live in State institutions away from 
        their families;
Whereas the number of children with disabilities who complete high school has 
        grown significantly since the enactment of IDEA;
Whereas the number of children with disabilities who enroll in college as 
        freshmen has more than tripled since the enactment of IDEA;
Whereas IDEA has raised the Nation's expectations about the abilities of 
        children with disabilities by requiring access to the general education 
        curriculum;
Whereas improvements to IDEA made in 1997 changed the focus of a child's 
        individualized education program from procedural requirements placed 
        upon teachers and related services personnel to educational results for 
        that child, thus improving academic achievement;
Whereas changes made in 1997 also addressed the need to implement behavioral 
        assessments and intervention strategies for children whose behavior 
        impedes learning to ensure that they receive appropriate supports in 
        order to receive a quality education;
Whereas IDEA ensures full partnership between parents of children with 
        disabilities and education professionals in the design and 
        implementation of the educational services provided to children with 
        disabilities;
Whereas IDEA has supported the classrooms of this Nation by providing Federal 
        resources to the States and local schools to help meet their obligation 
        to educate all children with disabilities;
Whereas, while the Federal Government has not yet met its commitment to fund 
        part B of IDEA at 40 percent of the average per pupil expenditure, it 
        has made significant increases in part B funding by increasing the 
        appropriation by 115 percent since 1995, which is an increase of over 
        $2,600,000,000;
Whereas the 1997 amendments to IDEA increased the amount of Federal funds that 
        have a direct impact on students through improvements such as capping 
        allowable State administrative expenses, which ensures that nearly 99 
        percent of funding increases directly reach local schools, and requiring 
        mediation upon request by parents in order to reduce costly litigation;
Whereas such amendments also ensured that students whose schools cannot serve 
        them appropriately and students who choose to attend private, parochial, 
        and charter schools have greater access to free appropriate services 
        outside of traditional public schools;
Whereas IDEA has supported, through its discretionary programs, more than two 
        decades of research, demonstration, and training in effective practices 
        for educating children with disabilities, enabling teachers, related 
        services personnel, and administrators effectively to meet the 
        instructional needs of children with disabilities of all ages;
Whereas Federal and State governments can support effective practices in the 
        classroom to ensure appropriate and effective services for children with 
        disabilities; and
Whereas IDEA has succeeded in marshalling the resources of this Nation to 
        implement the promise of full participation in society of children with 
        disabilities: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) recognizes the 25th anniversary of the enactment of the 
        Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (Public Law 
        94-142);
            (2) acknowledges the many and varied contributions of 
        children with disabilities, their parents, teachers, related 
        services personnel, and administrators; and
            (3) reaffirms its support for the Individuals with 
        Disabilities Education Act so that all children with 
        disabilities have access to a free appropriate public 
        education.
                                 <all>
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