III 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 329 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
NOVEMBER 18, 2010 
Received and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the 35th 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), which amended the State 
grant program under part B of the Education of the 
Handicapped Act (Public Law 91–230), was enacted into 
law 35 years ago on November 29, 1975; 
Whereas the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 
1975 established 
the 
Federal 
policy 
of 
ensuring 
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HCON 329 RFS 
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 of 1975 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 the IDEA was amended in 1997 to ensure children 
with disabilities are involved, and make progress, in the 
general education curriculum and are included in all gen-
eral State and district-wide assessment programs; 
Whereas IDEA was amended in 2004 to ensure that all chil-
dren with disabilities have available to them a free appro-
priate public education that emphasizes special education 
and related services designed to meet their unique needs 
and support them in transitioning to further education, 
employment, and independent living; 
Whereas IDEA currently serves an estimated 342,000 infants 
and toddlers, 709,000 preschoolers, and 5,890,000 chil-
dren 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 that are away from their 
families, costly, inappropriate, and isolated; 
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Whereas the number of children with disabilities who com-
plete high school with a standard diploma has grown sig-
nificantly since the enactment of IDEA; 
Whereas the number of children with disabilities who enroll 
in college as freshmen has more than tripled since the en-
actment of IDEA; 
Whereas IDEA has raised the Nation’s expectations about 
the abilities of children with disabilities by requiring ac-
cess to the general education curriculum; 
Whereas improvements to IDEA made in 1997 and 2004 
changed the focus of a child’s individualized education 
program from procedural requirements placed upon 
teachers and related services personnel to educational re-
sults for that child, thus improving academic achieve-
ment; 
Whereas IDEA, along with the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965, holds schools accountable for the 
academic performance of students with disabilities; 
Whereas IDEA requires 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 chil-
dren 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 appropria-
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