III
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 84
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MAY 5, 1999
Received and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Urging the Congress and the President to fully fund the
Federal Government’s obligation under the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act.
Whereas all children deserve a quality education, including
children with disabilities;
Whereas Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children v.
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 334 F. Supp. 1247 (E.
Dist. Pa. 1971), and Mills v. Board of Education of the
District of Columbia, 348 F. Supp. 866 (Dist. D. C.
1972), found that children with disabilities are guaran-
HCON 84 RFS
teed an equal opportunity to an education under the 14th
amendment to the Constitution;
Whereas the Congress responded to these court decisions by
passing the Education for All Handicapped Children Act
of 1975 (enacted as Public Law 94–142), now known as
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20
U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), to ensure a free, appropriate public
education for children with disabilities;
Whereas the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act pro-
vides that the Federal, State, and local governments are
to share in the expense of educating children with disabil-
ities and commits the Federal Government to pay up to
40 percent of the national average per pupil expenditure
for children with disabilities;
Whereas the Federal Government has provided only 9, 11,
and 12 percent of the maximum State grant allocation
for educating children with disabilities under the Individ-
uals with Disabilities Education Act in the last 3 years,
respectively;
Whereas the national average cost of educating a special edu-
cation student ($13,323) is more than twice the national
average per pupil cost ($6,140);
Whereas research indicates that children who are effectively
taught, including effective instruction aimed at acquiring
literacy skills, and who receive positive early interventions
demonstrate academic progress, and are significantly less
likely to be referred to special education;
Whereas the high cost of educating children with disabilities
and the Federal Government’s failure to fully meet its
obligation under the Individuals with Disabilities Edu-
cation Act stretches limited State and local education
HCON 84 RFS
funds, creating difficulty in providing a quality education
to all students, including children with disabilities;
Whereas, if the appropriation for part B of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.)
exceeds $4,924,672,200 for a fiscal year, the State fund-
ing formula will shift from one based solely on the num-
ber of children with disabilities in the State to one based
on 85 percent of the children ages 3 to 21 living in the
State and 15 percent based on children living in poverty
in the State, enabling States to undertake good practices
for addressing the learning needs of more children in the
regular education classroom and reduce over identifica-
tion of children who may not need to be referred to spe-
cial education;
Whereas the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has
been successful in achieving significant increases in the
number of children with disabilities who receive a free,
appropriate public education;
Whereas the current level of Federal funding to States and
localities under the Individuals with Disabilities Edu-
cation Act is contrary to the goal of ensuring that chil-
dren with disabilities receive a quality education; and
Whereas the Federal Government has failed to appropriate
40 percent of the national average per pupil expenditure
per child with a disability as required under the Individ-
uals with Disabilities Education Act to assist States and
localities to educate children with disabilities: Now, there-
fore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That—
(1) the Congress and the President—
HCON 84 RFS
(A) should, working within the constraints
of the balanced budget agreement, give pro-
grams under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) the
highest priority among Federal elementary and
secondary education programs by meeting the
commitment to fund the maximum State grant
allocation for educating children with disabil-
ities under such Act prior to authorizing or ap-
propriating funds for any new education initia-
tive; and
(B) should meet the commitment described
in subparagraph (A) while retaining the com-
mitment to fund existing Federal education pro-
grams that increase student achievement; and
(2) if a local educational agency chooses to uti-
lize the authority under section 613(a)(2)(C)(i) of
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to
treat as local funds up to 20 percent of the amount
of funds the agency receives under part B of such
Act that exceeds the amount it received under that
part for the previous fiscal year, then the agency
should use those local funds to provide additional