From the desk of IA Autism Ambassador: House GOP Wants Special Ed Overhaul

[Guest guest]

House GOP Wants Special Ed Overhaul

By GREG TOPPO

..c The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - House Republicans are urging colleagues to cut

proposed increases for special education, saying the system must be

fixed before the government pours billions more into it.

The request comes as House and Senate lawmakers negotiate the details

of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which provides most of

the federal money for K-12 education. The House and Senate approved

separate versions last spring, and hope to give President Bush a

compromise version this fall.

The Senate version includes an amendment, proposed by Democrats and

backed by several Republicans, that mandates $8.8 billion next year

for special education programs - $2.5 billion more than this year.

The House version does not address the issue, but the House budget

includes $1 billion more for special education in fiscal 2002 - the

same amount Bush requested.

Under the terms of the Senate bill, the federal government would give

schools an additional $2.5 billion each year until 2007, when funding

for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act would reach just

over $21 billion.

In a letter circulating among lawmakers, Republicans say the huge

increases proposed by the Senate would slow reform of the system.

Special education programs were criticized earlier this year in a

study by the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, which found

that black children are three times as likely as whites to be placed

in such programs.

``Providing schools with a huge guaranteed funding stream will

provide little incentive for schools to improve services to minority

children,'' the letter reads. It is signed by Rep. Boehner, R-

Ohio, who heads the House Committee on Education and the Workforce,

and by six other Republicans.

Democrats say the special education system, which was overhauled by

Congress in 1997, hasn't been given enough time to produce the

results that Republicans seek, including changes in how many minority

students are included.

``The notion that increased IDEA funding will lure school districts

into intentionally overidentifying children for special education is

absurd,'' said Sen. Kennedy, D-Mass. ``Even if IDEA is fully

funded, there is still no financial incentive to overidentify,

because it's always going to cost the school district more than the

federal government will ever provide.''

House Democrats as well as Republicans have expressed misgivings

about increased special education funding, with many voting to reject

the Senate funding language when it was proposed in the House. A few

House Democrats have also said they have misgivings about the system

as it currently operates.

Schools have long complained that the federal government requires

them to educate children with disabilities but doesn't give them

enough money for expensive evaluations, equipment and services.

IDEA, enacted in 1975, called for Washington to provide 40 percent of

funding for disabled youngsters' education. This year the federal

government provided about 15 percent, or $6.3 billion. Separately

funded programs provide money for children younger than 5 years old,

as well as for teacher training.

States and school districts share a much larger burden. While

accurate government figures are not available, the California-based

Center for Special Education Finance estimates that they spend $50

billion to $60 billion annually on all special education programs.

About 6 million children receive special education funding, which

pays for school instruction and help for everything from dyslexia to

paralysis to blindness. The money also pays for the voluminous

paperwork required to keep track of children's progress.

The Senate amendment was introduced by Sens. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and

Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.

``Local school districts have been waiting for 26 years for the

federal government to step up to the plate and provide their fair

share of funding,'' Harkin said Friday. ``This is just one last

excuse as to why they should wait even longer.''

Vermont Senator Jeffords, a longtime special education

advocate, made increased funding his key demand in White House

negotiations over Bush's tax cut. Jeffords cited the need for more

school spending when he left the Republican Party last May.

On the Net:

House Committee on Education and the Workforce:

http://edworkforce.house.gov/

Center for Special Education Finance: http://csef.air.org/

AP-NY-08-17-01 1655EDT