OT: Quote from Chair of President Bush's Commission on Special Education

[Guest guest]

Subject: Quote from Chair of President Bush's Commission on Special

Education

Gov. Branstad (former governor of Iowa) has been appointed to serve as

chair of the Administration's new special education commission.

Following is a quote from Gov Branstad (Iowa) from an interview

transcript. The entire transcript is available at:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/education/schools_1-16.html

GOV. TERRY BRANSTAD: In our state nearly 60 percent of the budget goes

for education. And what we find is people are willing to invest in

quality education, but they are also fiscally conservative. They want to

see results. They want to see achievement for the dollars that they put

in. I think that the federal government in its mandates in the area of

special ed has driven up costs needlessly. I think that needs to be

reviewed. I want to see every child have an opportunity to learn. All

special ed children do have a right to an education, but to spend tens

oft housands of dollars on kids that really are not going to be able to

support themselves or be able to really learn a great deal at the

expense of the general education of the rest of the students is not

fair. And so that has to be addressed. A lot of people are afraid of it,

of being, you know, accused of being insensitive or whatever. I was in

Sioux City,Iowa, yesterday, and I heard from a Teacher of the Year,

Mounts,who had been Teacher of the Year, and the superintendent

there

about how their school is being squeezed because of the federal mandates

in the area of special ed and how there needs to be more flexibility and

latitude given to local school districts in that area.