Washington, D.C. - U.S. Representative Charles Bass (R-NH02) unveiled legislation today to fully fund federal assistance for special education. New Hampshire could receive more than $63 million in additional federal funding by 2006 under the bill, which was supported by several education groups during a news conference in Concord.

“Special education is the mother of all unfunded mandates,” said Bass. “In 1975, when Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandating special education, the federal government promised to fund 40% of the cost of the program. Since entering Congress in 1995, I have worked to more than double federal funding for special education from just 5% to its current historical level of 12.6%.

“IDEA has made it possible for many children with disabilities to receive an education,” continued Bass. “But the high cost of educating children with disabilities and the federal government’s failure to pay its fair share have stretched limited state and local education funds, making it difficult to provide a quality education to all students, including children with disabilities.

“The Mandatory IDEA Funding Act would help ease the financial burden IDEA has placed on states and local school districts by amending the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to change federal funding for special education from discretionary to mandatory spending,” said Bass. “This would free up state and local dollars for school construction, new teachers, and new computers, or property tax relief.”

Under Bass’s bill, the minimum state grant for special education would increase by 5% each year beginning in Fiscal Year 2002, until Fiscal Year 2006, when federal funding would reach 40%. In the current fiscal year, New Hampshire received $21.35 million in federal funding to help education special needs students. If the federal assistance were fully funded, the state would have received $68.86 million. Under Bass’s bill the state would receive an estimated $85.8 million for special education under full funding in Fiscal Year 2006.

Several state education groups have indicated support for the bill. They include the New Hampshire School Administrators Association, the New Hampshire Association of Special Education Administrators, New Hampshire School Principals Association, New Hampshire School Board Association, and the National Campaign to Fully Fund IDEA.