Committee on Education and the Workforce

Goodling Urges House Passage of IDEA Full Funding Act

             WASHINGTON – Rep. Bill Goodling (R-PA), chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, today at a news conference asked the House to support legislation to completely fulfill the federal government’s commitment to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), one of the most important education priorities for Congress.  The House is set to debate and vote on the IDEA Full Funding Act (H.R. 4055), a bill that sets a schedule for fully funding the federal government’s promise to IDEA by the year 2010.

            “Twenty-four years ago, Congress made a promise to children and families with special education needs,” Goodling said.  “That promise was to provide children with disabilities access to a quality public education by contributing 40 percent of the average per pupil expenditure to assist states and local schools with the extra costs of educating these children.”

            Along with Goodling, Rep. Matthew Martinez (D-CA) is an original co-sponsor of the bill.  He has strongly supported full funding for IDEA throughout his career.

            Since 1975, when IDEA was signed into law, Congress has failed to meet its commitment.  During the past four fiscal years, the Republican majority in Congress has increased funding for IDEA by 115 percent, or $2.6 billion, for the federal share in Part B of IDEA.  Even with the increase, however, the funding equals only 12.6 percent of the average per pupil expenditure to assist children with disabilities.

            The Goodling bill would authorize increases of $2 billion a year over the next 10 years to meet the federal commitment of 40 percent by 2010.  The Congressional Research Service estimates that more than $15 billion annually would be needed to fully fund Part B of IDEA.  The Fiscal Year 2000 appropriation for IDEA was $4.9 billion, leaving states and school districts with an unfunded mandate of more than $10 billion a year.

            “I think that before we create new programs out of Washington, Congress needs to ensure that the federal government lives up to the promise it made to students, parents, and schools more than two decades ago,” Goodling said.  “If we had kept our promise, school districts would have the funds necessary to build new schools, hire new teachers, reduce class size, and buy new computers.”

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