Fourth Congressional District Representative Van Hilleary will host a field hearing of the House Education and Workforce Committee at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow, Thursday, August 24, at Gibbs High School in Corryton.

The hearing will focus on gaining state and local perspectives from teachers, parents, principals and school administrators on IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
 
IDEA is a program that requires states and local school districts to give disabled children the same opportunities to learn as other children.  When the program was originally passed in 1975, Congress pledged to fund 40 percent of the national average per pupil expenditure in order to assist with the additional costs of educating students with disabilities.  Congress has yet to live up to its commitment.

In 1995 (the most recent year data was available), the 40 percent share of the average per pupil expenditure of educating students in Tennessee who qualified as disabled under IDEA would have been $240,534,900.  The State of Tennessee actually received $46,942,700 from federal government to offset the additional costs of IDEA.  If the forty percent mandate had been met, Tennessee would have received an additional $193,592,200 in 1995 alone.

During Rep. Hilleary’s tenure on the House Education and Workforce Committee, and under the leadership of Chairman Bill Goodling, the federal contribution to IDEA has grown from roughly seven percent of the average per pupil expenditure to almost thirteen percent.  This year, the House passed the IDEA Full Funding Act of 2000.  The act sets a schedule to meet the federal government’s 40 percent funding commitment by 2010.  Hilleary was an original co-sponsor of the bill.

“I support the effort to meet the federal government’s pledge to fund forty percent of the costs of IDEA,” Hilleary said.  “Such an action will not only help the disabled children this act was intended to serve, but will also give local schools more flexibility in the use of their funds.”

Tomorrow’s hearing will also focus on discipline problems which have arisen as a result of IDEA.  Many teachers and principals feel they have lost the ability to maintain order in the classroom because special needs children are receiving protections beyond those originally envisioned by IDEA due to the fear of lawsuits.

“The tightrope we must walk in order to protect the rights of disabled children while not infringing on the rights of other students to learn in an orderly environment may be the toughest task facing students, teachers and school administrators today,” Hilleary said.  “We must find a solution that takes into account the needs of educators as well as the students they teach.  Our laws should create an environment where all students can interact and learn the information they need to be successful in the future.”

Joining Hilleary tomorrow at Gibbs High School will be Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Bill Goodling (R–PA), who will chair the hearing.  Witnesses scheduled to testify include:

Mrs. Jamie Baird
Teacher
Jacksboro Middle School
Jacksboro, Tennessee

Dr. Vernon Coffey
Commissioner
Tennessee Department of Education
Nashville, Tennssee

The Honorable Jamie Hagood
State Representative
Knoxville, Tennessee

Mrs. Angie Irick
Mother of 10 year old student
Knoxville, Tennessee

Dr. Charles Lindsey
Superintendent
Knox County Schools
Knoxville, Tennessee

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