INTRODUCTION OF RESOLUTION ON INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES ACT FUNDING -- HON. MICHAEL N. CASTLE (Extensions of Remarks - April 13, 1999)

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HON. MICHAEL N. CASTLE OF DELAWARE IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 1999

Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with my colleagues to introduce a resolution calling on the President and Congress to fully fund the federal government's obligation under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

In 1975, Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, commonly known as P.L. 94-142. The Act built upon previous legislation to mandate that all States provide a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to all disabled children by 1978. It also established the federal commitment to provide funding aid at 40% of the average per pupil expenditure to assist with the excess costs of educating students with disabilities. Historically, however, the appropriations for IDEA have not come close to reaching the 40% level. Federal funding has never risen above 12% of the cost. As a result, local schools and States are picking up the tab for an additional 28% above their fair share of special education costs.

As a former Governor, I have a unique understanding of special education funding and the tremendous burden this unfunded mandate places on schools. Local school districts spend on average 20 percent of their budgets on special education. Put simply, local schools are expected to pay much more than their fair share. This needs to change. If the federal government fulfilled its special education obligation for local schools, Washington would not have to step in to address issues such as class size reduction and building new school buildings. These decisions could be left up to local school districts who better understand the dynamics and needs of their students. This is precisely why the federal government must fulfill the commitment it made in 1975.

In Delaware, for instance, our largest school district, the Christina School District, currently receives $800,000 per year in special education funding. The federal commitment is to pay Christina School District $4.4 million. This means that if we fulfilled our commitment, Christina School District would have an additional $3.3 million to focus on the needs of their students and teachers. The entire State of Delaware, if special education were fully funded, would receive an additional $24.8 million. This is a tremendous amount of money, that is desperately needed by local schools in order to reduce class size, build and modernize schools, and implement technology into education. If the federal government fulfills its commitment to fund 40% of special education costs, States and schools across the nation would have the opportunity to focus their funds on the unique and individualized needs of their schools.

The Republican Congress has worked to increase special education funding. Since 1995, IDEA funding has increased by over 85%. This is an increase of approximately $1.4 billion. Congress now needs to garner the support of the President and the Administration to make IDEA funding a priority for our nation's schools.
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