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[Page: H763]  GPO's PDF
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   The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 6, 1999, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. GOODLING) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.

   Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, this evening we are taking a special order to talk about the number-one unfunded mandate from the Federal Government to the States and to local school districts.

   Twenty-three years ago, the Congress made the historic decision to support children and families with special education needs. In passing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Congress not only brought Federal aid to children with disabilities but it also brought a 100 percent mandate as to how you will spend that money.

   Just 2 years ago, Congress and the administration worked together in true bipartisan fashion to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or better known as special ed, so children with special needs can have more options and services.

   I might add at this point that we are still waiting, 2 years later, for the regulations that are supposed to go with this legislation which certainly would help local school districts to know exactly what is expected of them. Unfortunately, the administration has again backed away from the Federal commitment to adequately fund special education. This is the second year in a row that the administration has cut special education funding in the budget that they have sent up to Capitol Hill. They have a tiny increase, they indicate, but if you talk about the increase in inflation and the 123,000 extra students that come into the program each year, you discover that, as a matter of fact, 2 years in a row, the administration has cut special education.

   Now, what was promised by the former majority 23 years ago was that

[Page: H764]  GPO's PDF

   If in your district you are spending $8,000 a year per pupil and you are spending, on the other hand, for special need youngsters $16,000 a year, then the difference, of course, would be $8,000. If they got 40 percent of that $8,000 from the Federal Government, they would get $3,200 extra for educating a special needs child. Well, when I became chairman, they were sending 6 percent. In other words, they were sending $480, not $3,200.

   And in spite of the fact that the President has, in the budget that has come up, has decreased spending for special ed, the Republican majority in the last 3 years has been able to increase by $2 billion the amount of money that is now going for special education. For the first time this year, local school districts will be able to decrease the amount of money they must spend from their budget in order to fund our mandate from the Federal level. So there is a big gap, a big gap here as to what should be going out from the Federal Government if we were true to our promise of 40 percent of excess cost versus what is going out.

   As I said, in our last 3 years with a new leadership, with a Republican leadership in the House, we were able to move that 6 percent up to about 12 percent. Now, what does this mean to a local school district? It means that a local school district has to raise money, generally through property taxes, in order to support the Federal mandate in special education. Let me give my colleagues just one illustration.

   The City of York, which is about 49,000 people, at the present time they receive $363,000. If they received their 40 percent of excess cost, they would receive almost $1.5 million. If you want to talk about pupil-teacher ratio, which the administration wants to talk about, if you want to talk about repairing school buildings, which the administration wants to talk about, all of those things are things that, of course, we believe are important as Republicans. But the way to do it is fund special ed. Then they have the money locally to do all of those things. Can you imagine how far school districts have gotten behind in school maintenance because they have had to raise millions of dollars as a matter of fact to fund the mandate from the Federal level?

   So I hear things are improving. Yesterday, I was told that the governors made a real point to the administration. The administration seemed to be surprised. They did not realize this problem existed.

   Now I have spoken to many members of the administration, including the President, on numerous occasions pointing out this problem. In fact, after we signed the higher ed bill last year, I said to the President, we really have to tackle this special ed problem; and he said, well, we are pouring lots of money into special ed. I said, Mr. President, your budget cut special ed that you have sent up to the Hill. And, of course, it happened again this year.

   I have told the Secretary over and over and over again, we have to deal with this. I just learned today that perhaps the minority leader of the House said that this is his number-one priority. It only took me 24 years to get that to be a number-one priority on that side of the aisle. Because for 20 years in the minority, that is all I ever said to them over and over again: Fund this mandate before you send out any more mandates.

   So some good things take time. This apparently took 24 years. My hope is that they are serious, because we positively have to get relief back to the local districts so that they, in turn, can do the maintenance things, so that they, in turn, can pour money into all the other students that they have rather than having to raise property taxes in order to fund a Federal mandate.

   I noticed we have some others here who I am sure want to talk about this issue. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. NORWOOD), a member of our committee who has heard me preach this sermon so many times he is probably tired of hearing it.

   Mr. NORWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for taking time really to hold this public discussion of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Many people at home know it as IDEA . I must say that when I talk to teachers back home and school superintendents back home, this is one of the greatest topics of concern.

   In many cases, many of the younger, newer teachers think all of a sudden in the last few years we invented IDEA , which is not the case, of course. It was passed in 1975. When we took, the Republicans took control of Congress, we tried to deal with some of the discipline problems, just 2 years ago, that are occurring in IDEA , so this is sort of new news to youngsters who are just out of college and just started teaching.

   Let me begin by stating that I doubt that there can be a more important job in America than teaching our children. I do not know what it would be. This is especially true of our special education teachers. Education for those with disabilities allows all of our children to have the opportunity to learn and succeed. Ensuring that all of our children have a safe and orderly environment in which to learn must be and is a

   top priority.

   Most every teacher I have talked to about IDEA brings up the problem, Mr. Speaker, of classroom discipline. Teachers tell me that there is a great double standard that exists when disciplining disabled students. For instance, a nondisabled student who brings a gun to school can face a much stronger disciplinary action than a disabled child who engages in that very same activity.

   Mr. Speaker, we need to make sure that our teachers and students are protected in the classroom while at the same time ensuring that disabled students are fairly treated. This is critical if we are going to make sure that our children, disabled and nondisabled, have a good learning environment, a good order at their schools. Learning will soon become a casualty if it has not already if we do not do this. And soon enough our children will become economic casualties if they do not learn well.

   I believe that we should trust our teachers to determine who should be in the classroom. They will know firsthand which students are discipline problems and which students are just having a hard time reading up to their grade level. They will know how to deal compassionately with those students with disabilities who, because of their disability, may be disrupting the classroom experience of others. We can and should provide a good education for all without putting our teachers in this untenable position.

   In addition, I want to speak a minute about this unfunded mandate that the gentleman from Pennsylvania was talking about. We have since 1975 mandated to our States that they do certain things at the school districts. The same law that mandated what our special education teachers have to do said we, the Federal Government, will fund that. We will pick up 40 percent of the tab. You at home pick up 60 percent of the tab.

   That simply has not been the case. It has been only under the gentleman's leadership over the last 4 years, Mr. Speaker, that we have finally gotten the funding level up to 12 percent. That is a long, long way from 40 percent. Now, what does that mean? That means people at home who are paying property taxes that go to their schools who want to use that money to add new teachers do not have it because they are funding special education.

[Time: 15:30]

   If we want to use that money for bricks and mortars, which we should do at home to build new schools, we do not have it because it is going to special education, and the Federal Government is just simply not keeping its word, and I will yield back after making one point:

   My great State of Georgia, for example, is a perfectly good example. We received almost $54 million as part of this mandated special education money. But had we received what the law required, it would have been over $276 million. We received $54 million. By law, we should have received $276 million.

   Mr. Speaker, we can fix a lot of roofs in Georgia, and we can hire a whole lot of teachers back in Georgia if the Federal Government will do what you are

[Page: H765]  GPO's PDF

• [Begin Insert]

   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.

   P.L. 94-142 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, the appropriations for IDEA have not come close to reaching the 40% level. Federal funding h as never risen above 12% of the cost. Going into the 104th Congress, the federal government was only paying about 7% of the average per pupil expenditure.

   Since the Republicans took control of the Congress, IDEA app ropriations have jumped dramatically. Since 1995, funding for IDEA has risen over 85%. The more than $1.4 billion funding incr ease since FY1996 demonstrates our continued commitment to help States and school districts provide a free, appropriate public education to children with disabilities.

   We are now paying 12% of the average per pupil expenditure.

   The Congressional Research Service estimates that over $14 billion would be needed to fully fund Part B of IDEA. The FY1999 appropriation for Part B was $4.3 billion, leaving States and locals with an unfunded mandate of nearly $10 billion.

   Local school districts currently spend on average 20 percent of their budgets on special education services. Much of this goes to cover the unpaid Federal share of the mandate.

   In my district, the Richmond County School District receives $1,176,260. If IDEA were fully funded, this school district would receive $6,027,156, an increase of $4,850,900.

   President Clinton proposes to level fund IDEA for F Y2000. Under his budget request, the federal government would cut the Federal contribution to approximately 11 percent in FY 2000.

   Considering that the number of children with disabilities is projected to increase by 123,000 from 1999 to 2000, the President's budget request actually cuts funding for c hildren with disabilities form $702 dollars per child in FY1999 to $688 dollars per child in FY2000.

   The President continues to ignore this unfunded mandate on States and local school districts by requesting no increase in funds for grants to States for providing assistance to educate children with disabilities.

   The President has proposed creating a myriad of new Federal programs, which all do good things.

   But I think that before we create new programs out of Washington, the Congress needs to ensure that the Federal government lives up to the promises it made to the students, parents, and schools over two decades ago.

   Once the Federal government begins to pay its fair share, local funds will be freed up, allowing local schools to hire and train high-quality teachers, reduce class size, build and renovate classrooms, and invest in technology.

   We can both ensure that children with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education and ensure that all children have the best education possible if we just provide fair Federal funding for s pecial education.

• [End Insert]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

COMPARISON OF SUBSTATE IDEA GRANT S AND MAXIMUM GRANTS \1\--GEORGIA

LEA Name	Reported FY95 grant	Maximum FY95 grant	Difference between reported and maximum grant
School district:
Appling County	151,600	777,000	625,400
Atkinson County	33,100	169,400	136,300
Atlanta City	1,500,700	7,689,400	6,188,700
Bacon County	84,200	431,300	347,100
Baker County	25,100	128,400	103,300
Baldwin County	237,800	1,218,500	980,700
Banks County	71,100	364,500	293,400
Barrow County	267,200	1,369,100	1,101,900
Bartow County	412,800	2,115,300	1,702,500
Ben Hill County	89,800	460,400	370,600
Berrien County	115,900	593,900	478,000
Bibb County	1,162,900	5,958,500	4,795,600
Bleckley County	100,500	515,100	414,600
Brantley County	143,000	732,500	589,500
Bremen City	61,800	316,600	254,800
Brooks County	111,200	569,900	458,700
Bryan County	130,300	667,500	537,200
Buford City	63,800	326,900	263,100
Bullock County	321,600	1,648,100	1,326,500
Burke County	116,600	597,300	480,700
Butts County	101,200	518,600	417,400
Calhoun City	79,800	409,000	329,200
Calhoun County	50,400	258,400	208,000
Camden County	262,700	1,345,900	1,083,200
Candler County	52,400	268,700	216,300
Carroll County	729,700	3,739,000	3,009,300
Carrollton City	12,300	883,100	710,800
Cartersville City	81,500	417,600	336,100
Catoosa County	253,800	1,300,700	1,046,900
Charlton County	74,800	383,400	308,600
Chatham County	1,337,800	6,854,800	5,517,000
Chattahoochee County	25,700	131,800	106,100
Chattooga County	141,600	725,600	584,000
Cherokee County	802,600	4,112,500	3,309,900
Chickamauga City	33,700	172,900	139,200
Clarke County	484,000	2,479,800	1,995,800
Clay County	16,700	85,600	68,900
Clayton County	2,515,200	12,887,800	10,372,600
Clinch County	76,500	391,900	315,400
Cobb County	2,996,700	15,355,300	12,358,600
Coffee County	323,000	1,654,800	1,331,800
Colquitt County	280,900	1,439,300	1,158,400
Columbia County	404,800	2,074,200	1,669,400
Commerce City	58,500	299,500	241,000
Cook County	107,900	552,800	444,900
Coweta County	517,700	2,652,700	2,135,000
Crawford County	76,500	391,900	315,400
Crisp County	316,700	1,622,700	1,306,000
Dade County	81,200	415,900	334,700
Dalton City	311,700	1,596,900	1,285,200
Dawson County	72,500	371,400	298,900
De Kalb County	3,129,700	16,036,600	12,906,900
Decatur City	127,900	655,500	527,600
Decatur County	196,100	1,004,600	808,500
Dodge County	95,200	487,800	392,600
Dooly County	51,800	265,300	213,500
Dougherty	791,000	4,052,900	3,261,900
Douglas County	665,300	3,409,100	2,743,800
Dublin City	129,600	664,000	534,400
Early County	90,200	462,100	371,900
Echols County	20,000	102,700	82,700
Effingham County	212,100	1,086,700	874,600
Elbert County	142,000	727,400	585,400
Emanuel County	180,400	924,200	743,800
Evans County	69,100	354,300	285,200
Fannin County	108,600	556,200	447,600
Fayette County	534,400	2,738,300	2,203,900
Floyd County	346,700	1,776,400	1,429,700
Forsyth County	320,600	1,643,000	1,322,400
Franklin County	174,000	891,600	717,600
Fulton County	1,798,600	9,216,000	7,417,400
Gainesville City	99,200	508,300	409,100
Gilmer County	84,200	431,300	347,100
Glascock County	22,400	114,700	92,300
Glynn County	583,900	2,991,800	2,407,900
Gordon County	248,200	1,271,600	1,023,400
Grady County	178,000	912,200	734,200
Greene County	118,900	609,300	490,400
Gwinnett County	2,390,100	12,246,900	9,856,800
Habersham County	219,400	1,124,400	905,000
Hall County	636,900	3,263,700	2,626,800
Hancock County	66,800	342,300	275,500
Haralson County	115,200	590,400	475,200
Harris County	126,300	646,900	520,600
Hart County	142,600	730,800	588,200
Heard County	88,800	455,200	366,400
Henry County	435,200	2,229,900	1,794,700
Houston County	592,900	3,037,800	2,444,900
Irwin County	90,200	462,100	371,900
Jackson County	237,500	1,216,800	979,300
Jasper County	79,800	409,000	329,200
Jeff Davis County	89,500	458,700	369,200
Jefferson City	56,100	287,400	231,300
Jefferson County	148,000	758,200	610,200
Jenkins County	56,400	289,200	232,800
Johnson County	66,800	342,300	275,500
Jones County	118,200	605,800	487,600
Lamar County	74,500	381,600	307,100
Lanier County	40,100	205,400	165,300
Laurens County	274,200	1,404,900	1,130,700
Lee County	118,900	609,300	490,400
Liberty County	227,800	1,167,200	939,400
Lincoln County	105,900	542,500	436,600
Long County	41,400	212,200	170,800
Lowndes County	542,200	2,778,300	2,236,100
Lumpkin County	122,200	626,300	504,100
Macon County	67,800	347,400	279,600
Madison County	205,400	1,052,500	847,100
Marietta City	282,900	1,449,600	1,166,700
Marion County	55,100	282,400	227,300
McDuffie County	125,600	643,500	517,900
McIntosh County	43,400	222,500	179,100
Meriwether County	187,000	958,400	771,400
Miller County	42,400	217,300	174,900
Mitchell County	104,500	535,700	431,200
Monroe County	134,600	689,700	555,100
Montgomery County	45,100	231,000	185,900
Morgan County	109,900	563,100	453,200
Murray County	201,400	1,032,000	830,600
Muscogee County	1,281,200	6,564,700	5,283,500
Newton County	421,800	2,161,500	1,739,700
Oconee County	135,300	693,100	557,800
Oglethorpe County	106,500	545,900	439,400
Paulding County	317,600	1,627,600	1,310,000
Peach County	108,200	554,500	446,300
Pelham City	53,800	275,500	221,700
Pickens County	98,500	504,900	406,400
Pierce County	96,200	492,900	396,700
Pike County	54,800	280,700	225,900
Polk County	196,400	1,006,300	809,900
Pulaski County	63,800	326,900	263,100
Putnam County	93,200	477,500	384,300
Quitman County	22,000	113,000	91,000
Rabun County	72,500	371,400	298,900
Randolph County	56,800	290,900	234,100
Richmond County	1,176,300	6,027,200	4,850,900
Rockdale County	396,100	2,029,700	1,633,600
Rome City	192,100	984,100	792,000
Schley County	18,400	94,100	75,700
Screven County	108,200	554,500	446,300
Seminole County	50,400	258,400	208,000
Social Circle City	40,400	207,100	166,700
Spalding County	525,000	2,690,400	2,165,400
Stephens County	148,300	759,900	611,600
Stewart County	26,100	133,500	107,400
Sumter County and Americus City	175,000	896,800	721,800
Sumter County	0	0	0
Talbot County	43,100	220,800	177,700
Taliaferro County	4,700	24,000	19,300
Tattnall County	81,800	419,300	337,500
Taylor County	48,100	246,400	198,300
Telfair County	68,100	349,100	281,000
Terrell County	91,900	470,600	378,700
Thomas County	408,700	2,094,000	1,685,300
Thomasville City	151,000	773,600	622,600
Tift County	300,600	1,540,300	1,239,700
Toombs County	95,200	487,800	392,600
Towns County	36,700	188,300	151,600
Treutlen County	38,100	195,100	157,000
Trion City	31,400	160,900	129,500
Troup County	543,100	2,782,800	2,239,700
Turner County	72,800	373,100	300,300
Twiggs County	40,100	205,400	165,300
Union County	87,800	450,100	362,300
Upson County	157,600	807,800	650,200
Valdosta City	231,100	1,184,300	953,200
Vidalia City	57,400	294,400	237,000
Walker County	309,300	1,584,800	1,275,500
Walton County	269,200	1,379,400	1,110,200
Ware County	294,300	1,507,800	1,213,500
Warren County	72,100	369,700	297,600
Washington County	99,500	510,000	410,500
Wayne County	140,600	720,500	579,900
Webster County	11,400	58,200	46,800
Wheeler County	42,400	217,300	174,900
White County	93,500	479,200	385,700
Whitfield County	320,000	1,639,500	1,319,500
Wilcox County	46,100	236,200	190,100
Wilkes County	102,200	523,700	421,500
Wilkinson County	73,100	374,800	301,700
Worth County	140,900	722,200	581,300
Other:
Department of Education	1,544,400	7,913,400	6,369,000
Atlanta Area School for the Deaf	64,100	328,600	264,500
Georgia Academy for the Blind	163,700	838,700	675,000
Georgia School for the Deaf	40,100	205,400	165,300
Southwestern Hospital	20,700	106,100	85,400
Brook Run Hospital	7,300	37,700	30,400
Gracewood Hospital	9,700	49,600	39,900
Central State Hospital	26,700	136,900	110,200
Georgia Mental Health Institute	13,400	68,500	55,100
Appalachian Wilderness Camp	7,300	37,700	30,400
F.D. Roosevelt Wilderness Camp	13,400	68,500	55,100
Georgia Regional--Atlanta	8,400	42,800	34,400
Georgia Regional--Savannah	4,700	24,000	19,300
Georgia Regional--Augusta	1,000	5,100	4,100
River's Crossing	5,700	29,100	23,400
Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital	12,400	63,300	50,900
West Central Georgia Regional Hospital	5,300	27,400	22,100
Georgia State University	27,500	140,900	113,400
University of Georgia	73,900	378,600	304,700
Dept. of Corrections	22,700	116,400	93,700 [Page: H766] GPO's PDF
Dept. of Children & Youth Services	25,400	130,100	104,700
Central Savannah River Area Center	132,600	679,400	546,800
Chattahoochee-Flint Reservation	0	0	0
Coastal Plains Reservation	115,900	594,000	478,100
First District Resa	527,300	2,701,900	2,174,600
Griffin Resa	116,000	594,200	478,200
Metro Resa	549,400	2,815,200	2,265,800
Middle Georgia Resa	0	0	0
North Georgia Resa	131,000	671,300	540,300
Northeast Georgia Resa	342,800	1,756,400	1,413,600
Northwest Georgia Resa	424,300	2,174,100	1,749,800
Oconee Resa	248,300	1,272,200	1,023,900
Okefenokee Resa	256,400	1,314,000	1,057,600
Pioneer Resa	726,700	3,723,500	2,996,800
Southwest Georgia Resa	0	0	0
West Georgia Resa	145,000	743,000	598,000
Heart of Georgia Resa	0	0	0
Total	53,920,900	276,291,000	222,370,100

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