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Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, in 1975, Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which was designed to ensure that all students with disabilities would receive the educational services they needed in order to attend ``mainstream'' schools. This legislation has been effective in increasing access to quality education for disabled students all across the nation.
In my state of Ohio, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has meant so much to thousands and thousands of young men and women over the last 25 years. It has opened up whole new worlds and shown them that their disabilities cannot bind the limitless possibilities that are provided by the gift of education.
IDEA has helped students like John Hook, from Elgin High School in Marion, Ohio. IDEA has given John's school the resources to hire a special education teacher who is able to help John with his reading and writing.
Before IDEA, students with learning disabilities like John might have dropped out, but now, many are thriving. And because of the help he's received and his hard work, John is on his school's honor roll and is ``on track'' for college.
IDEA has also been a tremendous help to Todd Carson, an 18 year old student from Highland High School in Highland Local School District outside Medina, Ohio. Todd has Cerebral Palsy and is confined to a wheelchair. Todd is unable to write and he cannot use a keyboard to communicate.
Through IDEA, Highland District was able to purchase a speech recognition program called ``Dragon Dictate'' which can be used to control a word processor. This has been like a ray of sunshine for Todd. Now, Todd has the ability to take class notes and write papers. Dragon Dictate also lets him use the Internet and send e-mail. This program has been a big difference for Todd, allowing him to read, write and participate in class.
I am pleased with what we've been able to do with IDEA in Ohio. Before its passage, there were close to 25,000 children who were institutionalized in Ohio because of conditions like Cerebral Palsy and autism. Now, according to the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities, there are no kids institutionalized in Ohio. IDEA is a big factor in this success because instead of being hidden-away and forgotten about, these kids are in school--learning and thriving--preparing to add their contributions to society.
However, even with all the success of IDEA, the thousands and thousands it has benefitted, there is a startling reality to this program that no longer can be ignored: IDEA is crushing our schools financially.
Many of our state and local governments have found that the costs of serving handicapped students are typically 20% to 50% higher than the average amount spent per pupil. This, in itself, is not the problem; state and local governments understand that students with disabilities require different, and many times, expensive needs.
Congress, too, understood the expense involved when it passed IDEA, promising that the federal government would pay up to 40% of the costs associated with the program.
Congress said, we think IDEA is so needed as a national priority, that we will pay up to 40% of the costs.
The problem rests in the fact that the federal government has not provided nearly as much funding as they told state and local leaders they would provide, and which our children need. Indeed, in fiscal year 2000, the federal government only provides enough funds to cover 12.6% of the educational costs for each handicapped child, not the 40% it promised.
As in past years, our State and local governments will be forced to pay the leftover costs. That is what is going to happen. They are going to have to pay that leftover cost.
Because the Federal Government has not lived up to its expectations, IDEA amounts to a huge unfunded mandate. When I was Governor of Ohio, I fought hard for passage of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act so that circumstances such as this could be avoided.
I was one of only a handful of State and local leaders who lobbied Congress to pass legislation that would provide relief to our State and local governments. I felt so strongly about this that in 1995 I asked Senator Dole to make unfunded mandate relief legislation S. 1. I was privileged to be in the Rose Garden 5 years ago this month when the President signed S. 1 into
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Unfortunately, the President has done nothing--nothing--to address one of the most costly unfunded mandates; that is, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
The President's fiscal year 2000 budget contains $40.1 billion in discretionary education funding. That is more than a 37-percent increase over the fiscal year 2000 discretionary education total, including advanced funding, and nearly double the $21.1 billion in discretionary education spending allocated by the Federal Government in 1991--just 10 years ago.
Think about that for a moment. The President is looking to increase federal education discretionary spending so that it will have grown by almost 100% in ten years. And that's at a time when inflation will have grown only 20.7% during the same ten years. That's incredible!
What's even more incredible is what we're doing to our states and localities. Of the discretionary total for fiscal year 2000, we allocated $4.9 billion for IDEA. If we had funded IDEA at the 40% level that Congress had promised in 1975, we would have allocated $15.7 billion in fiscal year 2000. In essence, we have passed along a $10.8 billion mandate on our state and local governments.
Think about it--a $10.8 billion mandate.
For anyone who thinks about it, they are asking, What does that mean? That is more than we spent on the entire budget for the Department of the Interior. Think of it.
When our Nation's Governors were in Washington recently for the annual Governors' Association winter meeting, one of their more prominent issues--I would say the most prominent issue they brought up with Congress and the President--was the need to fully fund IDEA.
The Governors made it patently clear that if the Federal Government paid their 40-percent share of IDEA, it would free up $10.8 billion across America and would allow them to better respond to the education needs in their respective States.
They also pointed out that many of them were building schools, hiring teachers, and doing most of the things Washington wants to do with that $10.8 billion that should have gone to the States to fund IDEA.
With the help of the Ohio School Boards Association and the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, I am contacting superintendents of education, leaders from urban, suburban, and rural districts in every part of Ohio--I have a letter going out to all of them--asking them about their experience with the fiscal impact of IDEA and their advice on what would be the best way the Federal Government could be a better partner.
The main question I have asked Ohio's educators is: What will help you more--fully funding the Federal commitment to IDEA, or funding at the Federal level programs that, by their very nature, are the responsibility of our State and local governments, such as hiring new teachers, building new schools, and a host of other programs that may or may not be needed in school districts across America?
I am going to be reporting back later this spring with the results of that survey. In the meantime, I believe it is incumbent on the Senate, as it considers the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, to find money to fully fund IDEA. This body for sure should not support expensive new Federal education programs until IDEA is fully funded.
Thank you, Mr. President.
I ask unanimous consent that a copy of my letter to Ohio's education leaders be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
February 28, 2000.
DEAR OHIO EDUCATION LEADER: I am writing to ask for your input concerning the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). As you know, IDEA was passed in 1975 to ensure that handicapped students receive the educational services that they need to attend mainstream schools. This legislation has been successful in increasing access to quality education for Ohio's disabled students and for young people throughout the nation. However, many educators have contacted me about the funding of IDEA and the ability of school officials to discipline students under the Act.
Act the Senate prepares to debate the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, many educational issues, including IDEA, will be examined. As such, I am interested in your experience. Is the funding your school district receives from the federal government inadequate to help you meet your obligations under the Act? As you may know, the federal government has not lived up to its promise to provide up to 40 percent of the costs of special education under the Act nationally. Are the costs to your district of complying with disability legislation affecting your ability to pay for your other programs and responsibilities? Secondly, I have heard from educators about the difficulty they have maintaining discipline in classrooms while complying with the requirements of IDEA. Has this been a challenge for your schools?
As we work to improve our laws, any insights you have into the impact of federal regulations concerning the education of disabled students on school in Ohio or input into improving IDEA would be appreciated.
Finally, in light of the President Clinton's continued emphasis on federal involvement in education, traditionally a state and local responsibility, I am interested in your thoughts on whether your district would benefit more from the President's new education proposals or if you would be better off if Congress met its obligations under IDEA--freeing money for you to fund your own priorities.
Thank you for your valuable input. I strongly believe that working together we can make a difference for Ohio's young people.
Sincerely,
George V. Voinovich,
U.S. Senator.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. ROBERTS). The Senator from Washington.
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