For more information, please contact: Paul Marchand (202) 783-2229 Katy Beh Neas (202) 347-3066 Leslie Jackson (301) 652-2682 Jane West (202) 289-3903 Stephen Spector (301) 306-7070

January 27, 2004

Dear Senator,

We, the undersigned members of the Education Task Force of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, are writing to express our support for the mandatory full funding amendment to be offered by Senators Harkin and Hagel when the Senate considers its Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) reauthorization bill, S. 1248.   The Harkin/Hagel amendment would convert IDEA Part B funding from discretionary to mandatory. The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities is a coalition of approximately 100 national disability organizations working together to advocate for national public policy that ensures the self determination, independence, empowerment, integration and inclusion of children and adults with disabilities in all aspects of society.  The Education Task Force consists of parent, service provider, disability advocacy and special education organizations.

Education is the linchpin to independence and productivity, especially for individuals with disabilities.  In 1975, Congress enacted Public Law 94-142, now known as IDEA.  This landmark civil rights statute guarantees a free, appropriate public education for students with disabilities. Congress agreed, in 1975 to pay up to 40 percent of the excess costs of educating students with disabilities. Estimates put current federal funding levels at 18 percent for fiscal year 2003, far below the 40 percent promise. More than 6.5 million children and youth were served by IDEA in the last school year. 

We believe that Congress must live up to its commitment to fully fund IDEA and keep its promise to students with disabilities and their families. The lack of appropriate funding has led to many negative consequences for school systems and students with disabilities.  It has been used by some as justification for their inability to provide students the free appropriate public education they are entitled to.  Families of children with disabilities have been pitted against families of children without disabilities.  Schools have been put in impossible situations, requiring them to meet the complex and expensive educational needs of students with disabilities without the financial resources to do so.

Last year, the Senate took an important step to meeting the Congressional promise when it agreed to an additional $2.2 billion increase for IDEA as part of the Senate-passed FY 2004 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill. Despite the fact that the $2.2 billion increase was included in the House IDEA bill, H.R. 1350 and the Fiscal 2004 Budget Resolution, the appropriations conference committee rejected this amount and approved an increase of $1.2 billion.  We remain convinced that  IDEA will be fully funded only when the Part B program funding becomes mandatory.  The discretionary “glidepath” approach, to date, has proven unsuccessful in meeting the commitment that Congress made in 1975 to provide 40 percent of the excess costs associated with assisting states to meet their obligation to educate their students with disabilities. F or these reasons, we urge you to support mandatory full funding of IDEA.

 Thank you for considering our views and for your support for more than 6.5 million children with disabilities and their families. 

Sincerely,

Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

American Council of the Blind

American Counseling Association

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

American Foundation for the Blind

American Music Therapy Association

American Speech Language Hearing Association

Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired

Association of University Centers on Disabilities

Autism Society of America

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund

Easter Seals

Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health

Children & Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Council for Learning Disabilities

Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates

Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation

Epilepsy Foundation

Helen Keller National Center

Higher Education Consortium for Special Education

Learning Disabilities Assoc. of America

National Alliance of the Mentally Ill

National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities

National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems

National Association of School Psychologists

National Association of Social Workers

National Association of State Directors of Special Education

National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors

National Coalition on Deaf-Blindness

National Down Syndrome Society

National Mental Health Association

School Social Work Assoc. of America

Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children

The Arc

Tourette Syndrome Association

United Cerebral Palsy