On September 20, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee approved, by voice vote, legislation (S. 2341) that would authorize increased federal funds for education programs serving students with disabilities. A companion measure (H.R. 4055) received House approval in May (see The Source, 5/5/00).
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (P.L. 94-142), approved by Congress in 1975, mandates that states provide education for disabled students, with 40 percent of the funding for that effort to be provided by the federal government. However, the federal contribution has not exceeded 12.6 percent in any year since the IDEA’s approval. Both S. 2341 and H.R. 4055 would authorize the federal government’s full 40 percent funding for IDEA programs, starting with $7 billion in FY2001.
Committee Chair James Jeffords (R-VT) said the IDEA has “made significant progress in ensuring that children with disabilities have access to a free and appropriate public education.” The committee also approved, by voice vote, a resolution (H. Con. Res. 135) offered by Sen. Jeffords in recognition of the IDEA’s 25th anniversary.
