Please distribute widely:

September 9, 2003
ACTION ALERT
~~~~

U.S. SENATE TO VOTE ON ADDITIONAL IDEA FUNDING


Background:

An amendment is expected to be voted on this week to increase funding for the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B State Grant
Programs.  The tripartisan amendment will be offered by Senators Chris Dodd
(C-CT),
Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Jim Jeffords (I-VT).  It will increase IDEA Part B
funding by $1.2 billion for Fiscal Year 2004.  Total funding for the IDEA Part
B
program for FY 2004 is allowed to increase by $2.2 billion under the FY 2004
Budget Resolution adopted earlier this year by the Congress.  Unfortunately,
the
FY 2004 appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human
Services and Education adopted by the Senate Appropriations Committee only
increases IDEA Part B by slightly less than $1 billion.  The
Dodd-Hagel-Jeffords
amendment, if adopted, would bring the FY 2004 appropriations for IDEA Part B to
the full amount allowed under the FY 2004 Budget Resolution.

Ever since its original enactment in 1975, IDEA has been woefully
underfunded.  A promise by the Federal government to fund 40% of the cost of
special
education by 1980 has never been realized.  In fact, current funding for the
IDEA
State Grant only represents 17.6% of the cost, less than one half the promise
made over 25 years ago.  This funding history has led to several serious and
negative consequences including:

·    School officials are reluctant to give students with disabilities the
services they need;

·    Special education students and their families receive backlash from
school authorities and the public as taking valuable resources away from
students
without disabilities; and

·    Congress continues to make funding promises to school systems and
parents that never materialize.

Action To Be Taken:

Call or e-mail your two Senators immediately, urging them to vote for the
Dodd-Hagel-Jeffords IDEA amendment.

You may use the sample letter on The Arc or UCP Action Center on the web site
or contact your Senator’s office by calling the U.S. Capitol switchboard at
(202) 224-3121.

Please act now!  Thank you.



SAMPLE LETTER -

Dear Senator,

It has been 28 years since the U.S. Congress enacted landmark legislation,
now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), to
guarantee every child with a disability in our nation a free, appropriate public
education.  Four over a quarter of a century, millions of students with
disabilities have completed their education and gone on to become productive
wage earners
and tax payers.  This compares markedly with decades of discrimination, lost
educational opportunities and unwarranted dependence and
institutionalization. 

When enacting P.L. 94-142 in 1975, the Congress promised state and local
governments, school systems and parents that the Federal government would
contribute 40% of the costs to educate a student with a disability. 
Unfortunately,
that fiscal promise has never been met.  In fact, that promise has never been
one half met.  Today, IDEA Federal funding amounts to 17.6%, the highest
percentage ever but still way below the 40% promise.  The lack of Federal
funding has
led to many negative consequences for school systems and students with
disabilities and their families.  It has pitted families of children with
disabilities against families of children without disabilities.  It has placed
school
systems in impossible situations, requiring them to meet the complex and
expensive educational needs of students with disabilities without the financial
resources to do so.

This year, the Congress has an opportunity to make better progress in
increasing the Federal role in financing special education.  The FY 2004 Budget
Resolution sets aside an additional $2.2 billion to finance the IDEA State
Grant. 
The House of Representatives has passed H.R. 1350, legislation to reauthorize
IDEA.  That bill also calls for a $2.2 billion increase in IDEA for FY 2004. 
Now is the time to deliver on the promise and appropriate fully the dollars
set aside in the Budget Resolution and authorized in the pending IDEA
reauthorization bill.

Yet, the Senate seems poised to once again fail to meet its promise to
schools and parents.  The FY 2004 Labor, Health and Human Services and
Education
appropriations bill, as adopted by the Senate Appropriations Committee,
appropriates less than a $1 billion for the IDEA State Grant.  To say that
special
education advocates are once again disappointed is an understatement.

There is hope, however.  Senators Dodd, Hagel and Jeffords will soon offer an
amendment during consideration of the FY 2004 L, HHS and ED appropriations
bill to bring the FY 2004 appropriation for the IDEA State Grant to the $2.2
billion level.  We strongly urge you to vote for this amendment.  It’s time
to
support our schools and all of our students.  It’s time for the U.S. Senate
to
take another major step toward meeting the promise regarding Federal funding of
IDEA.

Please vote yes on the Dodd-Hagel-Jeffords IDEA funding amendment.

Thank you.




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