| WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today said that Congress
must live up to its promise to the nation’s special education students
and their parents and provide schools with the necessary tools and resources
to ensure the best possible education to students with disabilities.
Schakowsky
warned, however, that Congress is instead undermining the nation’s special
education system by passing H.R. 1350, legislation to reauthorize the landmark
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). H.R. 1350:
-
allows
students to be moved indefinitely to “alternative placements” for any violation
of a school code of conduct. These “violations” could include chewing
gum in class, shouting out in class, or not completing homework.
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removes
the requirement that school-districts determine if a child’s disability
is the cause of a specific behavior, taking responsibility away from local
officials who may be the best judges in these types of cases.
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fails
to guarantee any funds for IDEA. The bill provides for an authorization
of discretionary funding for IDEA, but does not mandate funding for it.
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places
yearly caps on the amount of funding that can be provided for IDEA.
“It
makes it easier to kick children with disabilities out of the classroom,
even when they are trying to comply, when they are doing their best,” Schakowsky
said.
Reading
letters on the House floor from parents of children with autism and other
learning and developmental disabilities who support IDEA, Schakowsky concluded,
“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” |
