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The American Association of
School Administrators (AASA)
Urges Swift Passage of Special
Education Legislation, Despite Lack of Mandatory Full Funding
from AASA, April 8, 2003
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Arlington, VA – April 8, 2003 – With the House Education and
Workforce Committee scheduled to vote Wednesday, April 9, on a
bill to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA), AASA Executive Director Paul Houston called on
committee members to pass the legislation and urged quick
consideration of the measure by the full House. While school
administrators were disappointed that the legislation does not
contain mandatory full funding for special education, AASA’s top
legislative priority, Houston said that AASA enthusiastically
supports H.R. 1350 because the bill’s policy improvements
“practically mirror AASA’s recommendations for improved special
education opportunities in public school districts.”
The Improving Education Results for Children with Disabilities
Act, or H.R. 1350, offers several AASA-supported reforms, such
as offering school districts more flexibility to increase and
improve early intervention strategies, ensuring that teachers
receive on-going training to identify and address the needs of
children with disabilities, reducing burdensome paperwork
requirements on educators, and refocusing the law on providing a
high quality education for children with special needs vs.
compliance with complex federal regulations.
“H.R. 1350 offers the best special education policy revisions
we’ve seen in decades,” Houston said. “AASA is urging full House
support for this bill. Delays could derail the delivery of
important legislative gains for children with special needs and
the school districts that provide their educational
opportunities.”
While the bill does not offer mandatory full funding, Houston
acknowledged that the legislation authorizes increased funding
over seven years, beginning at $10.5 billion for fiscal year
2004. Houston credited the relentless advocacy of school
administrators for this legislative accomplishment.
“Since the original passage of IDEA in 1975, school
administrators have fully embraced the goal of providing an
equal educational opportunity for children with disabilities,
but they did so with the promise that the federal government
would provide up to 40 percent of the cost of educating children
with disabilities,” Houston said. “Yet for nearly three decades,
Congress has reneged on that promise while mandating school
districts provide special education services, regardless of the
rising costs.”
Houston said that AASA members are determined that the federal
government pay its fair share of providing special education
services. “It’s quite clear this funding increase is direct
result of school administrators’ intense, ongoing drive for
mandatory full funding,” he said. “While we support the positive
policy changes this bill offers school districts, we will not
stop short of our goal of mandatory full funding.”
American Association of School Administrators (AASA), founded in
1865, is the professional organization for more than 14,000
educational leaders across America and in many other countries.
AASA's mission is to support and develop effective school system
leaders who are dedicated to the highest quality public
education for all children
Contact: Barbara Knisely
703-875-0723
bknisely@aasa.org
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