Congressman Bass Introduces Legislation to Fully Fund IDEA

Congressman Charles Bass (R-NH) has introduced legislation in the House that would require mandatory full funding of IDEA. H.R. 3145, the Mandatory IDEA Full Funding Compromise Act, would set forth the same funding levels that Congress authorized to achieve full funding by for IDEA by 2011 in the new IDEA law, yet the bill also includes formulas for providing funding above authorized levels for fiscal years 2006 through 2011 to make up for the shortfall of funds provided for IDEA in FY 2005. Through the increases in funds for each fiscal year through 2011, H.R. 3145 will still achieve full funding in 2012 despite the shortfall in funding IDEA received in FY 2005. Congressman Bass authored similar legislation during the last session of Congress, but Congress failed to act on it.

CEC strongly supports H.R. 3145 and encourages you to send a letter to your Member of Congress requesting that he or she cosponsor this important bill. You can send a letter to your Representative in the House by going to CEC’s Legislative Action Center at http://capwiz.com/cek/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=7864106 . When sending your letter, please be sure to personalize it to reflect how full funding will affect you and the children you serve. Make sure you tell your friends and colleagues to send letters to their member of Congress as well! To view CEC’s IDEA funding recommendations, go to http://www.cec.sped.org/pp/idea_resources_appropriation.html .

House Education and Workforce Committee Passes Higher Education Bill

On July 22, 2005, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce discharged legislation to reauthorize a portion of the Higher Education Act. The bill, H.R. 609, reforms federal student aid and higher education programs. The College Access and Opportunity Act would, according to its authors, strengthen Pell Grants and provide great access to post-secondary education to middle and low-income students. The legislation would also strengthen the TRIO and GEAR UP college preparation programs, something CEC has recommended for HEA reauthorization. In addition, H.R. 609 would reduce loan fees for students and update loan limits for first and second-year students without increasing overall student debt.

Education and Workforce Committee Democrats, however, have charged that H.R. 609 will result in the largest cut in federal student aid in history. During Committee consideration, a Democratic amendment was defeated that would have increased the Pell Grant maximum by $500 over five years (the current Pell Grant maximum is $4,050). The Democrats also offered an amendment that would have allowed students to choose between a fixed and a variable rate when consolidating their student loans. That amendment was defeated as well. The final vote on passage of the measure was along party lines.

CEC will continue to evaluate the merits and shortcomings of H.R. 609 as it awaits consideration before the full House of Representatives.

To read the Republican press release on H.R. 609, go to http://edworkforce.house.gov/press/press109/first/07jul/approvesbill072205.htm
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To read the Democratic press release on H.R. 609, go to http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ed31_democrats/rel72205.html .

To read the text of H.R. 609, go to http://edworkforce.house.gov/issues/109th/education/hea/hr609.pdf
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GAO Releases Report On Participation of Students With Disabilities In Statewide Assessments
Earlier this week, the Government Accountability Office released the report “No Child Left Behind Act: Most Students with Disabilities Participated in Statewide Assessments, but Inclusion Options Could Be Improved.” That report can be found at
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05618.pdf