Recognizing National Special Education Day

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize National Special Education Day.

In the 1970s, Congress made a commitment to provide a free and appropriate education to students with disabilities.

While we have made tremendous progress thanks to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, we have also failed to fully fund the cost of special education.

Congress promised at that point to cover 40 percent of the extra cost of special education, but we have never come close to fulfilling that promise. In fact, the current funding remains at only 14 percent of the targeted amount.

Mr. Speaker, that is shameful. This means our students and schools suffer. It means that programs will be cut. It means that schools won't be able to recruit and retain qualified teachers.

Above all else, it means that students with disabilities will not be able to succeed, not without appropriate, high-quality services that they deserve.

That is why I proudly cosponsored the bipartisan IDEA Full Funding Act, which would mandate gradual increases in IDEA to reach that full commitment--40 percent by fiscal year 2029 and each subsequent fiscal year.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill and uphold the promise to provide students and schools with the resources that they need.

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