Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions - S. 1619
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mrs. MURRAY (for herself and Mr. DEWINE):
S. 1619. A bill to amend the individuals with disabilities Education Act to ensure that children with disabilities who are homeless or are wards of the State have access to special education services, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, today I am pleased to join my colleague Senator DEWINE in introducing legislation to provide a high-quality education to homeless and foster children with disabilities. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is based on the bedrock American principle of equal opportunity. IDEA recognizes that students have a civil right to a free, appropriate public education, even if their special needs require additional resources. Because most foster and homeless children face distinct challenges, they require even more attention and consideration to make sure their educational needs are met. The Improving Education for Homeless and Foster Children with Disabilities Act would make small but critical changes to ensure these children have a real opportunity to fulfill their potential.
Students with disabilities face additional challenges in school as do foster and homeless children. But to live in a foster home or in no home at all and to have a disability is truly to have the deck stacked against you. Congress has a long and proud tradition of supporting and protecting educational opportunity for our most vulnerable young people. It's what we did when we passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965. It's what we did when we created Head Start, and it's what we did when we started giving out Pell Grants. It's time for us to step up once again and make the changes to make IDEA work for homeless and foster children with disabilities.
The bill that Senator DEWINE and I are introducing today addresses the unique educational needs of children with disabilities who are in foster care or who experience homelessness. Foster children and homeless children face a unique set of challenging circumstances. There are over 500,000 children in foster care. Thirty percent of them are in special education.
We know that foster children often do not function well in school. Foster children have usually been separated from their biological families as a result of child abuse or neglect, which can leave both emotional and physical marks for life. Given the shortage of foster parents in this country, children in foster care are often shuttled between many different homes and schools. One young man has shared with me his story of living in more than 100 homes throughout his childhood. Every time these children move to a new home, they may have to attend a new school. And every time these children enroll in a new school, they must start over in securing the supports and services they need to receive the free and appropriate public education that is their civil right.
In addition to frequent absences and transfers, foster children often don't have parents to advocate for their educational needs. Almost every parent whose child has a disability will tell you that their role as advocate for their child correlates directly to the quality of the education their child receives. Without a parent to advocate for them, foster children can languish for years with unrecognized disabilities or insufficient services to help them succeed in school. These experiences can leave children in foster care without the education and support to lead functional, productive lives.
Homeless children in our country also face significant hurdles to succeed in school, which are exacerbated for children with disabilities. The Urban Institute estimates that 1.35 million children experience homelessness each year. A high proportion of homeless children with disabilities also need special education services, yet many homeless children have great difficulty accessing these services.
Children who experience homelessness desperately need stability in their lives, but they often lack the continuity of staying in one school or even in one school district long enough for an Individualized Education Planor IEPto be developed and implemented. In addition, like foster children, some homeless youth have no legal guardian to watch out for their educational needs and to advocate for their best interests.
Despite this difficult situation, we can help these children with a high-quality education. The Improving Education for Homeless and Foster Children with Disabilities Act amends IDEA to help States and districts meet these challenges. It facilitates greater continuity for students who change schools or school districts, by ensuring that students' IEPs follow them from school to school. It increases opportunities for early evaluation and intervention for homeless and foster infants and toddlers with disabilities. It also provides for representation of foster and homeless children on key committees that make critical decisions affecting special education. This bill expands the definition of "parent" to include relatives or other caregivers who are equipped to make sound decisions in a child's best interest when there is no biological parent available to do so. Finally, it improves coordination of services and information so educational and social services agencies can function more efficiently to benefit these children.
As we reauthorize IDEA, we have an obligation to pay extra attention to these children and to provide the resources and support they need. The real test of how we treat children in America is measured in how we treat the most vulnerable among us, and this bill gives us a chance to do the right thing. I urge the Senate to truly ensure that no child is left behind by passing the Improving Education for Homeless and Foster Children with Disabilities Act.