Conference Report on H.R. 1350, Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004

CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 1350, INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2004 -- (Extensions of Remarks - December 07, 2004)

Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1350, the Conference Report to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA).

I commend the House and Senate conferees for putting the best interests of the students first in this reauthorization and reaching a compromise between parents, teachers, school administrators, and school districts. This legislation has my support because it responds to the needs of special education teachers and the children they serve.

My vote in favor of H.R. 1350 when it passed the House originally was because of the work our committee did on provisions improving early identification and the goal for full funding. Yet I did have strong reservations about the sections pertaining to discipline and the definition of highly qualified teachers. At the time, I was assured that my concerns and those of my colleagues would be addressed in the Conference Committee. The conferees were able to craft a compromise that will receive broad bipartisan support today in the House.

When a child is identified as having a disability at an early age, their parents and teachers are better able to address their needs and ensure they are integrated into the regular educational setting and curriculum. I have worked hard to secure funding for newborn hearing screening programs, which save schools millions of dollars in special education costs by ensuring early detection and intervention of infants with hearing loss. Further efforts to increase early identification, as H.R. 1350 will accomplish, will save our schools millions more in special education costs.

I believe strongly that Congress must provide the funding promised nearly 30 years ago, and I have introduced legislation that would accomplish this goal. While this bill today does not require mandatory full funding, it is a step in the right direction in fulfilling the commitment we made our states and local school districts to provide 40 percent of the cost of IDEA. We owe it to our students, their families, and our communities, and I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make this promise a reality.

Because of the efforts of my colleagues, as well as families, teachers, and school administrators across the country, we are, today, able to put the needs of students and families first. I urge my colleagues to support this important piece of bipartisan legislation that will move us forward in our goal to provide an equal, quality education for all students.