Senate Committee Approves Small Increase Funding for IDEA; Level Funds Javits 

This week the Senate Appropriations Committee approved legislation that provides a small increase over last year's level in funding for IDEA programs.   The fiscal year (FY) 2008 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education is the legislation that funds federal education, labor, health, and other federal agency programs.

The Senate bill passed by a subcommittee on Tuesday, then passed by the full Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday, provides an additional $457 million for IDEA Part B for FY 2008, which is a 4.2 percent increase in funding over the FY 2007 level.   This will bring total funding for IDEA Part B to $11.2 billion.  According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this funding level will restore the federal IDEA contribution level to the FY 2006 level of 17.65 percent, well below the promised 40 percent federal share.

The Senate Appropriations Committee also provided additional funding for IDEA Part C, which received an increase of $13.6 million, or 3.1 percent, over last year's level.    The Committee also provided $46 million to Part D state personnel development grants.  Neither the President nor a House appropriations subcommittee had requested funding for this program.  Parent information centers received and additional $1.3 million, and technology and media services received $1.6 million above the FY 2007 funding level. 

The Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented grants program received $7.6 million for FY 2008, the same amount of funding that it received in FY 2007.  The full Senate Appropriations Committee report outlining all education programs will be made available on Wednesday of next week.

The outlook for the Senate's version of the FY 2008 Labor-HHS funding bill is in doubt because Senate leaders want to attach stem cell research provisions onto this legislation, and President Bush earlier this week had vetoed stem cell legislation.   In addition, the President has said that he will veto all appropriations bills that exceed the funding levels in his FY 2008 federal agency funding proposal.

While CEC appreciates the efforts of the Senate Appropriations Committee to provide additional monies for IDEA Part B, Part C, and Part D programs than the House Appropriations Labor-HHS subcommittee did last week, CEC is still outraged that IDEA has received a scant increase in funding over last year's level.   In 1975, Congress promised to provide 40 percent of the cost of educating children with disabilities, yet 32 years later the federal contribution is at less than half of that.  In addition, the funding level for the Javits gifted and talented program continues to stagnate, with funding remaining over $3 million less than it was just 3 years ago.

CEC is asking all its members to send letters to their members of Congress urging them to endorse legislation to make IDEA full funding mandatory.  You can send a letter to your members of Congress by visiting CEC's Legislative Action Center.

CEC Honors Senator Grassley for Leadership in Gifted Education

On June 11, CEC honored Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) for his dedication to expand gifted education for America's three million students with gifts and talents.   Senator Grassley, CEC's 2007 Outstanding Public Service Award recipient, was commended for his commitment to ensuring that advanced learners across the country have access to an education that is challenging, fosters growth, and is appropriate for their unique learning abilities.  Senator Grassley has been a steadfast supporter of the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act, the only federal program that supports the needs of students with gifts and talents. 

Senate Passes Head Start Bill; Includes CEC-Backed Provisions

Head Start is a 42-year-old program that seeks to provide comprehensive services - such as balanced meals, supporting medical visits, and teaching you children learning and social skills - to millions of low-income children. 

Read Senator Kennedy's Press Release.

U.S.Department of Education Releases Report on Condition of Education

According to the report, the number of students receiving special education increased steadily over time from 3.7 million (8.3% of students) in the 1977-77 school year to 6.7 million (13.8%) of students in the 2006-06 school year.  The report also provided data on the length of time students with disabilities spend in general education classrooms, citing an increase from 45% to 52% of students spending 80% or more of their day in inclusive settings.  However, these numbers have not changed significantly over the 10-year span identified.  In addition, there is a disparity in the distribution of children in inclusive settings by race; white students are most likely to be in inclusive settings, black students are least likely to be in inclusive settings and most likely to be in a specialized or alternative school settings.  Also, according to the report, the ratio of paraprofessional staff is higher in high socioeconomic schools than for low socioeconomic schools. Poorer schools have an average of three instructional aides and less than .05 non-instructional aides per school, wealthier schools have almost 4.5 instructional aides and .75 non-instructional aides per school.

Read more.