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IDEA REATHORIZATION ON HORIZON; DEPARTMENT OF ED SEEKS INPUT

September 30, 2001

IDEA FUNDING, WITH MORE STATE CONTROL, IN PLAY AS CONGRESS FINISHES ED BILL September 30, 2001 Check our Events Calendar for more details.

WASHINGTON -- The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act comes up for renewal by Congress next year, and people on both sides of the special ed debate are looking to that reauthorization as an opportunity to fine-tune or, in some cases, eliminate provisions that have proven unpopular or ineffective since the law was last updated in 1997. The current law's disciplinary rules, for example, may come under heavy fire when Congress convenes a new session next January if a current alteration sponsored by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Rep. Chuck Norwood (R-Ga.) is defeated in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization bill.

In preparation for next year's debate, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs has scheduled eight forums to gather public input on the best and worst aspects of IDEA as it stands today. Federally funded regional IDEA resource centers in Minneapolis, Mobile, Ala., Providence, Reno, Nev., Salt Lake City, San Antonio, Texas, and Washington, D.C., are hosting the forums. Each resource center will provide interpreters for people with hearing disabilities and stipends for parents needing childcare during the meetings.8