R 342
2001-H 6556
Enacted 6/28/2001


H  O  U  S  E     R  E  S  O  L  U  T  I  O  N

RESPECTFULLY ENCOURAGING THE PRESIDENT AND THE CONGRESS TO PASS THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT (IDEA) AMENDMENTS OF 1997

Introduced By:  Representatives Naughton, Crowley, George, Benson and Coelho Date Introduced:   June 27, 2001

WHEREAS, The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) was enacted in 1975, and the basis of the Act is to guarantee every child with a disability access to a free and appropriate public education; and

WHEREAS, The population of students demanding assistance has increased and changed significantly, and yet the law has not provided enough flexibility to States to meet the changing demands; and

WHEREAS, In order to avoid school districts and parents going to court for answers to unresolved questions or clarification of their responsibilities, their needs to be the reauthorization of IDEA. This would ensure the power to give educators incentives and opportunities to educate children with disabilities, including those at risk of failing, with less bureaucracy and meaningful accountability; and

WHEREAS, Currently ESEA/IDEA has been amended by the United states Senate to provide funding for IDEA. Within IDEA, Congress promised to contribute forty percent of the cost of educating children with disabilities. The reauthorization must retain current provisions, those provisions include: Access to free and appropriate public education for all children with disabilities, with individual plans to meet the unique needs of each student; authorization and definition of "related services," including therapeutic recreation specialists and other recreation professionals; use of qualified personnel for related services; enforcement of least restrictive environment; appropriate sufficient funds to assist state and local efforts to educate children with disabilities; and early childhood intervention, reducing the need to define children as "disabled"; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations hereby respectfully encouraging the United states Congress to consider passage of The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to President George W. Bush, the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation, the United States Senate and House of Representatives Appropriations and Education Committees.

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