Federal Legislative Update
November 2004

November 22, 2004

November 22, 2004

News from Capitol Hill...

Lights dim on 108th Congress

IDEA reauthorization wins qualified NEA support

Congress has reauthorized the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The IDEA reauthorization on Friday, November 19, was one of the last actions by the 108th Congress. IDEA was last reauthorized in 1997. Friday's vote marked the culmination of three years of bipartisan work on the nation's landmark special education law.

NEA gave qualified support to the reauthorization (H.R. 1350). Given its overall positive impact for students with disabilities and special education professionals, the bill's passage ensures no further delay in addressing NEA member needs in serving exceptional children. Concerns, however, remain.

NEA was an insistent voice throughout the debate and negotiations and won key changes for an IDEA focused on improved services and learning, rather than paperwork and process. The resulting bill:

• Significantly increases support for professional development
• Launches the reduction of burdensome paperwork
• Provides new flexibility in meeting the "highly qualified" teacher requirements legislated in the ESEA/"No Child Left Behind" Act
• Protects educators' rights to participate in individual education plan (IEP) meetings
• Simplifies and better balances discipline procedures while continuing to protect fundamental civil rights of students with disabilities
• Enhances educators' ability to provide early intervention for struggling students
• Provides fair ways to reduce litigation between parents and schools

Resources:

• Summary information
• NEA letter to Congress
• Definition of "highly qualified" teacher

Challenges remain

• There is no extension on the timeline for meeting the federal "highly qualified" teacher provisions.
• NEA believes that special educators licensed according to state requirements should be deemed highly qualified according to the federal standard. While the reauthorization provides new flexibility not provided special educators under the original NCLB mandate, the "highly qualified" teacher provisions under the new law are problematic.
• The legislation provides a six-year timetable and a formula for achieving full funding of the federal share of special education, but without a guarantee to appropriate the funds. The funding issue remains on the table.

Next steps

The rule-making process will be key to ensuring that supportive provisions written into the law are implemented effectively. NEA is already at work.

Spending bill shortchanges students

At the eleventh hour, Congress approved a catch-all spending bill that includes education funds for Fiscal Year 2005. The spending package shortchanges students from kindergarten through college.

Rep. George Miller (CA), a member of the Resources Committee, noted: "The spending bill comes up $481 million short of the President's request for special education; $398 million short of the President's request for No Child Left Behind; and $103 million short of the President's request for Head Start. It once again freezes the maximum value of the Pell Grant, as requested by President Bush, at $4,050 for the second year in a row, despite the fact that the Pell Grant is worth nearly $800 less today, in real terms, than it was 1975-76, according to the College Board."

NEA continues to be committed to making children a budget priority. When details are available, they will be posted at www.nea.org/lac.

The adjournment hitch: Tax return snooping plan

A controversial provision discovered at the eleventh hour in the spending bill is delaying an end to the divisive 108th Congress. If enacted, the provision would have allowed the chairmen of the House and Senate appropriations committees, or their staffs, to view any individual's tax return each year and face no penalty for disclosing such private financial information.

Senators of both parties took to the floor Saturday to express outrage that the provision had been added to the bill without their knowledge. The Senate enacted an enrolling resolution repealing the language and refused to send the bill to the President until House action followed. The House will act this week. Congress can then adjourn.

A divisive Congress and the nation's safety

House and Senate negotiators failed to reach agreement on a national intelligence bill. Given the overarching importance of the issue, Congress may return in December.