Students with special needs stand to lose a vital component for ensuring they receive a free and equal education if Republicans have their way.  The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Paperwork Reduction Act of 2003 was discussed by the House Subcommittee on Education Reform on March 13, during a Congressional hearing. 

The amendment is sponsored by three Republicans, Rep. John Boehner (OH), Rep. Michael Castle (DE), and Rep. Ric Keller (FL). 

Currently, students with disabilities who are eligible under IDEA receive a new Individualized Education Program (IEP) each school year.  The purpose of the IEP is to spell out specific objectives and accommodations for each student based on that student’s individual needs resulting from his or her disability.

However, some teachers and school administrators have complained that they’re consumed with paperwork, so much that they must work excessive overtime, without compensation, to keep up. Under the proposed act, students would receive a new IEP every 3 years, rather than annually. 

For students with disabilities this amendment will come at great expense, if passed.  As a result of the change to a 3-year program, annual goals and objectives for disabled students “will be lost,” says Children and Adults with Attention-
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD).

For regular education students, curricula, teaching approaches, classroom setup, and other details are adjusted for each grade level, based on the particular needs and objectives for the age group.

Similarly, objectives and needs of disabled students also need to be reviewed and revised each year.  What a child needs during one school year are not necessarily what the student will need the next, and the changes from just one grade level are sometimes dramatic. 

Granted, the amendment does acknowledge and allow for revision of the IEP for natural transition points, such as going from elementary to middle school. But significant changes are seen from year-to-year even when there isn’t a major transition. 

At our public elementary school, 4^th graders begin to leave their homeroom for two academic classes each day, not including music and gym. During 4^th , and 5^th grade especially, teacher expectations become greater, and some students may even begin to experience puberty. 

My own kids qualify for accommodation under Section 504, as a result of having AD/HD. This is distinct and separate from IDEA, encompassing a broader range of students who may not qualify for assistance under IDEA.  But their changing needs from year-to-year clearly reflect the need for an annual plan.

While the school years may seem like an eternity to a child, as adults, we know how quickly time and opportunity passes.  If a student receives his first IEP in 2^nd grade, he’ll be in 5^th grade before receiving a new one. Consider how much both a child and the educational process change from one year to the next during this time.  And if such a significant time lapses during the junior and high school years before a student receives a new IEP, it may be too late to get the student back on track. 

One of President Bush’s slogans has been “no child left behind.” In reading a report by the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education, “A New Era: Revitalizing Special Education for Children and their Families,” they have some useful recommendations.  But there are also those, such as the Paperwork Reduction Act, that will be counterproductive. 

Furthermore, lack of adequate funding from the federal government to ensure that federal requirements can actually be met by school districts, is a significant part of the problem.

With Republicans’ $1.6 trillion in proposed tax cuts that will affect all programs, according to a recent Reuters report, except for Social Security, unemployment insurance, homeland defense, and the military, it seems that the Bush administration’s message is hardly in keeping with its supposed goal: to better educate all children.

The message I see is: “No child left behind—so long as the rich don’t have to foot an extra dime to do so.”

Kimberly Blaker’s The Wall™ appears weekly. She is editor and coauthor of the The Fundamentals of Extremism: the Christian Right in America. Send your comments to Kimberly Blaker: TheWall@TheWall-OnChurchAndState.com   © 2002, Kimberly Blaker

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