senate resolution no.129

Senators Bayer, Bullock, Geiss, Polehanki, Moss, Brinks, McMorrow, Chang, Alexander and Hollier offered the following resolution:

A resolution to memorialize the Congress of the United States to enact legislation to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Whereas, Children with disabilities deserve quality education to develop skills so they can fully participate in social, economic, and political life. Many of these children face significant barriers to education and are more likely to be out of school. Ensuring access to education is the best way to help children with disabilities realize their full potential; and

Whereas, Congress has established that equal access to education for students with disabilities is an essential element of our national policy by passing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In the Act, Congress states that disability is a natural part of the human experience, and the IDEA is meant to ensure equality of opportunity and economic self-sufficiency for all individuals with disabilities; and

Whereas, While the IDEA has resulted in increased access to education for millions of students, the Act remains dangerously underfunded. In the original 1975 legislation, Congress promised to cover 40 percent of the extra cost of special education services required by the Act. However, as of 2020, the federal government was covering only 14.6 percent of the cost, despite a 25 percent increase in the number of students served; and

Whereas, The IDEA Full Funding Act (S. 866) was introduced in 2019 to require that Congress fund the IDEA at the 40 percent level that was originally promised. Similar legislation needs to be introduced this session in order to ensure that the federal government is paying its fair share of the cost of special education services and to alleviate the financial burden on individual school districts; and

Whereas, Students and teachers suffer when Congress fails to live up to its funding commitment. School districts are forced to cover the costs with a scarcity of resources and must sometimes divert funds away from other programs that serve all students. In addition, schools have less funding for teacher salaries and classroom resources, making it more difficult to recruit and retain high-quality teachers; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate, That we memorialize the Congress of the United States to enact legislation to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act so children with disabilities have equal access to educational opportunity; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.