CONTENTS Hearing held in Washington, D.C., on March 27, 1979__ Berman, Senator Arthur, chairman, Education Committee, Illinois Bowe, Frank, director, American Coalition of Citizens with Disabili- Buvinger, Margaret S., president, National School Boards Association_ Gibson, Dr. Robert C., director of special education, Heartland Area Education Agency, Ankeny, Iowa---- Kendrick, Suzanne, executive director, United Cerebral Palsy Associa- Levine, Bambi, Massachusetts State director of special education__ Morris, Michael, executive director, Georgia Association of Retarded Trites, Donald, president, board of directors, Georgia Advocacy Office. Weintraub, Frederick, assistant executive director, Government Rela- tions of the Council for Exceptional Children.... Prepared statements, letters, and supplemental materials, et cetera- Gibson, Dr. Robert C., director of special education, Heartland Area Kendrick, Suzanne, executive director. United Cerebral Palsy Asso- Morris, Michael, executive director, Georgia Association for Retarded Phillips, A. Craig, president, Council of Chief State School Officers, Weintraub, Frederick J., assistant executive director for governmen- tal relations, Council for Exceptional Children, statement of OVERSIGHT HEARING ON EDUCATION OF HANDICAPPED CHILDREN TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 1979 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON ELEMENTARY, SECONDARY, AND The subcommittee convened, pursuant to notice, at 9:45 a.m., in room 2261, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Paul Simon (chairman of the Subcommittee on Select Education) presiding. Members present: Representatives Perkins (chairman of the Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Education), Simon, Brademas, Beard, Miller, Kildee, Erdahl, and Kramer. Staff present: John F. Jennings, counsel; Jack Duncan, counsel; Judith Wagner; staff director; and Martin LaVor, minority senior legislative associate. Mr. SIMON. The committee will come to order. The chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor and the Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Education, Mr. Perkins, is tied up temporarily in another meeting. He will be coming along shortly. We have called this meeting because there are some very vital programs on which some very important budgetary decisions have to be made. We felt that it was important for this Subcommittee on Select Education as well as the Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Education to have the input of the witnesses here today, both for the members of our committee, and for the record, to see what the impact of those budgetary suggestions may be, and in what direction we ought to be going. I would like, first of all, to recognize my predecessor as the chairman of the Select Subcommittee on Education, one of the most distinguished members of this body, and the majority whip of the House, Mr. Brademas. Mr. BRADEMAS. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I would just like to say a couple of words before you get into your hearing. First of all, I want to commend you for having taken the chairmanship of this subcommittee. I had the privilege of serving as chairman of it for 10 years. I could not be more pleased that a so able and so dedicated Member of the House of Representatives as Paul Simon, an old friend of mine for many years, is assuming this responsibility, because I know that under his leadership, it will do a very constructive job. Second of all, I want to commend the chairman of the subcommittee as well as another valued friend of mine, the gentleman from Michigan, Mr. Ford, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education, and the chairman of the full committee for their interest in the subject of this hearing. As House sponsor of Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, naturally I have a deep interest in this program being effectively implemented. On a number of occasions, I have tried to suggest that it was my own view that this Congress ought to give more attention than we have earlier been able to do, to the effectiveness with which the legislation is being carried out across this country. I think the legislation is sound legislation, good legislation, but I think that our subcommittee has a responsibility to listen to criticisms, complaints, suggestions, recommendations for more effectively, wisely, responsively administering the act. For all those reasons, Mr. Chairman, I want to commend you for the hearings that you have undertaken today, and to wish you well in the future. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. SIMON. Thank you. Are there any other opening comments that anyone wishes to make? If not, we will proceed to our first witness, Senator Arthur Berman of the State of Illinois, and chairman of the Education Committee, an old friend. We are very pleased to have you with us here, Senator. STATEMENT OF SENATOR ARTHUR BERMAN, CHAIRMAN, EDUCATION COMMITTEE, ILLINOIS STATE SENATE Mr. BERMAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the opportunity of being here, and I am especially pleased this morning to appear in front of one of the most famous and respected alumni of the Illinois Legislature, Congressman Simon. We are proud of his chairmanship of the Subcommittee on Select Education, not only the citizens of Illinois, but of the country, because of his past commitment to education. Congressman Brademas, it is nice to see you again. A few years ago, we came up here and testified on Public Law 94-142. I want to compliment you for your leadership in this particular area. Many of us had questions about how we were going to implement this legislation. In Illinois, we have come into conformity with Public Law 94–142. I am chairing a subcommittee of our Illinois School Problems Commission, to do exactly what you referred to, and that is, to see if the goals that we envisioned by the passage of Public Law 94-142 are, in fact, being accomplished in the field and in the carrying out of the legislative mandate. I have submitted copies of my formal testimony, for the record, Mr. Chairman. What I would like to do, because I know that you have a full agenda, is to summarize the content of the formal testimony, and touch on a few of the highlights which I would like to call to your attention. Mr. SIMON. Your full statement will be entered in the record. [The prepared testimony of Mr. Berman follows:] TESTIMONY OF ARTHUR L. BERMAN Thank you for giving me the opportunity to address your subcommittees regarding the appropriations to assist state and local education agencies in their efforts to comply with the mandates of PL 94-142 and PL 89-313. These hearings demonstrate your continued interest in the goals of PL 94-142 and in the needs of handicapped children. Congress's commitment to the needs of handicapped children has been demonstrated in very real terms by the financial support provided under PL 94-142. Appropriations approved by Congress will have provided approximately $96.4 million to Illinois to expand and improve the special education services for handicapped children in the first three years of the 94-142 implementation. This assistance has been an essential element of our commitment to the goals of PL 94-142: to assure that a free appropriate education is available to all handicapped children. Illinois has also responded to this mandate through a substantial allocation of state resources for special education. In addition to the federal support provided for special education under PL 94-142, state expenditures for special education catagorical grants to local school districts have increased from $117 million in fiscal year 1976 to $184.2 million in fiscal year 1979. This is state money only and represents a 57.4% increase over three years. As a result, catigorical |