Judd Gregg: “today, I join my esteemed colleague, the Senator from Massachusetts, Senator Kennedy, in introducing the Individuals…”

“today, I join my esteemed colleague, the Senator from Massachusetts, Senator Kennedy, in introducing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003. In the past, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA, bills received bipartisan votes at the end of a long, divisive and arduous process. What makes today's introduction of a bipartisan IDEA bill so unique is that it is bipartisan in its inception. The reason this is a bipartisan bill is because it strikes the appropriate balance between protecting the educational rights of children with disabilities while simultaneously making IDEA less litigious and compliance based. Above all, the bill is designed to ensure that IDEA resources are directed to help children with disabilities obtain the same opportunity to succeed as all other students. The bill streamlines State and local requirements to ensure that paperwork focuses on improved results for children with disabilities. By eliminating the need for an 800+ procedural checklist, these amendments favor the improvement of educational and functional results for children with disabilities over burdensome bureaucratic rules. The bill responds to concerns that we've heard from both parents and school administrators alike on how the law has evolved into a full employment government program for lawyers.”