Frank Riggs: “today is truly a remarkable and historic day. It is, I guess, a real tribute to the hard work of our staffs on a…”

“today is truly a remarkable and historic day. It is, I guess, a real tribute to the hard work of our staffs on a bipartisan basis that we could bring this bill, reforming and improving the landmark Federal civil rights and special education statute to the House floor under suspension of the rules, and I want to salute all involved. As Chairman Goodling has said, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act will help children with disabilities by focusing on their education instead of process and bureaucracy, by increasing the participation and the role of parents in the education of their children, and by giving teachers the tools that they need to teach all children. Let me just explain that the bill that we are considering on the floor today improves the connection of students with disabilities to the regular education curriculum and provides for increased accountability for educational results. It is really significant that we are changing the focus of the bill by raising expectations for the educational achievement for all students, especially those with learning disabilities.”