Tom Harkin: “I want to take a couple minutes to thank a lot of people because this has been indeed a long journey and a tough…”

“I want to take a couple minutes to thank a lot of people because this has been indeed a long journey and a tough journey. It started, as I said, 2 years ago, on May 9, 1995, when Senator Frist had the first hearing on the reauthorization of the bill. And it has taken us 2 long years of working literally, if not every day, every week on this, and lately every day on it for the last several months. So I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to the people who have made it possible to reach this passage of S. 717. There are many people with a deep commitment to improving educational results for disabled children who stayed the course throughout this very long, tough journey. And today we can now point with satisfaction to a well-balanced, bipartisan bill that makes the kinds of improvements we are seeking in reauthorizing IDEA. Twenty-two years ago, as we have all said, with the enactment of Public Law 94-142, Congress took steps to ensure children with disabilities would no longer be excluded from school and would be guaranteed access to a free appropriate public education. Today, we have taken another major step by ensuring that the disabled children will now have the opportunity to enjoy the same expectations in the general curriculum as enjoyed by their nondisabled peers. And that success will be judged by the same high standards applicable to others.”