Tom Harkin: “there has been a lot of misperception about IDEA. That misperception is amplified in statement after statement until it…”

“there has been a lot of misperception about IDEA. That misperception is amplified in statement after statement until it almost becomes a state of fact that IDEA is a Federal mandate on the States. I hear it all the time: a Federal mandate that is not fully funded. IDEA is not a mandate of the Federal Government on the States. The fact that the Federal courts have said if a State provides a free and appropriate public education to its children--and States don't have to do that--but if a State provides a free and appropriate public education for all of its kids, it cannot discriminate on the basis of race, it cannot discriminate on the basis of sex, or national origin, and in two court cases the court said it cannot discriminate on the basis of disability. Simply because a child has a disability doesn't relieve the State of its obligation under the equal protection clause to provide that child a free and appropriate public education. In 1975, the Congress said because this would be such a burden on the States, we will pass national legislation to help the States meet their constitutional obligation to educate kids with disabilities. That is what IDEA is. The Federal Government said, OK, if you meet these certain requirements, you will be eligible for IDEA for this money.…”