Political Quotes

“as part of last October's Omnibus Appropriations bill, a provision (Section 130) in the District of Columbia's FY 99 appropriations placed a $50 per hour/$1,300 per case cap on attorney's fees in cases brought under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in the District. In signing the bill, President Clinton singled out the cap in his remarks, calling it ``unacceptable'' and he pledged to eliminate the cap this year. However, it has again been included in this bill to fund the District. (Sec. 128) This cap has made it virtually impossible for local special education attorneys to accept cases on contingency, which is required for indigent parents and court-supervised children. Attorneys are forced to demand retainers from these residents, which precludes low-income parents from obtaining legal representation at all. In the end, the poorest kids in the District receive inadequate services from DCPS. Federal law under the IDEA provides for the recovery of reasonable attorneys' fees at market rates. IDEA was passed with the understanding that it applied to cases in all jurisdictions. Congress, however, has singled out the District of Columbia and in effect has singled out poor families and children who struggle to get even a basic education. DCPS spends $165 million per year on about 12,000 special education students. The average per-pupil cost comes out to be $17,000 per year.”