Judd Gregg: “I have no problem with that. We have talked a lot about, and I think debated rather extensively, the issue of what the…”

“I have no problem with that. We have talked a lot about, and I think debated rather extensively, the issue of what the proper way to fund this bill is. Again, I think our track record on funding is strong and reflects a very deep and aggressive commitment to getting the money that is necessary to address special needs children. While we are discussing this bill and there is some attention on the bill, I did want to, however, mention--and I know we are going to discuss it later on--this commitment in this bill. There are a couple of items which are very important. The first is the commitment to go to basically an accountability system which looks at what a student learns versus what the procedure may have been to teach them. Rather than checking inputs, we are interested in outputs. We are interested in whether a special needs child is actually improving their academic ability. This bill changes the focus of how we view the plans that are developed for children. It eliminates the very burdensome and unreasonable 813 procedural checklist that States have to follow in order to be deemed in compliance with IDEA. This type of checklist, in our opinion, was excessive bureaucracy and counterproductive to the basic goal, which is to get a child in the classroom and teach them to the fullness of their capabilities. So I think it makes significant progress in that area. It also addresses a number of other issues, but specifically the overidentification of children into special needs.”