On the recordMay 13, 1997
I rise in support of the current bill to reauthorize IDEA, the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. The Federal Government, in my view, should and does play a rather limited role in elementary and secondary education. This is the responsibility generally of communities, those of us who live there. State and local control, I think, is the strength of our educational system, and yet I believe strongly that this is an appropriate Federal responsibility. This is dealing with that kind of a special problem which exists in all places to ensure that every child has the opportunity to be the best that he or she can be. IDEA helps local schools meet their constitutional responsibilities to educate everyone, and that is what we want to do. Today nearly twice as many students with disabilities drop out of school compared to students without disabilities, and that is what it is about, to have a program that helps keep students in school.
Source
govinfo.gov
