Pete Sessions: “we have a real problem in education today. It is a mandate that we know we do not fully fund. We are paying about 10…”

“we have a real problem in education today. It is a mandate that we know we do not fully fund. We are paying about 10 percent of the cost of IDEA. We ought to be paying 40 percent, according to our agreement. We have voted to increase that funding fully now. The next thing we need to do is deal with the Federal regulations that are contained in this book that teachers and principals are having to deal with on a daily basis. Most of you have heard from your teachers and schools. You know the way we are administering the Disabilities Act does not work. My amendment would simply say that a child, after a hearing where it is found that they are disruptive or perform an illegal or improper act in school that was not a product of their disability, would be treated, for disciplinary purposes, as any other child. That would mean that a child who sold dope, even though they may have a mobility disability, would be treated as any other child that sold drugs in a classroom. I think that is the right approach. The House passed a bill much stronger which said flatout that any child, whether disabled or not, would be treated the same for disciplinary purposes. This is a more modest step, but I believe a good step, in dealing with the problem that we are hearing about from all our teachers. I urge passage of the amendment.”