CHAPTER 5 FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION NOT YET AVAILABLE TO ALL HANDICAPPED CHILDREN The paramount goal of the Congress in enacting Public Law 94-142 was to make a free appropriate public education available to every handicapped child in the Nation. The act required that an appropriate education be available to all handicapped children age 3 to 18 by September 1, 1978. However, officials in most LEAs in our review candidly admitted that they did not expect to meet the congressional full-service objective for at least 3 to 6 years beyond 1978. The most commonly cited reason for the expected delay was a shortage of funds. Although the inability to attract qualified personnel was the fundamental problem in a few locations, most LEAS saw the lack of money to pay for needed personnel, space, supplies, and other services as the principal barrier to providing full appropriate educational programing for all handicapped children. Despite the increased availability of special education funds and services in recent years from Federal, State, and local governments, LEAS indicated that further increases--often substantial--are needed. The Congress may wish to consider the conflict between the act's goals and timetables and the problems States and LEAS are having in meeting those objectives. FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION IS REQUIRED To carry out its intent to assure that each handicapped child receives an appropriate education, the Congress required each State and LEA participating in the 94-142 program to assure that a "free appropriate public education" is made available to its handicapped children. The act defines appropriate education as follows: * The term 'free appropriate public education' agency, (C) include an appropriate preschool, ele- According to the act, an appropriate education had to be available for most handicapped children age 3 to 18 by September 1, 1978, and age 3 to 21 by September 1, 1980, as follows: "* * * A free appropriate public education will Thus, as of September 1, 1978, all States and their LEAS were to make a free appropriate public education available to all handicapped children age 3 to 18 unless, for children age 3 to 5, a conflict existed with State law or practice or with a court order. Making this appropriate education available to all handicapped children within these dates was a paramount goal of the Congress in enacting Public Law 94-142. The preamble to the act states: * It is the purpose of this Act to assure The intent is also reflected in legislative reports issued by both House and Senate committees. The Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare stated: "It should be clear *** that the goal of The House Committee on Education and Labor stated: "Is there a 'date certain' in this legislation? "Yes. Though the truism that 'justice knows Thus, after the dates specified, no participating State or LEA can legally fail to provide a free appropriate public education to all its eligible handicapped children. MORE TIME AND RESOURCES NEEDED Officials in 16 of 21 LEAS said that their LEAs would not be able to provide an appropriate education to all their handicapped children until several years after that date. Some LEAS had handicapped children on waiting lists, while others provided only a portion of the services that their handicapped children needed. The following are examples of comments from LEA officials with whom we discussed (1) what additional resources 1/The date was changed to September 1, 1978, for children age 3 to 18 before final passage of the act. were needed to enable the LEA to fully serve all handicapped children age 3 to 18 and (2) when they expected the needed resources to be available. While the comments are mainly estimates and are not precise, they indicate that LEAS generally expect to have lingering problems trying to meet 94-142's full-service mandate. California A California special education director stated that his LEA cannot provide any of the speech therapy or additional Occupational and physical therapy needed by many mentally retarded students. The director estimated that a 10-percent increase in the LEA's special education budget was needed to provide those services but that it would not be available until the 1981-82 school year at the earliest. Another California special education director noted that his LEA needed a 15-percent budget increase to hire an assistant administrator, four more psychologists, and four more teachers of the learning disabled to serve about 60 children on a waiting list. The director said the new staff members could be hired in the 1979-80 school year if Federal funds increase as expected. According to a third California LEA's records, about 600 handicapped children were waiting for special education services in April 1978. The LEA special education director said that about 40 more professional special education staff members and about 50 teacher aides were needed, at a cost of over $1 million a year, to meet its handicapped children's needs. The director believed that the 1979-80 school year would be the earliest these funds would be available, and then, only if projected 94-142 grant levels are reached. Mississippi In a Mississippi LEA, the special education director estimated that the LEA needs to add at least $1 million a year to its current $818,000 special education budget to meet 94-142's full-service goals. The funds would add 65 people to the LEA's special education staff, raising the number to about 90. New Hampshire Officials in a New Hampshire LEA told us that their LEA needs three staff members to begin services for emotionally disturbed children and two more teachers to meet the needs of learning disabled children. They estimated that the LEA needs an additional $75,000 annually--about a 75-percent increase over its 1977-78 special education budget--to provide these and other services for handicapped children. They also stated that, if 94-142 funds increase to authorized levels, the needed services could be available in the 1980-81 school year. Officials in a second New Hampshire LEA said that, to provide an appropriate education to all their handicapped children, they needed to add an adaptive physical education class, three more classes for the learning disabled, a fulltime school psychologist, and other special education services and materials. The LEA would have to nearly double its 1977-78 special education budget of about $200,000 a year to provide these services. They said that not until 1981 to 1983 will they have the money for these services and the money will have to come from 94-142 grant funds. The special education director in a third New Hampshire LEA estimated that the LEA will not have the $200,000 needed to pay the salaries of additional occupational therapists, teachers of learning disabled and emotionally disturbed children, and other special education staff until 1981 or 1982. Oregon According to the special education director in an Oregon LEA, the LEA needs a $750,000 (43-percent) budget increase to fully serve handicapped children. The official does not expect to have an appropriate education available for all handicapped children until the 1981-82 school year. Special education administrators in a second Oregon LEA said they need an additional $294,000 for --2 speech therapists at a cost of $36,000, --10 to 13 teachers of the learning disabled at a cost |