On December 18, 2001, Congress completed consideration of H.R.1, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (see http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/R?cp107:FLD010:@1(hr334) for the full text), finishing their work on the bill reauthorizing many federal education programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). This legislation reauthorized, established, consolidated or eliminated dozens of federal elementary and secondary education programs. The passage of H.R.1 removes the final obstacle for congressional consideration of the Fiscal Year 2002 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Act. This legislation provides annual funding to programs administered by the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.
Of particular interest to ASHA members, the conference narrowly defeated a motion by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) to provide for the mandatory full funding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B State Grants. While consideration of mandatory full funding is finished for this year, ASHA staff continues to advocate for commensurate increases in IDEA spending through the annual Labor, HHS and Education appropriations bill. The chances for significant increases for several IDEA programs remain good.
In addition to IDEA spending provisions, H.R.1 includes the President's new Early Reading First and Reading First programs. These two programs were authorized at $75 million and $900 million per year, respectively.
To view summaries of H.R.1 and the conference report prepared by House and Senate Democratic and Republican staff, please visit the House Education and Labor Committee Web site at http://edworkforce.house.gov/.
For more information about federal legislation on education issues, please contact Neil Snyder, ASHA's Director of Federal Advocacy, via email at nsnyder@asha.org or by phone at 800-274-2376, ext. 4257.
Once President Bush signs H.R.1 into law, the U.S. Department of Education will begin a process to issue regulations on the programs in the bill. For additional information, please contact Catherine D. Clarke, ASHA's Director of Education and Regulatory Advocacy, via email at cclarke@asha.org or by phone at 800-274-2376, ext. 4159.