Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the President's fiscal year 2003 budget request for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and, specifically, to discuss how this request helps students with disabilities to complete high school and successfully transition to higher education and the workforce. During the last 25 years we have made substantial progress in improving results for children with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and through other programs, such as programs under the Rehabilitation Act, that assist young people with disabilities. Today I will highlight some of the information we have relating to high school completion and post-school results. I will also discuss some of the challenges we are trying to address through our programs, and will pursue in the upcoming reauthorizations of the IDEA, the Rehabilitation Act, and other related programs.

Results for Students with Disabilities

During the 1999-2000 school year, 6,270,000 children with disabilities received special education services. Of this number, 1,891,000, or about 30 percent, were aged 14 through 21. Excluding children with disabilities who moved to regular education, between the 1995-1996 and 1999-2000 school years the percentage of children with disabilities that States reported as graduating with regular diplomas grew from 52.6 percent to 56.2 percent. During the same period, the percentage of children with disabilities who dropped out of school declined from 34.1 percent to 29.4 percent. We also have witnessed significant improvements in the rates of participation by students with disabilities in postsecondary education.

While these data are encouraging, the dropout rate for students with disabilities is still about twice that of students without disabilities, and there are significant differences between the graduation rates and postsecondary participation rates for students with disabilities and students without disabilities. Too many students with disabilities are being left behind. The lack of a high school diploma is a significant barrier to students with disabilities being able to transition to work or postsecondary education. We must do more to increase graduation rates for these students in order to fully realize the goals of the President's New Freedom Initiative, which is aimed at fully integrating Americans with disabilities into the workforce and promoting full access to community life.

As part of our efforts to improve results for students with disabilities, we are focusing attention on transition services required by the IDEA and the Rehabilitation Act. Transition planning and services promote movement from school to post-school activities, including postsecondary education, vocational training, employment, and independent living. By age 14, each child's Individualized Education Program (IEP) must include a statement of transition service needs that focuses on the child's courses of study, such as participation in advanced-placement courses or a vocational education program. By age 16, the IEP must include a statement of needed transition services for the child, including, when appropriate, a statement of vocational rehabilitation and other interagency responsibilities or any needed linkages to provide related transition services. In addition, the Rehabilitation Act requires State vocational rehabilitation agencies to develop and implement formal interagency agreements with State educational agencies to ensure effective collaboration and coordination to facilitate the transition of students with disabilities who are eligible for vocational rehabilitation services. Under the Rehabilitation Act, Individualized Plans for Employment (IPEs) must be developed as early as possible during transition planning, but no later than when students leave school. We know from our monitoring findings that we need to place more emphasis on improving transition services for students with disabilities, and we need to improve planning across programs and agencies that provide transition services.

State Grant Programs

As part of our comprehensive strategy to improve results for children with disabilities relating to school completion and transition to postsecondary education and employment, we are requesting $8.5 billion for the Special Education Grants to States program for fiscal year 2003, an increase of $1 billion over the amount appropriated for 2002. This level of support would provide an estimated $1,300 per child with a disability. However, we know that increased funding alone is not sufficient to improve results for children with disabilities. As we move toward reauthorizing the IDEA, we will be looking closely at how the principles of the No Child Left Behind Act—stronger accountability for results, increased flexibility and local control, increased information and options for parents, and the use of scientifically based instructional methods—can be used to improve results for children with disabilities.

We are also supporting improved transition results for children with disabilities through our request of $2.6 billion for Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants. Under this program, State agencies provide a wide range of services, including vocational evaluation, counseling, vocational training, and job placement, to help individuals with disabilities prepare for and engage in meaningful employment. An estimated 20 to 25 percent of the individuals served by the vocational rehabilitation program are youth with disabilities. Vocational rehabilitation services also help individuals with disabilities to pursue postsecondary education. During fiscal year 1999, 176,000 individuals of all ages were provided postsecondary education through the vocational rehabilitation program. We want to offer postsecondary opportunities to students with disabilities who desire them and who are eligible to enroll. We also need to continue to build the capacity of colleges and universities, including community colleges, to serve students with disabilities. While college enrollment has increased, we must ensure that those students with disabilities who are eligible to enroll are supported in their efforts to obtain postsecondary education. Affording these opportunities will allow for improved employment outcomes for adults with disabilities.

National Activities

I would like to take a moment to discuss the importance of our commitments under the National Activities programs authorized under Part D of the IDEA in helping parents and educators improve school completion and achieve effective transition to work or postsecondary education. The State Improvement grant program, for which $51.7 million is requested for 2003, provides competitive grants to assist SEAs in partnership with others, to reform and improve their systems, including professional development, technical assistance, and dissemination targeted on improving results for children with disabilities. For example, under its State Improvement grant, California is using student performance and district IDEA implementation data to guide system improvements that will increase percentages of students with disabilities who return to regular education, earn high school diplomas, and complete school; and will decrease the percentage of students with disabilities dropping out of school.

Our Research and Innovation activities, for which $78.4 million is requested in 2003, and Technology and Media Services activities, for which $32.7 million is requested, are the primary sources of support under the IDEA for producing and advancing the use of knowledge to improve services and results for children with disabilities. The programs support a wide range of activities, including research, demonstrations, and outreach that are designed to produce new knowledge, which can be translated into model practices, and help implement those practices. Our research activities include an institute to improve results for adolescents with disabilities in general education academic curricula, and a project that is studying how special and regular education teachers can act as co?teachers in high school classrooms to address the needs of children with and without disabilities. Demonstrations are addressing areas such as promoting school-to-work transition for students with emotional and behavior disorders—the category of students with disabilities with the highest dropout rate—and, as a dropout prevention strategy, using school-based enterprises to help special education students connect the world of academics with the world of work. Outreach projects are addressing the special transition needs of American Indians and preparing students with disabilities for technology-based postsecondary education and employment. Included among outreach projects is support for the Postsecondary Education Programs Network (PEPNet), a national collaboration of four Regional Postsecondary Education Centers that assist postsecondary institutions to attract and serve effectively individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.

In addition, we are working with the Department of Health and Human Services to develop models of comprehensive programs supporting the transition of youth with emotional disturbance, and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research supports a rehabilitation research and training center on educational supports in postsecondary education programs.

Technical Assistance and Dissemination, for which $53.5 million is requested, and Parent Information Centers, for which $26 million is requested, provide needed information to parents, teachers, administrators, and others serving children with disabilities, including information on the critically important topic of transition. Among the projects supported under the Technical Assistance and Dissemination program is the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition, which seeks to increase the capacity of national, State, and local agencies and organizations to improve secondary education and transition results for youth with disabilities and their families, and a national clearinghouse on postsecondary education for individuals with disabilities.

Parent information centers provide information and training to parents of children with disabilities to assist them to understand their children's rights, the nature of their disabilities, and their educational and developmental needs. They also help parents communicate effectively with personnel responsible for providing services and participate in decision-making processes, including the development of individualized education programs. This information and training is vital to preparing students with disabilities for the transition from school to living independently.

Our budget request also includes $90 million for Personnel Preparation activities that help address State-identified needs for qualified personnel in special education and ensure that those personnel have the skills and knowledge that are needed to successfully serve children with disabilities, including those who are making the transition from school to work or continuing education. We currently fund projects to provide training for transition personnel serving children with both low- and high-incidence disabilities.

We are also in the process of conducting several studies using funds set aside for studies and evaluations under the Grants to States program. Our request includes $16 million for this purpose in 2003. One of these studies is a 10-year, $20 million, National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS). A similar study, completed in 1993, provided us with discouraging data about the status of students with disabilities. Those data indicated a significant achievement gap between students with disabilities and their nondisabled peers, high dropout rates, and low levels of participation in postsecondary education and training programs. Other studies indicated substantial levels of unemployment and underemployment, dependence, and social isolation. The new study is advancing much of the work of the first study, examining the academic and vocational performance of secondary school students with disabilities and discerning other factors that influence school success. Additionally, the current postsecondary school and employment outcomes for young adults with disabilities will be examined. The results of this study will help inform future legislation and program priorities.

And finally, we will fund projects under the Rehabilitation Services and Disability Research account that will provide training and information to enable parents of students with disabilities to participate more effectively with rehabilitation professionals in meeting the vocational, independent living, and rehabilitation needs of their children.

Mr. Chairman, we believe that promoting, and to the maximum extent possible, ensuring high school completion, and providing effective transition services to students with disabilities is a vital part of what we do under the programs administered by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. We look forward to working with you to achieve these goals. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

This page last modified—August 2, 2006.