Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 5520 - Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1986

(House)
(Williams (D) Montana and 18 others)

The Administration opposes H.R. 5520 mainly because:

(1) The bill requires the provision of education and related services to all handicapped children age 3-5 as a condition of continued Federal support for that age group under the Act. States and localities, which are better able than the Federal Government to understand the need for services to young handicapped children in their jurisdictions, should decide when to initiate such services.

(2) The bill authorizes a new State grant program that appears to require health, education, and social services to all handicapped infants (and their families) from birth through age two, in participating States. As drafted, the program could adversely affect the services currently provided to children and is not clearly targeted on the basis of family income. These proposed authorities deserve much more study than they have received to date.

The Administration is extremely concerned about the major Federal, State, and local cost implications of these new authorities. Programs under the Act do not require reauthorization until next year, and hasty enactment of these provisions would be unwise and unnecessary.