HJR 45: Urging the United States Congress to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 45 01 Urging the United States Congress to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities 02 Education Act. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS the state is committed to providing children in the state with a high- 05 quality education and ensuring each child has the opportunity to succeed in reaching the 06 child's full learning potential with an enriched, safe, and encouraging environment; and 07 WHEREAS the state provides access to education through public schools, including 08 neighborhood schools, charter schools, correspondence study programs, and homeschool 09 programs; and 10 WHEREAS the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that 11 public schools provide a free appropriate public education to eligible children with 12 disabilities, implemented through a tailored individualized education program and provided in 13 the least restrictive environment possible; and 14 WHEREAS eligibility for an individualized education program requires a strict, 15 rigorous, legal process using evaluations conducted by highly qualified and trained 16 professionals who provide standardized assessments and analyze comparison data involving
01 input from parents, educators, specialists, and administrative officials; and 02 WHEREAS an individualized education program is a legal and binding agreement, 03 and school districts are required to adhere to a child's individualized education program, 04 regardless of location and time of the school year; and 05 WHEREAS over 7,000,000 children in the United States qualify for special education 06 services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, an increase of more than 12 07 percent in the last decade; and 08 WHEREAS 15 percent of the student population in public schools in the state have an 09 individualized education program in one or more of the 13 federally defined disability 10 categories, including autism, deaf-blindness, emotional disturbance, hearing impairment, 11 intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, 12 specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, and visual 13 impairment; and 14 WHEREAS the state Department of Education and Early Development reports that 15 the number of children who are eligible for an individualized education program increased 16 from 18,023 students in 2014 to 20,578 students in 2024; and 17 WHEREAS there are waitlists for children to receive special education services 18 across the state in districts, communities, educational services agencies, and homeschool 19 programs; and 20 WHEREAS inadequate funding weakens not only traditional school district 21 programs, but also weakens many organizations that families depend on for critical support 22 and essential respite care; and 23 WHEREAS, when the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was enacted, the 24 United States Congress committed to fund 40 percent of the average per-pupil cost for special 25 education, but the federal government has never fulfilled this commitment; and 26 WHEREAS the federal government currently only funds approximately 13 percent of 27 the average per-pupil cost for special education; and 28 WHEREAS, since the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was enacted, the 29 closest the federal government has come to meeting the federal government's funding 30 commitment was in 2004 - 2006, when the federal government funded only 18 percent of the 31 average per-pupil cost for special education; and
01 WHEREAS federal funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has 02 not kept pace with actual costs and has remained stagnant or declined when adjusted for 03 inflation, placing an undue financial burden on families, local school districts, and supporting 04 agencies; and 05 WHEREAS this lack of federal funding has at times created an adversarial and 06 litigious relationship among public education providers and families who are seeking the 07 funding support promised to children by federal law; and 08 WHEREAS the state faces unique challenges in delivering special education services, 09 including vast geographical distances and the high cost of recruiting and retaining specialized 10 providers in rural and remote communities; and 11 WHEREAS teacher vacancies in the state are at an all-time high, especially among 12 special education and related service providers, leaving districts at risk of limiting services, 13 being unable to fill positions, contracting for outside services, and paying for expensive travel 14 costs to provide specially designed instruction for children with disabilities; and 15 WHEREAS, if the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act were fully funded, the 16 state's schools and communities could better provide children with highly qualified special 17 education teachers, essential and well-trained paraprofessionals, school psychologists, speech- 18 language specialists, occupational and physical therapists, and behavior interventionists, 19 particularly in underserved regions; and 20 WHEREAS fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act would 21 ensure children with disabilities receive the necessary resources to thrive in an inclusive 22 environment, which would likely result in higher graduation rates, increased workforce 23 participation, and greater economic contributions to the state; and 24 WHEREAS, when children receive the services and accommodations they are entitled 25 to through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, children have increased potential 26 to be skilled, productive, and talented members of our society, fulfilling a lifetime of hopes, 27 dreams, and aspirations; and 28 WHEREAS H.R. 2598, known as the "IDEA Full Funding Act," was introduced in 29 the 119th United States Congress and provides for regular, mandatory increases in funding for 30 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to meet the federal government's promise to 31 fund 40 percent of the average per-pupil cost for special education; and
01 WHEREAS H.R. 2598 specifically puts federal special education funding on a path to 02 full funding, by incrementally increasing funding from fiscal year 2026 through fiscal year 03 2035; and 04 WHEREAS the federal government has the financial capacity to fully fund the 05 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the continued underfunding of the 06 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a matter of policy choice rather than economic 07 necessity; 08 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature reaffirms its commitment to 09 provide all of the state's children with a free and public education, including by advocating for 10 full federal funding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; and be it 11 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature strongly urges the United 12 States Congress to fulfill its long-standing commitment to students with disabilities by 13 immediately passing H.R. 2598 or by increasing federal funding for the Individuals with 14 Disabilities Education Act to fund, at a minimum, 40 percent of the average per-pupil cost for 15 special education and then maintaining this funding level in perpetuity. 16 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President 17 of the United States; the Honorable JD Vance, Vice President of the United States and 18 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Mike Johnson, Speaker of the U.S. House of 19 Representatives; the Honorable Steve Scalise, Majority Leader of the U.S. House of 20 Representatives; the Honorable Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of 21 Representatives; the Honorable Chuck Grassley, President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate; the 22 Honorable John Thune, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Charles E. 23 Schumer, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Linda McMahon, United States 24 Secretary of Education; the Honorable Mike Dunleavy, Governor of Alaska; the Honorable 25 Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Nicholas 26 Begich, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress; and all other 27 members of the 119th United States Congress.