Statement by Bruce A. Ramirez, Executive Director, Council for Exceptional Children
The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) applauds President Obama’s recognition that a quality education for all students in the United States is a key factor in determining the country’s future success, and we stand ready as a partner in the efforts to make sure that “when a child walks into a classroom, it should be a place of high expectations and high performances.”
CEC has long championed building respect for its more than 35,000 members -- special educators, who work every day to improve the lives of children and youth with exceptionalities -- and commends the President for acknowledging the critical role educators play in responding to the challenges of a new global marketplace.
We urge Congress to join the President’s challenge to invest in education, given that public school budgets are suffering the ill effects of the current fiscal crisis. Teachers are not only feeling the effects in their own lives, but also in their classrooms, with students whose families bear the burden of added pressures from the recession.
CEC also fully supports the President’s goal for the United States to have the highest proportion of college graduates by the end of the decade, but calls for an assurance that efforts to prepare students to be college- and career-ready must include a specific focus on the needs of individuals with disabilities. We know that students with disabilities graduate at far lower rates than students without disabilities and have far higher, unacceptable unemployment rates that only serve to detract from America’s future success.
Given the proper support, including fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), every school in the nation would benefit. The limitless potential and valuable human capital that lies within the nation’s population of students with disabilities and gifts and talents would help the nation meet its challenges.
The President called for the country to understand that “it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair.” CEC could not agree more. Our students who excel must be nurtured, but the reality is that, in 2009, less than 2 cents out of every $100 of the federal K-12 education budget was devoted to meeting the needs of the nation’s students with gifts and talents and those with disabilities.
If our nation is to remain globally competitive, we must properly address the unique learning needs of students with gifts and talents, through the President’s call to increase the investment in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) as well as other academic subject areas.
CEC is committed to working with the Administration and the Congress on reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and other legislation to raise expectations for all students.
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