A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n
Speeches and Testimony
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Statement by
Judith E. Heumann
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
Before the
U.S. House of Representatives
Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services and Education
On the
Fiscal Year 2000 Budget Request
for Special Institutions for Persons with Disabilities
March 11, 1999
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
It is my pleasure to appear before you on behalf of the Special Institutions for Persons with Disabilities, which include the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), and Gallaudet University. As you know, Dr. I. King Jordan, President of Gallaudet University, had an unavoidable conflict with today's scheduled hearing. Dr. Jordan and I are rescheduled to appear before you on March 18 to review Gallaudet University's fiscal year 2000 budget request. I will provide a separate statement addressing the President's request for Gallaudet at that time.
The Special Institutions provide specialized programs and services to students with disabilities. The Department helps ensure that each institution provides services and programs in compliance with the requirements of its respective authorizing legislation and that these activities meet the needs of the students for whom they are intended.
I am pleased to present the Department's testimony on behalf of the President's fiscal year 2000 budget for these institutions. I would like to take a few minutes to summarize the budget request and to comment on several key issues. Then representatives of the Printing House and NTID will provide specific testimony in support of the budget request for their respective programs.
Budget Request
The total budget request for the Special Institutions is $142.02 million. Within this amount, our request includes $8.973 million for the American Printing House for the Blind and $47.925 million for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. The Department is pleased to be able to provide support for these important programs, and for the children and adults with disabilities who will benefit from their services. Operations and Initiatives
The Department's request of $8.973 million for the American Printing House for the Blind is an increase of $312,000 above the fiscal year 1999 appropriation level. The fiscal year 2000 request also would retain $140,000 that was included in the fiscal year 1999 appropriation for nonrecurring initiatives. The combination of the proposed increase and the funds retained from 1999 will be used to provide $155,000 to help offset the effect of inflation in program operations and increased funding for a number of special projects. These projects include: $70,000 to expand the Expert Database Service under advisory services, $23,000 to expand the LOUIS Student-Use Initiative, $100,000 to upgrade the LOUIS Database of Books and Media and the APH web site, $44,000 to develop new protocols for assessing visual functioning among persons with visual impairments, $4,000 to initiate a project to develop tactile graphics for children's storybooks, and $56,000 for a project on the use of optical aids to assist students with visual impairments to function more effectively in the classroom.
Our request of $47.925 million for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf is an increase of $2.425 million over the fiscal year 1999 appropriation. The 2000 request also would retain $1.359 million that was included in the fiscal year 1999 appropriation for a number of one-time projects. The combination of the increase in funding above the 1999 level and the $1.359 million retained from 1999 would be used to provide an increase of $883,000 for operations to help offset the effect of inflation, an additional $250,000 for the Endowment Grant program, and $2.651 million for the first phase of a major project to renovate the NTID dormitories.
Endowment Funds
The Department has included a separate request of $250,000 for the endowment grant program for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in order to expand the NTID fundraising program and provide a further inducement to donors to support its programs. As we have in previous years, our request provides NTID the flexibility to use current-year program funds for its endowment grant program. This provides the Institute with the discretion to determine whether and how much of the appropriation to use for matching purposes. The Department believes these funds help promote the financial independence of NTID and provide a permanent and increasing source of funds for special projects. Construction Funds
The Department has included a separate request of $2.651 million for the first phase of a major dormitory renovation project. The NTID dormitories were built over twenty-five years ago and are now in need of extensive updating and renovation. In addition to overall improvements, the renovations would satisfy code and life safety requirements. At this time, the total remaining cost for the project is $12 million. NTID has requested these funds in two increments, $3.119 million for fiscal year 2000 and $8.881 million for fiscal year 2001. After careful review and analyses, the Department has concluded that it would be reasonable to require NTID to raise a minimal match of 15 percent of the cost of the project from private sources. NTID has demonstrated excellent fundraising ability in recent years, raising over $10 million in its first capital campaign and matching $2 million toward the Federal Endowment Grant program over the past two years. The fiscal year 2000 budget request, therefore, includes $2.651 million, or 85 percent, of the amount requested for the first phase of this construction project. Performance Measures
The Department continues to work closely with the Special Institutions to monitor and update their Annual Program Performance Plans to comply with the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA). The plans that have been submitted to Congress for the Institutions include the key performance measures the Department believes are appropriate for inclusion in the GPRA plans. In addition, for each institution, there are other measures that are not included in the annual performance plans submitted to Congress that will be used by the institutions to oversee internal operations, and by the Department for monitoring purposes. An example of a key measure for the American Printing House is how the materials that are provided through the Act affect student performance. The Printing House conducted a survey of its Ex Officio Trustees in fiscal year 1998 to better understand the impact of its educational materials on the performance of students. Ninety-eight percent of the trustees reported that the performance of students and their participation in their educational programs had improved due to the availability of educational materials provided through the Act. The Printing House will continue to survey its Trustees on an annual basis. In addition, APH plans to initiate an annual survey of teachers, beginning in fiscal year 1999, to continue to collect data on the effect of the materials provided through the Act on the performance of students.
A major objective of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf is to maximize the number of students successfully completing a program of study. In response, NTID has set enrollment targets for its various programs. The retention of students during the first year also plays a significant role in ensuring that students successfully complete a program of study. Studies by the University of North Carolina's Center on the First Year Experience indicate that the majority of students that drop out of college do so in the first year. NTID has launched a First Year Experiences program for all entering students to better prepare and track students during this crucial period. In fiscal year 1998, NTID's first-year student retention rate was 71 percent. NTID has set a target of 73 percent for its retention rate for 2000.
We are pleased with the efforts the institutions have made in working with the Department to develop and track these measures, which we believe are vitally important to the missions of their respective programs.
Education of the Deaf Act
The Higher Education Act (HEA) Amendments of 1998 reauthorized the Education of the Deaf Act (EDA). Some of the major amendments to the EDA include broadening the financial audit requirements to include the Institute's compliance with specific sections of the EDA, increasing the limit on enrollment of international students from 10 to 15 percent of total enrollment, and increasing the tuition surcharge for international students from 90 percent to 100 percent, beginning with school year 1999-2000. The Amendments also added a requirement for NTID to establish and disseminate priorities for deafness-related research, development and demonstration activities through a public process and to submit an annual research report to the Secretary and the authorizing committees of each house of Congress. In addition, the Amendments made several changes to the endowment grant provisions of the EDA. For example, the Amendments specified that Federal contributions to the Endowment Grant program must be matched during the fiscal year in which the appropriations are made available. The Department is generally very pleased with these changes to the EDA legislation.
In fiscal year 2000, the Department plans to continue to work closely with the Special Institutions for Persons with Disabilities to ensure that Federal funds are being used efficiently and effectively to expand educational opportunities for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and individuals who are blind.
My colleagues and I will be happy to respond to any questions you may have.
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Last Updated -- March 11, 1999(mjj)