[ Remarks of Judith E. Heumann, Assistant Secretary ]
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Bill Signing Ceremony
Good morning. I am Dick Riley, the U.S. Secretary of Education, and I want to welcome all of you to this bill signing that has been a long time coming. I thank you for your patience and your good cheer. I just wish I could bring up some South Carolina sunshine to warm you up.
I want to welcome the many members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats, who are here today -- men and women who worked so hard to make sure that this legislation passed both houses of the Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support.
This was not an easy task. There were significant issues that had to be resolved. But to their credit -- the members of the bipartisan working group -- did the hard work that had to be done to get us to this day.
Mr. President, the children here today represent millions of children with disabilities who want to learn, who can learn, and will learn if we give them the help they need and they deserve. I have been to school after school, and I can tell you this -- that when we include these young people in the learning process -- and give their teachers the support they need -- these young people thrive.
We have come a long way since IDEA was first passed 22 years ago, and we still have a ways to go. Progress has come in fits and starts. There are parents here and throughout America who have had to fight every inch of the way to make sure that their children got a first class education.
But there has been literally a sea change in attitude. And at the very core of this sea change is the growing recognition that expectations matter a great deal.
If you keep people down, no matter who they are, they tend to stay down -- that is why we cannot have an educational system that is defined by low expectations for any child -- disabled and non-disabled. We need to aim high for all of our children, and especially for the young people who are now included and learning to higher standards because of IDEA.
And I can tell you this. We are a better country because disabled Americans have used IDEA to tell us a story that all Americans need to hear -- that no child should be shunted aside because we do not think that they can learn -- that every young person should be given the skills that they need in order to live independently -- and that every American with a disability has a contribution to make to building up our society.
Disabled Americans are -- our brothers and sisters -- our friends and relatives -- our co-workers and business partners -- and every day they teach us lessons about rising to the challenge, fighting for your principles, and the commitment of families to do what is right for their children. They teach us about faith, hope and love and that the greatest of these is love.
This is why I am so pleased to introduce Judy Heumann, my Assistant Secretary, and to recognize Tom Hehir, who runs our Office of Special Education programs. They -- and their staffs -- have done the hard work -- over the last two-and-a-half years -- that has gotten us to this day.
Judy has all those qualities that define leadership. She is committed. She knows her facts. She has a capacity to reach out to others. She is strong-willed. And she will not give up. Before Judy joined your Administration, Mr. President, she was already well known as a national leader and advocate for independent living for Americans with disabilities. In choosing Judy -- Mr. President -- you chose a fighter and a leader with a heart as big as a mountain.
So, it is with great pleasure that I introduce to you Judy Heumann. Thank you.
-###-
[ Return to Speeches and Testimony ]
[ Remarks of Judith E. Heumann, Assistant Secretary ]