Happy birthday, IDEA
It's a good thing you didn't die at birth, and it was close!
US President Gerald Ford signed the Education of All Handicapped Children (now called Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) into law on 29 November 1975. It’s a cause for celebration in my view. So, hoo-rah-ray for IDEA!
As US education—and other parts of Earth that have been influenced by IDEA—edge ahead to the 50th anniversary of the signing of the law, it’s a good time (in my view) to remember that the law could have died at birth. President Ford received advice from parts of his administration that he should veto the bill.
Documenting events
In search of a photograph of President Ford signing EAHCA into law (readers may be familiar with such photos showing a seated US president holding a pen while a dignitaries—usually men—stand around him and the desk), I searched the photo archives at President Ford’s library, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum. So I checked the calendar of Mr. Ford’s activities for 29 November 1975, and I learned that he had breakfast, met with some family members (and some of their friends), took a helicopter to a nearby airbase where he greeted some diplomats, flew from that airbase to Alaska, addressed a crowd after being introduced by Senator Stevens of Alaska, said goodby to Betty Ford, changed into arctic weather gear, rode to a different location with a businessman, toured a oil pipeline pumping station (accompanied by a batch of business people (all men, BTW)…all events with times “in” and “out.” Here’s an image of the first page of that calendar of events.
As SET readers can see, there’s substantial detail about the president’s day. If one reviews the entire record for that day, though, there is nary a mention of the signing 94-142.
Presidential file on 94-142
By reviewing additional documents in the archive of presidential papers at the Ford Library, however, I found better records. In “Box 33 ‘11/29/75 S6 Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (1')’ of the White House Records Office: Legislation Case Files” I located a folder of documents that the White House staff had prepared for the president’s review.
The documents summarize concerns the president should consider in deciding whether to sign the bill into law or veto it. The documents include (a) background (goals and history of the bill), (b) the budget impact, (c) arguments for approving the bill, (d) arguments for vetoing it, (e) cabinet and other agencies’ recommendations, (f) advisors’ comments, and (g) recommendation.
That’s just the 5-page executive summary! There are > 70 more pages in that file. Perhaps some readers have already reviewed the entire file, but if you have not done so, it would be a fun (haha) way to spend an afternoon.
I’ll just pull out a couple of points here (for fear of losing the few readers who are still reading this post at this juncture!):
Only one agency (Civil Service Commission) of seven recommended approving the bill. Four (Interior, Justice, Labor, and General Services Administration) registered “no objection.”1 Two agencies (Office of Management and Budget and, importantly, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare) recommended disapproval.
Of course, as we know, President Ford signed the bill. A memo indicates that he called the decision a “read toughie.” The stamp indicates that the date was “NOV 29 1975.” Here’s an image of the cover memo:
The signing statement, published 2 December 1975, reads as if President Ford didn’t want to approve the bill.
It begins, “Unfortunately, this bill promises more than the Federal Government can deliver and its good intentions could be thwarted by the many unwise provisions it contains. Everyone can agree with the objective stated in the title of this bill--educating all handicapped children in our nation. The key question is whether the bill will really accomplish that objective.”
It ends, “Fortunately, since the provisions of this bill will not become fully effective until fiscal year 1978, there is time to revise the legislation and come up with a program that is effective and realistic. I will work with the Congress to use this time to design a program which will.recognize the proper Federal role in helping States and localities fulfill their responsibilities in e.ducating handicapped children. The Administration will send amendments to the Congress that will accomplish this purpose.
Summary
So, IDEA wasn’t recommended the cabinet office (HEW) that was to administer it, though the secretary of HEW did say privately that the recommendation to veto was essentially to give Ford room to do so). President Ford was reluctant to sign it. But he did, explaining his reluctance in a signing memo.
Still today we celebrate 49 years of having a law that was designed to ensure a free and appropriate public education for individuals with disabilities.
Happy b’day, IDEA!
Additional resources
For excellent insights into the conditions, situations, and actions that led to the authorization of IDEA, I recommend Edwin Martin’s (2013), Breakthrough. For more about the history of EAHCA and IDEA, see the US Department of Education’s IDEA history page. To read previous posts from SET about the anniversary of IDEA, see “IDEA is 46!” and “Timeline: H 47th B'day, US IDEA law!” and “HB, P. L. 94-142!”
Reference
Martin, E. W. (2013). Breakthrough: Federal special education legislation 1963-1981. Bardolf.
Footnote
It’s not clear to me whether “no objection” means that the agency didn’t object to vetoing the bill or to signing it. Anyone have a clearer reading?
Nice sleuthing, John!
Great work finding those docs!! So fun to read the actual original sources. Gives such a unique perspective. “No objection” from the other depts, which could be impacted by the bill, means no objection to that bill.
The big issues then, as they are today, were funding and states rights. The fed gov wanted the states to fund and take ownership of educating ALL students—including those with disabilities.