The Intent and Spirit of P.L. 99-457: A Sourcebook.

The materials included in this document are intended to articulate the intent of the framers of the Education for the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1986, Public Law 99-457. The first paper, "A Window of Opportunity," is the text of a speech by Robert Silverstein, Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the Subcommittee on the Handicapped of the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources to the national meeting of Project Zero to Three, November, 1988. Mr. Silverstein discusses nine major themes that are elaborated in the provisions of P.L. 99-457 and describes their implications for state and local policymaking. The next paper, "Report 99-860" from the Committee of Education and Labor of the House of Representatives describes the background and need for P.L. 99-457 and the rationale behind each provision of the legislation. Finally, "Community-Based Service Systems for Children with Special Health Care Needs and Their Families," by Josephine Gittler of the National Maternal and Child Health Resources Center describes a vision of family-center coordinated care that helped to form the conceptual foundation of P.L. 99-457. (PB)