84
Thomas, J., dissenting
derman, 451 U. S. 1, 17 (1981). See also Rowley, supra, at 190, n. 11; South Dakota v. Dole, 483 U. S. 203, 207 (1987); New York v. United States, 505 U. S. 144, 158 (1992). This is because a law that "condition[s] an offer of federal funding on a promise by the recipient . . . amounts essentially to a contract between the Government and the recipient of funds." Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School Dist., 524 U. S. 274, 286 (1998). As such, "[t]he legitimacy of Congress' power to legislate under the spending power . . . rests on whether the State voluntarily and knowingly accepts the terms of the 'contract.' There can, of course, be no knowing acceptance if a State is unaware of the conditions or is unable to ascertain what is expected of it." Pennhurst, supra, at 17 (citations omitted). It follows that we must interpret Spending Clause legislation narrowly, in order to avoid saddling the States with obligations that they did not anticipate.
The majority's approach in this case turns this Spending Clause presumption on its head. We have held that, in enacting IDEA, Congress wished to require "States to educate handicapped children with nonhandicapped children whenever possible," Rowley, supra, at 202. Congress, however, also took steps to limit the fiscal burdens that States must bear in attempting to achieve this laudable goal. These steps include requiring States to provide an education that is only "appropriate" rather than requiring them to maximize the potential of disabled students, see 20 U. S. C. § 1400(c); Rowley, supra, at 200, recognizing that integration into the public school environment is not always possible, see § 1412(5), and clarifying that, with a few exceptions, public schools need not provide "medical services" for disabled students, §§ 1401(a)(17) and (18).
For this reason, we have previously recognized that Congress did not intend to "impos[e] upon the States a burden of unspecified proportions and weight" in enacting IDEA. Rowley, supra, at 190, n. 11. These federalism concerns require us to interpret IDEA's related services provision, con-
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