[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1912 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1912

  To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to provide 
    full funding for assistance for education of all children with 
                             disabilities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 17, 2001

 Mr. Simmons introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to provide 
    full funding for assistance for education of all children with 
                             disabilities.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Keeping Our Promise to Special 
Education Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Children with disabilities are guaranteed an equal 
        opportunity to an education under the 14th Amendment to the 
        Constitution.
            (2) While States and local educational agencies are 
        responsible for providing an education for all children with 
        disabilities, it is in the national interest that the Federal 
        Government have a role in assisting State and local efforts to 
        educate children with disabilities in order to improve results 
        for those children and to ensure equal protection of the law.
            (3) It is estimated that the excess expense of educating a 
        child with a disability is equal to 40 percent of the national 
        average per pupil expenditure.
            (4) Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 
        Congress committed the Federal Government to contributing up to 
        40 percent of the national average per pupil expenditure for 
        the purpose of educating children with disabilities.
            (5) To date, the Federal Government has never contributed 
        more than 15 percent of the maximum state grant allocation for 
        educating children with disabilities under the Individuals with 
        Disabilities Education Act.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    It is the purpose of this Act to reach the Federal Government's 
goal of providing 40 percent of the national average per pupil 
expenditure for the purpose of education all children with disabilities 
by fiscal year 2011.

SEC. 4. AMOUNT OF GRANT FOR STATES UNDER PART B OF THE INDIVIDUALS WITH 
              DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT.

    (a) In General.--Section 611(a) of the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1411(a)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (4); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
            ``(2) Minimum amounts.--The minimum amount of the grant a 
        State is entitled to receive under this section is--
                    ``(A) the number of children with disabilities in 
                the State who are receiving special education and 
                related services--
                            ``(i) aged 3 through 5 if the State is 
                        eligible for a grant under section 619; and
                            ``(ii) aged 6 through 21; multiplied by
                    ``(B) the following percentages of the average 
                current per-pupil expenditure in public elementary and 
                secondary schools in the United States for the 
                following fiscal years:
                            ``(i) 20 percent for fiscal year 2002.
                            ``(ii) 22 percent for fiscal year 2003.
                            ``(iii) 24 percent for fiscal year 2004.
                            ``(iv) 26 percent for fiscal year 2005.
                            ``(v) 28 percent for fiscal year 2006.
                            ``(vi) 30 percent for fiscal year 2007.
                            ``(vii) 32 percent for fiscal year 2008.
                            ``(viii) 34 percent for fiscal year 2009.
                            ``(ix) 37 percent for fiscal year 2010.
                            ``(x) 40 percent for fiscal year 2011 and 
                        each subsequent fiscal year.
            ``(3) No individual entitlement.--Paragraph (2) shall not 
        be interpreted to entitle any individual to assistance under 
        any State program, project, or activity funded under this 
        part.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--(1) Section 611 of the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1411) is amended by striking 
subsection (j).
    (2) Section 611 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 
(20 U.S.C. 1411), as amended by paragraph (1), is further amended--
            (A) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``From the amount 
        appropriated for any fiscal year under subsection (j), the 
        Secretary shall reserve not more than one percent, which shall 
        be used'' and inserting ``From the amount available for any 
        fiscal year to carry out this part (other than section 619), 
        the Secretary shall use not more than one percent'';
            (B) in subsection (c), by striking ``From the amount 
        appropriated for any fiscal year under subsection (j), the 
        Secretary shall reserve'' and inserting ``From the amount 
        available for any fiscal year to carry out this part (other 
        than section 619), the Secretary shall use'';
            (C) in subsection (d)--
                    (i) in paragraph (1)--
                            (I) by striking ``(1) In general.--''; and
                            (II) by striking ``paragraph (2) or 
                        subsection (e), as the case may be'' and 
                        inserting ``subsection (e)''; and
                    (ii) by striking paragraph (2);
            (D) in subsection (e)--
                    (i) in the heading, by striking ``Permanent'';
                    (ii) in paragraph (1)--
                            (I) by striking ``subsection (d)(1)'' and 
                        inserting ``subsection (d)''; and
                            (II) by inserting after ``subsection (j)'' 
                        the following: ``(as such subsection was in 
                        effect on the day before the date of the 
                        enactment of the Keeping Our Promise to Special 
                        Education Act of 2001)''; and
                    (iii) in paragraph (3)(B)--
                            (I) in clause (ii)--
                                    (aa) in subclause (I)(bb), by 
                                striking ``amount appropriated under 
                                subsection (j)'' and inserting ``amount 
                                available to carry out this part (other 
                                than section 619)'';
                                    (bb) in subclause (II)(bb), by 
                                striking ``appropriated'' and inserting 
                                ``available''; and
                                    (cc) in subclause (III)(bb), by 
                                striking ``appropriated'' and inserting 
                                ``available''; and
                            (II) in clause (iii)(II), by striking 
                        ``appropriated'' and inserting ``available'';
            (E) in subsection (g)--
                    (i) in paragraph (2)--
                            (I) by striking subparagraph (A);
                            (II) by striking ``(B) Permanent 
                        procedure.--'';
                            (III) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) 
                        and subclauses (I) and (II) as subparagraphs 
                        (A) and (B) and clauses (i) and (ii), 
                        respectively; and
                            (IV) in subparagraph (B) (as redesignated), 
                        by striking ``clause (i)'' and inserting 
                        ``subparagraph (A)''; and
                    (ii) in paragraph (3)(A)--
                            (I) in clause (i)(I), by striking 
                        ``appropriated'' and inserting ``available'';
                            (II) in clause (ii), by striking 
                        ``appropriated'' and inserting ``available''; 
                        and
            (F) in subsection (i)(3)(A), by striking ``appropriated 
        under subsection (j)'' and inserting ``available to carry out 
        this part (other than section 619)''.

SEC. 5. USE OF CERTAIN FUNDS UNDER THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES 
              EDUCATION ACT.

    Section 613(a)(2)(C) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
Act (20 U.S.C. 1413(a)(2)(C)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); and
            (2) by inserting after clause (i) the following:
                            ``(ii) If a local educational agency 
                        chooses to utilize the authority under clause 
                        (i) to treat as local funds up to 20 percent of 
                        the amount of funds the agency receives under 
                        this part that exceeds the amount it received 
                        under this part for the previous fiscal year, 
                        then the agency shall use those local funds to 
                        provide additional funding for programs under 
                        the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
                        1965, including, but not limited to, programs 
                        that address school safety, teacher quality and 
                        professional development, before and after 
                        school learning opportunities, comprehensive 
                        school reform and literacy, class size 
                        reduction, school construction and 
                        modernization, or related education programs 
                        authorized under Federal or State law.''.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take effect on 
October 1, 2001.
                                 <all>