[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 466 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 466

To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to fully fund 
40 percent of the average per pupil expenditure for programs under part 
                             B of such Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 6, 2001

   Mr. Hagel (for himself, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Dodd, Mr. 
Roberts, Mr. Harkin, Ms. Collins, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Snowe, and Mr. Reed) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
          Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to fully fund 
40 percent of the average per pupil expenditure for programs under part 
                             B of such Act.

    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 ``Helping Children Succeed by Fully 
Funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) All children deserve a quality education.
            (2) In Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children vs. 
        Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (334 F. Supp. 1247)(E. Dist. Pa. 
        1971), and Mills vs. Board of Education of the District of 
        Columbia (348 F. Supp. 866)(Dist. D.C. 1972), the courts found 
        that children with disabilities are entitled to an equal 
        opportunity to an education under the 14th amendment of the 
        Constitution.
            (3) In 1975, Congress passed what is now known as the 
        Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (referred to in 
        this Act as ``IDEA'') (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) to help States 
        provide all children with disabilities a free, appropriate 
        public education in the least restrictive environment. At full 
        funding, Congress contributes 40 percent of the average per 
        pupil expenditure for each child with a disability served.
            (4) Before 1975, only \1/5\ of the children with 
        disabilities received a formal education. At that time, many 
        States had laws that specifically excluded many children with 
        disabilities, including children who were blind, deaf, or 
        emotionally disturbed, from receiving such an education.
            (5) IDEA currently serves an estimated 200,000 infants and 
        toddlers, 600,000 preschoolers, and 5,400,000 children 6 to 21 
        years of age.
            (6) IDEA enables children with disabilities to be educated 
        in their communities, and thus, has assisted in dramatically 
        reducing the number of children with disabilities who must live 
        in State institutions away from their families.
            (7) The number of children with disabilities who complete 
        high school has grown significantly since the enactment of 
        IDEA.
            (8) The number of children with disabilities who enroll in 
        college as freshmen has more than tripled since the enactment 
        of IDEA.
            (9) The overall effectiveness of IDEA depends upon well 
        trained special education and general education teachers, 
        related services personnel, and other school personnel. 
        Congress recognizes concerns about the nationwide shortage of 
        personnel serving students with disabilities and the need for 
        improvement in the qualifications of such personnel.
            (10) IDEA has raised the Nation's awareness about the 
        abilities and capabilities of children with disabilities.
            (11) Improvements to IDEA in the 1997 amendments increased 
        the academic achievement of children with disabilities and 
        helped them to lead productive, independent lives.
            (12) Changes made in 1997 also addressed the needs of those 
        children whose behavior impedes learning by implementing 
        behavioral assessments and intervention strategies to ensure 
        that they receive appropriate supports in order to receive a 
        quality education.
            (13) IDEA requires a full partnership between parents of 
        children with disabilities and education professionals in the 
        design and implementation of the educational services provided 
        to children with disabilities.
            (14) While the Federal Government has more than doubled 
        funding for part B of IDEA since 1995, the Federal Government 
        has never provided more than 15 percent of the maximum State 
        grant allocation for educating children with disabilities.
            (15) By fully funding IDEA, Congress will strengthen the 
        ability of States and localities to implement the requirements 
        of IDEA.

SEC. 3. MANDATORY FUNDING.

    Section 611(j) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 
(29 U.S.C. 1411(j)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(j) Mandatory Funding.--For the purpose of carrying out this 
part, other than section 619, there are authorized to be appropriated, 
and there are appropriated--
            ``(1) $8,823,685,000 for fiscal year 2002;
            ``(2) $11,323,685,000 for fiscal year 2003;
            ``(3) $13,823,685,000 for fiscal year 2004;
            ``(4) $16,323,685,000 for fiscal year 2005;
            ``(5) $18,823,685,000 for fiscal year 2006; and
            ``(6) not more than $21,323,685,000 or the sum of the 
        maximum amount that all States may receive under subsection 
        (a)(2), whichever is lower, for fiscal year 2007.''.
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