[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1373 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1373

 To provide options to States to innovate and improve the education of 
 children with disabilities by expanding the choices for students and 
     parents under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 20, 2003

Mr. DeMint (for himself, Mr. Boehner, Mr. Hoekstra, Mrs. Musgrave, and 
 Mr. Feeney) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide options to States to innovate and improve the education of 
 children with disabilities by expanding the choices for students and 
     parents under the Individuals with Disabilities Education 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 the ``IDEA Parental Choice Act of 2003''.

 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT.

    (a) Research and Innovation To Improve Services and Results for 
Children With Disabilities.--Section 672(b)(2) of the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1472(b)(2)) is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
                    ``(I) Supporting the post-award planning and 
                design, and the initial implementation (which may 
                include costs for informing the community, acquiring 
                necessary equipment and supplies, and other initial 
                operational costs), during a period of not more than 3 
                years, of State programs that allow the parent of a 
                child with a disability to make a genuine independent 
                choice of the appropriate public or private school for 
                their child, if the program--
                            ``(i) requires that the child--
                                    ``(I) have been determined to be a 
                                child with a disability in accordance 
                                with section 614;
                                    ``(II) have spent the prior school 
                                year in attendance at a public 
                                elementary or secondary school unless 
                                the child was served under section 619 
                                or part C during such year; and
                                    ``(III) have in effect an 
                                individualized education program (as 
                                defined in section 614(d)(1)(A));
                            ``(ii) permits the parent to receive from 
                        the eligible entity funds to be used to pay 
                        some or all of the costs of attendance at the 
                        selected school (which may include tuition, 
                        fees, and transportation costs);
                            ``(iii) prohibits the selected school from 
                        discriminating against eligible students on the 
                        basis of race, color, or national origin; and
                            ``(iv) requires the selected school to be 
                        academically accountable to the parent for 
                        meeting the educational needs of the 
                        student.''.
    (b) Children Enrolled in Private Schools By Their Parents.--Section 
612(a)(10)(A) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 
U.S.C. 1412(a)(10)(A)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iii) Parent option program.--If a State 
                        has established a program described in section 
                        672(b)(2)(I) (whether statewide or in limited 
                        areas of the State) that allows a parent of a 
                        child with a disability to use public funds to 
                        pay some or all of the costs of attendance at a 
                        public or private school--
                                    ``(I) funds allocated to the State 
                                under section 611 may be used to 
                                supplement those public funds, if the 
                                Federal funds are distributed to 
                                parents who make a genuine independent 
                                choice as to the appropriate school for 
                                their child;
                                    ``(II) the authorization of a 
                                parent to exercise this option fulfills 
                                the State's obligation under paragraph 
                                (1) with respect to the child during 
                                the period in which the child is 
                                enrolled in the selected school; and
                                    ``(III) a private school accepting 
                                those funds shall be deemed, for both 
                                the programs and services delivered to 
                                the child, to be providing a free 
                                appropriate public education and to be 
                                in compliance with section 504 of the 
                                Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 
                                794).''.
    (c) Permissive Use of Funds.--Section 613(a)(4) of the Individuals 
with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1413(a)(4)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Supplemental educational services for 
                children with disabilities in schools designated for 
                improvement.--For the reasonable additional expenses 
                (as determined by the local educational agency) of any 
                necessary accommodations to allow children with 
                disabilities who are being educated in a school 
                identified for school improvement under section 1116(b) 
                of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
                (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)) to be provided supplemental 
                educational services under section 1116(e) of such Act 
                on an equitable basis, if such children with 
                disabilities are eligible children (as defined in 
                section 1116(e)(12)(A) of such Act).''.
    (d) Allowing Children To Receive Early Intervention Services Until 
Age 6.--
            (1) In general.--Section 632(5) of the Individuals with 
        Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1432(5)) is amended--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) may also include, at a State's discretion, a 
                child aged 3 through 5, who previously received 
                services under this part and who is eligible for 
                services under section 619, if services provided to 
                this age group under this part include an educational 
                component that promotes school readiness and 
                incorporates scientifically based pre-literacy, 
                language, and numeracy skills.''.
            (2) Requirements for statewide system.--Section 635 of the 
        Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1435) is 
        amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Treatment of Children Aged 3 through 5.--If a State includes 
children described in section 632(5)(C) in the system described in 
section 633, the State shall be considered to have fulfilled any 
obligation under part B with respect to the provision of a free 
appropriate public education to those children during the period in 
which they are receiving services under this part.''.
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