[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1226 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1226

To coordinate efforts in collecting and analyzing data on the incidence 
 and prevalence of developmental disabilities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 10, 2003

Mrs. Clinton (for herself, Ms. Collins, Mrs. Murray, and Mr. Bingaman) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
          Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To coordinate efforts in collecting and analyzing data on the incidence 
 and prevalence of developmental disabilities, and for other purposes.

    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 ``2003 Act to Prevent Developmental 
Disabilities in Education''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Seventeen percent of children in the United States 
        under 18 years of age have a developmental disability.
            (2) Since 1977, enrollment in special education programs 
        for children with learning disabilities has doubled.
            (3) Federal and State education departments spend about 
        $43,000,000,000 each year on special education programs for 
        individuals with developmental disabilities who are between 3 
        and 21 years of age.
            (4) Research suggests that genetic factors explain only 10 
        to 20 percent of developmental diseases, and a National Academy 
        of Sciences study suggests that at least 28 percent of 
        developmental disabilities are due to environmental causes.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to ensure a 
collaborative tracking effort between the Department of Education and 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for developmental 
disabilities and potential environmental links.

SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TRACKING ACTIVITIES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Education (in this section 
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall coordinate efforts with the 
Director of the National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental 
Disabilities of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (in this 
section referred to as the ``Director'') in collecting and analyzing 
data on the incidence and prevalence of developmental disabilities to 
determine localities with a high incidence of developmental 
disabilities and study possible causes of the increased incidence of 
these diseases, disorders, and conditions.
    (b) Existing Surveillance Systems, Registries, and Surveys.--To the 
maximum extent practicable in implementing the activities under this 
section, the Secretary and the Director shall develop methods for 
reconciling data collected in accordance with the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) on the prevalence 
of developmental disabilities with existing surveillance and data 
collection systems, registries, and surveys that are administered by 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including--
            (1) State birth defects surveillance systems as supported 
        under section 317C of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
        247b-4); and
            (2) environmental public health tracking program grants 
        authorized under section 301 of the Public Health Service Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 241).
    (c) Privacy.--In pursuing activities under this section, the 
Secretary and the Director shall ensure the protection of individual 
health privacy consistent with regulations promulgated in accordance 
with section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and 
Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320d-2 note), the Family 
Educational Right to Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g), and State and local 
privacy regulations, as applicable.
                                 <all>