[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 57 (Tuesday, May 6, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4007-S4008]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BOND:
  S. 706. A bill to amend the Individuals With Disabilities Education 
Act to permit the use of long-term disciplinary measures against 
students who are children with disabilities, to provide for a 
limitation on the provision of educational services to children with 
disabilities who engage in behaviors that are unrelated to their 
disabilities, and to require educational entities to include in the 
educational records of students who are children without disabilities 
documentation with regard to disciplinary measures taken against such 
students, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Labor and Human 
Resources.


              the school security improvement act of 1997

  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, today I am introducing the School Security 
Improvement Act of 1997. This legislation will make some needed reforms 
to the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act [IDEA]. The goal of 
this act is to preserve the rights of students with disabilities while 
granting local school districts more flexibility to discipline violent 
and disruptive students. This legislation also focuses on reducing 
litigation and unnecessary attorneys' fees.
  Last week, I traveled through my home State of Missouri to discuss 
this measure with school district superintendents, principals, school 
board members, special education directors, and parents. The top two 
concerns mentioned, without exception, were safety and discipline of 
all students in the public school system. The rising incidences of 
school violence and current inflexible Federal mandates have made IDEA 
reform a high priority issue for educators and parents around the 
country. Current law prohibits removal of a disabled child from the 
classroom for more than 10 days--even if he or she becomes violent, 
commits a crime, or threatens other children--unless permission is 
granted by a parent. IDEA has created a separate category of students 
that are not bound by the rules of conduct required of their students, 
even when their behavior is not related to their disability.
  My primary concern is creating a safe learning environment for all 
children. In attempting to provide good education services to disabled 
students, which I fully support, we have unfortunately created a 
situation where some kids can hide behind their disability in 
displaying some outrageous behavior. For instance, I know a case where 
a young man who sold drugs at school was still in the classroom a year 
later, even though his crime was not related to his disability. What 
does that say to other kids, particularly when for them the same crime 
would bring an automatic 1-year expulsion? In another horrendous case, 
a student stabbed a classmate with scissors and was back in the 
classroom in just 10 days.
  The School Security Improvement Act of 1997 will eliminate the double 
standard that currently exists between special education and general 
education children. All students, disabled or not, should receive the 
same discipline for the same behavior. I believe this is appropriate 
when the behavior of the child is not related to their disability. 
Children must learn that there are consequences for violating the 
rules. Good education demands discipline and standards of conduct.
  In an effort to ensure that the students, teachers, and school 
employees remain safe within the educational environment, this bill 
requires schools to include in the records of a child with a disability 
a statement of disciplinary action taken against the student and allows 
intrastate and interstate transfer of records from one district to 
another. The records issue has been brought to the forefront because of 
several instances when disabled students have caused serious problems 
and school officials were unaware that the student had a record of 
similar activities in other schools.
  I believe that all students with disabilities need and deserve access 
to educational services to meet their individual needs. However, in 
those occasional circumstances when a student becomes so violent or 
dangerous, and their behavior significantly disrupts the educational 
process and they become a danger to themselves or others, or create an 
environment in which learning cannot occur, then the rights of others 
in the school to have a safe and effective learning environment must 
take precedence.
  The School Security Improvement Act of 1997 will enable school 
administrators, those who are closest to the problem, to remove 
dangerous students with disabilities who pose a threat to the safety of 
others from the classroom and make temporary alternative placements to 
ensure the safety of all students until a more appropriate placement is 
determined. When these students are able to behave appropriately, they 
will be returned to the classroom.
  The current IDEA provision requiring local school districts to 
reimburse attorneys' fees incurred by parents who elect to initiate 
litigation has had the predictable result of encouraging such 
litigation and of driving up special education costs. The dispute-
resolution procedures has become extremely adversarial and costly. 
Studies have found that the amount of special education litigation has 
dramatically increased in recent years. Sadly, some parent attorneys 
seem encouraged to use due process, as a fishing expedition or to 
threaten districts with protracted litigation over non-issues as a 
tactic to force school districts to comply with parental demands.
  This practice only serves to reduce district funds available to meet 
the needs of students with disabilities. Clearly, we need reasonable 
reforms to the dispute-resolution process to ensure that scarce 
educational funds are used for educational services for our children.
  I firmly believe that children with disabilities must be guaranteed a 
free appropriate education. Yet no school district should have to cut 
services to any student so it can pay attorneys'

[[Page S4008]]

fees. But, because of the explosion of litigation in this area, 
educational services for all students are being endangered.
  Under the School Security Improvement Act of 1997, local school 
districts will be permitted to provide alternative educational 
placement for children who threaten the safety of others. For some 
children, it is absolutely appropriate to swiftly and permanently 
remove them from the regular classroom setting. The law should not 
prohibit local school officials from acting on their own authority to 
discipline dangerous and unruly students.
  The School Security Improvement Act will give local school districts 
the authority and flexibility to ensure that the students and the 
personnel are provided educational and working environments that are 
safe and orderly.
  Mr. President, when the Federal Government enacted IDEA, it promised 
to fund 40 percent of the national average per pupil expenditure. 
Today, the Federal Government funds only 7 percent. My bill contains a 
provision expressing a sense of the Senate that the Federal portion of 
educating students with disabilities should be fully funded. In recent 
years, costly regulations have dramatically increased, placing a 
tremendous strain on local school districts. The time and money spent 
on Federal mandates must be reduced, so that more time and resources 
can be spent in the classroom on school children. This money will help 
students by easing the financial burden on local school districts.
  I know the feelings run high on this issue. We have a difficult job 
when it comes to balancing the needs of those with special needs with 
our responsibility to educate all children in the classroom, free of 
violence and disruption. I look forward to the upcoming reauthorization 
of IDEA and working with my colleagues in this effort to come up with a 
commonsense approach to improve our Nation's schools.
                                 ______