[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 55 (Monday, May 8, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S3614]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ASHCROFT:
  S. 2517. A bill to amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
Act and the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994 to allow school personnel to 
apply appropriate discipline measures to all students in cases 
involving weapons, illegal drugs, and assaults upon teachers, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions.


                       school safety act of 2000

  Mr. ASHCROFT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2517

       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 ``School Safety Act of 2000''.

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

       (a) Procedural Safeguards.-- Section 615 of the Individuals 
     with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1415) is amended 
     by adding at the end the following:
       ``(n) Discipline by Local Authority with respect to 
     Weapons, Drugs, and Teacher Assaults.--
       ``(1) Authority of school personnel with respect to 
     weapons, drugs, and teacher assaults.--Notwithstanding any 
     other provision of this title, school personnel may 
     discipline (including expel or suspend) a child with a 
     disability in the same manner in which such personnel may 
     discipline a child without a disability if the child with a 
     disability--
       ``(A) carries or possesses a weapon to or at a school, on 
     school premises, or to or at a school function under the 
     jurisdiction of a State or a local educational agency;
       ``(B) threatens to carry, possess, or use a weapon to or at 
     a school, on school premises, or to or at a school function 
     under the jurisdiction of a State or a local educational 
     agency;
       ``(C) possesses or uses illegal drugs or sells or solicits 
     the sale of a controlled substance while at school, on school 
     premises, or at a school function under the jurisdiction of a 
     State or local educational agency; or
       ``(D) assaults or threatens to assault a teacher, teacher's 
     aid, principal, school counselor, or other school personnel, 
     including independent contractors and volunteers.
       ``(2) Individual determinations.--In carrying out any 
     disciplinary action described in paragraph (1), school 
     personnel have discretion to consider all germane factors in 
     each individual case and modify any disciplinary action on a 
     case-by-case basis.
       ``(3) Defense.--Nothing in paragraph (1) shall be construed 
     to prevent a child with a disability who is disciplined 
     pursuant to the authority provided under paragraph (1) from 
     asserting a defense that the alleged act was unintentional or 
     innocent.
       ``(4) Free appropriate public education.--
       ``(A) Ceasing to provide education.--Notwithstanding 
     section 612(a)(1)(A), or any other provision of this title, a 
     child expelled or suspended under paragraph (1) shall not be 
     entitled to continued educational services, including a free 
     appropriate public education, under this subsection, during 
     the term of such expulsion or suspension, if the State in 
     which the local educational agency responsible for providing 
     educational services to such child does not require a child 
     without a disability to receive educational services after 
     being expelled or suspended.
       ``(B) Providing education.--Notwithstanding subparagraph 
     (A), the local educational agency responsible for providing 
     educational services to a child with a disability who is 
     expelled or suspended under paragraph (1) may choose to 
     continue to provide educational services to such child. If 
     the local educational agency so chooses to continue to 
     provide the services--
       ``(i) nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 
     require the local educational agency to provide such child 
     with a free appropriate public education, or any particular 
     level of service; and
       ``(ii) the location where the local educational agency 
     provides the services shall be left to the discretion of the 
     local educational agency.
       ``(5) Relationship to other requirements.--
       ``(A) Plan requirements.--No agency shall be considered to 
     be in violation of section 612 or 613 because the agency has 
     provided discipline, services, or assistance in accordance 
     with this subsection.
       ``(B) Procedure.--None of the procedural safeguards or 
     disciplinary procedures of this Act shall apply to this 
     subsection, and the relevant procedural safeguards and 
     disciplinary procedures applicable to children without 
     disabilities may be applied to the child with a disability in 
     the same manner in which such safeguards and procedures would 
     be applied to children without disabilities.
       ``(6) Definitions.--In this subsection:
       ``(A) Threaten to carry, possess, or use a weapon.--The 
     term `threaten to carry, possess, or use a weapon' includes 
     behavior in which a child verbally threatens to kill another 
     person.
       ``(B) Weapon, illegal drug, controlled substance, and 
     assault.--The terms `weapon', `illegal drug', `controlled 
     substance', `assault', `unintentional', and `innocent' have 
     the meanings given such terms under State law.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 615 of the Individuals 
     with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1415) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (f)(1), by striking ``Whenever'' and 
     inserting the following: ``Except as provided in section 
     615(n), whenever''; and
       (2) in subsection (k)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking subparagraph (A) and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(A) In any disciplinary situation except for such 
     situations as described in subsection (n), school personnel 
     under this section may order a change in the placement of a 
     child with a disability to an appropriate interim alternative 
     educational setting, another setting, or suspension, for not 
     more than 10 school days (to the extent such alternatives 
     would apply to children without disabilities).'';
       (B) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
       ``(3) Any interim alternative educational setting in which 
     a child is placed under paragraph (1) or (2) shall--
       ``(A) be selected so as to enable the child to continue to 
     participate in the general curriculum, although in another 
     setting, and to continue to receive those services and 
     modifications, including those described in the child's 
     current IEP, that will enable the child to meet the goals set 
     out in that IEP; and
       ``(B) include services and modifications designed to 
     address the behavior described in paragraphs (1) or (2) so 
     that it does not recur.'';
       (C) in paragraph (6)(B)--
       (i) in clause (i), by striking ``(i) In reviewing'' and 
     inserting ``In reviewing''; and
       (ii) by striking clause (ii);
       (D) in paragraph (7)--
       (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``paragraph (1)(A)(ii) 
     or'' each place it appears; and
       (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``paragraph 
     (1)(A)(ii) or''; and
       (E) by striking paragraph (10) and inserting the following:
       ``(10) Substantial evidence.--The term `substantial 
     evidence' means beyond a preponderance of the evidence.''.

     SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO THE GUN-FREE SCHOOLS ACT OF 1994.

       Subsection (c) of section 14601 of the Gun-Free Schools Act 
     of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 8921) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(c) Special rule.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     this section, this section shall be subject to section 615(n) 
     of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
     1415(n)).''.

     SEC. 4. APPLICATION.

       The amendments made by sections 2 and 3 shall not apply to 
     conduct occurring prior to the date of enactment of this Act.
                                 ______