[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 59 (Friday, April 11, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5350-S5352]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mrs. Collins, and Mr. Kennedy):
  S. 890. A bill to amend the individuals with Disabilities Education 
Act to provide grants to State educational agencies to establish high 
cost funds from which local educational agencies are paid a percentage 
of the costs of providing a free appropriate public education to high 
need children and other high costs associated with educating children 
with disabilities, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I am pleased today to introduce the 
Supporting Success for High Need Students Act, and I thank Senator 
Collins and Senator Kennedy for joining me in offering this 
legislation. In recent years, I have come to this floor many times to 
talk about special education, often in the context of the need to fully 
fund the Individuals with Disabilities Act, or IDEA as it is often 
known.
  Mandatory full funding of IDEA is an important issue that should have 
been settled many years ago. The Federal Government should be meeting 
the commitment it made over 25 years ago to fund 40 percent of the 
excess cost of special education. Two years ago, this body finally 
recognized that reality and passed an amendment to the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act that would have fulfilled that promise for 
students, schools, districts and States struggling to make up where we 
fall short. I was disappointed that the President made it clear that he 
did not support funding this long-standing mandate, and that the House 
voted not to accept the Senate amendment. At that time I voiced my 
commitment to continuing to fight to provide the full funding that is 
long overdue, and I will continue that fight. Unfortunately though, 
there is a small minority of

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students whose educational needs will not be adequately supported even 
when IDEA is fully funded.
  High-need students, whose disabilities may make education an 
extremely expensive endeavor, must nonetheless have the services and 
supports they need to receive a full, appropriate public education. 
Children who are severely autistic or have severe developmental 
disabilities, for example, may need special facilities, equipment, 
educational tools, medical services, professional individualized 
attention and other resources in order to get the education they need 
to succeed. These needs often far exceed those of most students with 
disabilities, and so do their costs. The National Center for Education 
Statistics estimates that the average per pupil expenditure to educate 
a child in the United States was $7,156 in the 2000-01 academic year. 
The cost of educating a high-needs student can far exceed that. Costs 
occasionally exceed $150,000 per year--more than 20 times the average--
to provide students with disabilities the education they need. However, 
no price is too high to fulfill the civil rights of America's children.
  With so many Americans out of work, and State and local budgets 
squeezed to the brink of disaster, these costs can be a prohibitive 
burden for school districts to shoulder. Small, rural school districts 
or districts near specialized medical facilities--which are often in 
our major cities, but can be in unexpected locations such as near a 
major military base--are most heavily impacted by these costs. But in 
the right combination of circumstances, such as a family with 
quadruplets who are all severely developmentally delayed, any district 
can feel the pinch of the costs incurred from educating these high-need 
children.
  I know that educators, administrators and elected officials at every 
level want to do the right thing. They are trying to give students with 
disabilities the best education they can. But too often, they simply 
lack the resources to do so, or they find themselves faced with a no-
win situation--choosing between implementing an after school program 
for the entire district or funding one high-need student's 
Individualized Education Plan. The losers in this equation are the 
students--with or without disabilities--their parents, and our society 
as a whole. The resulting tensions do a grave disservice to our 
communities.

  The bill I am introducing today--the Supporting Success for High Need 
Students Act of 2003--is a carefully crafted bill that would address 
this problem. This legislation adds funding to IDEA targeted 
specifically for high-need students. It authorizes $750 million in 
fiscal year 2004 for grants to be administered by the States. This 
funding would be allocated to the States using the same formula that 
apportions funding for IDEA part B. If a high-need student's education 
costs more than four times the average per pupil expenditure, the 
school district would be able to apply for a grant to offset those 
costs. I believe that we should preserve incentives for school 
districts to manage those costs, so my bill would allow districts to 
recover three-quarters of the costs above that 400 percent threshold to 
educate high-needs students. Districts could not be reimbursed with 
these funds for any legal costs incurred through due process 
proceedings, or costs that should be reimbursed by Medicaid. The funds 
would only cover education and related services included in an 
appropriately formulated Individualized Education Plan.
  To illustrate, let's assume that four times the average per pupil 
expenditure is $25,000. If a school district were serving a student 
whose education cost $45,000 a year, that district could recoup about 
$15,000 from the State grant. If a district were serving a student 
whose education cost $225,000, that district could recoup about 
$150,000. This bill would not make up all the additional costs of 
educating high-need students, but it would give struggling districts a 
much-needed lifeline by making them a lot more manageable.
  It has often been noted that the moral test of a society is how it 
cares for its weakest members. It is the government's appropriate role 
and duty to protect the basic human dignity of all its citizens to 
ensure that even the neediest among us have a fair opportunity to 
realize their dreams and potential. That is why we passed the special 
education law over 25 years ago, and that is why we should pass the 
Supporting Success for High Need Students Act his year.
  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. 890

       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 ``Supporting Success for High 
     Need Students Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. HIGH COST FUND FOR LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.

       Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 
     (20 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 620. HIGH COST FUND FOR LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.

       ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Average per-pupil expenditure.--The term `average 
     per-pupil expenditure' has the meaning given the term in 
     section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
     1965.
       ``(2) High need child.--The term `high need child' means a 
     child with a disability for whom a free appropriate public 
     education in a fiscal year costs more than 4 times the 
     average per-pupil expenditure for such fiscal year.
       ``(b) Authorization of Grant Program and Allotment.--
       ``(1) Reservation.--From funds appropriated under 
     subsection (h), the Secretary shall reserve--
       ``(A) not more than 1 percent to assist the outlying areas 
     in providing a free appropriate public education to children 
     with disabilities in such areas for whom a free appropriate 
     public education costs more than 4 times the national average 
     per-pupil expenditure or 4 times the average per-pupil 
     expenditure in the outlying area; and
       ``(B) 1.226 percent to assist the Secretary of the Interior 
     in providing a free appropriate public education to children 
     with disabilities on reservations who are enrolled in schools 
     for Indian children operated or funded by the Secretary of 
     the Interior for whom a free appropriate public education 
     costs more than 4 times the national average per-pupil 
     expenditure or 4 times the average per-pupil expenditure in 
     such schools.
       ``(2) Grant Program.--From funds appropriated under 
     subsection (h), and not reserved under paragraph (1), the 
     Secretary shall award grants to State educational agencies, 
     from allotments under paragraph (3), to enable the State 
     educational agencies to establish high cost funds, as 
     described in subsection (c), from which local educational 
     agencies shall receive disbursements to pay a percentage of 
     the costs of providing a free appropriate public education to 
     high need children and other high costs, as described in 
     subsection (c)(3), associated with educating children with 
     disabilities.
       ``(3) Allotment.--From funds appropriated under subsection 
     (h) for a fiscal year, and not reserved under paragraph (1), 
     the Secretary shall allot to each State an amount that bears 
     the same ratio to such funds as the amount the State received 
     under section 611 for the fiscal year bears to the total 
     amount received by all States under that section for the 
     fiscal year.
       ``(c) High Cost Fund.--
       ``(1) In general.--Each State educational agency that 
     receives a grant under subsection (b) shall--
       ``(A) use the grant funds to establish a high cost fund; 
     and
       ``(B) make disbursements from the high cost fund to local 
     educational agencies in accordance with this subsection.
       ``(2) Required disbursements from the fund.--
       ``(A) In general.--Each State educational agency that 
     receives a grant under subsection (b) shall make 
     disbursements from the fund established under paragraph (1) 
     to local educational agencies to pay the percentage described 
     in subparagraph (C) of the costs of providing a free 
     appropriate public education to high need children.
       ``(B) Application.--
       ``(i) In general.--A local educational agency that desires 
     a disbursement under this paragraph shall submit an 
     application to the State educational agency at such time, in 
     such manner, and containing such information as the State 
     educational agency may require.
       ``(ii) Contents.--An application submitted pursuant to 
     clause (i) shall contain the following:

       ``(I) A figure that reflects the costs of providing a free 
     appropriate public education to each high need child served 
     by the local educational agency in a fiscal year for whom 
     such agency desires a disbursement under this section.
       ``(II) The IEP for each high need child served by the local 
     educational agency for whom such agency desires a 
     disbursement under this section.
       ``(III) Assurances that grant funds provided under this 
     section shall not be used to pay costs that otherwise would 
     be reimbursable as medical assistance for a child with a 
     disability under the State medicaid program under title XIX 
     of the Social Security Act.

       ``(C) Disbursements.--

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       ``(i) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (D), a State 
     educational agency shall make a disbursement to a local 
     educational agency that submits an application under 
     subparagraph (B) in an amount that is equal to 75 percent of 
     the costs that are in excess of 4 times the average per-pupil 
     expenditure in either the Nation or the State where the child 
     resides (calculated from whichever average per-pupil 
     expenditure is lower) associated with educating each high 
     need child served by such local educational agency in a 
     fiscal year for whom such agency desires a disbursement.
       ``(ii) Appropriate costs.--The costs associated with 
     educating a high need child under clause (i) are only those 
     costs associated with providing special education and related 
     services to such child that are identified in such child's 
     appropriately developed IEP.
       ``(D) Disallowance of certain payments.--A State 
     educational agency may disallow payment of certain costs 
     included in the figure submitted by a local educational 
     agency under subparagraph (B)(ii)(I) if such costs are 
     determined by the State educational agency to be 
     inappropriate or unnecessary excess costs associated with 
     providing a free appropriate public education to a high need 
     child.
       ``(E) Legal fees.--The costs associated with providing a 
     free appropriate public education to a high need child shall 
     not include legal fees, court costs, or other costs 
     associated with a cause of action brought on behalf of such 
     child to ensure a free appropriate public education for such 
     child.
       ``(3) Permissible disbursements from remaining funds.--A 
     State educational agency may make disbursements to local 
     educational agencies from any funds that are remaining in the 
     high cost fund after making the required disbursements under 
     paragraph (2) for a fiscal year for the following purposes:
       ``(A) To pay the costs associated with serving children 
     with disabilities who moved into the areas served by such 
     local educational agencies after commencement of the school 
     year to assist the local educational agencies in providing a 
     free appropriate public education for such children in such 
     year.
       ``(B) To compensate local educational agencies that expend 
     over a threshold amount determined by the State educational 
     agency on costs associated with providing a free appropriate 
     public education to all children with disabilities served by 
     such agencies.
       ``(4) Limitation on administrative costs.--A State 
     educational agency may use not more than 2 percent of the 
     funds received under this section for the administrative 
     costs of carrying out such agency's responsibilities under 
     this section.
       ``(d) Assurance of a Free Appropriate Public Education.--
     Nothing in this section shall be construed--
       ``(1) to limit or condition the right of a child with a 
     disability who is assisted under this part to receive a free 
     appropriate public education pursuant to section 612(a)(1) in 
     a least restrictive environment pursuant to section 
     612(a)(5); and
       ``(2) to authorize a State educational agency or local 
     educational agency to indicate a limit on what is expected to 
     be spent on the education of a child with a disability.
       ``(e) Evaluation and Report.--The Secretary shall--
       ``(1) evaluate the effectiveness of the high cost funds 
     established pursuant to this section; and
       ``(2) submit a report to the appropriate committees of 
     Congress on such evaluation.
       ``(f) Supplement, Not Supplant.--Funds made available under 
     this section shall be used to supplement and not supplant 
     other Federal, State, and local funds available for providing 
     a free appropriate public education for children with 
     disabilities.
       ``(g) Medicaid Services Not Affected.--Grant funds provided 
     under this section shall not be used to pay costs that 
     otherwise would be reimbursable as medical assistance for a 
     child with a disability under the State medicaid program 
     under title XIX of the Social Security Act.
       ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
     $750,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and such sums as may be 
     necessary for each succeeding fiscal year.''.
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