[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 12, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5250-S5360]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2003

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to the consideration of S. 1248, which the clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1248) to reauthorize the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Act, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, 
which had been reported from the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions, with an amendment to strike all after the enacting clause 
and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

                                S. 1248

       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 ``Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003''.

[TITLE I--AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT

     [SEC. 101. AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES 
                   EDUCATION ACT.

       [Parts A through D of the Individuals with Disabilities 
     Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) are amended to read as 
     follows:

                     [``PART A--GENERAL PROVISIONS

     [``SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; FINDINGS; 
                   PURPOSES.

       [``(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the 
     `Individuals with Disabilities Education Act'.
       [``(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this 
     Act is as follows:

                     [``Part A--General Provisions

[``Sec. 601. Short title; table of contents; findings; purposes.
[``Sec. 602. Definitions.
[``Sec. 603. Office of Special Education Programs.
[``Sec. 604. Abrogation of State sovereign immunity.
[``Sec. 605. Acquisition of equipment; construction or alteration of 
              facilities.
[``Sec. 606. Employment of individuals with disabilities.
[``Sec. 607. Requirements for prescribing regulations.
[``Sec. 608. State administration.
[``Sec. 609. Report to Congress

 [``Part B--Assistance for Education of All Children With Disabilities

[``Sec. 611. Authorization; allotment; use of funds; authorization of 
              appropriations.
[``Sec. 612. State eligibility.
[``Sec. 613. Local educational agency eligibility.
[``Sec. 614. Evaluations, eligibility determinations, individualized 
              education programs, and educational placements.
[``Sec. 615. Procedural safeguards.
[``Sec. 616. Monitoring, technical assistance, and enforcement.
[``Sec. 617. Administration.
[``Sec. 618. Program information.
[``Sec. 619. Preschool grants.

           [``Part C--Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities

[``Sec. 631. Findings and policy.
[``Sec. 632. Definitions.
[``Sec. 633. General authority.
[``Sec. 634. Eligibility.
[``Sec. 635. Requirements for statewide system.
[``Sec. 636. Individualized family service plan.
[``Sec. 637. State application and assurances.
[``Sec. 638. Uses of funds.
[``Sec. 639. Procedural safeguards.
[``Sec. 640. Payor of last resort.
[``Sec. 641. State Interagency Coordinating Council.
[``Sec. 642. Federal administration.
[``Sec. 643. Allocation of funds.
[``Sec. 644. Authorization of appropriations.

 [``Part D--National Activities To Improve Education of Children With 
                              Disabilities

[``Sec. 650. Findings and purpose.

[``Subpart 1--State Personnel Preparation and Professional Development 
                                 Grants

[``Sec. 651. Purpose; definition; program authority.
[``Sec. 652. Eligibility and collaborative process.
[``Sec. 653. Applications.
[``Sec. 654. Use of funds.
[``Sec. 655. Authorization of appropriations.

  [``Subpart 2--Scientifically Based Research, Technical Assistance, 
     Model Demonstration Projects, and Dissemination of Information

[``Sec. 660. Purpose.
[``Sec. 661. Administrative provisions.

[[Page S5251]]

[``Sec. 662. Research to improve results for children with 
              disabilities.
[``Sec. 663. Technical assistance, demonstration projects, 
              dissemination of information, and implementation of 
              scientifically based research.
[``Sec. 664. Personnel development to improve services and results for 
              children with disabilities.
[``Sec. 665. Studies and evaluations.

      [``Subpart 3--Supports To Improve Results for Children With 
                              Disabilities

[``Sec. 670. Purposes.
[``Sec. 671. Parent training and information centers.
[``Sec. 672. Community parent resource centers.
[``Sec. 673. Technical assistance for parent training and information 
              centers.
[``Sec. 674. Technology development, demonstration, and utilization; 
              and media services.
[``Sec. 675. Authorization of appropriations.

  [``Subpart 4--Interim Alternative Educational Settings, Behavioral 
                Supports, and Whole School Interventions

[``Sec. 681. Purpose.
[``Sec. 682. Definition of eligible entity.
[``Sec. 683. Program authorized.
[``Sec. 684. Program evaluations.
[``Sec. 685. Authorization of appropriations.
       [``(c) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       [``(1) Disability is a natural part of the human experience 
     and in no way diminishes the right of individuals to 
     participate in or contribute to society. Improving 
     educational results for children with disabilities is an 
     essential element of our national policy of ensuring equality 
     of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and 
     economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities.
       [``(2) Before the date of the enactment of the Education 
     for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (Public Law 94-142), 
     the educational needs of millions of children with 
     disabilities were not being fully met because--
       [``(A) the children did not receive appropriate educational 
     services;
       [``(B) the children were excluded entirely from the public 
     school system and from being educated with their peers;
       [``(C) undiagnosed disabilities prevented the children from 
     having a successful educational experience; or
       [``(D) a lack of adequate resources within the public 
     school system forced families to find services outside the 
     public school system.
       [``(3) Since the enactment and implementation of the 
     Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, this Act 
     has been successful in ensuring children with disabilities 
     and the families of such children access to a free 
     appropriate public education and in improving educational 
     results for children with disabilities.
       [``(4) However, the implementation of this Act has been 
     impeded by low expectations, and an insufficient focus on 
     applying replicable research on proven methods of teaching 
     and learning for children with disabilities.
       [``(5) Over 25 years of research and experience has 
     demonstrated that the education of children with disabilities 
     can be made more effective by--
       [``(A) having high expectations for such children and 
     ensuring their access to the general education curriculum in 
     the regular classroom to the maximum extent possible in order 
     to--
       [``(i) meet developmental goals and, to the maximum extent 
     possible, the challenging expectations that have been 
     established for all children; and
       [``(ii) be prepared to lead productive and independent 
     adult lives, to the maximum extent possible;
       [``(B) strengthening the role and responsibility of parents 
     and ensuring that families of such children have meaningful 
     opportunities to participate in the education of their 
     children at school and at home;
       [``(C) coordinating this Act with other local, educational 
     service agency, State, and Federal school improvement 
     efforts, including improvement efforts under the Elementary 
     and Secondary Education Act of 2001, in order to ensure that 
     such children benefit from such efforts and that special 
     education can become a service for such children rather than 
     a place where they are sent;
       [``(D) providing appropriate special education and related 
     services, and aids and supports in the regular classroom, to 
     such children, whenever appropriate;
       [``(E) supporting high-quality, intensive preservice 
     preparation professional development for all personnel who 
     work with children with disabilities in order to ensure that 
     such personnel have the skills and knowledge necessary to 
     improve the academic achievement and functional performance 
     of children with disabilities, including the use of 
     scientifically based instructional practices, to the maximum 
     extent possible;
       [``(F) providing incentives for whole-school approaches, 
     scientifically based early reading programs, positive 
     behavioral interventions and supports, and prereferral 
     intervention to reduce the need to label children as disabled 
     in order to address their learning and behavioral needs;
       [``(G) focusing resources on teaching and learning while 
     reducing paperwork and requirements that do not assist in 
     improving educational results; and
       [``(H) supporting the development and use of technology, 
     including assistive technology devices and assistive 
     technology services, to maximize accessibility for children 
     with disabilities.
       [``(6) While States, local educational agencies, and 
     educational service agencies are primarily responsible for 
     providing an education for all children with disabilities, it 
     is in the national interest that the Federal Government have 
     a supporting role in assisting State and local efforts to 
     educate children with disabilities in order to improve 
     results for such children and to ensure equal protection of 
     the law.
       [``(7) A more equitable allocation of resources is 
     essential for the Federal Government to meet its 
     responsibility to provide an equal educational opportunity 
     for all individuals.
       [``(8)(A) The Federal Government must be responsive to the 
     growing needs of an increasingly more diverse society.
       [``(B) America's ethnic profile is rapidly changing. In the 
     year 2000, 1 of every 3 persons in the United States was a 
     member of a minority group or was limited English proficient.
       [``(C) Minority children comprise an increasing percentage 
     of public school students.
       [``(D) With such changing demographics, recruitment efforts 
     for special education personnel should focus on increasing 
     the participation of minorities in the teaching profession.
       [``(9)(A) The limited English proficient population is the 
     fastest growing in our Nation, and the growth is occurring in 
     many parts of our Nation.
       [``(B) Studies have documented apparent discrepancies in 
     the levels of referral and placement of limited English 
     proficient children in special education.
       [``(C) This poses a special challenge for special education 
     in the referral of, assessment of, and services for, our 
     Nation's students from non-English language backgrounds.
       [``(10)(A) Greater efforts are needed to prevent the 
     intensification of problems connected with mislabeling and 
     high dropout rates among minority children with disabilities.
       [``(B) More minority children continue to be served in 
     special education than would be expected from the percentage 
     of minority students in the general school population.
       [``(C) African-American children are over identified as 
     having mental retardation and emotional disturbance at rates 
     greater than their white counterparts.
       [``(D) In the 1998-1999 school year, African-American 
     children represented just 14.8 percent of the population aged 
     6 through 21, but comprised 20.2 percent of all children with 
     disabilities.
       [``(E) Studies have found that schools with predominately 
     Caucasian students and teachers have placed 
     disproportionately high numbers of their minority students 
     into special education.
       [``(11)(A) As the number of minority students in special 
     education increases, the number of minority teachers and 
     related services personnel produced in colleges and 
     universities continues to decrease.
       [``(B) The opportunity for minority individuals, 
     organizations, and Historically Black Colleges and 
     Universities to participate fully in awards for grants and 
     contracts, boards of organizations receiving funds under this 
     Act, and peer review panels, and in the training of 
     professionals in the area of special education is essential 
     if we are to obtain greater success in the education of 
     minority children with disabilities.
       [``(d) Purposes.--The purposes of this title are--
       [``(1)(A) to ensure that all children with disabilities 
     have available to them a free appropriate public education 
     that emphasizes special education and related services 
     designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for 
     employment, further education, and independent living;
       [``(B) to ensure that the rights of children with 
     disabilities and parents of such children are protected; and
       [``(C) to assist States, localities, educational service 
     agencies, and Federal agencies to provide for the education 
     of all children with disabilities;
       [``(2) to assist States in the implementation of a 
     Statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, 
     interagency system of early intervention services for infants 
     and toddlers with disabilities and their families;
       [``(3) to ensure that educators and parents have the 
     necessary tools to improve educational results for children 
     with disabilities by supporting systemic-change activities; 
     coordinated research and personnel preparation; coordinated 
     technical assistance, dissemination, and support; and 
     technology development and media services; and
       [``(4) to assess, and ensure the effectiveness of, efforts 
     to educate children with disabilities.

       [``SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS.

       [``Except as otherwise provided, as used in this Act:
       [``(1) Assistive technology device.--The term `assistive 
     technology device' means any item, piece of equipment, or 
     product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, 
     modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, 
     or improve functional capabilities of a child with a 
     disability.

[[Page S5252]]

       [``(2) Assistive technology service.--The term `assistive 
     technology service' means any service that directly assists a 
     child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use 
     of an assistive technology device. Such term includes--
       [``(A) the evaluation of the needs of such child, including 
     a functional evaluation of the child in the child's customary 
     environment;
       [``(B) purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the 
     acquisition of assistive technology devices by such child;
       [``(C) selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, 
     adapting, applying, maintaining, repairing, or replacing of 
     assistive technology devices;
       [``(D) coordinating and using other therapies, 
     interventions, or services with assistive technology devices, 
     such as those associated with existing education and 
     rehabilitation plans and programs;
       [``(E) training or technical assistance for such child, or, 
     where appropriate, the family of such child; and
       [``(F) training or technical assistance for professionals 
     (including individuals providing education and rehabilitation 
     services), employers, or other individuals who provide 
     services to, employ, or are otherwise substantially involved 
     in the major life functions of such child.
       [``(3) Child with a disability.--
       [``(A) In general.--The term `child with a disability' 
     means a child--
       [``(i) with mental retardation, hearing impairments 
     (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual 
     impairments (including blindness), serious emotional 
     disturbance (hereinafter referred to as `emotional 
     disturbance'), orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic 
     brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning 
     disabilities; and
       [``(ii) who, by reason thereof, needs special education and 
     related services.
       [``(B) Child aged 3 through 9.--The term `child with a 
     disability' for a child aged 3 through 9 (or any subset of 
     that age range, including ages 3 through 5), may, at the 
     discretion of the State and the local educational agency, 
     include a child--
       [``(i) experiencing developmental delays, as defined by the 
     State and as measured by appropriate diagnostic instruments 
     and procedures, in 1 or more of the following areas: physical 
     development, cognitive development, communication 
     development, social or emotional development, or adaptive 
     development; and
       [``(ii) who, by reason thereof, needs special education and 
     related services.
       [``(4) Core academic subject.--The term `core academic 
     subject' has the meaning given the term in section 9101(11) 
     of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
       [``(5) Educational service agency.--The term `educational 
     service agency'--
       [``(A) means a regional public multiservice agency--
       [``(i) authorized by State law to develop, manage, and 
     provide services or programs to local educational agencies; 
     and
       [``(ii) recognized as an administrative agency for purposes 
     of the provision of special education and related services 
     provided within public elementary schools and secondary 
     schools of the State; and
       [``(B) includes any other public institution or agency 
     having administrative control and direction over a public 
     elementary school or secondary school.
       [``(6) Elementary school.--The term `elementary school' 
     means a nonprofit institutional day or residential school 
     that provides elementary education, as determined under State 
     law.
       [``(7) Equipment.--The term `equipment' includes--
       [``(A) machinery, utilities, and built-in equipment, and 
     any necessary enclosures or structures to house such 
     machinery, utilities, or equipment; and
       [``(B) all other items necessary for the functioning of a 
     particular facility as a facility for the provision of 
     educational services, including items such as instructional 
     equipment and necessary furniture; printed, published, and 
     audio-visual instructional materials; telecommunications, 
     sensory, and other technological aids and devices; and books, 
     periodicals, documents, and other related materials.
       [``(8) Excess costs.--The term `excess costs' means those 
     costs that are in excess of the average annual per-student 
     expenditure in a local educational agency during the 
     preceding school year for an elementary school or secondary 
     school student, as may be appropriate, and which shall be 
     computed after deducting--
       [``(A) amounts received--
       [``(i) under part B of this title;
       [``(ii) under part A of title I of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965; and
       [``(iii) under parts A and B of title III of that Act; and
       [``(B) any State or local funds expended for programs that 
     would qualify for assistance under any of those parts.
       [``(9) Free appropriate public education.--The term `free 
     appropriate public education' means special education and 
     related services that--
       [``(A) have been provided at public expense, under public 
     supervision and direction, and without charge;
       [``(B) meet the standards of the State educational agency;
       [``(C) include an appropriate preschool, elementary school, 
     or secondary school education in the State involved; and
       [``(D) are provided in conformity with the individualized 
     education program required under section 614(d).
       [``(10) Highly qualified; consultative services.--
       [``(A) Highly qualified.--The term `highly qualified', when 
     used with respect to any special education teacher teaching 
     in a State, means a teacher who--
       [``(i)(I) meets the definition of that term in section 
     9101(23) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
     1965, including full State certification as a special 
     education teacher through a State approved special education 
     teacher preparation program (including certification obtained 
     through State or local educational agency approved 
     alternative routes); or
       [``(II) has passed a State special education licensing 
     examination and holds a license to teach special education in 
     such State,

     except that when used with respect to any teacher teaching in 
     a public charter school, the term means that the teacher 
     meets the requirements set forth in the State's statute on 
     public charter schools; and
       [``(ii) does not have certification or licensure 
     requirements waived on an emergency, temporary, or 
     provisional basis;
       [``(iii) if the teacher provides only consultative services 
     to a regular education teacher with respect to a core 
     academic subject, the special education teacher shall meet 
     the standards for subject knowledge and teaching skills 
     described in section 9101(23) of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965 that apply to elementary school 
     teachers; and
       [``(iv) if the teacher provides instruction in a core 
     academic subject to middle or secondary students who are 
     performing at the elementary level, the teacher shall meet 
     the standards for subject knowledge and teaching skills 
     described in section 9101(23) of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965 that apply to elementary school 
     teachers.
       [``(B) Consultative services.--As used in subparagraph 
     (A)(iii), the term `consultative services' means--
       [``(i) consultation on adapting curricula, using positive 
     behavioral supports and interventions, and selecting 
     appropriate accommodations, and does not include direct 
     instruction of students; or
       [``(ii) teaching in collaboration with a regular education 
     teacher or teachers who is or are highly qualified in the 
     core academic subjects being taught.
       [``(11) Indian.--The term `Indian' means an individual who 
     is a member of an Indian tribe.
       [``(12) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian tribe' means any 
     Federal or State Indian tribe, band, rancheria, pueblo, 
     colony, or community, including any Alaska Native village or 
     regional village corporation (as defined in or established 
     under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act).
       [``(13) Individualized education program.--The term 
     `individualized education program' or `IEP' means a written 
     statement for each child with a disability that is developed, 
     reviewed, and revised in accordance with section 614(d).
       [``(14) Individualized family service plan.--The term 
     `individualized family service plan' has the meaning given 
     such term in section 636.
       [``(15) Infant or toddler with a disability.--The term 
     `infant or toddler with a disability' has the meaning given 
     such term in section 632.
       [``(16) Institution of higher education.--The term 
     `institution of higher education'--
       [``(A) has the meaning given such term in section 101 (a) 
     and (b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965; and
       [``(B) also includes any community college receiving 
     funding from the Secretary of the Interior under the Tribally 
     Controlled College or University Assistance Act of 1978.
       [``(17) Local educational agency.--
       [``(A) The term `local educational agency' means a public 
     board of education or other public authority legally 
     constituted within a State for either administrative control 
     or direction of, or to perform a service function for, public 
     elementary schools or secondary schools in a city, county, 
     township, school district, or other political subdivision of 
     a State, or for such combination of school districts or 
     counties as are recognized in a State as an administrative 
     agency for its public elementary schools or secondary 
     schools.
       [``(B) The term includes--
       [``(i) an educational service agency, as defined in 
     paragraph (4); and
       [``(ii) any other public institution or agency having 
     administrative control and direction of a public elementary 
     school or secondary school.
       [``(C) The term includes an elementary school or secondary 
     school funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but only to 
     the extent that such inclusion makes the school eligible for 
     programs for which specific eligibility is not provided to 
     the school in another provision of law and the school does 
     not have a student population that is smaller than the 
     student population of the local educational agency receiving 
     assistance under this Act with the smallest student 
     population, except that the school shall not be subject to 
     the jurisdiction of any State educational agency other than 
     the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

[[Page S5253]]

       [``(18) Native language.--The term `native language', when 
     used with respect to an individual of limited English 
     proficiency, means the language normally used by the 
     individual, or in the case of a child, the language normally 
     used by the parents of the child.
       [``(19) Nonprofit.--The term `nonprofit', as applied to a 
     school, agency, organization, or institution, means a school, 
     agency, organization, or institution owned and operated by 1 
     or more nonprofit corporations or associations no part of the 
     net earnings of which inures, or may lawfully inure, to the 
     benefit of any private shareholder or individual.
       [``(20) Outlying area.--The term `outlying area' means the 
     United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the 
     Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
       [``(21) Parent.--The term `parent'--
       [``(A) includes a legal guardian; and
       [``(B) except as used in sections 615(b)(2) and 639(a)(5), 
     includes an individual assigned under either of those 
     sections to be a surrogate parent.
       [``(22) Parent organization.--The term `parent 
     organization' has the meaning given such term in section 
     671(g).
       [``(23) Parent training and information center.--The term 
     `parent training and information center' means a center 
     assisted under section 671 or 672.
       [``(24) Related services.--The term `related services' 
     means transportation, and such developmental, corrective, and 
     other supportive services (including speech-language 
     pathology and audiology services, psychological services, 
     physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including 
     therapeutic recreation, social work services, school health 
     services, counseling services, including rehabilitation 
     counseling, orientation and mobility services, and medical 
     services, except that such medical services shall be for 
     diagnostic and evaluation purposes only) as may be required 
     to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special 
     education, and includes the early identification and 
     assessment of disabling conditions in children.
       [``(25) Secondary school.--The term `secondary school' 
     means a nonprofit institutional day or residential school 
     that provides secondary education, as determined under State 
     law, except that it does not include any education beyond 
     grade 12.
       [``(26) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the 
     Secretary of Education.
       [``(27) Special education.--The term `special education' 
     means specially designed instruction, at no cost to parents, 
     to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability, 
     including--
       [``(A) instruction conducted in the classroom, in the home, 
     in hospitals and institutions, and in other settings; and
       [``(B) instruction in physical education.
       [``(28) Specific learning disability.--
       [``(A) In general.--The term `specific learning disability' 
     means a disorder in 1 or more of the basic psychological 
     processes involved in understanding or in using language, 
     spoken or written, which disorder may manifest itself in the 
     imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, 
     spell, or do mathematical calculations.
       [``(B) Disorders included.--Such term includes such 
     conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal 
     brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.
       [``(C) Disorders not included.--Such term does not include 
     a learning problem that is primarily the result of visual, 
     hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of 
     emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or 
     economic disadvantage.
       [``(29) State.--The term `State' means each of the 50 
     States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
     Rico, and each of the outlying areas.
       [``(30) State educational agency.--The term `State 
     educational agency' means the State board of education or 
     other agency or officer primarily responsible for the State 
     supervision of public elementary schools and secondary 
     schools, or, if there is no such officer or agency, an 
     officer or agency designated by the Governor or by State law.
       [``(31) Supplementary aids and services.--The term 
     `supplementary aids and services' means aids, services, and 
     other supports that are provided in regular education 
     classes or other education-related settings to enable 
     children with disabilities to be educated with nondisabled 
     children to the maximum extent appropriate in accordance 
     with section 612(a)(5).
       [``(32) Transition services.--The term `transition 
     services' means a coordinated set of activities for a child 
     with a disability (as defined in paragraph (3)(A)) that--
       [``(A) is designed to be within a results-oriented process, 
     that is focused on improving the academic and functional 
     achievement of the child with a disability to facilitate the 
     child's movement from school to post-school activities, 
     including post-secondary education, vocational training, 
     integrated employment (including supported employment), 
     continuing and adult education, adult services, independent 
     living, or community participation;
       [``(B) is based on the individual child's needs, taking 
     into account the child's capacity, preferences, and 
     interests; and
       [``(C) includes instruction, related services, community 
     experiences, the development of employment and other post-
     school adult living objectives, and, when appropriate, 
     acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational 
     evaluation.

     [``SEC. 603. OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

       [``(a) Establishment.--There shall be, within the Office of 
     Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the 
     Department of Education, an Office of Special Education 
     Programs, which shall be the principal agency in such 
     Department for administering and carrying out this Act and 
     other programs and activities concerning the education of 
     children with disabilities.
       [``(b) Director.--The Office established under subsection 
     (a) shall be headed by a Director who shall be selected by 
     the Secretary and shall report directly to the Assistant 
     Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
       [``(c) Voluntary and Uncompensated Services.--
     Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, 
     the Secretary is authorized to accept voluntary and 
     uncompensated services in furtherance of the purposes of this 
     Act.

     [``SEC. 604. ABROGATION OF STATE SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.

       [``(a) In General.--A State shall not be immune under the 
     11th amendment to the Constitution of the United States from 
     suit in Federal court for a violation of this Act.
       [``(b) Remedies.--In a suit against a State for a violation 
     of this Act, remedies (including remedies both at law and in 
     equity) are available for such a violation to the same extent 
     as those remedies are available for such a violation in the 
     suit against any public entity other than a State.
       [``(c) Effective Date.--Subsections (a) and (b) apply with 
     respect to violations that occur in whole or part after the 
     date of enactment of the Education of the Handicapped Act 
     Amendments of 1990.

     [``SEC. 605. ACQUISITION OF EQUIPMENT; CONSTRUCTION OR 
                   ALTERATION OF FACILITIES.

       [``(a) In General.--If the Secretary determines that a 
     program authorized under this Act will be improved by 
     permitting program funds to be used to acquire appropriate 
     equipment, or to construct new facilities or alter existing 
     facilities, the Secretary is authorized to allow the use of 
     those funds for those purposes.
       [``(b) Compliance With Certain Regulations.--Any 
     construction of new facilities or alteration of existing 
     facilities under subsection (a) shall comply with the 
     requirements of--
       [``(1) appendix A of part 36 of title 28, Code of Federal 
     Regulations (commonly known as the `Americans with 
     Disabilities Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and 
     Facilities'); or
       [``(2) appendix A of subpart 101-19.6 of title 41, Code of 
     Federal Regulations (commonly known as the `Uniform Federal 
     Accessibility Standards').

     [``SEC. 606. EMPLOYMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.

       [``The Secretary shall ensure that each recipient of 
     assistance under this Act makes positive efforts to employ 
     and advance in employment qualified individuals with 
     disabilities in programs assisted under this Act.

     [``SEC. 607. REQUIREMENTS FOR PRESCRIBING REGULATIONS.

       [``(a) In General.--The Secretary may issue such 
     regulations as are necessary to ensure that there is 
     compliance with this Act.
       [``(b) Protections Provided to Children.--The Secretary may 
     not implement, or publish in final form, any regulation 
     prescribed pursuant to this Act that--
       [``(1) violates or contradicts any provision of this Act; 
     and
       [``(2) procedurally or substantively lessens the 
     protections provided to children with disabilities under this 
     Act, as embodied in regulations in effect on July 20, 1983 
     (particularly as such protections related to parental consent 
     to initial evaluation or initial placement in special 
     education, least restrictive environment, related services, 
     timelines, attendance of evaluation personnel at 
     individualized education program meetings, or qualifications 
     of personnel), except to the extent that such regulation 
     reflects the clear and unequivocal intent of the Congress in 
     legislation.
       [``(c) Public Comment Period.--The Secretary shall provide 
     a public comment period of not less than 60 days on any 
     regulation proposed under part B or part C of this Act on 
     which an opportunity for public comment is otherwise required 
     by law.
       [``(d) Policy Letters and Statements.--The Secretary may 
     not issue policy letters or other statements (including 
     letters or statements regarding issues of national 
     significance) that--
       [``(1) violate or contradict any provision of this Act; or
       [``(2) establish a rule that is required for compliance 
     with, and eligibility under, this Act without following the 
     requirements of section 553 of title 5, United States Code.
       [``(e) Explanation and Assurances.--Any written response by 
     the Secretary under subsection (d) regarding a policy, 
     question, or interpretation under part B of this Act shall 
     include an explanation in the written response that--
       [``(1) such response is provided as informal guidance and 
     is not legally binding;
       [``(2) when required, such response is issued in compliance 
     with the requirements of section 553 of title 5, United 
     States Code; and
       [``(3) such response represents the interpretation by the 
     Department of Education of the applicable statutory or 
     regulatory requirements in the context of the specific facts 
     presented.

[[Page S5254]]

       [``(f) Correspondence From Department of Education 
     Describing Interpretations of This Act.--
       [``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, on a quarterly 
     basis, publish in the Federal Register, and widely 
     disseminate to interested entities through various additional 
     forms of communication, a list of correspondence from the 
     Department of Education received by individuals during the 
     previous quarter that describes the interpretations of the 
     Department of Education of this Act or the regulations 
     implemented pursuant to this Act.
       [``(2) Additional information.--For each item of 
     correspondence published in a list under paragraph (1), the 
     Secretary shall--
       [``(A) identify the topic addressed by the correspondence 
     and shall include such other summary information as the 
     Secretary determines to be appropriate; and
       [``(B) ensure that all such correspondence is issued, where 
     applicable, in compliance with the requirements of section 
     553 of title 5, United States Code.

     [``SEC. 608. STATE ADMINISTRATION.

       [``(a) Rulemaking.--Each State that receives funds under 
     this Act shall--
       [``(1) ensure that any State rules, regulations, and 
     policies relating to this Act conform to the purposes of this 
     Act; and
       [``(2) identify in writing to its local educational 
     agencies and the Secretary any such rule, regulation, or 
     policy as a State-imposed requirement that is not required by 
     this Act and Federal regulations.
       [``(b) Support and Facilitation.--State rules, regulations, 
     and policies under this Act shall support and facilitate 
     local educational agency and school-level systemic reform 
     designed to enable children with disabilities to meet the 
     challenging State student academic achievement standards.

     ``SEC. 609. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

       [``The Comptroller General shall conduct a review of 
     Federal, State, and local requirements to determine which 
     requirements result in excessive paperwork completion burdens 
     for teachers, related services providers, and school 
     administrators, and shall report to Congress not later than 
     18 months after the date of enactment of the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003 regarding such 
     review along with strategic proposals for reducing the 
     paperwork burdens on teachers.

 [``PART B--ASSISTANCE FOR EDUCATION OF ALL CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

     [``SEC. 611. AUTHORIZATION; ALLOTMENT; USE OF FUNDS; 
                   AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       [``(a) Grants to States.--
       [``(1) Purpose of grants.--The Secretary shall make grants 
     to States and the outlying areas, and provide funds to the 
     Secretary of the Interior, to assist them to provide special 
     education and related services to children with disabilities 
     in accordance with this part.
       [``(2) Maximum amount.--The maximum amount available for 
     awarding grants under this part for any fiscal year is--
       [``(A) the total number of children with disabilities in 
     the 2002-2003 school year in the States who received special 
     education and related services and who were--
       [``(i) aged 3 through 5, if the State was eligible for a 
     grant under section 619; and
       [``(ii) aged 6 through 21; multiplied by
       [``(B) 40 percent of the average per-pupil expenditure in 
     public elementary schools and secondary schools in the United 
     States; adjusted by
       [``(C) the rate of change in the sum of--
       [``(i) 85 percent of the change in the nationwide total of 
     the population described in (d)(3)(A)(i)(II); and
       [``(ii) 15 percent of the change in the nationwide total of 
     the population described in (d)(3)(A)(i)(III).
       [``(b) Outlying Areas and Freely Associated States.--
       [``(1) Funds reserved.--From the amount appropriated for 
     any fiscal year under subsection (i), the Secretary shall 
     reserve not more than 1 percent, which shall be used--
       [``(A) to provide assistance to the outlying areas in 
     accordance with their respective populations of individuals 
     aged 3 through 21; and
       [``(B) to provide each of the freely associated States 
     grants that do not exceed the level each such freely 
     associated State received for fiscal year 2003 under this 
     part, but only if the freely associated State meets the 
     requirements of section 611(b)(2)(C) as such section was in 
     effect on the day before the date of enactment of the 
     Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 
     2003.
       [``(2) Special rule.--The provisions of Public Law 95-134, 
     permitting the consolidation of grants by the outlying areas, 
     shall not apply to funds provided to the outlying areas or 
     the freely associated States under this section.
       [``(3) Definition.--As used in this subsection, the term 
     `freely associated States' means the Republic of the Marshall 
     Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic 
     of Palau.
       [``(c) Secretary of the Interior.--From the amount 
     appropriated for any fiscal year under subsection (i), the 
     Secretary shall reserve 1.226 percent to provide assistance 
     to the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with 
     subsection (i).
       [``(d) Allocations to States.--
       [``(1) In general.--After reserving funds for studies and 
     evaluations under section 665, and for payments to the 
     outlying areas, the freely associated States, and the 
     Secretary of the Interior under subsections (b) and (c) for a 
     fiscal year, the Secretary shall allocate the remaining 
     amount among the States in accordance with this subsection.
       [``(2) Special rule for use of fiscal year 1999 amount.--If 
     a State received any funds under this section for fiscal year 
     1999 on the basis of children aged 3 through 5, but does not 
     make a free appropriate public education available to all 
     children with disabilities aged 3 through 5 in the State in 
     any subsequent fiscal year, the Secretary shall compute the 
     State's amount for fiscal year 1999, solely for the purpose 
     of calculating the State's allocation in that subsequent year 
     under paragraph (3) or (4), by subtracting the amount 
     allocated to the State for fiscal year 1999 on the basis 
     of those children.
       [``(3) Increase in funds.--If the amount available for 
     allocations to States under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year 
     is equal to or greater than the amount allocated to the 
     States under this paragraph for the preceding fiscal year, 
     those allocations shall be calculated as follows:
       [``(A) Allocation of increase.--
       [``(i) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     the Secretary shall allocate for the fiscal year--

       [``(I) to each State the amount the State received under 
     this section for fiscal year 1999;
       [``(II) 85 percent of any remaining funds to States on the 
     basis of the States' relative populations of children aged 3 
     through 21 who are of the same age as children with 
     disabilities for whom the State ensures the availability of a 
     free appropriate public education under this part; and
       [``(III) 15 percent of those remaining funds to States on 
     the basis of the States' relative populations of children 
     described in subclause (II) who are living in poverty.

       [``(ii) Data.--For the purpose of making grants under this 
     paragraph, the Secretary shall use the most recent population 
     data, including data on children living in poverty, that are 
     available and satisfactory to the Secretary.
       [``(B) Limitations.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), 
     allocations under this paragraph shall be subject to the 
     following:
       [``(i) Preceding year allocation.--No State's allocation 
     shall be less than its allocation under this section for the 
     preceding fiscal year.
       [``(ii) Minimum.--No State's allocation shall be less than 
     the greatest of--

       [``(I) the sum of--

       [``(aa) the amount the State received under this section 
     for fiscal year 1999; and
       [``(bb) \1/3\ of 1 percent of the amount by which the 
     amount appropriated under subsection (i) for the fiscal year 
     exceeds the amount appropriated for this section for fiscal 
     year 1999;

       [``(II) the sum of--

       [``(aa) the amount the State received under this section 
     for the preceding fiscal year; and
       [``(bb) that amount multiplied by the percentage by which 
     the increase in the funds appropriated for this section from 
     the preceding fiscal year exceeds 1.5 percent; or

       [``(III) the sum of--

       [``(aa) the amount the State received under this section 
     for the preceding fiscal year; and
       [``(bb) that amount multiplied by 90 percent of the 
     percentage increase in the amount appropriated for this 
     section from the preceding fiscal year.
       [``(iii) Maximum.--Notwithstanding clause (ii), no State's 
     allocation under this paragraph shall exceed the sum of--

       [``(I) the amount the State received under this section for 
     the preceding fiscal year; and
       [``(II) that amount multiplied by the sum of 1.5 percent 
     and the percentage increase in the amount appropriated under 
     this section from the preceding fiscal year.

       [``(C) Ratable reduction.--If the amount available for 
     allocations under this paragraph is insufficient to pay those 
     allocations in full, those allocations shall be ratably 
     reduced, subject to subparagraph (B)(i).
       [``(4) Decrease in funds.--If the amount available for 
     allocations to States under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year 
     is less than the amount allocated to the States under this 
     section for the preceding fiscal year, those allocations 
     shall be calculated as follows:
       [``(A) Amounts greater than fiscal year 1999 allocations.--
     If the amount available for allocations is greater than the 
     amount allocated to the States for fiscal year 1999, each 
     State shall be allocated the sum of--
       [``(i) the amount the State received under this section for 
     fiscal year 1999; and
       [``(ii) an amount that bears the same relation to any 
     remaining funds as the increase the State received under this 
     section for the preceding fiscal year over fiscal year 1999 
     bears to the total of all such increases for all States.
       [``(B) Amounts equal to or less than fiscal year 1999 
     allocations.--
       [``(i) In general.--If the amount available for allocations 
     under this paragraph is equal to or less than the amount 
     allocated to the States for fiscal year 1999, each State 
     shall be allocated the amount the State received for fiscal 
     year 1999.
       [``(ii) Ratable reduction.--If the amount available for 
     allocations under this paragraph is insufficient to make the 
     allocations described in clause (i), those allocations shall 
     be ratably reduced.
       [``(e) State-Level Activities.--
       [``(1) State administration.--

[[Page S5255]]

       [``(A) In general.--For the purpose of administering this 
     part, including paragraph (3), section 619, and the 
     coordination of activities under this part with, and 
     providing technical assistance to, other programs that 
     provide services to children with disabilities--
       [``(i) each State may reserve not more than the maximum 
     amount the State was eligible to reserve for State 
     administration for fiscal year 2003 or $800,000 (adjusted by 
     the cumulative rate of inflation since fiscal year 2003 as 
     measured by the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer 
     Price Index For All Urban Consumers, published by the Bureau 
     of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor), whichever is 
     greater; and
       [``(ii) each outlying area may reserve not more than 5 
     percent of the amount the outlying area receives under 
     subsection (b) for any fiscal year or $35,000, whichever is 
     greater.
       [``(B) Part c.--Funds reserved under subparagraph (A) may 
     be used for the administration of part C, if the State 
     educational agency is the lead agency for the State under 
     that part.
       [``(C) Certification.--Prior to expenditure of funds under 
     this paragraph, the State shall certify to the Secretary that 
     the arrangements to establish responsibility for services 
     pursuant to section 612(a)(12)(A) are current.
       [``(2) Other state-level activities.--
       [``(A) In general.--For the purpose of providing State-
     level activities, each State may reserve for each of the 
     fiscal years 2004 and 2005, not more than 10 percent of the 
     amount that remains after subtracting the amount reserved 
     under paragraph (1) from the amount of the State's allocation 
     under subsection (d) for fiscal years 2004 and 2005, 
     respectively. For fiscal years 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, 
     the State may reserve the maximum amount the State was 
     eligible to reserve under the preceding sentence for fiscal 
     year 2005 (adjusted by the cumulative rate of inflation since 
     fiscal year 2005 as measured by the percentage increase, if 
     any, in the Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers, 
     published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department 
     of Labor).
       [``(B) Required activities.--Funds reserved under 
     subparagraph (A) shall be used to carry out the following 
     activities:
       [``(i) For monitoring, enforcement and complaint 
     investigation.
       [``(ii) To establish and implement the mediation processes 
     required by section 615(e)(1), including providing for the 
     costs of mediators and support personnel;
       [``(iii) To fund the State protection and advocacy system, 
     or other legal organizations that have expertise in--

       [``(I) dispute resolution and due process;
       [``(II) efforts to educate families regarding due process;
       [``(III) voluntary mediation; and
       [``(IV) the opportunity to resolve complaints.

       [``(C) Authorized activities.--Funds reserved under 
     subparagraph (A) may be used to carry out the following 
     activities:
       [``(i) To provide technical assistance, personnel 
     development and training.
       [``(ii) To support paperwork reduction activities, 
     including expanding the use of technology in the IEP process.
       [``(iii) To assist local educational agencies in providing 
     positive behavioral interventions and supports and mental 
     health services for children with disabilities.
       [``(iv) To improve the use of technology in the classroom 
     by children with disabilities to enhance learning.
       [``(v) To support the development and use of technology, 
     including universally designed technologies and assistive 
     technology devices, to maximize accessibility to the general 
     curriculum for students with disabilities.
       [``(vi) Development and implementation of transition 
     programs, including coordination of services with agencies 
     involved in supporting the transition of students with 
     disabilities to post-secondary activities.
       [``(vii) To assist local educational agencies in meeting 
     personnel shortages.
       [``(viii) To support capacity building activities and 
     improve the delivery of services by local educational 
     agencies to improve results for children with disabilities.
       [``(ix) Alternative programming for children who have been 
     expelled from school, and services for children in 
     correctional facilities, children enrolled in State-operated 
     or State-supported schools, and children in charter schools.
       [``(x) To support the development and provision of 
     appropriate accommodations for children with disabilities, or 
     the development and provision of alternate assessments that 
     are valid and reliable for assessing the performance of 
     children with disabilities, in accordance with sections 
     1111(b) and 6111 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
     Act of 1965.
       [``(3) Local educational agency risk pool.--
       [``(A) In general.--For the purpose of assisting local 
     educational agencies (and charter schools that are local 
     educational agencies) in addressing the needs of high-need 
     children and the unanticipated enrollment of other children 
     eligible for service under this part, each State shall 
     reserve for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2009, 2 
     percent of the amount that remains after subtracting the 
     amount reserved under paragraph (1) from the amount of the 
     State's allocation under subsection (d) for each of the 
     fiscal years 2004 through 2009, respectively, to--
       [``(i) establish a high-cost fund; and
       [``(ii) make disbursements from the high-cost fund to local 
     educational agencies in accordance with this paragraph.
       [``(B) Required disbursements from the fund.--Each State 
     educational agency shall make disbursements from the fund 
     established under subparagraph (A) to local educational 
     agencies to pay the percentage, described in subparagraph 
     (D), of the costs of providing a free appropriate public 
     education to high-need children.
       [``(C) Application.--A local educational agency that 
     desires a disbursement under this subsection 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. Such application shall 
     include assurances that funds provided under this 
     paragraph 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.
       [``(D) Disbursements.--
       [``(i) In general.--A State educational agency shall make a 
     disbursement to a local educational agency that submits an 
     application under subparagraph (C) 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 the United States or in the 
     State where the child resides (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 direct special education and 
     related services to such child that are identified in such 
     child's appropriately developed IEP.
       [``(E) Legal fees.--The disbursements under subparagraph 
     (D) shall not support 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.
       [``(F) 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 
     subparagraph (D) for a fiscal year for the following 
     purposes:
       [``(i) To pay the costs associated with serving children 
     with disabilities who moved into the areas served by such 
     local agencies after the budget for the following school year 
     had been finalized to assist the local educational agencies 
     in providing a free appropriate public education for such 
     children in such year.
       [``(ii) To compensate local educational agencies for 
     extraordinary costs, as determined by the State, of any 
     children eligible for services under this part due to--

       [``(I) unexpected enrollment or placement of children 
     eligible for services under this part; or
       [``(II) a significant underestimate of the average cost of 
     providing services to children eligible for services under 
     this part.

       [``(G) Remaining funds.--Funds reserved under subparagraph 
     (A) in any fiscal year but not expended in that fiscal year 
     pursuant to subparagraph (D) or subparagraph (F) shall--
       [``(i) be allocated to local educational agencies pursuant 
     to subparagraphs (D) or (F) for the next fiscal year; or
       [``(ii) be allocated to local educational agencies in the 
     same manner as funds are allocated to local educational 
     agencies under subsection (f).
       [``(H) Assurance of a free appropriate public education.--
     Nothing in this section shall be construed--
       [``(i) 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); or
       [``(ii) 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.
       [``(I) Medicaid services not affected.--Disbursements 
     provided under this subsection 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.
       [``(J) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
       [``(i) 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.
       [``(ii) High-need child.--The term `high-need', when used 
     with respect to a child with a disability, 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.
       [``(K) Special rule for risk pool and high-need assistance 
     programs in effect as of january 1, 2003.--Notwithstanding 
     the provisions of subparagraphs (A) through (J), a State may 
     use funds reserved pursuant to this paragraph for 
     administering and implementing a placement neutral cost-
     sharing and reimbursement program of high-need, low-
     incidence, emergency, catastrophic, or

[[Page S5256]]

     extraordinary aid to local educational agencies that provides 
     services to students eligible under this part based on 
     eligibility criteria for such programs that were operative on 
     January 1, 2003.
       [``(4) Inapplicability of certain prohibitions.--A State 
     may use funds the State reserves under paragraphs (1), (2), 
     and (3) without regard to--
       [``(A) the prohibition on commingling of funds in section 
     612(a)(17)(B); and
       [``(B) the prohibition on supplanting other funds in 
     section 612(a)(17)(C).
       [``(5) Report on use of funds.--As part of the information 
     required to be submitted to the Secretary under section 612, 
     each State shall annually describe how amounts under this 
     section--
       [``(A) will be used to meet the requirements of this Act; 
     and
       [``(B) will be allocated among the activities described in 
     this section to meet State priorities based on input from 
     local educational agencies.
       [``(f) Subgrants to Local Educational Agencies.--
       [``(1) Subgrants required.--Each State that receives a 
     grant under this section for any fiscal year shall distribute 
     any funds the State does not reserve under subsection (e) to 
     local educational agencies (including public charter schools 
     that operate as local educational agencies) in the State that 
     have established their eligibility under section 613 for use 
     in accordance with this part.
       [``(2) Procedure for allocations to local educational 
     agencies.--
       [``(A) Procedure.--For each fiscal year for which funds are 
     allocated to States under subsection (d), each State shall 
     allocate funds under paragraph (1) as follows:
       [``(i) Base payments.--The State shall first award each 
     local educational agency described in paragraph (1) the 
     amount the local educational agency would have received under 
     this section for fiscal year 1999, if the State had 
     distributed 75 percent of its grant for that year under 
     section 611(d) as section 611(d) was then in effect.
       [``(ii) Allocation of remaining funds.--After making 
     allocations under clause (i), the State shall--

       [``(I) allocate 85 percent of any remaining funds to those 
     local educational agencies on the basis of the relative 
     numbers of children enrolled in public and private elementary 
     schools and secondary schools within the local educational 
     agency's jurisdiction; and
       [``(II) allocate 15 percent of those remaining funds to 
     those local educational agencies in accordance with their 
     relative numbers of children living in poverty, as determined 
     by the State educational agency.

       [``(3) Reallocation of funds.--If a State educational 
     agency determines that a local educational agency is 
     adequately providing a free appropriate public education to 
     all children with disabilities residing in the area served by 
     that local educational agency with State and local funds, the 
     State educational agency may reallocate any portion of the 
     funds under this part that are not needed by that local 
     educational agency to provide a free appropriate public 
     education to other local educational agencies in the State 
     that are not adequately providing special education and 
     related services to all children with disabilities residing 
     in the areas served by those other local educational 
     agencies.
       [``(g) Definitions.--For the purpose of this section--
       [``(1) the term `average per-pupil expenditure in public 
     elementary schools and secondary schools in the United 
     States' means--
       [``(A) without regard to the source of funds--
       [``(i) the aggregate current expenditures, during the 
     second fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the 
     determination is made (or, if satisfactory data for that year 
     are not available, during the most recent preceding fiscal 
     year for which satisfactory data are available) of all local 
     educational agencies in the 50 States and the District of 
     Columbia; plus
       [``(ii) any direct expenditures by the State for the 
     operation of those local educational agencies; divided by
       [``(B) the aggregate number of children in average daily 
     attendance to whom those local educational agencies provided 
     free public education during that preceding year; and
       [``(2) the term `State' means each of the 50 States, the 
     District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
       [``(h) Use of Amounts by Secretary of the Interior.--
       [``(1) Provision of amounts for assistance.--
       [``(A) In general.--The Secretary of Education shall 
     provide amounts to the Secretary of the Interior to meet the 
     need for assistance for the education of children with 
     disabilities on reservations aged 5 through 21 who are 
     enrolled in elementary schools and secondary schools for 
     Indian children operated or funded by the Secretary of the 
     Interior. The amount of such payment for any fiscal year 
     shall be equal to 80 percent of the amount allotted under 
     subsection (c) for that fiscal year.
       [``(B) Calculation of number of children.--In the case of 
     Indian students aged 3 through 5 who are enrolled in programs 
     affiliated with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (hereafter in 
     this subsection referred to as `BIA') schools, and that are 
     required by the States in which such schools are located to 
     attain or maintain State accreditation, and which schools had 
     such accreditation prior to the date of enactment of the 
     Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 
     1991, the school shall be allowed to count those children for 
     the purpose of distribution of the funds provided under this 
     paragraph to the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary of 
     the Interior shall be responsible for meeting all of the 
     requirements of this part for these children, in accordance 
     with paragraph (2).
       [``(C) Additional requirement.--With respect to all other 
     children aged 3 through 21 on reservations, the State 
     educational agency shall be responsible for ensuring that all 
     of the requirements of this part are implemented.
       [``(2) Submission of information.--The Secretary of 
     Education may provide the Secretary of the Interior amounts 
     under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year only if the Secretary 
     of the Interior submits to the Secretary of Education 
     information that--
       [``(A) demonstrates that the Department of the Interior 
     meets the appropriate requirements, as determined by the 
     Secretary of Education, of sections 612 (including monitoring 
     and evaluation activities) and 613;
       [``(B) includes a description of how the Secretary of the 
     Interior will coordinate the provision of services under this 
     part with local educational agencies, tribes and tribal 
     organizations, and other private and Federal service 
     providers;
       [``(C) includes an assurance that there are public 
     hearings, adequate notice of such hearings, and an 
     opportunity for comment afforded to members of tribes, tribal 
     governing bodies, and affected local school boards before the 
     adoption of the policies, programs, and procedures described 
     in subparagraph (A)
       [``(D) includes an assurance that the Secretary of the 
     Interior will provide such information as the Secretary of 
     Education may require to comply with section 618;
       [``(E) includes an assurance that the Secretary of the 
     Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Services have 
     entered into a memorandum of agreement, to be provided to the 
     Secretary of Education, for the coordination of services, 
     resources, and personnel between their respective Federal, 
     State, and local offices and with State and local educational 
     agencies and other entities to facilitate the provision of 
     services to Indian children with disabilities residing on or 
     near reservations (such agreement shall provide for the 
     apportionment of responsibilities and costs including, but 
     not limited to, child find, evaluation, diagnosis, 
     remediation or therapeutic measures, and (where appropriate) 
     equipment and medical or personal supplies as needed for a 
     child to remain in school or a program); and
       [``(F) includes an assurance that the Department of the 
     Interior will cooperate with the Department of Education in 
     its exercise of monitoring and oversight of this application, 
     and any agreements entered into between the Secretary of the 
     Interior and other entities under this part, and will fulfill 
     its duties under this part. Section 616(a) shall apply to the 
     information described in this paragraph.
       [``(3) Payments for education and services for indian 
     children with disabilities aged 3 through 5.--
       [``(A) In general.--With funds appropriated under 
     subsection (i), the Secretary of Education shall make 
     payments to the Secretary of the Interior to be distributed 
     to tribes or tribal organizations (as defined under section 4 
     of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
     Act) or consortia of the above to provide for the 
     coordination of assistance for special education and related 
     services for children with disabilities aged 3 through 5 on 
     reservations served by elementary schools and secondary 
     schools for Indian children operated or funded by the 
     Department of the Interior. The amount of such payments under 
     subparagraph (B) for any fiscal year shall be equal to 20 
     percent of the amount allotted under subsection (c).
       [``(B) Distribution of funds.--The Secretary of the 
     Interior shall distribute the total amount of the payment 
     under subparagraph (A) by allocating to each tribe or tribal 
     organization an amount based on the number of children with 
     disabilities ages 3 through 5 residing on reservations as 
     reported annually, divided by the total of those children 
     served by all tribes or tribal organizations.
       [``(C) Submission of information.--To receive a payment 
     under this paragraph, the tribe or tribal organization shall 
     submit such figures to the Secretary of the Interior as 
     required to determine the amounts to be allocated under 
     subparagraph (B). This information shall be compiled and 
     submitted to the Secretary of Education.
       [``(D) Use of funds.--The funds received by a tribe or 
     tribal organization shall be used to assist in child find, 
     screening, and other procedures for the early identification 
     of children aged 3 through 5, parent training, and the 
     provision of direct services. These activities may be carried 
     out directly or through contracts or cooperative agreements 
     with the BIA, local educational agencies, and other public or 
     private nonprofit organizations. The tribe or tribal 
     organization is encouraged to involve Indian parents in the 
     development and implementation of these activities. The above 
     entities shall, as appropriate, make referrals to local, 
     State, or Federal entities for the provision of services or 
     further diagnosis.
       [``(E) Biennial report.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
     pursuant to subparagraph (A), the tribe or tribal 
     organization shall

[[Page S5257]]

     provide to the Secretary of the Interior a biennial report of 
     activities undertaken under this paragraph, including the 
     number of contracts and cooperative agreements entered into, 
     the number of children contacted and receiving services for 
     each year, and the estimated number of children needing 
     services during the 2 years following the year in which the 
     report is made. The Secretary of the Interior shall include a 
     summary of this information on a biennial basis in the report 
     to the Secretary of Education required under this subsection. 
     The Secretary of Education may require any additional 
     information from the Secretary of the Interior.
       [``(F) Prohibitions.--None of the funds allocated under 
     this paragraph may be used by the Secretary of the Interior 
     for administrative purposes, including child count and the 
     provision of technical assistance.
       [``(4) Plan for coordination of services.--The Secretary of 
     the Interior shall develop and implement a plan for the 
     coordination of services for all Indian children with 
     disabilities residing on reservations covered under this Act. 
     Such plan shall provide for the coordination of services 
     benefiting these children from whatever source, including 
     tribes, the Indian Health Service, other BIA divisions, and 
     other Federal agencies. In developing the plan, the Secretary 
     of the Interior shall consult with all interested and 
     involved parties. The plan shall be based on the needs of the 
     children and the system best suited for meeting those needs, 
     and may involve the establishment of cooperative agreements 
     between the BIA, other Federal agencies, and other entities. 
     The plan shall also be distributed upon request to States, 
     State and local educational agencies, and other agencies 
     providing services to infants, toddlers, and children with 
     disabilities, to tribes, and to other interested parties.
       [``(5) Establishment of advisory board.--To meet the 
     requirements of section 612(a)(20), the Secretary of the 
     Interior shall establish, under the BIA, an advisory board 
     composed of individuals involved in or concerned with the 
     education and provision of services to Indian infants, 
     toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities, including 
     Indians with disabilities, Indian parents or guardians of 
     such children, teachers, service providers, State and local 
     educational officials, representatives of tribes or tribal 
     organizations, representatives from State Interagency 
     Coordinating Councils under section 641 in States having 
     reservations, and other members representing the various 
     divisions and entities of the BIA. The chairperson shall be 
     selected by the Secretary of the Interior. The advisory board 
     shall--
       [``(A) assist in the coordination of services within the 
     BIA and with other local, State, and Federal agencies in the 
     provision of education for infants, toddlers, and children 
     with disabilities;
       [``(B) advise and assist the Secretary of the Interior in 
     the performance of the Secretary's responsibilities described 
     in this subsection;
       [``(C) develop and recommend policies concerning effective 
     inter- and intra-agency collaboration, including 
     modifications to regulations, and the elimination of barriers 
     to inter- and intra-agency programs and activities;
       [``(D) provide assistance and disseminate information on 
     best practices, effective program coordination strategies, 
     and recommendations for improved educational programming for 
     Indian infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities; and
       [``(E) provide assistance in the preparation of information 
     required under paragraph (2)(D).
       [``(6) Annual reports.--
       [``(A) In general.--The advisory board established under 
     paragraph (5) shall prepare and submit to the Secretary of 
     the Interior and to Congress an annual report containing a 
     description of the activities of the advisory board for 
     the preceding year.
       [``(B) Availability.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
     make available to the Secretary of Education the report 
     described in subparagraph (A).
       [``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of 
     carrying out this part, other than section 619, there are 
     authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary.

     [``SEC. 612. STATE ELIGIBILITY.

       [``(a) In General.--A State is eligible for assistance 
     under this part for a fiscal year if the State submits a plan 
     that provides assurances to the Secretary that the State has 
     in effect policies and procedures to ensure that the State 
     meets each of the following conditions:
       [``(1) Free appropriate public education.--
       [``(A) In general.--A free appropriate public education is 
     available to all children with disabilities residing in the 
     State between the ages of 3 and 21, inclusive, including 
     children with disabilities who have been suspended or 
     expelled from school.
       [``(B) Limitation.--The obligation to make a free 
     appropriate public education available to all children with 
     disabilities does not apply with respect to children--
       [``(i) aged 3 through 5 and 18 through 21 in a State to the 
     extent that its application to those children would be 
     inconsistent with State law or practice, or the order of any 
     court, respecting the provision of public education to 
     children in those age ranges; and
       [``(ii) aged 18 through 21 to the extent that State law 
     does not require that special education and related services 
     under this part be provided to children with disabilities 
     who, in the educational placement prior to their 
     incarceration in an adult correctional facility--

       [``(I) were not actually identified as being a child with a 
     disability under section 602(3); or
       [``(II) did not have an individualized education program 
     under this part.

       [``(2) Full educational opportunity goal.--The State has 
     established a goal of providing full educational opportunity 
     to all children with disabilities and a detailed timetable 
     for accomplishing that goal.
       [``(3) Child find.--
       [``(A) In general.--All children with disabilities residing 
     in the State, including children with disabilities attending 
     private schools, regardless of the severity of their 
     disabilities, and who are in need of special education and 
     related services, are identified, located, and evaluated and 
     a practical method is developed and implemented to determine 
     which children with disabilities are currently receiving 
     needed special education and related services.
       [``(B) Construction.--Nothing in this Act requires that 
     children be classified by their disability so long as each 
     child who has a disability listed in section 602 and who, by 
     reason of that disability, needs special education and 
     related services is regarded as a child with a disability 
     under this part.
       [``(4) Individualized education program.--An individualized 
     education program, or an individualized family service plan 
     that meets the requirements of section 636(d), is developed, 
     reviewed, and revised for each child with a disability in 
     accordance with section 614(d).
       [``(5) Least restrictive environment.--
       [``(A) In general.--To the maximum extent appropriate, 
     children with disabilities, including children in public or 
     private institutions or other care facilities, are educated 
     with children who are not disabled, and special classes, 
     separate schooling, or other removal of children with 
     disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs 
     only when the nature or severity of the disability of a child 
     is such that education in regular classes with the use of 
     supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved 
     satisfactorily.
       [``(B) Additional requirement.--
       [``(i) In general.--A State funding mechanism shall not 
     result in placements that violate the requirements of 
     subparagraph (A), and a State shall not use a funding 
     mechanism by which the State distributes funds on the basis 
     of the type of setting in which a child is served that will 
     result in the failure to provide a child with a disability a 
     free appropriate public education according to the unique 
     needs of the child as described in the child's IEP.
       [``(ii) Assurance.--If the State does not have policies and 
     procedures to ensure compliance with clause (i), the State 
     shall provide the Secretary an assurance that the State will 
     revise the funding mechanism as soon as feasible to ensure 
     that such mechanism does not result in such placements.
       [``(6) Procedural safeguards.--
       [``(A) In general.--Children with disabilities and their 
     parents are afforded the procedural safeguards required by 
     section 615.
       [``(B) Additional procedural safeguards.--Procedures to 
     ensure that testing and evaluation materials and procedures 
     utilized for the purposes of evaluation and placement of 
     children with disabilities will be selected and administered 
     so as not to be racially or culturally discriminatory. Such 
     materials or procedures shall be provided and administered in 
     the child's native language or mode of communication, unless 
     it clearly is not feasible to do so, and no single procedure 
     shall be the sole criterion for determining an appropriate 
     educational program for a child.
       [``(7) Evaluation.--Children with disabilities are 
     evaluated in accordance with subsections (a) through (c) of 
     section 614.
       [``(8) Confidentiality.--Agencies in the State comply with 
     section 617(c) (relating to the confidentiality of records 
     and information).
       [``(9) Transition from part c to preschool programs.--
     Children participating in early-intervention programs 
     assisted under part C, and who will participate in preschool 
     programs assisted under this part, experience a smooth and 
     effective transition to those preschool programs in a manner 
     consistent with section 637(a)(8). By the third birthday of 
     such a child, an individualized education program or, if 
     consistent with sections 614(d)(2)(B) and 636(d), an 
     individualized family service plan, has been developed and is 
     being implemented for the child. The local educational agency 
     will participate in transition planning conferences 
     arranged by the designated lead agency under section 
     637(a)(8).
       [``(10) Children in private schools.--
       [``(A) Children enrolled in private schools by their 
     parents.--
       [``(i) In general.--To the extent consistent with the 
     number and location of children with disabilities in the 
     State who are enrolled by their parents in private elementary 
     schools and secondary schools in the school district served 
     by a local educational agency, provision is made for the 
     participation of those children in the program assisted or 
     carried out under this part by providing for such children 
     special education and related services in accordance with the 
     following requirements, unless the Secretary

[[Page S5258]]

     has arranged for services to those children under subsection 
     (f):

       [``(I) Amounts to be expended for the provision of those 
     services (including direct services to parentally placed 
     children) by the local educational agency shall be equal to a 
     proportionate amount of Federal funds made available under 
     this part.
       [``(II) Such services may be provided to children with 
     disabilities on the premises of private, including religious, 
     schools, to the extent consistent with law.
       [``(III) Each local educational agency shall maintain in 
     its records and provide to the State educational agency the 
     number of children evaluated under this paragraph, the number 
     of children determined to be a child with a disability, and 
     the number of children served under this subsection.

       [``(ii) Child-find requirement.--

       [``(I) In general.--The requirements of paragraph (3) of 
     this subsection (relating to child find) shall apply with 
     respect to children with disabilities in the State who are 
     enrolled in private, including religious, elementary schools 
     and secondary schools. Such child find process shall be 
     conducted in a comparable time period as for other students 
     attending public schools in the local educational agency.
       [``(II) Equitable participation.--The child find process 
     shall be designed to ensure the equitable participation of 
     parentally placed private school children and an accurate 
     count of such children.
       [``(III) Activities.--In carrying out this clause, the 
     local educational agency, or where applicable, the State 
     educational agency, shall undertake activities similar to 
     those activities undertaken for its public school children.
       [``(IV) Cost.--The cost of carrying out this clause, 
     including individual evaluations, may not be considered in 
     determining whether a local education agency has met its 
     obligations under clause (i).
       [``(V) Completion period.--Such child find process shall be 
     completed in a time period comparable to that for other 
     students attending public schools served by the local 
     educational agency.

       [``(iii) Consultation.--To ensure timely and meaningful 
     consultation, a local educational agency, or where 
     appropriate, a State educational agency, shall consult, with 
     representatives of children with disabilities parentally 
     placed in private schools, during the design and development 
     of special education and related services for these children, 
     including consultation regarding--

       [``(I) the child find process and how parentally placed 
     private school children suspected of having a disability can 
     participate equitably, including how parents, teachers, and 
     private school officials will be informed of the process;
       [``(II) the determination of the proportionate share of 
     Federal funds available to serve parentally placed private 
     school children with disabilities under this paragraph, 
     including the determination of how the proportionate share of 
     those funds were calculated;
       [``(III) the consultation process among the school 
     district, private school officials, and parents of parentally 
     placed private school children with disabilities, including 
     how such process will operate throughout the school year to 
     ensure that parentally placed children with disabilities 
     identified through the child find process can meaningfully 
     participate in special education and related services;
       [``(IV) how, where, and by whom special education and 
     related services will be provided for parentally placed 
     private school children, including a discussion of alternate 
     service delivery mechanisms, how such services will be 
     apportioned if funds are insufficient to serve all children, 
     and how and when these decisions will be made; and
       [``(V) how, if the local educational agency disagrees with 
     the views of the private school officials on the provision of 
     services through a contract, the local educational agency 
     shall provide to the private school officials a written 
     explanation of the reasons why such the local educational 
     agency chose not to use a contractor.

       [``(iv) Written affirmation.--When timely and meaningful 
     consultation as required by this section has occurred, the 
     local educational agency shall obtain a written affirmation 
     signed by the representatives of participating private 
     schools, and if such officials do not provide such 
     affirmations within a reasonable period of time, the local 
     educational agency shall forward the documentation of the 
     consultation process to the State educational agency.
       [``(v) Compliance.--

       [``(I) In general.--A private school official shall have 
     the right to complain to the State educational agency that 
     the local educational agency did not engage in 
     consultation that was meaningful and timely, or did not 
     give due consideration to the views of the private school 
     official.

       [``(II) Procedure.--If the private school official wishes 
     to complain, the official shall provide the basis of the 
     noncompliance with this section by the local educational 
     agency to the State educational agency, and the local 
     educational agency shall forward the appropriate 
     documentation to the State educational agency. If the private 
     school official is dissatisfied with the decision of the 
     State educational agency, such official may complain to the 
     Secretary by providing the basis of the noncompliance with 
     this section by the local educational agency to the 
     Secretary, and the State educational agency shall forward the 
     appropriate documentation to the Secretary.

       [``(vi) Provision of equitable services.--

       [``(I) Direct services.--To the extent practicable, the 
     local educational agency shall provide direct services to 
     children with disabilities parentally placed in private 
     schools.
       [``(II) Directly or through contracts.--A public agency may 
     provide special education and related services directly or 
     through contracts with public and private agencies, 
     organizations, and institutions.
       [``(III) Secular, neutral, nonideological.--Special 
     education and related services provided to children with 
     disabilities attending private schools, including materials 
     and equipment, shall be secular, neutral, and nonideological.

       [``(vii) Public control of funds.--The control of funds 
     used to provide special education and related services under 
     this section, and title to materials, equipment, and property 
     purchased with those funds, shall be in a public agency for 
     the uses and purposes provided in this Act, and a public 
     agency shall administer the funds and property.
       [``(B) Children placed in, or referred to, private schools 
     by public agencies.--
       [``(i) In general.--Children with disabilities in private 
     schools and facilities are provided special education and 
     related services, in accordance with an individualized 
     education program, at no cost to their parents, if such 
     children are placed in, or referred to, such schools or 
     facilities by the State or appropriate local educational 
     agency as the means of carrying out the requirements of this 
     part or any other applicable law requiring the provision of 
     special education and related services to all children with 
     disabilities within such State.
       [``(ii) Standards.--In all cases described in clause (i), 
     the State educational agency shall determine whether such 
     schools and facilities meet standards that apply to State and 
     local educational agencies and that children so served have 
     all the rights the children would have if served by such 
     agencies.
       [``(C) Payment for education of children enrolled in 
     private schools without consent of or referral by the public 
     agency.--
       [``(i) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (A), this part 
     does not require a local educational agency to pay for the 
     cost of education, including special education and related 
     services, of a child with a disability at a private school or 
     facility if that agency made a free appropriate public 
     education available to the child and the parents elected to 
     place the child in such private school or facility.
       [``(ii) Reimbursement for private school placement.--If the 
     parents of a child with a disability, who previously received 
     special education and related services under the authority of 
     a public agency, enroll the child in a private elementary 
     school or secondary school without the consent of or referral 
     by the public agency, a court or a hearing officer may 
     require the agency to reimburse the parents for the cost of 
     that enrollment if the court or hearing officer finds that 
     the agency had not made a free appropriate public education 
     available to the child in a timely manner prior to that 
     enrollment.
       [``(iii) Limitation on reimbursement.--The cost of 
     reimbursement described in clause (ii) may be reduced or 
     denied--

       [``(I) if--

       [``(aa) at the most recent IEP meeting that the parents 
     attended prior to removal of the child from the public 
     school, the parents did not inform the IEP Team that they 
     were rejecting the placement proposed by the public agency to 
     provide a free appropriate public education to their child, 
     including stating their concerns and their intent to enroll 
     their child in a private school at public expense; or
       [``(bb) 10 business days (including any holidays that occur 
     on a business day) prior to the removal of the child from the 
     public school, the parents did not give written notice to the 
     public agency of the information described in division (aa);

       [``(II) if, prior to the parents' removal of the child from 
     the public school, the public agency informed the parents, 
     through the notice requirements described in section 
     615(b)(3), of its intent to evaluate the child (including a 
     statement of the purpose of the evaluation that was 
     appropriate and reasonable), but the parents did not make the 
     child available for such evaluation; or
       [``(III) upon a judicial finding of unreasonableness with 
     respect to actions taken by the parents.

       [``(iv) Exception.--Notwithstanding the notice requirement 
     in clause (iii)(I), the cost of reimbursement--

       [``(I) shall not be reduced or denied for failure to 
     provide such notice if--

       [``(aa) the school prevented the parent from providing such 
     notice; or
       [``(bb) the parents had not received notice, pursuant to 
     section 615, of the notice requirement in clause (iii)(I); 
     and

       [``(II) may, in the discretion of a court or a hearing 
     officer, not be reduced or denied for failure to provide such 
     notice if--

       [``(aa) the parent is illiterate and cannot write in 
     English; or
       [``(bb) compliance with clause (iii)(I) would likely have 
     resulted in physical or serious emotional harm to the child.
       [``(11) State educational agency responsible for general 
     supervision.--
       [``(A) In general.--The State educational agency is 
     responsible for ensuring that--

[[Page S5259]]

       [``(i) the requirements of this part are met; and
       [``(ii) all educational programs for children with 
     disabilities in the State, including all such programs 
     administered by any other State or local agency--

       [``(I) are under the general supervision of individuals in 
     the State who are responsible for educational programs for 
     children with disabilities; and
       [``(II) meet the educational standards of the State 
     educational agency.

       [``(B) Limitation.--Subparagraph (A) shall not limit the 
     responsibility of agencies in the State other than the State 
     educational agency to provide, or pay for some or all of the 
     costs of, a free appropriate public education for any child 
     with a disability in the State.
       [``(C) Exception.--Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and 
     (B), the Governor (or another individual pursuant to State 
     law), consistent with State law, may assign to any public 
     agency in the State the responsibility of ensuring that the 
     requirements of this part are met with respect to children 
     with disabilities who are convicted as adults under State law 
     and incarcerated in adult prisons.
       [``(12) Obligations related to and methods of ensuring 
     services.--
       [``(A) Establishing responsibility for services.--The Chief 
     Executive Officer of a State or designee of the officer shall 
     ensure that an interagency agreement or other mechanism for 
     interagency coordination is in effect between each public 
     agency described in subparagraph (B) and the State 
     educational agency, in order to ensure that all services 
     described in subparagraph (B)(i) that are needed to ensure a 
     free appropriate public education are provided, including the 
     provision of such services during the pendency of any dispute 
     under clause (iii). Such agreement or mechanism shall include 
     the following:
       [``(i) Agency financial responsibility.--An identification 
     of, or a method for defining, the financial responsibility of 
     each agency for providing services described in subparagraph 
     (B)(i) to ensure a free appropriate public education to 
     children with disabilities, provided that the financial 
     responsibility of each public agency described in 
     subparagraph (B), including the State Medicaid agency and 
     other public insurers of children with disabilities, shall 
     precede the financial responsibility of the local educational 
     agency (or the State agency responsible for developing the 
     child's IEP).
       [``(ii) Conditions and terms of reimbursement.--The 
     conditions, terms, and procedures under which a local 
     educational agency shall be reimbursed by other agencies.
       [``(iii) Interagency disputes.--Procedures for resolving 
     interagency disputes (including procedures under which local 
     educational agencies may initiate proceedings) under the 
     agreement or other mechanism to secure reimbursement from 
     other agencies or otherwise implement the provisions of the 
     agreement or mechanism.
       [``(iv) Coordination of services procedures.--Policies and 
     procedures for agencies to determine and identify the 
     interagency coordination responsibilities of each agency to 
     promote the coordination and timely and appropriate delivery 
     of services described in subparagraph (B)(i).
       [``(B) Obligation of public agency.--
       [``(i) In general.--If any public agency other than an 
     educational agency is otherwise obligated under Federal or 
     State law, or assigned responsibility under State policy, 
     pursuant to subparagraph (A), or pursuant to an agreement 
     under paragraph (C), to provide or pay for any services that 
     are also considered special education or related services 
     (such as, but not limited to, services described in section 
     602(1) relating to assistive technology devices, 602(2) 
     relating to assistive technology services, 602(24) relating 
     to related services, 602(31) relating to supplementary aids 
     and services, and 602(32) relating to transition services) 
     that are necessary for ensuring a free appropriate public 
     education to children with disabilities within the State, 
     such public agency shall fulfill that obligation or 
     responsibility, either directly or through contract or other 
     arrangement pursuant to subparagraph (A).
       [``(ii) Reimbursement for services by public agency.--If a 
     public agency other than an educational agency fails to 
     provide or pay for the special education and related services 
     described in clause (i), the local educational agency (or 
     State agency responsible for developing the child's IEP) 
     shall provide or pay for such services to the child. Such 
     local educational agency or State agency is authorized to 
     claim reimbursement for the services from the public agency 
     that failed to provide or pay for such services and such 
     public agency shall reimburse the local educational agency or 
     State agency pursuant to the terms of the interagency 
     agreement or other mechanism described in subparagraph (A)(i) 
     according to the procedures established in such agreement 
     pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii).
       [``(C) Special rule.--The requirements of subparagraph (A) 
     may be met through--
       [``(i) State statute or regulation;
       [``(ii) signed agreements between respective agency 
     officials that clearly identify the responsibilities of each 
     agency relating to the provision of services; or
       [``(iii) other appropriate written methods as determined by 
     the Chief Executive Officer of the State or designee of the 
     officer and approved by the Secretary through the review and 
     approval of the State's plan pursuant to this section.
       [``(13) Procedural requirements relating to local 
     educational agency eligibility.--The State educational agency 
     will not make a final determination that a local educational 
     agency is not eligible for assistance under this part without 
     first affording that agency reasonable notice and an 
     opportunity for a hearing.
       [``(14) Personnel standards.--
       [``(A) In general.--The State educational agency has 
     established and maintains standards to ensure that personnel 
     necessary to carry out this part are appropriately and 
     adequately prepared and trained, including that those 
     personnel have the content knowledge and skills to serve 
     children with disabilities.
       [``(B) Related services personnel and paraprofessionals.--
     The standards under subparagraph (A) include standards for 
     related services personnel and paraprofessionals that--
       [``(i) are consistent with any State-approved or State-
     recognized certification, licensing, registration, or other 
     comparable requirements that apply to the professional 
     discipline in which those personnel are providing special 
     education or related services; and
       [``(ii) allow paraprofessionals and assistants who are 
     appropriately trained and supervised, in accordance with 
     State law, regulation, or written policy, in meeting the 
     requirements of this part to be used to assist in the 
     provision of special education and related services under 
     this part to children with disabilities.
       [``(C) Standards for special education teachers.--The 
     standards described in subparagraph (A) shall ensure that 
     each special education teacher in the State who teaches in an 
     elementary, middle, or secondary school is highly qualified 
     not later than the 2006-2007 school year.
       [``(D) Policy.--In implementing this section, a State shall 
     adopt a policy that includes a requirement that local 
     educational agencies in the State take measurable steps to 
     recruit, hire, train, and retain highly qualified personnel 
     to provide special education and related services under this 
     part to children with disabilities.
       [``(15) Performance goals and indicators.--The State--
       [``(A) has established goals for the performance of 
     children with disabilities in the State that--
       [``(i) promote the purposes of this Act, as stated in 
     section 601(d);
       [``(ii) are the same as the State's definition of adequate 
     yearly progress, including the State's objectives for 
     progress by children with disabilities, under section 
     1111(b)(2)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
     of 1965;
       [``(iii) address drop out rates, as well as such other 
     factors as the State may determine; and
       [``(iv) are consistent, to the extent appropriate, with any 
     other goals and standards for children established by the 
     State;
       [``(B) has established performance indicators the State 
     will use to assess progress toward achieving the goals 
     described in subparagraph (A), including measurable annual 
     objectives for progress by children with disabilities under 
     section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)(cc) of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965; and
       [``(C) will annually report to the Secretary and the public 
     on the progress of the State, and of children with 
     disabilities in the State, toward meeting the goals 
     established under subparagraph (A).
       [``(16) Participation in assessments.--
       [``(A) In general.-- All children with disabilities are 
     included in all general State and districtwide assessment 
     programs and accountability systems, including assessments 
     and accountability systems described under section 1111 of 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, with 
     appropriate accommodations, alternate assessments where 
     necessary, and as indicated in their respective 
     individualized education programs.
       [``(B) Accommodation guidelines.--The State (or, in the 
     case of a districtwide assessment, the local educational 
     agency) has developed guidelines for the provision of 
     appropriate accommodations.
       [``(C) Alternate assessments.--
       [``(i) In general.--The State (or, in the case of a 
     districtwide assessment, the local educational agency) has 
     developed and implemented guidelines for the participation of 
     children with disabilities in alternate assessments for those 
     children who cannot participate in regular assessments under 
     subparagraph (B) as indicated in their respective 
     individualized education programs.
       [``(ii) Requirements for alternate assessments.--The 
     guidelines under clause (i) shall provide for alternate 
     assessments that--

       [``(I) are aligned with the State's challenging academic 
     content and academic achievement standards; or

       [``(II) measure the achievement of students against 
     alternate academic achievement standards that are aligned 
     with the State's academic content standards.

       [``(iii) Conduct of alternative assessments.--The State 
     conducts the alternate assessments described in this 
     subparagraph.
       [``(D) Reports.--The State educational agency (or, in the 
     case of a districtwide assessment, the local educational 
     agency) makes available to the public, and reports to the 
     public with the same frequency and in

[[Page S5260]]

     the same detail as it reports on the assessment of 
     nondisabled children, the following:
       [``(i) The number of children with disabilities 
     participating in regular assessments, and the number of those 
     children who were provided accommodations in order to 
     participate in those assessments.
       [``(ii) The number of children with disabilities 
     participating in alternate assessments described in 
     subparagraph (C)(ii)(I).
       [``(iii) The number of children with disabilities 
     participating in alternate assessments described in 
     subparagraph (C)(ii)(II).
       [``(iv) The performance of children with disabilities on 
     regular assessments and on alternate assessments (if the 
     number of children with disabilities participating in those 
     assessments is sufficient to yield statistically reliable 
     information and reporting that information will not reveal 
     personally identifiable information about an individual 
     student), compared with the achievement of all children, 
     including children with disabilities, on those assessments.
       [``(E) Universal design.--The State educational agency (or, 
     in the case of a districtwide assessment, the local 
     educational agency) shall, to the extent possible, use 
     universal design principles in developing and administering 
     any assessments under this paragraph.
       [``(17) Supplementation of state, local, and other federal 
     funds.--
       [``(A) Expenditures.--Funds paid to a State under this part 
     will be expended in accordance with all the provisions of 
     this part.
       [``(B) Prohibition against commingling.--Funds paid to a 
     State under this part will not be commingled with State 
     funds.
       [``(C) Prohibition against supplantation and conditions for 
     waiver by secretary.--Except as provided in section 613, 
     funds paid to a State under this part will be used to 
     supplement the level of Federal, State, and local funds 
     (including funds that are not under the direct control of 
     State or local educational agencies) expended for special 
     education and related services provided to children with 
     disabilities under this part and in no case to supplant such 
     Federal, State, and local funds, except that, where the State 
     provides clear and convincing evidence that all children with 
     disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public 
     education, the Secretary may waive, in whole or in part, the 
     requirements of this subparagraph if the Secretary concurs 
     with the evidence provided by the State.
       [``(18) Maintenance of state financial support.--
       [``(A) In general.--The State does not reduce the amount of 
     State financial support for special education and related 
     services for children with disabilities, or otherwise made 
     available because of the excess costs of educating those 
     children, below the amount of that support for the preceding 
     fiscal year.
       [``(B) Reduction of funds for failure to maintain 
     support.--The Secretary shall reduce the allocation of funds 
     under section 611 for any fiscal year following the fiscal 
     year in which the State fails to comply with the requirement 
     of subparagraph (A) by the same amount by which the State 
     fails to meet the requirement.
       [``(C) Waivers for exceptional or uncontrollable 
     circumstances.--The Secretary may waive the requirement of 
     subparagraph (A) for a State, for 1 fiscal year at a time, if 
     the Secretary determines that--
       [``(i) granting a waiver would be equitable due to 
     exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances such as a natural 
     disaster or a precipitous and unforeseen decline in the 
     financial resources of the State; or
       [``(ii) the State meets the standard in paragraph (17)(C) 
     for a waiver of the requirement to supplement, and not to 
     supplant, funds received under this part.
       [``(D) Subsequent years.--If, for any year, a State fails 
     to meet the requirement of subparagraph (A), including any 
     year for which the State is granted a waiver under 
     subparagraph (C), the financial support required of the State 
     in future years under subparagraph (A) shall be the amount 
     that would have been required in the absence of that failure 
     and not the reduced level of the State's support.
       [``(E) Regulations.--
       [``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall, by regulation, 
     establish procedures (including objective criteria and 
     consideration of the results of compliance reviews of the 
     State conducted by the Secretary) for determining whether to 
     grant a waiver under subparagraph (C)(ii).
       [``(ii) Timeline.--The Secretary shall publish proposed 
     regulations under clause (i) not later than 6 months after 
     the date of enactment of the Individuals with Disabilities 
     Education Improvement Act of 2003, and shall issue final 
     regulations under clause (i) not later than 1 year after such 
     date of enactment.
       [``(19) Public participation.--Prior to the adoption of any 
     policies and procedures needed to comply with this section 
     (including any amendments to such policies and procedures), 
     the State ensures that there are public hearings, adequate 
     notice of the hearings, and an opportunity for comment 
     available to the general public, including individuals with 
     disabilities and parents of children with disabilities.
       [``(20) State advisory panel.--
       [``(A) In general.--The State has established and maintains 
     an advisory panel for the purpose of providing policy 
     guidance with respect to special education and related 
     services for children with disabilities in the State.
       [``(B) Membership.--Such advisory panel shall consist of 
     members appointed by the Governor, or any other official 
     authorized under State law to make such appointments, that is 
     representative of the State population and that is composed 
     of individuals involved in, or concerned with, the 
     education of children with disabilities, including--
       [``(i) parents of children with disabilities ages birth 
     through 26;
       [``(ii) individuals with disabilities;
       [``(iii) teachers;
       [``(iv) representatives of institutions of higher education 
     that prepare special education and related services 
     personnel;
       [``(v) State and local education officials;
       [``(vi) administrators of programs for children with 
     disabilities;
       [``(vii) representatives of other State agencies involved 
     in the financing or delivery of related services to children 
     with disabilities;
       [``(viii) representatives of private schools and public 
     charter schools;
       [``(ix) at least 1 representative of a vocational, 
     community, or business organization concerned with the 
     provision of transition services to children with 
     disabilities; and
       [``(x) representatives from the State juvenile and adult 
     corrections agencies.
       [``(C) Special rule.--A majority of the members of the 
     panel shall be individuals with disabilities ages birth 
     through 26 or parents of such individuals.
       [``(D) Duties.--The advisory panel shall--
       [``(i) advise the State educational agency of unmet needs 
     within the State in the education of children with 
     disabilities;
       [``(ii) comment publicly on any rules or regulations 
     proposed by the State regarding the education of children 
     with disabilities;
       [``(iii) advise the State educational agency in developing 
     evaluations and reporting on data to the Secretary under 
     section 618;
       [``(iv) advise the State educational agency in developing 
     corrective action plans to address findings identified in 
     Federal monitoring reports under this part; and
       [``(v) advise the State educational agency in developing 
     and implementing policies relating to the coordination of 
     services for children with disabilities.
       [``(21) Suspension and expulsion rates.--
       [``(A) In general.--The State educational agency examines 
     data to determine if significant discrepancies are occurring 
     in the rate of long-term suspensions and expulsions of 
     children with disabilities--
       [``(i) among local educational agencies in the State; or
       [``(ii) compared to such rates for nondisabled children 
     within such agencies.
       [``(B) Review and revision of policies.--If such 
     discrepancies are occurring, the State educational agency 
     reviews and, if appropriate, revises (or requires the 
     affected State or local educational agency to revise) its 
     policies, procedures, and practices relating to the 
     development and implementation of IEPs, the use of behavioral 
     interventions, and procedural safeguards, to ensure that such 
     policies, procedures, and practices comply with this Act.
       [``(22) Instructional materials.--
       [``(A) In general.--The State adopts the national 
     instructional materials accessibility standard for the 
     purposes of providing instructional materials to blind 
     persons or other persons with print disabilities in a timely 
     manner after the publication of the standard by the Secretary 
     in the Federal Register.
       [``(B) Purchase requirement.--Not later than 2 years after 
     the date of the enactment of the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003, the State 
     educational agency, when purchasing instructional materials 
     for use in public elementary and secondary schools within the 
     State, requires the publisher of the instructional materials, 
     as a part of any purchase agreement that is made, renewed, or 
     revised, to prepare and supply electronic files containing 
     the contents of the instructional materials using the 
     national instructional materials accessibility standard.
       [``(C) Definition.--For purposes of this paragraph, the 
     term `instructional materials' means printed textbooks and 
     related core materials that are written and published 
     primarily for use in elementary school and secondary school 
     instruction and are required by a State educational agency or 
     local educational agency for use by pupils in the classroom.
       [``(b) State Educational Agency as Provider of Free 
     Appropriate Public Education or Direct Services.--If the 
     State educational agency provides free appropriate public 
     education to children with disabilities, or provides direct 
     services to such children, such agency--
       [``(1) shall comply with any additional requirements of 
     section 613(a), as if such agency were a local educational 
     agency; and
       [``(2) may use amounts that are otherwise available to such 
     agency under this part to serve those children without regard 
     to section 613(a)(2)(A)(i) (relating to excess costs).
       [``(c) Exception for Prior State Plans.--
       [``(1) In general.--If a State has on file with the 
     Secretary policies and procedures that demonstrate that such 
     State meets any requirement of subsection (a), including any 
     policies and procedures filed under this part as in effect 
     before the effective date of the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003, the Secretary 
     shall consider such State to have met such requirement for 
     purposes of receiving a grant under this part.

[[Page S5261]]

       [``(2) Modifications made by state.--Subject to paragraph 
     (3), an application submitted by a State in accordance with 
     this section shall remain in effect until the State submits 
     to the Secretary such modifications as the State determines 
     necessary. This section shall apply to a modification to an 
     application to the same extent and in the same manner as this 
     section applies to the original plan.
       [``(3) Modifications required by the secretary.--If, after 
     the effective date of the Individuals with Disabilities 
     Education Improvement Act of 2003, the provisions of this Act 
     are amended (or the regulations developed to carry out this 
     Act are amended), there is a new interpretation of this Act 
     by a Federal court or a State's highest court, or there is an 
     official finding of noncompliance with Federal law or 
     regulations, then the Secretary may require a State to modify 
     its application only to the extent necessary to ensure the 
     State's compliance with this part.
       [``(d) Approval by the Secretary.--
       [``(1) In general.--If the Secretary determines that a 
     State is eligible to receive a grant under this part, the 
     Secretary shall notify the State of that determination.
       [``(2) Notice and hearing.--The Secretary shall not make a 
     final determination that a State is not eligible to receive a 
     grant under this part until after providing the State--
       [``(A) with reasonable notice; and
       [``(B) with an opportunity for a hearing.
       [``(e) Assistance Under Other Federal Programs.--Nothing in 
     this title permits a State to reduce medical and other 
     assistance available, or to alter eligibility, under titles V 
     and XIX of the Social Security Act with respect to the 
     provision of a free appropriate public education for children 
     with disabilities in the State.
       [``(f) By-Pass for Children in Private Schools.--
       [``(1) In general.--If, on the date of enactment of the 
     Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1983, a State 
     educational agency was prohibited by law from providing for 
     the equitable participation in special programs of children 
     with disabilities enrolled in private elementary schools and 
     secondary schools as required by subsection (a)(10)(A), or if 
     the Secretary determines that a State educational agency, 
     local educational agency, or other entity has substantially 
     failed or is unwilling to provide for such equitable 
     participation, then the Secretary shall, notwithstanding such 
     provision of law, arrange for the provision of services to 
     such children through arrangements which shall be subject to 
     the requirements of such subsection.
       [``(2) Payments.--
       [``(A) Determination of amounts.--If the Secretary arranges 
     for services pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary, 
     after consultation with the appropriate public and private 
     school officials, shall pay to the provider of such services 
     for a fiscal year an amount per child that does not exceed 
     the amount determined by dividing--
       [``(i) the total amount received by the State under this 
     part for such fiscal year; by
       [``(ii) the number of children with disabilities served in 
     the prior year, as reported to the Secretary by the State 
     under section 618.
       [``(B) Withholding of certain amounts.--Pending final 
     resolution of any investigation or complaint that may result 
     in a determination under this subsection, the Secretary may 
     withhold from the allocation of the affected State 
     educational agency the amount the Secretary estimates will be 
     necessary to pay the cost of services described in 
     subparagraph (A).
       [``(C) Period of payments.--The period under which payments 
     are made under subparagraph (A) shall continue until the 
     Secretary determines that there will no longer be any failure 
     or inability on the part of the State educational agency to 
     meet the requirements of subsection (a)(10)(A).
       [``(3) Notice and hearing.--
       [``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall not take any final 
     action under this subsection until the State educational 
     agency affected by such action has had an opportunity, for at 
     least 45 days after receiving written notice thereof, to 
     submit written objections and to appear before the Secretary 
     or the Secretary's designee to show cause why such action 
     should not be taken.
       [``(B) Review of action.--If a State educational agency is 
     dissatisfied with the Secretary's final action after a 
     proceeding under subparagraph (A), such agency may, not later 
     than 60 days after notice of such action, file with the 
     United States court of appeals for the circuit in which such 
     State is located a petition for review of that action. A copy 
     of the petition shall be forthwith transmitted by the clerk 
     of the court to the Secretary. The Secretary thereupon shall 
     file in the court the record of the proceedings on which the 
     Secretary based the Secretary's action, as provided in 
     section 2112 of title 28, United States Code.
       [``(C) Review of findings of fact.--The findings of fact by 
     the Secretary, if supported by substantial evidence, shall be 
     conclusive, but the court, for good cause shown, may remand 
     the case to the Secretary to take further evidence, and the 
     Secretary may thereupon make new or modified findings of fact 
     and may modify the Secretary's previous action, and shall 
     file in the court the record of the further proceedings. Such 
     new or modified findings of fact shall likewise be conclusive 
     if supported by substantial evidence.
       [``(D) Jurisdiction of court of appeals; review by united 
     states supreme court.--Upon the filing of a petition under 
     subparagraph (B), the United States court of appeals shall 
     have jurisdiction to affirm the action of the Secretary or to 
     set it aside, in whole or in part. The judgment of the court 
     shall be subject to review by the Supreme Court of the United 
     States upon certiorari or certification as provided in 
     section 1254 of title 28, United States Code.

     [``SEC. 613. LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY ELIGIBILITY.

       [``(a) In General.--A local educational agency is eligible 
     for assistance under this part for a fiscal year if such 
     agency submits a plan that provides assurances to the State 
     educational agency that the local educational agency meets 
     each of the following conditions:
       [``(1) Consistency with state policies.--The local 
     educational agency, in providing for the education of 
     children with disabilities within its jurisdiction, has in 
     effect policies, procedures, and programs that are consistent 
     with the State policies and procedures established under 
     section 612.
       [``(2) Use of amounts.--
       [``(A) In general.--Amounts provided to the local 
     educational agency under this part shall be expended in 
     accordance with the applicable provisions of this part and--
       [``(i) shall be used only to pay the excess costs of 
     providing special education and related services to children 
     with disabilities;
       [``(ii) shall be used to supplement State, local, and other 
     Federal funds and not to supplant such funds; and
       [``(iii) shall not be used, except as provided in 
     subparagraphs (B) and (C), to reduce the level of 
     expenditures for the education of children with disabilities 
     made by the local educational agency from local funds below 
     the level of those expenditures for the preceding fiscal 
     year.
       [``(B) Exception.--Notwithstanding the restriction in 
     subparagraph (A)(iii), a local educational agency may reduce 
     the level of expenditures where such reduction is 
     attributable to--
       [``(i) the voluntary departure, by retirement or otherwise, 
     or departure for just cause, of special education personnel;
       [``(ii) a decrease in the enrollment of children with 
     disabilities;
       [``(iii) the termination of the obligation of the agency, 
     consistent with this part, to provide a program of special 
     education to a particular child with a disability that is 
     an exceptionally costly program, as determined by the 
     State educational agency, because the child--

       [``(I) has left the jurisdiction of the agency;
       [``(II) has reached the age at which the obligation of the 
     agency to provide a free appropriate public education to the 
     child has terminated; or
       [``(III) no longer needs such program of special education; 
     or

       [``(iv) the termination of costly expenditures for long-
     term purchases, such as the acquisition of equipment or the 
     construction of school facilities.
       [``(C) Treatment of federal funds in certain fiscal 
     years.--
       [``(i) 8 percent rule.--Notwithstanding clauses (ii) and 
     (iii) of subparagraph (A), a local educational agency may 
     treat as local funds, for the purposes of such clauses, not 
     more than 8 percent of the amount of funds the local 
     educational agency receives under this part.
       [``(ii) 40 percent rule.--Notwithstanding clauses (ii) and 
     (iii) of subparagraph (A), for any fiscal year for which 
     States are allocated the maximum amount of grants pursuant to 
     section 611(a)(2), a local educational agency may treat as 
     local funds, for the purposes of such clauses, not more than 
     40 percent of the amount of funds the local educational 
     agency receives under this part, subject to clause (iv).
       [``(iii) Early intervening prereferral services.--

       [``(I) 8 percent rule.--If a local educational agency 
     exercises authority pursuant to clause (i), the 8 percent 
     funds shall be counted toward the percentage and amount of 
     funds that may be used to provide early intervening 
     prereferral services pursuant to subsection (f).
       [``(II) 40 percent rule.--If a local educational agency 
     exercises authority pursuant to clause (ii), the local 
     educational agency shall use an amount of the 40 percent 
     funds from clause (ii) that represents 15 percent of the 
     total amount of funds the local educational agency receives 
     under this part, to provide early intervening prereferral 
     services pursuant to subsection (f).

       [``(iv) Special Rule.--Funds treated as local funds 
     pursuant to clause (i) or (ii) may be considered non-Federal 
     or local funds for the purposes of--

       [``(I) clauses (ii) and (iii) of subparagraph (A); and
       [``(II) the provision of the local share of costs for title 
     XIX of the Social Security Act.

       [``(v) Prohibition.--If a State educational agency 
     determines that a local educational agency is unable to 
     establish and maintain programs of free appropriate public 
     education that meet the requirements of this subsection, then 
     the State educational agency shall prohibit the local 
     educational agency from treating funds received under this 
     part as local funds under clause (i) or (ii) for that fiscal 
     year, but only if the State educational agency is authorized 
     to do so by the State constitution or a State statute.
       [``(vi) Report.--For each fiscal year in which a local 
     educational agency exercises its authority pursuant to this 
     paragraph and

[[Page S5262]]

     treats Federal funds as local funds, the local educational 
     agency shall report to the State educational agency the 
     amount of funds so treated and the activities that were 
     funded with such funds.
       [``(D) Schoolwide programs under title i of the esea.--
     Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) or any other provision of 
     this part, a local educational agency may use funds received 
     under this part for any fiscal year to carry out a schoolwide 
     program under section 1114 of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965, except that the amount so used in any 
     such program shall not exceed--
       [``(i) the number of children with disabilities 
     participating in the schoolwide program; multiplied by
       [``(ii)(I) the amount received by the local educational 
     agency under this part for that fiscal year; divided by
       [``(II) the number of children with disabilities in the 
     jurisdiction of that agency.
       [``(3) Personnel development.--The local educational agency 
     shall ensure that all personnel necessary to carry out this 
     part are appropriately and adequately prepared, consistent 
     with the requirements of section 612(a)(14) of this Act and 
     section 2122 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
     1965.
       [``(4) Permissive use of funds.--
       [``(A) Uses.--Notwithstanding paragraph (2)(A) or section 
     612(a)(17)(B) (relating to commingled funds), funds provided 
     to the local educational agency under this part may be used 
     for the following activities:
       [``(i) Services and aids that also benefit nondisabled 
     children.--For the costs of special education and related 
     services, and supplementary aids and services, provided in a 
     regular class or other education-related setting to a child 
     with a disability in accordance with the individualized 
     education program of the child, even if 1 or more nondisabled 
     children benefit from such services.
       [``(ii) Early intervening services.--To develop and 
     implement comprehensive, coordinated, early intervening 
     educational services in accordance with subsection (f).
       [``(B) Case management and administration.--A local 
     educational agency may use funds received under this part to 
     purchase appropriate technology, for recordkeeping, data 
     collection, and related case management activities of 
     teachers and related services personnel providing services 
     described in the individualized education program of children 
     with disabilities, that is necessary to the implementation of 
     such case management activities.
       [``(5) Treatment of charter schools and their students.--In 
     carrying out this part with respect to charter schools that 
     are public schools of the local educational agency, the local 
     educational agency--
       [``(A) serves children with disabilities attending those 
     charter schools in the same manner as the local educational 
     agency serves children with disabilities in its other 
     schools, including providing supplementary and related 
     services on site at the charter school to the same extent to 
     which the local educational agency has a policy or practice 
     of providing such services on the site to its other public 
     schools; and
       [``(B) provides funds under this part to those charter 
     schools on the same basis, including proportional 
     distribution based on relative enrollment of children with 
     disabilities, and at the same time, as the local educational 
     agency distributes State, local, or a combination of State 
     and local, funds to those charter schools under the State's 
     charter school law.
       [``(6) Purchase of instructional materials.--Not later than 
     2 years after the date of the enactment of the Individuals 
     with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003, the 
     local educational agency, when purchasing instructional 
     materials for use in public elementary schools or secondary 
     schools served by the local educational agency, requires the 
     publisher of the instructional materials, as a part of any 
     purchase agreement that is made, renewed, or revised, to 
     prepare and supply electronic files containing the 
     contents of the instructional materials using the national 
     instructional materials accessibility standard described 
     in section 612(a)(22).
       [``(7) Information for state educational agency.--The local 
     educational agency shall provide the State educational agency 
     with information necessary to enable the State educational 
     agency to carry out its duties under this part, including, 
     with respect to paragraphs (15) and (16) of section 612(a), 
     information relating to the performance of children with 
     disabilities participating in programs carried out under this 
     part.
       [``(8) Public information.--The local educational agency 
     shall make available to parents of children with disabilities 
     and to the general public all documents relating to the 
     eligibility of such agency under this part.
       [``(b) Exception for Prior Local Plans.--
       [``(1) In general.--If a local educational agency or State 
     agency has on file with the State educational agency policies 
     and procedures that demonstrate that such local educational 
     agency, or such State agency, as the case may be, meets any 
     requirement of subsection (a), including any policies and 
     procedures filed under this part as in effect before the 
     effective date of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
     Improvement Act of 2003, the State educational agency shall 
     consider such local educational agency or State agency, as 
     the case may be, to have met such requirement for purposes of 
     receiving assistance under this part.
       [``(2) Modification made by local educational agency.--
     Subject to paragraph (3), an application submitted by a local 
     educational agency in accordance with this section shall 
     remain in effect until the local educational agency submits 
     to the State educational agency such modifications as the 
     local educational agency determines necessary.
       [``(3) Modifications required by state educational 
     agency.--If, after the effective date of the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003, the 
     provisions of this Act are amended (or the regulations 
     developed to carry out this Act are amended), there is a new 
     interpretation of this Act by Federal or State courts, or 
     there is an official finding of noncompliance with Federal or 
     State law or regulations, then the State educational agency 
     may require a local educational agency to modify its 
     application only to the extent necessary to ensure the local 
     educational agency's compliance with this part or State law.
       [``(c) Notification of Local Educational Agency or State 
     Agency in Case of Ineligibility.--If the State educational 
     agency determines that a local educational agency or State 
     agency is not eligible under this section, then the State 
     educational agency shall notify the local educational agency 
     or State agency, as the case may be, of that determination 
     and shall provide such local educational agency or State 
     agency with reasonable notice and an opportunity for a 
     hearing.
       [``(d) Local Educational Agency Compliance.--
       [``(1) In general.--If the State educational agency, after 
     reasonable notice and an opportunity for a hearing, finds 
     that a local educational agency or State agency that has been 
     determined to be eligible under this section is failing to 
     comply with any requirement described in subsection (a), the 
     State educational agency shall reduce or shall not provide 
     any further payments to the local educational agency or State 
     agency until the State educational agency is satisfied that 
     the local educational agency or State agency, as the case may 
     be, is complying with that requirement.
       [``(2) Additional requirement.--Any State agency or local 
     educational agency in receipt of a notice described in 
     paragraph (1) shall, by means of public notice, take such 
     measures as may be necessary to bring the pendency of an 
     action pursuant to this subsection to the attention of the 
     public within the jurisdiction of such agency.
       [``(3) Consideration.--In carrying out its responsibilities 
     under paragraph (1), the State educational agency shall 
     consider any decision made in a hearing held under section 
     615 that is adverse to the local educational agency or State 
     agency involved in that decision.
       [``(e) Joint Establishment of Eligibility.--
       [``(1) Joint establishment.--
       [``(A) In general.--A State educational agency may require 
     a local educational agency to establish its eligibility 
     jointly with another local educational agency if the State 
     educational agency determines that the local educational 
     agency will be ineligible under this section because the 
     local educational agency will not be able to establish and 
     maintain programs of sufficient size and scope to effectively 
     meet the needs of children with disabilities.
       [``(B) Charter school exception.--A State educational 
     agency may not require a charter school that is a local 
     educational agency to jointly establish its eligibility under 
     subparagraph (A) unless the charter school is explicitly 
     permitted to do so under the State's charter school law.
       [``(2) Amount of payments.--If a State educational agency 
     requires the joint establishment of eligibility under 
     paragraph (1), the total amount of funds made available to 
     the affected local educational agencies shall be equal to the 
     sum of the payments that each such local educational agency 
     would have received under section 611(f) if such agencies 
     were eligible for such payments.
       [``(3) Requirements.--Local educational agencies that 
     establish joint eligibility under this subsection shall--
       [``(A) adopt policies and procedures that are consistent 
     with the State's policies and procedures under section 
     612(a); and
       [``(B) be jointly responsible for implementing programs 
     that receive assistance under this part.
       [``(4) Requirements for educational service agencies.--
       [``(A) In general.--If an educational service agency is 
     required by State law to carry out programs under this part, 
     the joint responsibilities given to local educational 
     agencies under this subsection shall--
       [``(i) not apply to the administration and disbursement of 
     any payments received by that educational service agency; and
       [``(ii) be carried out only by that educational service 
     agency.
       [``(B) Additional requirement.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of this subsection, an educational service agency 
     shall provide for the education of children with disabilities 
     in the least restrictive environment, as required by section 
     612(a)(5).
       [``(f) Early Intervening Services.--
       [``(1) In general.--A local educational agency may not use 
     more than 15 percent of the amount such agency receives under 
     this part for any fiscal year, less any amount treated as 
     local funds pursuant to subsection (a)(2)(C), if any, in 
     combination with other amounts (which may include amounts 
     other

[[Page S5263]]

     than education funds), to develop and implement 
     comprehensive, coordinated, early intervening educational 
     services, which may include interagency financing 
     structures, for students in kindergarten through grade 12 
     (with a particular emphasis on students in kindergarten 
     through grade 3) who have not been identified as needing 
     special education or related services but who require 
     additional academic and behavioral support to succeed in a 
     general education environment.
       [``(2) Activities.--In implementing comprehensive, 
     coordinated, early intervening educational services under 
     this subsection, a local educational agency may carry out 
     activities that include--
       [``(A) professional development (which may be provided by 
     entities other than local educational agencies) for teachers 
     and other school staff to enable such personnel to deliver 
     scientifically based academic and behavioral interventions, 
     including scientifically based literacy instruction, and, 
     where appropriate, instruction on the use of adaptive and 
     instructional software;
       [``(B) providing educational and behavioral evaluations, 
     services, and supports, including scientifically based 
     literacy instruction; and
       [``(C) developing and implementing interagency financing 
     structures for the provision of such services and supports.
       [``(3) Construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall be 
     construed to either limit or create a right to a free 
     appropriate public education under this part.
       [``(4) Reporting.--Each local educational agency that 
     develops and maintains comprehensive, coordinated, early 
     intervening educational services with funds made available 
     for this subsection, shall annually report to the State 
     educational agency on--
       [``(A) the number of children served under this subsection; 
     and
       [``(B) the number of children served under this subsection 
     who are subsequently referred to special education.
       [``(5) Coordination with certain projects under elementary 
     and secondary education act of 1965.--Funds made available to 
     carry out this subsection may be used to carry out 
     comprehensive, coordinated, early intervening educational 
     services aligned with activities funded by, and carried out 
     under, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 if 
     such funds are used to supplement, and not supplant, funds 
     made available under the Elementary and Secondary Education 
     Act of 1965 for the activities and services assisted under 
     this subsection.
       [``(g) Direct Services by the State Educational Agency.--
       [``(1) In general.--A State educational agency shall use 
     the payments that would otherwise have been available to a 
     local educational agency or to a State agency to provide 
     special education and related services directly to children 
     with disabilities residing in the area served by that local 
     educational agency, or for whom that State agency is 
     responsible, if the State educational agency determines that 
     the local educational agency or State agency, as the case may 
     be--
       [``(A) has not provided the information needed to establish 
     the eligibility of such agency under this section;
       [``(B) is unable to establish and maintain programs of free 
     appropriate public education that meet the requirements of 
     subsection (a);
       [``(C) is unable or unwilling to be consolidated with 1 or 
     more local educational agencies in order to establish and 
     maintain such programs; or
       [``(D) has 1 or more children with disabilities who can 
     best be served by a regional or State program or service 
     delivery system designed to meet the needs of such children.
       [``(2) Manner and location of education and services.--The 
     State educational agency may provide special education and 
     related services under paragraph (1) in such manner and at 
     such locations (including regional or State centers) as the 
     State agency considers appropriate. Such education and 
     services shall be provided in accordance with this part.
       [``(h) State Agency Eligibility.--Any State agency that 
     desires to receive a subgrant for any fiscal year under 
     section 611(f) shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the 
     State educational agency that--
       [``(1) all children with disabilities who are participating 
     in programs and projects funded under this part receive a 
     free appropriate public education, and that those children 
     and their parents are provided all the rights and procedural 
     safeguards described in this part; and
       [``(2) the agency meets such other conditions of this 
     section as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
       [``(i) Disciplinary Information.--The State may require 
     that a local educational agency include in the records of a 
     child with a disability a statement of any current or 
     previous disciplinary action that has been taken against the 
     child and transmit such statement to the same extent that 
     such disciplinary information is included in, and transmitted 
     with, the student records of nondisabled children. The 
     statement may include a description of any behavior engaged 
     in by the child that required disciplinary action, a 
     description of the disciplinary action taken, and any other 
     information that is relevant to the safety of the child and 
     other individuals involved with the child. If the State 
     adopts such a policy, and the child transfers from 1 school 
     to another, the transmission of any of the child's records 
     shall include both the child's current individualized 
     education program and any such statement of current or 
     previous disciplinary action that has been taken against the 
     child.
       [``(j) State Agency Flexibility.--
       [``(1) Treatment of federal funds in certain fiscal 
     years.--If a State educational agency pays or reimburses 
     local educational agencies within the State for not less than 
     80 percent of the non-Federal share of the costs of special 
     education and related services, or the State is the sole 
     provider of free appropriate public education or direct 
     services pursuant to section 612(b), then the State 
     educational agency, notwithstanding sections 612(a) (17) and 
     (18) and 612(b), may treat funds allocated pursuant to 
     section 611 as general funds available to support the 
     educational purposes described in paragraph (2) (A) and (B).
       [``(2) Conditions.--A State educational agency may use 
     funds in accordance with paragraph (1) subject to the 
     following conditions:
       [``(A) 8 percent rule.--A State educational agency may 
     treat not more than 8 percent of the funds the State 
     educational agency receives under this part as general funds 
     to support any educational purpose described in the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, needs-based 
     student or teacher higher education programs, or the non-
     Federal share of costs of title XIX of the Social Security 
     Act.
       [``(B) 40 percent rule.--For any fiscal year for which 
     States are allocated the maximum amount of grants pursuant to 
     section 611(a)(2), a State educational agency may treat not 
     more than 40 percent of the amount of funds the State 
     educational agency receives under this part as general funds 
     to support any educational purpose described in the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, needs-based 
     student or teacher higher education programs, or the non-
     Federal share of costs of title XIX of the Social Security 
     Act, subject to subparagraph (C).
       [``(C) Requirement.--A State educational agency may 
     exercise its authority pursuant to subparagraph (B) only if 
     the State educational agency uses an amount of the 40 percent 
     funds from subparagraph (B) that represents 15 percent of the 
     total amount of funds the State educational agency receives 
     under this part, to provide, or to pay or reimburse local 
     educational agencies for providing, early intervening 
     prereferral services pursuant to subsection (f).
       [``(2) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), if the 
     Secretary determines that a State educational agency is 
     unable to establish, maintain, or oversee programs of free 
     appropriate public education that meet the requirements of 
     this part, then the Secretary shall prohibit the State 
     educational agency from treating funds allocated under this 
     part as general funds pursuant to paragraph (1).
       [``(3) Report.--For each fiscal year for which a State 
     educational agency exercises its authority pursuant to 
     paragraph (1) and treats Federal funds as general funds, the 
     State educational agency shall report to the Secretary the 
     amount of funds so treated and the activities that were 
     funded with such funds.

     [``SEC. 614. EVALUATIONS, ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATIONS, 
                   INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS, AND 
                   EDUCATIONAL PLACEMENTS.

       [``(a) Evaluations and Reevaluations.--
       [``(1) Initial evaluations.--
       [``(A) In general.--A State educational agency, other State 
     agency, or local educational agency shall conduct a full and 
     individual initial evaluation in accordance with this 
     paragraph and subsection (b), before the initial provision of 
     special education and related services to a child with a 
     disability under this part.
       [``(B) Request for initial evaluation.--Consistent with 
     subparagraph (D), either a parent of a child, or a State 
     educational agency, other State agency, or local educational 
     agency may initiate a request for an initial evaluation to 
     determine if the child is a child with a disability.
       [``(C) Procedures.--Such initial evaluation shall consist 
     of procedures--
       [``(i) to determine whether a child is a child with a 
     disability (as defined in section 602(3)) within 60 days of 
     receiving parental consent for the evaluation, or, if the 
     State has established a timeframe within which the evaluation 
     must be conducted, within such timeframe; and
       [``(ii) to determine the educational needs of such child.
       [``(D) Parental consent.--
       [``(i) In general.--The agency proposing to conduct an 
     initial evaluation to determine if the child qualifies as a 
     child with a disability as defined in section 602(3) (A) or 
     (B) shall obtain an informed consent from the parent of such 
     child before the evaluation is conducted. Parental consent 
     for evaluation shall not be construed as consent for 
     placement for receipt of special education and related 
     services.
       [``(ii) Refusal.--If the parents of such child refuse 
     consent for the evaluation, the agency may continue to pursue 
     an evaluation by utilizing the mediation and due process 
     procedures under section 615, except to the extent 
     inconsistent with State law relating to parental consent.
       [``(iii) Refusal or failure to consent.--If the parent of a 
     child does not provide informed consent to the receipt of 
     special education and related services, or the parent fails 
     to respond to a request to provide the

[[Page S5264]]

     consent, the local educational agency shall not be considered 
     to be in violation of the requirement to make available a 
     free appropriate public education to the child.
       [``(2) Reevaluations.--
       [``(A) In general.--A local educational agency shall ensure 
     that a reevaluation of each child with a disability is 
     conducted in accordance with subsections (b) and (c)--
       [``(i) if the local educational agency determines that the 
     educational or related services needs, including improved 
     academic achievement and functional performance, of the child 
     warrant a reevaluation; or
       [``(ii) if the child's parents or teacher requests a 
     reevaluation.
       [``(B) Limitation.--A reevaluation conducted under 
     subparagraph (A) shall occur--
       [``(i) not more than once a year, unless the parent and the 
     local educational agency agree otherwise; and
       [``(ii) at least once every 3 years, unless the parent and 
     the local educational agency agree that a reevaluation is 
     unnecessary.
       [``(b) Evaluation Procedures.--
       [``(1) Notice.--The local educational agency shall provide 
     notice to the parents of a child with a disability, in 
     accordance with subsections (b)(3), (b)(4), and (c) of 
     section 615, that describes any evaluation procedures such 
     agency proposes to conduct.
       [``(2) Conduct of evaluation.--In conducting the 
     evaluation, the local educational agency shall--
       [``(A) use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to 
     gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic 
     information, including information provided by the parent, 
     that may assist in determining--
       [``(i) whether the child is a child with a disability; and
       [``(ii) the content of the child's individualized education 
     program, including information related to enabling the child 
     to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum, or 
     for preschool children, to participate in appropriate 
     activities;
       [``(B) not use any single procedure, measure, or assessment 
     as the sole criterion for determining whether a child is a 
     child with a disability or determining an appropriate 
     educational program for the child; and
       [``(C) use technically sound instruments that may assess 
     the relative contribution of cognitive and behavioral 
     factors, in addition to physical or developmental factors.
       [``(3) Additional requirements.--Each local educational 
     agency shall ensure that--
       [``(A) tests and other evaluation materials used to assess 
     a child under this section--
       [``(i) are selected and administered so as not to be 
     discriminatory on a racial or cultural basis;
       [``(ii) are provided and administered, to the extent 
     practicable, in the language and form most likely to yield 
     accurate information on what the child knows and can do 
     academically, developmentally, and functionally;
       [``(iii) are used for purposes for which the assessments or 
     measures are valid and reliable;
       [``(iv) are administered by trained and knowledgeable 
     personnel; and
       [``(v) are administered in accordance with any instructions 
     provided by the producer of such tests;
       [``(B) the child is assessed in all areas of suspected 
     disability; and
       [``(C) assessment tools and strategies that provide 
     relevant information that directly assists persons in 
     determining the educational needs of the child are provided.
       [``(4) Determination of eligibility.--Upon completion of 
     administration of tests and other evaluation materials--
       [``(A) the determination of whether the child is a child 
     with a disability as defined in section 602(3) shall be made 
     by a team of qualified professionals and the parent of the 
     child in accordance with paragraph (5); and
       [``(B) a copy of the evaluation report and the 
     documentation of determination of eligibility shall be given 
     to the parent.
       [``(5) Special rule for eligibility determination.--In 
     making a determination of eligibility under paragraph (4)(A), 
     a child shall not be determined to be a child with a 
     disability if the determinant factor for such determination 
     is--
       [``(A) lack of scientifically based instruction in reading;
       [``(B) lack of instruction in mathematics; or
       [``(C) limited English proficiency.
       [``(6) Specific learning disabilities.--
       [``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding section 607, when 
     determining whether a child has a specific learning 
     disability as defined in section 602, a local educational 
     agency shall not be required to take into consideration 
     whether a child has a severe discrepancy between achievement 
     and intellectual ability in oral expression, listening 
     comprehension, written expression, basic reading skill, 
     reading comprehension, mathematical calculation, or 
     mathematical reasoning.
       [``(B) Additional authority.--In determining whether a 
     child has a specific learning disability, a local educational 
     agency may use a process that determines if the child 
     responds to scientific, research-based intervention.
       [``(c) Additional Requirements for Evaluation and 
     Reevaluations.--
       [``(1) Review of existing evaluation data.--As part of an 
     initial evaluation (if appropriate) and as part of any 
     reevaluation under this section, the IEP Team described in 
     subsection (d)(1)(B) and other qualified professionals, as 
     appropriate, shall--
       [``(A) review existing evaluation data on the child, 
     including evaluations and information provided by the parents 
     of the child, current classroom-based assessments, and 
     observations, and teacher and related services providers 
     observations; and
       [``(B) on the basis of that review, and input from the 
     child's parents, identify what additional data, if any, are 
     needed to determine--
       [``(i) whether the child has a particular category of 
     disability, as described in section 602(3), or, in case of a 
     reevaluation of a child, whether the child continues to have 
     such a disability;
       [``(ii) the present levels of performance and educational 
     needs of the child;
       [``(iii) whether the child needs special education and 
     related services, or in the case of a reevaluation of a 
     child, whether the child continues to need special education 
     and related services; and
       [``(iv) whether any additions or modifications to the 
     special education and related services are needed to enable 
     the child to meet the measurable annual goals set out in the 
     individualized education program of the child and to 
     participate, as appropriate, in the general curriculum.
       [``(2) Source of data.--The local educational agency shall 
     administer such tests and other evaluation materials as may 
     be needed to produce the data identified by the IEP Team 
     under paragraph (1)(B).
       [``(3) Parental consent.--Each local educational agency 
     shall obtain informed parental consent, in accordance with 
     subsection (a)(1)(D), prior to conducting any reevaluation of 
     a child with a disability, except that such informed parental 
     consent need not be obtained if the local educational agency 
     can demonstrate that the local educational agency had taken 
     reasonable measures to obtain such consent and the child's 
     parent has failed to respond.
       [``(4) Requirements if additional data are not needed.--If 
     the IEP Team and other qualified professionals, as 
     appropriate, determine that no additional data are needed to 
     determine whether the child is or continues to be a child 
     with a disability the local educational agency--
       [``(A) shall notify the child's parents of--
       [``(i) that determination and the reasons for the 
     determination; and
       [``(ii) the right of such parents to request an assessment 
     to determine whether the child is or continues to be a child 
     with a disability; and
       [``(B) shall not be required to conduct such an assessment 
     unless requested by the child's parents.
       [``(5) Evaluations before change in eligibility.--
       [``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     a local educational agency shall evaluate a child with a 
     disability in accordance with this section before determining 
     that the child is no longer a child with a disability.
       [``(B) Exception.--
       [``(i) In general.--The evaluation described in 
     subparagraph (A) shall not be required before the termination 
     of a child's eligibility under this part due to graduation 
     from secondary school with a regular diploma, or to exceeding 
     the age eligibility for a free appropriate public education 
     under State law.
       [``(ii) Summary of performance.--For a child whose 
     eligibility under this part terminates under circumstances 
     described in clause (i), a local educational agency shall 
     provide the child with a summary of the child's academic 
     achievement and functional performance, which shall include 
     any further recommendations on how to assist the child in 
     meeting the child's postsecondary goals.
       [``(d) Individualized Education Programs.--
       [``(1) Definitions.--As used in this title:
       [``(A) Individualized education program.--
       [``(i) In general.--The term `individualized education 
     program' or `IEP' means a written statement for each child 
     with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in 
     accordance with this section and that includes--

       [``(I) a statement of the child's present levels of 
     academic achievement and functional performance, including--

       [``(aa) how the child's disability affects the child's 
     involvement and progress in the general curriculum; or
       [``(bb) for preschool children, as appropriate, how the 
     disability affects the child's participation in appropriate 
     activities;

       [``(II) a statement of measurable annual goals, including 
     academic and functional goals, designed to--

       [``(aa) meet the child's needs that result from the child's 
     disability to enable the child to be involved in and make 
     progress in the general curriculum; and
       [``(bb) meet each of the child's other educational needs 
     that result from the child's disability;

       [``(III) a statement of how the child's progress toward the 
     annual goals described in subclause (II) will be measured, 
     including through the use of quarterly or other periodic 
     reports, concurrent with the issuance of report cards, that 
     delineate the progress the child is making toward meeting the 
     annual goals;
       [``(IV) a statement of the special education and related 
     services, and supplementary aids and services, to be provided 
     to the child, or on behalf of the child, and a statement of 
     the program modifications or supports for school personnel 
     that will be provided for the child--

       [``(aa) to advance appropriately toward attaining the 
     annual goals;

[[Page S5265]]

       [``(bb) to be involved in and make progress in the general 
     curriculum in accordance with subclause (I) and to 
     participate in extracurricular and other nonacademic 
     activities; and
       [``(cc) to be educated and participate with other children 
     with disabilities and nondisabled children in the activities 
     described in this paragraph;

       [``(V) an explanation of the extent, if any, to which the 
     child will not participate with nondisabled children in the 
     regular class and in the activities described in subclause 
     (IV)(cc);
       [``(VI)(aa) a statement of any individual appropriate 
     accommodations that are necessary to measure the academic 
     achievement and functional performance of the child on State 
     and districtwide assessments consistent with section 
     612(a)(16)(A); and
       [``(bb) if the IEP Team determines that the child shall 
     take an alternate assessment on a particular State or 
     districtwide assessment of student achievement, a statement 
     of why--

       [``(AA) the child cannot participate in the regular 
     assessment; and
       [``(BB) the particular alternate assessment selected is 
     appropriate for the child;

       [``(VII) the projected date for the beginning of the 
     services and modifications described in subclause (IV), and 
     the anticipated frequency, location, and duration of those 
     services and modifications; and
       [``(VIII) beginning not later than the first IEP to be in 
     effect when the child is 14, and updated annually 
     thereafter--

       [``(aa) appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based 
     upon age appropriate transition assessments related to 
     training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, 
     independent living skills;
       [``(bb) the transition services (including courses of 
     study) needed by the child to reach those goals, including 
     services to be provided by other agencies when needed; and
       [``(cc) beginning at least 1 year before the child reaches 
     the age of majority under State law, a statement that the 
     child has been informed of the child's rights under this 
     title, if any, that will transfer to the child on reaching 
     the age of majority under section 615(m).
       [``(ii) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section 
     shall be construed to require--

       [``(I) that additional information be included in a child's 
     IEP beyond what is explicitly required in this section; and
       [``(II) the IEP Team to include information under 1 
     component of a child's IEP that is already contained under 
     another component of such IEP.

       [``(B) Individualized education program team.--The term 
     `individualized education program team' or `IEP Team' means a 
     group of individuals composed of--
       [``(i) the parents of a child with a disability;
       [``(ii) at least 1 regular education teacher of such child 
     (if the child is, or may be, participating in the regular 
     education environment);
       [``(iii) at least 1 special education teacher, or where 
     appropriate, at least 1 special education provider of such 
     child;
       [``(iv) a representative of the local educational agency 
     who--

       [``(I) is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision 
     of, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs 
     of children with disabilities;
       [``(II) is knowledgeable about the general curriculum; and
       [``(III) is knowledgeable about the availability of 
     resources of the local educational agency;

       [``(v) an individual who can interpret the instructional 
     implications of evaluation results, who may be a member of 
     the team described in clauses (ii) through (vi);
       [``(vi) at the discretion of the parent or the agency, 
     other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise 
     regarding the child, including related services personnel as 
     appropriate; and
       [``(vii) whenever appropriate, the child with a disability.
       [``(C) IEP team attendance.--
       [``(i) Attendance not necessary.--A member of the IEP Team 
     shall not be required to attend an IEP meeting, in whole or 
     in part, if the parent of a child with a disability and the 
     local educational agency agree that the attendance of such 
     member is not necessary because no modification to the 
     member's area of the curriculum or related services is being 
     modified or discussed in the meeting.
       [``(ii) Excusal.--A member of the IEP Team may be excused 
     from attending an IEP meeting, in whole or in part, when the 
     meeting involves a modification to or discussion of the 
     member's area of the curriculum or related services, if--

       [``(I) the parent and the local educational agency consent 
     to the excusal; and
       [``(II) the member submits input into the development of 
     the IEP prior to the meeting.

       [``(2) Requirement that program be in effect.--
       [``(A) In general.--At the beginning of each school year, 
     each local educational agency, State educational agency, or 
     other State agency, as the case may be, shall have in effect, 
     for each child with a disability in its jurisdiction, an 
     individualized education program, as defined in paragraph 
     (1)(A).
       [``(B) Program for child aged 3 through 5.--In the case of 
     a child with a disability aged 3 through 5 (or, at the 
     discretion of the State educational agency, a 2-year-old 
     child with a disability who will turn age 3 during the school 
     year), an individualized family service plan that contains 
     the material described in section 636, and that is developed 
     in accordance with this section, may serve as the IEP of the 
     child if using that plan as the IEP is--
       [``(i) consistent with State policy; and
       [``(ii) agreed to by the agency and the child's parents.
       [``(3) Development of iep.--
       [``(A) In general.--In developing each child's IEP, the IEP 
     Team, subject to subparagraph (C), shall consider--
       [``(i) the strengths of the child;
       [``(ii) the concerns of the parents for enhancing the 
     education of their child;
       [``(iii) the results of the initial evaluation or most 
     recent evaluation of the child; and
       [``(iv) the academic, developmental, and functional needs 
     of the child.
       [``(B) Consideration of special factors.--The IEP Team 
     shall--
       [``(i) in the case of a child whose behavior impedes the 
     child's learning or that of others, provide for positive 
     behavioral interventions and supports, and other strategies 
     to address that behavior;
       [``(ii) in the case of a child with limited English 
     proficiency, consider the language needs of the child as such 
     needs relate to the child's IEP;
       [``(iii) in the case of a child who is blind or visually 
     impaired--

       [``(I) provide for instruction in Braille and the use of 
     Braille unless the IEP Team determines, after an evaluation 
     of the child's reading and writing skills, needs, and 
     appropriate reading and writing media (including an 
     evaluation of the child's future needs for instruction in 
     Braille or the use of Braille), that instruction in Braille 
     or the use of Braille is not appropriate for the child; and
       [``(II) consider, when appropriate, instructional services 
     related to functional performance skills, orientation and 
     mobility, and skills in the use of assistive technology 
     devices, including low vision devices;

       [``(iv) in the case of a child who is deaf or hard of 
     hearing, consider the child's language and communication 
     needs, opportunities for direct communications with peers and 
     professional personnel, and access to the general curriculum 
     and instruction at the child's academic level in the child's 
     language and communication mode; and
       [``(v) consider whether the child requires assistive 
     technology devices and services.
       [``(C) Requirement with respect to regular education 
     teacher.--A regular education teacher of the child, as a 
     member of the IEP Team shall, to the extent appropriate, 
     participate in the development of the IEP of the child, 
     including the determination of appropriate positive 
     behavioral interventions and supports, and other strategies, 
     and the determination of supplementary aids and services, 
     program modifications, and support for school personnel 
     consistent with paragraph (1)(A)(i)(IV).
       [``(D) Agreement.--In making changes to a child's IEP after 
     the annual IEP meeting for a school year, the parent of a 
     child with a disability and the local educational agency may 
     agree not to convene an IEP meeting for the remainder of the 
     school year, and instead develop a written document to 
     amend or modify the child's current IEP.
       [``(E) Consolidation of iep team meetings.--To the extent 
     possible, the local educational agency shall encourage the 
     consolidation of reevaluations of a child with IEP Team 
     meetings for the child.
       [``(4) Review and revision of iep.--
       [``(A) In general.--The local educational agency shall 
     ensure that, subject to subparagraph (B), the IEP Team--
       [``(i) reviews the child's IEP periodically, but not less 
     than annually, to determine whether the annual goals for the 
     child are being achieved; and
       [``(ii) revise the IEP as appropriate to address--

       [``(I) any lack of expected progress toward the annual 
     goals and in the general curriculum, where appropriate;
       [``(II) the results of any reevaluation conducted under 
     this section;
       [``(III) information about the child provided to, or by, 
     the parents, as described in subsection (c)(1)(B);
       [``(IV) the child's anticipated needs; or
       [``(V) other matters.

       [``(B) Requirement with respect to regular education 
     teacher.--A regular education teacher of the child, as a 
     member of the IEP Team, shall, consistent with paragraph 
     (1)(C), participate in the review and revision of the IEP of 
     the child.
       [``(5) Three-year iep.--
       [``(A) Development of 3-year iep.--The local educational 
     agency may offer a child with a disability who has reached 
     the age of 18, the option of developing a comprehensive 3-
     year IEP. With the consent of the parent, when appropriate, 
     the IEP Team shall develop an IEP, as described in paragraphs 
     (1) and (3), that is designed to serve the child for the 
     final 3-year transition period, which includes a statement 
     of--
       [``(i) measurable goals that will enable the child to be 
     involved in and make progress in the general education 
     curriculum and that will meet the child's transitional and 
     postsecondary needs that result from the child's disability; 
     and
       [``(ii) measurable annual goals for measuring progress 
     toward meeting the postsecondary goals described in clause 
     (i).
       [``(B) Review and revision of 3-year iep.--
       [``(i) Requirement.--Each year the local educational agency 
     shall ensure that the IEP Team--

[[Page S5266]]

       [``(I) provides an annual review of the child's IEP to 
     determine the child's current levels of progress and 
     determine whether the annual goals for the child are being 
     achieved; and
       [``(II) revises the IEP, as appropriate, to enable the 
     child to continue to meet the measurable transition goals set 
     out in the IEP.

       [``(ii) Comprehensive review.--If the review under clause 
     (i) determines that the child is not making sufficient 
     progress toward the goals described in subparagraph (A), the 
     local educational agency shall ensure that the IEP Team 
     provides a review, within 30 calendar days, of the IEP under 
     paragraph (4).
       [``(iii) Preference.--At the request of the child, or when 
     appropriate, the parent, the IEP Team shall conduct a review 
     of the child's 3-year IEP under paragraph (4) rather than an 
     annual review under subparagraph (B)(i).
       [``(6) Failure to meet transition objectives.--If a 
     participating agency, other than the local educational 
     agency, fails to provide the transition services described in 
     the IEP in accordance with paragraph (1)(A)(i)(VIII), the 
     local educational agency shall reconvene the IEP Team to 
     identify alternative strategies to meet the transition 
     objectives for the child set out in that program.
       [``(7) Children with disabilities in adult prisons.--
       [``(A) In general.--The following requirements shall not 
     apply to children with disabilities who are convicted as 
     adults under State law and incarcerated in adult prisons:
       [``(i) The requirements contained in section 612(a)(16) and 
     paragraph (1)(A)(i)(V) (relating to participation of children 
     with disabilities in general assessments).
       [``(ii) The requirements of items (aa) and (bb) of 
     paragraph (1)(A)(i)(VII) (relating to transition planning and 
     transition services), do not apply with respect to such 
     children whose eligibility under this part will end, because 
     of their age, before they will be released from prison.
       [``(B) Additional requirement.--If a child with a 
     disability is convicted as an adult under State law and 
     incarcerated in an adult prison, the child's IEP Team may 
     modify the child's IEP or placement notwithstanding the 
     requirements of sections 612(a)(5)(A) and 614(d)(1)(A) if the 
     State has demonstrated a bona fide security or compelling 
     penological interest that cannot otherwise be accommodated.
       [``(e) Educational Placements.--Each local educational 
     agency or State educational agency shall ensure that the 
     parents of each child with a disability are members of any 
     group that makes decisions on the educational placement of 
     their child.
       [``(f) Alternative Means of Meeting Participation.--When 
     conducting IEP Team meetings and placement meetings pursuant 
     to this section, the parent of a child with a disability and 
     a local educational agency may agree to use alternative means 
     of meeting participation, such as video conferences and 
     conference calls.

     [``SEC. 615. PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS.

       [``(a) Establishment of Procedures.--Any State educational 
     agency, State agency, or local educational agency that 
     receives assistance under this part shall establish and 
     maintain procedures in accordance with this section to ensure 
     that children with disabilities and their parents are 
     guaranteed procedural safeguards with respect to the 
     provision of free appropriate public education by such 
     agencies.
       [``(b) Types of Procedures.--The procedures required by 
     this section shall include--
       [``(1) an opportunity for the parents of a child with a 
     disability to examine all records relating to such child and 
     to participate in meetings with respect to the 
     identification, evaluation, and educational placement of the 
     child, and the provision of a free appropriate public 
     education to such child, and to obtain an independent 
     educational evaluation of the child;
       [``(2) procedures to protect the rights of the child 
     whenever the parents of the child are not known, the agency 
     cannot, after reasonable efforts, locate the parents, or the 
     child is a ward of the State, including the assignment of an 
     individual (who shall not be an employee of the State 
     educational agency, the local educational agency, or any 
     other agency that is involved in the education or care of the 
     child) to act as a surrogate for the parents;
       [``(3) written prior notice to the parents of the child, in 
     accordance with subsection (c)(1), whenever the local 
     educational agency--
       [``(A) proposes to initiate or change; or
       [``(B) refuses to initiate or change,
     the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of 
     the child, or the provision of a free appropriate public 
     education to the child;
       [``(4) procedures designed to ensure that the notice 
     required by paragraph (3) is in the native language of the 
     parents, unless it clearly is not feasible to do so;
       [``(5) an opportunity for mediation in accordance with 
     subsection (e);
       [``(6) an opportunity for either party to present 
     complaints with respect to any matter relating to the 
     identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the 
     child, or the provision of a free appropriate public 
     education to such child;
       [``(7)(A) procedures that require either party, or the 
     attorney representing a party, to provide due process 
     complaint notice in accordance with subsection (c)(2) (which 
     shall remain confidential)--
       [``(i) to the other party, in the complaint filed under 
     paragraph (6), and forward a copy of such notice to the State 
     educational agency; and
       [``(ii) that shall include--
       [``(I) the name of the child, the address of the residence 
     of the child, and the name of the school the child is 
     attending;
       [``(II) a description of the nature of the problem of the 
     child relating to such proposed initiation or change, 
     including facts relating to such problem; and
       [``(III) a proposed resolution of the problem to the extent 
     known and available to the party at the time; and
       [``(B) a requirement that a party may not have a due 
     process hearing until the party, or the attorney representing 
     the party, files a notice that meets the requirements of 
     subparagraph (A)(ii);
       [``(8) a requirement that the local educational agency 
     shall send a prior written notice pursuant to subsection 
     (c)(1) in response to a parent's due process complaint notice 
     under paragraph (7) if the local educational agency has not 
     sent such a prior written notice to the parent regarding the 
     subject matter contained in the parent's due process 
     complaint notice; and
       [``(9) procedures that require the State educational agency 
     to develop a model form to assist parents in filing a 
     complaint and due process complaint notice in accordance with 
     paragraphs (6) and (7), respectively.
       [``(c) Notification Requirements.--
       [``(1) Content of prior written notice.--The prior written 
     notice of the local educational agency required by subsection 
     (b)(3) shall include--
       [``(A) a description of the action proposed or refused by 
     the agency;
       [``(B) an explanation of why the agency proposes or refuses 
     to take the action;
       [``(C) a description of any other options that the agency 
     considered and the reasons why those options were rejected;
       [``(D) a description of each evaluation procedure, test, 
     record, or report the agency used as a basis for the proposed 
     or refused action;
       [``(E) a description of any other factors that are relevant 
     to the agency's proposal or refusal;
       [``(F) a statement that the parents of a child with a 
     disability have protection under the procedural safeguards of 
     this part and, if this notice is not an initial referral for 
     evaluation, the means by which a copy of a description of the 
     procedural safeguards can be obtained; and
       [``(G) sources for parents to contact to obtain assistance 
     in understanding the provisions of this part.
       [``(2) Due process complaint notice.--
       [``(A) In general.--The due process complaint notice 
     required under subsection (b)(7)(A) shall be deemed to be 
     sufficient unless the party receiving the notice notifies the 
     hearing officer in writing that the party believes the notice 
     has not met the requirements of that subsection.
       [``(B) Timing.--The party sending a hearing officer 
     notification under subparagraph (A) shall send the 
     notification within 20 days of receiving the complaint.
       [``(C) Determination.--Within 5 days of receipt of the 
     notification provided under subparagraph (B), the hearing 
     officer shall make a determination on the face of the notice 
     of whether the notification meets the requirements of 
     subsection (b)(7)(A).
       [``(d) Procedural Safeguards Notice.--
       [``(1) In general.--A copy of the procedural safeguards 
     available to the parents of a child with a disability shall 
     be given to the parents only 1 time a year, except that a 
     copy also shall be given to the parents--
       [``(A) upon initial referral or parental request for 
     evaluation;
       [``(B) upon registration of a complaint under subsection 
     (b)(6);
       [``(C) at any individualized education program meeting 
     required in accordance with subsection (k)(1); and
       [``(D) upon request by a parent.
       [``(2) Contents.--The procedural safeguards notice shall 
     include a full explanation of the procedural safeguards, 
     written in the native language of the parents, unless it 
     clearly is not feasible to do so, and written in an easily 
     understandable manner, available under this section and under 
     regulations promulgated by the Secretary relating to--
       [``(A) independent educational evaluation;
       [``(B) prior written notice;
       [``(C) parental consent;
       [``(D) access to educational records;
       [``(E) opportunity to present complaints, including the 
     time period in which to make those complaints;
       [``(F) the child's placement during pendency of due process 
     proceedings;
       [``(G) procedures for students who are subject to placement 
     in an interim alternative educational setting;
       [``(H) requirements for unilateral placement by parents of 
     children in private schools at public expense;
       [``(I) mediation;
       [``(J) due process hearings, including requirements for 
     disclosure of evaluation results and recommendations;
       [``(K) State-level appeals (if applicable in that State);
       [``(L) civil actions, including the time period in which to 
     file such actions; and
       [``(M) attorney's fees.
       [``(e) Mediation.--
       [``(1) In general.--Any State educational agency or local 
     educational agency that receives assistance under this part 
     shall ensure

[[Page S5267]]

     that procedures are established and implemented to allow 
     parties to disputes involving any matter, including matters 
     arising prior to the filing of a complaint pursuant to 
     subsection (b)(6), to resolve such disputes through a 
     mediation process.
       [``(2) Requirements.--Such procedures shall meet the 
     following requirements:
       [``(A) The procedures shall ensure that the mediation 
     process--
       [``(i) is voluntary on the part of the parties;
       [``(ii) is not used to deny or delay a parent's right to a 
     due process hearing under subsection (f), or to deny any 
     other rights afforded under this part; and
       [``(iii) is conducted by a qualified and impartial mediator 
     who is trained in effective mediation techniques.
       [``(B) Opportunity to meet with a disinterested party.--A 
     local educational agency or a State agency may establish 
     procedures to offer to parents who choose not to use the 
     mediation process, an opportunity to meet, at a time and 
     location convenient to the parents, with a disinterested 
     party who is under contract with--
       [``(i) a parent training and information center or 
     community parent resource center in the State established 
     under section 671 or 672; or
       [``(ii) an appropriate alternative dispute resolution 
     entity,

     to encourage the use, and explain the benefits, of the 
     mediation process to the parents.
       [``(C) List of qualified mediators.--The State shall 
     maintain a list of individuals who are qualified mediators 
     and knowledgeable in laws and regulations relating to the 
     provision of special education and related services.
       [``(D) Costs.--The State shall bear the cost of the 
     mediation process, including the costs of meetings described 
     in subparagraph (B).
       [``(E) Scheduling and location.--Each session in the 
     mediation process shall be scheduled in a timely manner and 
     shall be held in a location that is convenient to the parties 
     to the dispute.
       [``(F) Written mediation agreement.--An agreement reached 
     by the parties to the dispute in the mediation process shall 
     be set forth in a written mediation agreement that is 
     enforceable in any State court of competent jurisdiction or 
     in a district court of the United States.
       [``(G) Mediation discussions.--Discussions that occur 
     during the mediation process shall be confidential and may 
     not be used as evidence in any subsequent due process 
     hearings or civil proceedings, and the parties to the 
     mediation process may be required to sign a confidentiality 
     pledge prior to the commencement of such process.
       [``(f) Impartial Due Process Hearing.--
       [``(1) In general.--
       [``(A) Hearing.--Whenever a complaint has been received 
     under subsection (b)(6) or (k), the parents or the local 
     educational agency involved in such complaint shall have an 
     opportunity for an impartial due process hearing, which shall 
     be conducted by the State educational agency or by the local 
     educational agency, as determined by State law or by the 
     State educational agency.
       [``(B) Opportunity to resolve complaint.--
       [``(i) Preliminary meeting.--Prior to the opportunity for 
     an impartial due process hearing under subparagraph (A), the 
     local educational agency shall convene a meeting with the 
     parents and the IEP Team--

       [``(I) within 15 days of receiving notice of the parents' 
     complaint;
       [``(II) which shall include a representative of the public 
     agency who has decisionmaking authority on behalf of such 
     agency; and
       [``(III) which may not include an attorney of the local 
     educational agency unless the parent is accompanied by an 
     attorney; and
       [``(IV) where the parents of the child discuss their 
     complaint, and the specific issues that form the basis of the 
     complaint, and the local educational agency is provided the 
     opportunity to resolve the complaint,

     unless the parents and the local educational agency agree in 
     writing to waive such meeting, or agree to use the mediation 
     process described in subsection (e).
       [``(ii) Hearing.--If the local educational agency has not 
     resolved the complaint to the satisfaction of the parents 
     within 15 days of the receipt of the complaint, the due 
     process hearing may occur, and all of the applicable 
     timelines for a due process hearing under this part shall 
     commence.
       [``(iii) Written settlement agreement.--In the case that an 
     agreement is reached to resolve the complaint at such 
     meeting, the agreement shall be set forth in a written 
     settlement agreement that is enforceable in any State court 
     of competent jurisdiction or in a district court of the 
     United States and signed by both the parent and a 
     representative of the public agency who has decisionmaking 
     authority on behalf of such agency.
       [``(2) Disclosure of evaluations and recommendations.--
       [``(A) In general.--Not less than 5 business days prior to 
     a hearing conducted pursuant to paragraph (1), each party 
     shall disclose to all other parties all evaluations completed 
     by that date, and recommendations based on the offering 
     party's evaluations, that the party intends to use at the 
     hearing.
       [``(B) Failure to disclose.--A hearing officer may bar any 
     party that fails to comply with subparagraph (A) from 
     introducing the relevant evaluation or recommendation at the 
     hearing without the consent of the other party.
       [``(3) Limitations on hearing.--
       [``(A) Person conducting hearing.--A hearing officer 
     conducting a hearing pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) shall, at a 
     minimum--
       [``(i) not be--

       [``(I) an employee of the State educational agency or the 
     local educational agency involved in the education or care of 
     the child; or
       [``(II) a person having a personal or professional interest 
     that conflicts with the person's objectivity in the hearing;

       [``(ii) possess a fundamental understanding of this Act, 
     Federal and State regulations pertaining to this Act, and 
     interpretations of this Act by State and Federal courts;
       [``(iii) possess the knowledge and ability to conduct 
     hearings in accordance with appropriate, standard legal 
     practice; and
       [``(iv) possess the knowledge and ability to render and 
     write decisions in accordance with appropriate, standard 
     legal practice.
       [``(B) Subject matter of hearing.--The party requesting the 
     due process hearing shall not be allowed to raise issues at 
     the due process hearing that were not raised in the notice 
     filed under subsection (b)(7), unless the other party agrees 
     otherwise.
       [``(C) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section shall 
     be construed to preclude a parent from filing a separate due 
     process complaint on an issue separate from a due process 
     complaint already filed.
       [``(D) Statute of limitations.--A parent or public agency 
     shall request an impartial due process hearing within 2 years 
     of the date the parent or public agency knew or should have 
     known about the alleged action that forms the basis of the 
     complaint, or, if the State has an explicit time limitation 
     for requesting such a hearing under this part, in such time 
     as the State law allows.
       [``(E) Exception to the statute of limitations.--The 
     statute of limitations described in subparagraph (D) shall 
     not apply if the parent was prevented from requesting the 
     hearing due to--
       [``(i) failure of the local educational agency to provide 
     prior written or procedural safeguards notices;
       [``(ii) false representations that the local educational 
     agency was attempting to resolve the problem forming the 
     basis of the complaint; or
       [``(iii) the local educational agency's withholding of 
     information from parents.
       [``(F) Decision of hearing officer.--
       [``(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii), a decision made 
     by a hearing officer shall be made on substantive grounds 
     based on a determination of whether the child received a free 
     appropriate public education.
       [``(ii) Procedural issues.--In matters alleging a 
     procedural violation, a hearing officer may find that a child 
     did not receive a free appropriate public education only if 
     the procedural inadequacies--

       [``(I) compromised the child's right to an appropriate 
     public education;
       [``(II) seriously hampered the parents' opportunity to 
     participate in the process; or
       [``(III) caused a deprivation of educational benefits.

       [``(iii) Enforceability.--A decision made by the hearing 
     officer is enforceable in any State court of competent 
     jurisdiction or in a district court of the United States, 
     unless either party appeals such decision under the provision 
     of subsection (g) or (i)(2).
       [``(G) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section shall 
     be construed to affect the right of a parent to file a 
     complaint with the State educational agency.
       [``(g) Appeal.--If the hearing required by subsection (f) 
     is conducted by a local educational agency, any party 
     aggrieved by the findings and decision rendered in such a 
     hearing may appeal such findings and decision to the State 
     educational agency. Such State educational agency shall 
     conduct an impartial review of such decision. The officer 
     conducting such review shall make an independent decision 
     upon completion of such review.
       [``(h) Safeguards.--Any party to a hearing conducted 
     pursuant to subsection (f) or (k), or an appeal conducted 
     pursuant to subsection (g), shall be accorded--
       [``(1) the right to be accompanied and advised by counsel 
     and by individuals with special knowledge or training with 
     respect to the problems of children with disabilities;
       [``(2) the right to present evidence and confront, cross-
     examine, and compel the attendance of witnesses;
       [``(3) the right to a written, or, at the option of the 
     parents, electronic verbatim record of such hearing; and
       [``(4) the right to a written, or, at the option of the 
     parents, electronic findings of fact and decisions, which 
     findings and decisions--
       [``(A) shall be made available to the public consistent 
     with the requirements of section 617(c) (relating to the 
     confidentiality of data, information, and records); and
       [``(B) shall be transmitted to the advisory panel 
     established pursuant to section 612(a)(20).
       [``(i) Administrative Procedures.--
       [``(1) In general.--
       [``(A) Decision made in hearing.--A decision made in a 
     hearing conducted pursuant to subsection (f) or (k) shall be 
     final, except that any party involved in such hearing may 
     appeal such decision under the provisions of subsection (g) 
     and paragraph (2).
       [``(B) Decision made at appeal.--A decision made under 
     subsection (g) shall be final,

[[Page S5268]]

     except that any party may bring an action under paragraph 
     (2).
       [``(2) Right to bring civil action.--
       [``(A) In general.--Any party aggrieved by the findings and 
     decision made under subsection (f) or (k) who does not have 
     the right to an appeal under subsection (g), and any party 
     aggrieved by the findings and decision under this subsection, 
     shall have the right to bring a civil action with respect to 
     the complaint presented pursuant to this section, which 
     action may be brought in any State court of competent 
     jurisdiction or in a district court of the United States, 
     without regard to the amount in controversy.
       [``(B) Limitation.--The party bringing the action shall 
     have 90 days from the date of the decision of the hearing 
     officer to bring such an action, or, if the State has an 
     explicit time limitation for bringing such action under this 
     part, in such time as the State law allows.
       [``(C) Additional requirements.--In any action brought 
     under this paragraph, the court--
       [``(i) shall receive the records of the administrative 
     proceedings;
       [``(ii) shall hear additional evidence at the request of a 
     party; and
       [``(iii) basing its decision on the preponderance of the 
     evidence, shall grant such relief as the court determines is 
     appropriate.
       [``(3) Jurisdiction of district courts; attorneys' fees.--
       [``(A) In general.--The district courts of the United 
     States shall have jurisdiction of actions brought under this 
     section without regard to the amount in controversy.
       [``(B) Award of attorneys' fees.--In any action or 
     proceeding brought under this section, the court, in its 
     discretion, may award reasonable attorneys' fees as part of 
     the costs to the parents of a child with a disability who is 
     the prevailing party.
       [``(C) Determination of amount of attorneys' fees.--Fees 
     awarded under this paragraph shall be based on rates 
     prevailing in the community in which the action or proceeding 
     arose for the kind and quality of services furnished. No 
     bonus or multiplier may be used in calculating the fees 
     awarded under this subsection.
       [``(D) Prohibition of attorneys' fees and related costs for 
     certain services.--
       [``(i) In general.--Attorneys' fees may not be awarded and 
     related costs may not be reimbursed in any action or 
     proceeding under this section for services performed 
     subsequent to the time of a written offer of settlement to a 
     parent if--

       [``(I) the offer is made within the time prescribed by Rule 
     68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or, in the case of 
     an administrative proceeding, at any time more than 10 days 
     before the proceeding begins;
       [``(II) the offer is not accepted within 10 days; and
       [``(III) the court or administrative hearing officer finds 
     that the relief finally obtained by the parents is not more 
     favorable to the parents than the offer of settlement.

       [``(ii) IEP team meetings.--Attorneys' fees may not be 
     awarded relating to any meeting of the IEP Team unless such 
     meeting is convened as a result of an administrative 
     proceeding or judicial action, or, at the discretion of the 
     State, for a mediation described in subsection (e).
       [``(iii) Opportunity to resolve complaints.--A meeting 
     conducted pursuant to subsection (f)(1)(B)(i) shall not be 
     considered--

       [``(I) a meeting convened as a result of an administrative 
     hearing or judicial action; or
       [``(II) an administrative hearing or judicial action for 
     purposes of this paragraph.

       [``(E) Exception to prohibition on attorneys' fees and 
     related costs.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (D), an award of 
     attorneys' fees and related costs may be made to a parent who 
     is the prevailing party and who was substantially justified 
     in rejecting the settlement offer.
       [``(F) Reduction in amount of attorneys' fees.--Except as 
     provided in subparagraph (G), whenever the court finds that--
       [``(i) the parent, or the parent's attorney, during the 
     course of the action or proceeding, unreasonably protracted 
     the final resolution of the controversy;
       [``(ii) the amount of the attorneys' fees otherwise 
     authorized to be awarded unreasonably exceeds the hourly rate 
     prevailing in the community for similar services by attorneys 
     of reasonably comparable skill, reputation, and experience;
       [``(iii) the time spent and legal services furnished were 
     excessive considering the nature of the action or proceeding; 
     or
       [``(iv) the attorney representing the parent did not 
     provide to the local educational agency the appropriate 
     information in the notice of the complaint described in 
     subsection (b)(7)(A),

     the court shall reduce, accordingly, the amount of the 
     attorneys' fees awarded under this section.
       [``(G) Exception to reduction in amount of attorneys' 
     fees.--The provisions of subparagraph (F) shall not apply in 
     any action or proceeding if the court finds that the State or 
     local educational agency unreasonably protracted the final 
     resolution of the action or proceeding or there was a 
     violation of this section.
       [``(j) Maintenance of Current Educational Placement.--
     Except as provided in subsection (k)(4), during the pendency 
     of any proceedings conducted pursuant to this section, unless 
     the State or local educational agency and the parents 
     otherwise agree, the child shall remain in the then-current 
     educational placement of such child, or, if applying for 
     initial admission to a public school, shall, with the consent 
     of the parents, be placed in the public school program until 
     all such proceedings have been completed.
       [``(k) Placement in Alternative Educational Setting.--
       [``(1) Authority of school personnel.--
       [``(A) In general.--School personnel under this section may 
     order a change in the placement of a child with a disability 
     who violates a code of student conduct to an appropriate 
     interim alternative educational setting, another setting, or 
     suspension, for not more than 10 school days (to the extent 
     such alternatives are applied to children without 
     disabilities).
       [``(B) Additional authority.--If school personnel seek to 
     order a change in placement that would exceed 10 school days 
     and the behavior that gave rise to the violation of the 
     school code is determined not to be a manifestation of the 
     child's disability pursuant to subparagraph (C), the relevant 
     disciplinary procedures applicable to children without 
     disabilities may be applied to the child in the same 
     manner in which the procedures would be applied to 
     children without disabilities, except as provided in 
     section 612(a)(1).
       [``(C) Manifestation determination.--
       [``(i) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraphs (A) 
     and (D), within 10 school days of any decision to change the 
     placement of a child with a disability because of a violation 
     of a code of student conduct, the IEP Team shall review all 
     relevant information in the student's file, any information 
     provided by the parents, and teacher observations, to 
     determine--

       [``(I) if the conduct in question was the result of the 
     child's disability; or
       [``(II) if the conduct in question resulted from the 
     failure to implement the IEP or develop and implement 
     behavioral interventions as required by section 
     614(d)(3)(B)(i).

       [``(ii) Manifestation.--If the IEP Team determines that 
     either subclause (I) or (II) of clause (i) is applicable for 
     the child, the conduct shall be determined to be a 
     manifestation of the child's disability.
       [``(D) Special circumstances.--In cases where a child 
     carries or possesses a weapon at school or a school function, 
     possesses or uses drugs or sells or solicits the sale of 
     drugs while at school or a school function, or has committed 
     serious bodily injury upon another person while at school or 
     at a school function, school personnel may remove a student 
     to an interim alternative educational setting for not more 
     than 45 school days, without regard to whether the behavior 
     is determined to be a manifestation of the child's 
     disability.
       [``(E) Services.--A child with a disability who is removed 
     from the child's current placement under subparagraph (B) or 
     (D) shall--
       [``(i) continue to receive educational services pursuant to 
     section 612(a)(1), so as to enable the child to continue to 
     participate in the general education curriculum, although in 
     another setting, and to progress toward meeting the goals set 
     out in the child's IEP; and
       [``(ii) receive behavioral intervention services as 
     described in section 614(d)(3)(B)(i) designed to address the 
     behavior violation so that the violation does not recur.
       [``(2) Determination of setting.--The alternative 
     educational setting shall be determined by the IEP Team.
       [``(3) Appeal.--
       [``(A) In general.--The parent of a child with a disability 
     who disagrees with any decision regarding disciplinary 
     action, placement, or the manifestation determination under 
     this subsection may request a hearing.
       [``(B) Authority of hearing officer.--
       [``(i) In general.--If a parent of a child with a 
     disability disagrees with a decision as described in 
     subparagraph (A), the hearing officer may determine whether 
     the decision regarding such action was appropriate.
       [``(ii) Change of placement order.--A hearing officer under 
     this section may order a change in placement of a child with 
     a disability to an appropriate interim alternative 
     educational setting for not more than 45 school days if the 
     hearing officer determines that maintaining the current 
     placement of such child is substantially likely to result in 
     injury to the child or to others.
       [``(4) Placement during appeals.--When a parent requests a 
     hearing regarding a disciplinary procedure described in 
     paragraph (1)(B) or challenges the interim alternative 
     educational setting or manifestation determination--
       [``(A) the child shall remain in the interim alternative 
     educational setting pending the decision of the hearing 
     officer or until the expiration of the time period provided 
     for in paragraph (1)(B), whichever occurs first, unless the 
     parent and the State or local educational agency agree 
     otherwise; and
       [``(B) the State or local educational agency shall arrange 
     for an expedited hearing which shall occur within 20 school 
     days of the date the hearing is requested.
       [``(5) Protections for children not yet eligible for 
     special education and related services.--
       [``(A) In general.--A child who has not been determined to 
     be eligible for special education and related services under 
     this part and who has engaged in behavior that violates a 
     code of student conduct, may assert any of the protections 
     provided for in this part if the local educational agency had

[[Page S5269]]

     knowledge (as determined in accordance with this paragraph) 
     that the child was a child with a disability before the 
     behavior that precipitated the disciplinary action occurred.
       [``(B) Basis of knowledge.--A local educational agency 
     shall be deemed to have knowledge that a child is a child 
     with a disability if, before the behavior that precipitated 
     the disciplinary action occurred--
       [``(i) the parent of the child has expressed concern in 
     writing (unless the parent is illiterate or has a disability 
     that prevents compliance with the requirements contained in 
     this clause) to personnel of the appropriate educational 
     agency that the child is in need of special education and 
     related services;
       [``(ii) the parent of the child has requested an evaluation 
     of the child pursuant to section 614;
       [``(iii) the teacher of the child, or other personnel of 
     the local educational agency, has expressed concern about a 
     pattern of behavior demonstrated by the child, to the 
     director of special education of such agency or to other 
     administrative personnel of the agency; or
       [``(iv) the child has engaged in a pattern of behavior that 
     should have alerted personnel of the local educational agency 
     that the child may be in need of special education and 
     related services.
       [``(C) Exception.--A local educational agency shall not be 
     deemed to have knowledge that the child has a disability if 
     the parent of the child has not agreed to allow an evaluation 
     of the child pursuant to section 614.
       [``(D) Conditions that apply if no basis of knowledge.--
       [``(i) In general.--If a local educational agency does not 
     have knowledge that a child is a child with a disability 
     (in accordance with subparagraph (B) or (C)) prior to 
     taking disciplinary measures against the child, the child 
     may be subjected to disciplinary measures applied to 
     children without disabilities who engaged in comparable 
     behaviors consistent with clause (ii).
       [``(ii) Limitations.--If a request is made for an 
     evaluation of a child during the time period in which the 
     child is subjected to disciplinary measures under paragraph 
     (1), the evaluation shall be conducted in an expedited 
     manner. If the child is determined to be a child with a 
     disability, taking into consideration information from the 
     evaluation conducted by the agency and information provided 
     by the parents, the agency shall provide special education 
     and related services in accordance with this part, except 
     that, pending the results of the evaluation, the child shall 
     remain in the educational placement determined by school 
     authorities.
       [``(6) Referral to and action by law enforcement and 
     judicial authorities.--
       [``(A) Construction.--Nothing in this part shall be 
     construed to prohibit an agency from reporting a crime 
     committed by a child with a disability to appropriate 
     authorities or to prevent State law enforcement and judicial 
     authorities from exercising their responsibilities with 
     regard to the application of Federal and State law to crimes 
     committed by a child with a disability.
       [``(B) Transmittal of records.--An agency reporting a crime 
     committed by a child with a disability shall ensure that 
     copies of the special education and disciplinary records of 
     the child are transmitted for consideration by the 
     appropriate authorities to whom the agency reports the crime.
       [``(7) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection, the 
     following definitions apply:
       [``(A) Drug.--The term `drug'--
       [``(i) means a drug or other substance identified under 
     schedules I, II, III, IV, or V in section 202(c) of the 
     Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812(c)); and
       [``(ii) does not include such a substance that is legally 
     possessed or used under the supervision of a licensed health-
     care professional or that is legally possessed or used under 
     any other authority under that Act or under any other 
     provision of Federal law.
       [``(B) Weapon.--The term `weapon' has the meaning given the 
     term `dangerous weapon' under section 930(g)(2) of title 18, 
     United States Code.
       [``(C) Serious bodily injury.--The term `serious bodily 
     injury' has the meaning given the term `serious bodily 
     injury' under paragraph (3) of subsection (h) of section 1365 
     of title 18, United States Code.
       [``(l) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this title shall 
     be construed to restrict or limit the rights, procedures, and 
     remedies available under the Constitution, the Americans with 
     Disabilities Act of 1990, title V of the Rehabilitation Act 
     of 1973, or other Federal laws protecting the rights of 
     children with disabilities, except that before the filing of 
     a civil action under such laws seeking relief that is also 
     available under this part, the procedures under subsections 
     (f) and (g) shall be exhausted to the same extent as would be 
     required had the action been brought under this part.
       [``(m) Transfer of Parental Rights at Age of Majority.--
       [``(1) In general.--A State that receives amounts from a 
     grant under this part may provide that, when a child with a 
     disability reaches the age of majority under State law 
     (except for a child with a disability who has been determined 
     to be incompetent under State law)--
       [``(A) the public agency shall provide any notice required 
     by this section to both the individual and the parents;
       [``(B) all other rights accorded to parents under this part 
     transfer to the child;
       [``(C) the agency shall notify the individual and the 
     parents of the transfer of rights; and
       [``(D) all rights accorded to parents under this part 
     transfer to children who are incarcerated in an adult or 
     juvenile Federal, State, or local correctional institution.
       [``(2) Special rule.--If, under State law, a child with a 
     disability who has reached the age of majority under State 
     law, who has not been determined to be incompetent, but who 
     is determined not to have the ability to provide informed 
     consent with respect to the educational program of the child, 
     the State shall establish procedures for appointing the 
     parent of the child, or if the parent is not available, 
     another appropriate individual, to represent the educational 
     interests of the child throughout the period of eligibility 
     of the child under this part.

     [``SEC. 616. MONITORING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND 
                   ENFORCEMENT.

       [``(a) Federal and State Monitoring.--
       [``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall--
       [``(A) monitor implementation of this Act through--
       [``(i) oversight of the States' exercise of general 
     supervision, as required in section 612(a)(11); and
       [``(ii) the system of indicators, described in subsection 
     (b)(2);
       [``(B) enforce this Act in accordance with subsection (c); 
     and
       [``(C) require States to monitor implementation of this Act 
     by local educational agencies and enforce this Act in 
     accordance with paragraph (3) of this subsection and 
     subsection (c).
       [``(2) Focused monitoring.--The primary focus of Federal 
     and State monitoring activities described in paragraph (1) 
     shall be on improving educational results and functional 
     outcomes for all children with disabilities, while ensuring 
     compliance with program requirements, with a particular 
     emphasis on those requirements that are most closely related 
     to improving educational results for children with 
     disabilities.
       [``(3) Monitoring priorities.--The Secretary shall monitor, 
     and shall require States to monitor, the following priority 
     areas:
       [``(A) Provision of a free appropriate public education in 
     the least restrictive environment.
       [``(B) Provision of transition services, as defined in 
     section 602(32).
       [``(C) State exercise of general supervisory authority, 
     including the effective use of complaint resolution and 
     mediation.
       [``(D) Overrepresentation of racial and ethnic groups in 
     special education and related services, to the extent the 
     overrepresentation is the result of inappropriate policies, 
     procedures, and practices.
       [``(4) Permissive areas of review.--The Secretary may 
     examine other relevant information and data, including data 
     provided by States under section 618, and data from the 
     State's compliance plan under subsection (b)(2)(C).
       [``(b) Indicators.--
       [``(1) System.--The Secretary shall implement and 
     administer a system of required indicators as described in 
     paragraph (2) that measures the progress of States in 
     improving their performance under this Act.
       [``(2) Indicators.--
       [``(A) In general.--Using the performance indicators 
     established by States under section 612(a)(15), the Secretary 
     shall review--
       [``(i) the performance of children with disabilities in the 
     State on assessments, including alternate assessments, 
     dropout rates, and graduation rates, which for purposes of 
     this paragraph means the number and percentage of students 
     with disabilities who graduate with a regular diploma within 
     the number of years specified in a student's IEP; and
       [``(ii) the performance of children with disabilities in 
     the State on assessments, including alternate assessments, 
     dropout rates, and graduation rates, as compared to the 
     performance and rates for all children.
       [``(B) Secretary's assessment.--Based on that review and a 
     review of the State's compliance plan under subparagraph (C), 
     the Secretary shall assess the State's progress in improving 
     educational results for children with disabilities.
       [``(C) State compliance plan.--Not later than 1 year after 
     the date of the enactment of the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003, each State 
     shall have in place a compliance plan developed in 
     collaboration with the Secretary. Each State's compliance 
     plan shall--
       [``(i) include benchmarks to measure continuous progress on 
     the priority areas described in subsection (a)(3);
       [``(ii) describe strategies the State will use to achieve 
     the benchmarks; and
       [``(iii) be approved by the Secretary.
       [``(3) Data collection and analysis.--The Secretary shall--
       [``(A) review the data collection and analysis capacity of 
     States to ensure that data and information determined 
     necessary for implementation of this subsection is collected, 
     analyzed, and accurately reported to the Secretary; and
       [``(B) provide technical assistance to improve the capacity 
     of States to meet these data collection requirements.
       [``(c) Compliance and Enforcement.--
       [``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall examine relevant 
     State information and data annually, to determine whether the 
     State is

[[Page S5270]]

     making satisfactory progress toward improving educational 
     results for children with disabilities using the indicators 
     described in subsection (b)(2)(A) and the benchmarks 
     established in the State compliance plan under subsection 
     (b)(2)(C), and is in compliance with the provisions of this 
     Act.
       [``(2) Lack of satisfactory progress by a state.--
       [``(A) In general.--If after examining data, as provided in 
     subsection (b)(2) (A) and (C), the Secretary determines that 
     a State failed to make satisfactory progress in meeting the 
     indicators described in subsection (b)(2)(A) or has failed to 
     meet the benchmarks described in subsection (b)(2)(C) for 2 
     consecutive years after the State has developed its 
     compliance plan, the Secretary shall notify the State that 
     the State has failed to make satisfactory progress, and shall 
     take 1 or more of the following actions:
       [``(i) Direct the use of State level funds for technical 
     assistance, services, or other expenditures to ensure that 
     the State resolves the area or areas of unsatisfactory 
     progress.
       [``(ii) Withhold not less than 20, but not more than 50, 
     percent of the State's funds for State administration and 
     activities for the fiscal year under section 611(e), after 
     providing the State the opportunity to show cause why the 
     withholding should not occur, until the Secretary determines 
     that sufficient progress has been made in improving 
     educational results for children with disabilities.
       [``(B) Additional secretarial action.--If, at the end of 
     the 5th year after the Secretary has approved the compliance 
     plan that the State has developed under subsection (b)(2)(C), 
     the Secretary determines that a State failed to meet the 
     benchmarks in the State compliance plan and make satisfactory 
     progress in improving educational results for children with 
     disabilities pursuant to the indicators described in 
     subsection (b)(2)(A), the Secretary shall take 1 or more of 
     the following actions:
       [``(i) Seek to recover funds under section 452 of the 
     General Education Provisions Act.
       [``(ii) After providing reasonable notice and an 
     opportunity for a hearing to the State educational agency 
     involved, withhold, in whole or in part, any further payments 
     to the State under this part pursuant to subsection (c)(5).
       [``(iii) After providing reasonable notice and an 
     opportunity for a hearing to the State educational agency 
     involved, refer the matter for appropriate enforcement 
     action, which may include referral to the Department of 
     Justice.
       [``(iv) Pending the outcome of any hearing to withhold 
     payments under clause (ii), the Secretary may suspend 
     payments to a recipient, suspend the authority of the 
     recipient to obligate Federal funds, or both, after such 
     recipient has been given reasonable notice and an 
     opportunity to show cause why future payments or authority 
     to obligate Federal funds should not be suspended.
       [``(C) Substantial noncompliance.--Notwithstanding 
     subparagraph (B), at any time that the Secretary determines 
     that a State is not in substantial compliance with any 
     provision of this part or that there is a substantial failure 
     to comply with any condition of a local agency's or State 
     agency's eligibility under this part, the Secretary shall 
     take 1 or more of the following actions:
       [``(i) Request that the State prepare a corrective action 
     plan or improvement plan if the Secretary determines that the 
     State should be able to correct the problem within 1 year.
       [``(ii) Identify the State as a high-risk grantee and 
     impose special conditions on the State's grant under this 
     part.
       [``(iii) Require the State to enter into a compliance 
     agreement under section 457 of the General Education 
     Provisions Act, if the Secretary has reason to believe that 
     the State cannot correct the problem within 1 year.
       [``(iv) Recovery of funds under section 452 of the General 
     Education Provisions Act.
       [``(v) After providing reasonable notice and an opportunity 
     for a hearing to the State educational agency involved, 
     withhold, in whole or in part, any further payments to the 
     State under this part.
       [``(vi) After providing reasonable notice and an 
     opportunity for a hearing to the State educational agency 
     involved, refer the matter for appropriate enforcement 
     action, which may include referral to the Department of 
     Justice.
       [``(vii) Pending the outcome of any hearing to withhold 
     payments under clause (v), the Secretary may suspend payments 
     to a recipient, suspend the authority of the recipient to 
     obligate Federal funds, or both, after such recipient has 
     been given reasonable notice and an opportunity to show cause 
     why future payments or authority to obligate Federal funds 
     should not be suspended.
       [``(3) Egregious noncompliance.--At any time that the 
     Secretary determines that a State is in egregious 
     noncompliance or is willfully disregarding the provisions of 
     this Act, the Secretary shall take such additional 
     enforcement actions as the Secretary determines to be 
     appropriate from among those actions specified in paragraph 
     (2)(C), and, additionally, may impose 1 or more of the 
     following sanctions upon that State:
       [``(A) Institute a cease and desist action under section 
     456 of the General Education Provisions Act.
       [``(B) Refer the case to the Office of the Inspector 
     General.
       [``(4) Report to congress.--The Secretary shall report to 
     Congress within 30 days of taking enforcement action pursuant 
     to paragraph (2) (B) or (C), or (3), on the specific action 
     taken and the reasons why enforcement action was taken.
       [``(5) Nature of withholding.--If the Secretary withholds 
     further payments under paragraphs (2)(B)(ii) and (2)(C)(v), 
     the Secretary may determine that such withholding will be 
     limited to programs or projects, or portions thereof, 
     affected by the failure, or that the State educational agency 
     shall not make further payments under this part to specified 
     local educational agencies or State agencies affected by the 
     failure. Until the Secretary is satisfied that there is no 
     longer any failure to make satisfactory progress as specified 
     in paragraph (2)(B), or to comply with the provisions of this 
     part, as specified in paragraph (2)(C), payments to the State 
     under this part shall be withheld in whole or in part, or 
     payments by the State educational agency under this part 
     shall be limited to local educational agencies and State 
     agencies whose actions did not cause or were not involved in 
     the failure, as the case may be. Any State educational 
     agency, State agency, or local educational agency that has 
     received notice under paragraph (2)(B) or (2)(C) shall, by 
     means of a public notice, take such measures as may be 
     necessary to bring the pendency of an action pursuant to this 
     subsection to the attention of the public within the 
     jurisdiction of such agency.
       [``(6) Judicial review.--
       [``(A) In general.--If any State is dissatisfied with the 
     Secretary's final action with respect to the eligibility of 
     the State under section 612, such State may, not later than 
     60 days after notice of such action, file with the United 
     States court of appeals for the circuit in which such State 
     is located a petition for review of that action. A copy of 
     the petition shall be forthwith transmitted by the clerk of 
     the court to the Secretary. The Secretary thereupon shall 
     file in the court the record of the proceedings upon which 
     the Secretary's action was based, as provided in section 2112 
     of title 28, United States Code.
       [``(B) Jurisdiction; review by united states supreme 
     court.--Upon the filing of such petition, the court shall 
     have jurisdiction to affirm the action of the Secretary or to 
     set it aside, in whole or in part. The judgment of the court 
     shall be subject to review by the Supreme Court of the United 
     States upon certiorari or certification as provided in 
     section 1254 of title 28, United States Code.
       [``(C) Standard of review.--The findings of fact by the 
     Secretary, if supported by substantial evidence, shall be 
     conclusive, but the court, for good cause shown, may remand 
     the case to the Secretary to take further evidence, and the 
     Secretary may thereupon make new or modified findings of fact 
     and may modify the Secretary's previous action, and shall 
     file in the court the record of the further proceedings. Such 
     new or modified findings of fact shall likewise be conclusive 
     if supported by substantial evidence.
       [``(d) Divided State Agency Responsibility.--For purposes 
     of this section, where responsibility for ensuring that the 
     requirements of this part are met with respect to children 
     with disabilities who are convicted as adults under State law 
     and incarcerated in adult prisons is assigned to a public 
     agency other than the State educational agency pursuant to 
     section 612(a)(11)(C), the Secretary, in instances where the 
     Secretary finds that the failure to comply substantially with 
     the provisions of this part are related to a failure by the 
     public agency, shall take appropriate corrective action to 
     ensure compliance with this part, except that--
       [``(1) any reduction or withholding of payments to the 
     State shall be proportionate to the total funds allotted 
     under section 611 to the State as the number of eligible 
     children with disabilities in adult prisons under the 
     supervision of the other public agency is proportionate to 
     the number of eligible individuals with disabilities in the 
     State under the supervision of the State educational agency; 
     and
       [``(2) any withholding of funds under paragraph (1) shall 
     be limited to the specific agency responsible for the failure 
     to comply with this part.
       [``(e) State and Local Monitoring.--
       [``(1) In general.--The State educational agency shall 
     monitor and enforce implementation of this Act, implement a 
     system of monitoring the benchmarks in the State's compliance 
     plan under subsection (b)(2)(C), and require local 
     educational agencies to monitor and enforce implementation of 
     this Act.
       [``(2) Additional enforcement options.--If a State 
     educational agency determines that a local educational agency 
     is not meeting the requirements of this part, including the 
     benchmarks in the State's compliance plan, the State 
     educational agency shall prohibit the local educational 
     agency from treating funds received under this part as local 
     funds under section 613(a)(2)(C) for any fiscal year.

     [``SEC. 617. ADMINISTRATION.

       [``(a) Responsibilities of Secretary.--The Secretary 
     shall--
       [``(1) cooperate with, and (directly or by grant or 
     contract) furnish technical assistance necessary to, a State 
     in matters relating to--
       [``(A) the education of children with disabilities; and
       [``(B) carrying out this part; and
       [``(2) provide short-term training programs and institutes.
       [``(b) Rules and Regulations.--In carrying out the 
     provisions of this part, the

[[Page S5271]]

     Secretary shall issue regulations under this Act only to the 
     extent that such regulations are necessary to ensure that 
     there is compliance with the specific requirements of this 
     Act.
       [``(c) Confidentiality.--The Secretary shall take 
     appropriate action, in accordance with section 444 of the 
     General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g), to assure 
     the protection of the confidentiality of any personally 
     identifiable data, information, and records collected or 
     maintained by the Secretary and by State and local 
     educational agencies pursuant to this part.
       [``(d) Personnel.--The Secretary is authorized to hire 
     qualified personnel necessary to carry out the Secretary's 
     duties under subsection (a) and under sections 618, 661, and 
     664, without regard to the provisions of title 5, United 
     States Code, relating to appointments in the competitive 
     service and without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III 
     of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and 
     general schedule pay rates, except that not more than 20 such 
     personnel shall be employed at any 1 time.
       [``(e) Model Forms.--Not later than the date that the 
     Secretary publishes final regulations under this Act, to 
     implement amendments made by the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003, the Secretary 
     shall publish and disseminate widely to States, local 
     educational agencies, and parent and community training and 
     information centers--
       [``(1) a model IEP form;
       [``(2) a model form of the notice of procedural safeguards 
     described in section 615(d); and
       [``(3) a model form of the prior written notice described 
     in section 615 (b)(3) and (c)(1) that is consistent with the 
     requirements of this part and is sufficient to meet such 
     requirements.

     [``SEC. 618. PROGRAM INFORMATION.

       [``(a) In General.--Each State that receives assistance 
     under this part, and the Secretary of the Interior, shall 
     provide data each year to the Secretary of Education on--
       [``(1)(A)--the number and percentage of children with 
     disabilities, by race, ethnicity, limited English proficiency 
     status, and disability category, who are receiving a free 
     appropriate public education;
       [``(B) the number and percentage of children with 
     disabilities, by race, ethnicity, and limited English 
     proficiency status who are receiving early intervention 
     services;
       [``(C) the number and percentage of children with 
     disabilities, by race, ethnicity, limited English proficiency 
     status, and disability category, who are participating in 
     regular education;
       [``(D) the number and percentage of children with 
     disabilities, by race, ethnicity, limited English proficiency 
     status, and disability category, who are in separate classes, 
     separate schools or facilities, or public or private 
     residential facilities;
       [``(E) the number and percentage of children with 
     disabilities, by race, ethnicity, limited English proficiency 
     status, and disability category, who, for each year of age 
     from age 14 through 21, stopped receiving special education 
     and related services because of program completion or other 
     reasons, and the reasons why those children stopped receiving 
     special education and related services;
       [``(F) the number and percentage of children with 
     disabilities, by race, and ethnicity, who, from birth through 
     age 2, stopped receiving early intervention services because 
     of program completion or for other reasons;
       [``(G)(i) the number and percentage of children with 
     disabilities, by race, ethnicity, limited English proficiency 
     status, and disability category, who are removed to an 
     interim alternative educational setting under section 
     615(k)(1);
       [``(ii) the acts or items precipitating those removals; and
       [``(iii) the number of children with disabilities who are 
     subject to long-term suspensions or expulsions;
       [``(H) the incidence and duration of disciplinary actions 
     by race, ethnicity, limited English proficiency status, and 
     disability category, of children with disabilities, including 
     suspensions of 1 day or more;
       [``(I) the number and percentage of children with 
     disabilities who are removed to alternative educational 
     settings or expelled as compared to children without 
     disabilities who are removed to alternative educational 
     settings or expelled;
       [``(J) the number of due process complaints filed under 
     section 615 and the number of hearings conducted;
       [``(K) the number of hearings requested under section 
     615(k) and the number of changes in placements ordered as a 
     result of those hearings;
       [``(L) the number of hearings requested under section 
     615(k)(3)(B) and the number of changes in placements ordered 
     as a result of those hearings; and
       [``(M) the number of mediations held and the number of 
     settlement agreements reached through such mediations;
       [``(2) the number and percentage of infants and toddlers, 
     by race, and ethnicity, who are at risk of having substantial 
     developmental delays (as defined in section 632), and who are 
     receiving early intervention services under part C; and
       [``(3) any other information that may be required by the 
     Secretary.
       [``(b) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary may provide 
     technical assistance to States to ensure compliance with the 
     data collection and reporting requirements under this Act.
       [``(c) Disproportionality.--
       [``(1) In general.--Each State that receives assistance 
     under this part, and the Secretary of the Interior, shall 
     provide for the collection and examination of data to 
     determine if significant disproportionality based on race is 
     occurring in the State with respect to--
       [``(A) the identification of children as children with 
     disabilities, including the identification of children as 
     children with disabilities in accordance with a particular 
     impairment described in section 602(3);
       [``(B) the placement in particular educational settings of 
     such children; and
       [``(C) the incidence, duration, and type of disciplinary 
     actions, including suspensions and expulsions.
       [``(2) Review and revision of policies, practices, and 
     procedures.--In the case of a determination of significant 
     disproportionality with respect to the identification of 
     children as children with disabilities, or the placement in 
     particular educational settings of such children, in 
     accordance with paragraph (1), the State or the Secretary of 
     the Interior, as the case may be, shall provide for the 
     review and, if appropriate, revision of the policies, 
     procedures, and practices used in such identification or 
     placement to ensure that such policies, procedures, and 
     practices comply with the requirements of this Act.

     [``SEC. 619. PRESCHOOL GRANTS.

       [``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall provide grants 
     under this section to assist States to provide special 
     education and related services, in accordance with this 
     part--
       [``(1) to children with disabilities aged 3 through 5, 
     inclusive; and
       [``(2) at the State's discretion, to 2-year-old children 
     with disabilities who will turn 3 during the school year.
       [``(b) Eligibility.--A State shall be eligible for a grant 
     under this section if such State--
       [``(1) is eligible under section 612 to receive a grant 
     under this part; and
       [``(2) makes a free appropriate public education available 
     to all children with disabilities, aged 3 through 5, residing 
     in the State.
       [``(c) Allocations to States.--
       [``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall allocate the amount 
     made available to carry out this section for a fiscal year 
     among the States in accordance with paragraph (2) or (3), as 
     the case may be.
       [``(2) Increase in funds.--If the amount available for 
     allocations to States under paragraph (1) is equal to or 
     greater than the amount allocated to the States under this 
     section for the preceding fiscal year, those allocations 
     shall be calculated as follows:
       [``(A) Allocation.--
       [``(i) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     the Secretary shall--

       [``(I) allocate to each State the amount the State received 
     under this section for fiscal year 1997;
       [``(II) allocate 85 percent of any remaining funds to 
     States on the basis of the States' relative populations of 
     children aged 3 through 5; and
       [``(III) allocate 15 percent of those remaining funds to 
     States on the basis of the States' relative populations of 
     all children aged 3 through 5 who are living in poverty.

       [``(ii) Data.--For the purpose of making grants under this 
     paragraph, the Secretary shall use the most recent population 
     data, including data on children living in poverty, that are 
     available and satisfactory to the Secretary.
       [``(B) Limitations.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), 
     allocations under this paragraph shall be subject to the 
     following:
       [``(i) Preceding years.--No State's allocation shall be 
     less than its allocation under this section for the preceding 
     fiscal year.
       [``(ii) Minimum.--No State's allocation shall be less than 
     the greatest of--

       [``(I) the sum of--

       [``(aa) the amount the State received under this section 
     for fiscal year 1997; and
       [``(bb) \1/3\ of 1 percent of the amount by which the 
     amount appropriated under subsection (j) for the fiscal year 
     exceeds the amount appropriated for this section for fiscal 
     year 1997;

       [``(II) the sum of--

       [``(aa) the amount the State received under this section 
     for the preceding fiscal year; and
       [``(bb) that amount multiplied by the percentage by which 
     the increase in the funds appropriated under this section 
     from the preceding fiscal year exceeds 1.5 percent; or

       [``(III) the sum of--

       [``(aa) the amount the State received under this section 
     for the preceding fiscal year; and
       [``(bb) that amount multiplied by 90 percent of the 
     percentage increase in the amount appropriated under this 
     section from the preceding fiscal year.
       [``(iii) Maximum.--Notwithstanding clause (ii), no State's 
     allocation under this paragraph shall exceed the sum of--

       [``(I) the amount the State received under this section for 
     the preceding fiscal year; and
       [``(II) that amount multiplied by the sum of 1.5 percent 
     and the percentage increase in the amount appropriated under 
     this section from the preceding fiscal year.

       [``(C) Ratable reductions.--If the amount available for 
     allocations under this paragraph is insufficient to pay those 
     allocations

[[Page S5272]]

     in full, those allocations shall be ratably reduced, subject 
     to subparagraph (B)(i).
       [``(3) Decrease in funds.--If the amount available for 
     allocations to States under paragraph (1) is less than the 
     amount allocated to the States under this section for the 
     preceding fiscal year, those allocations shall be calculated 
     as follows:
       [``(A) Allocations.--If the amount available for 
     allocations is greater than the amount allocated to the 
     States for fiscal year 1997, each State shall be allocated 
     the sum of--
       [``(i) the amount the State received under this section for 
     fiscal year 1997; and
       [``(ii) an amount that bears the same relation to any 
     remaining funds as the increase the State received under this 
     section for the preceding fiscal year over fiscal year 1997 
     bears to the total of all such increases for all States.
       [``(B) If the amount available for allocations under this 
     paragraph is equal to or less than the amount allocated under 
     this section to the States for fiscal year 1997, each State 
     shall be allocated the amount the State received for that 
     year, ratably reduced, if necessary.
       [``(d) Reservation for State Activities.--
       [``(1) In general.--Each State may reserve not more than 
     the amount described in paragraph (2) for administration and 
     other State-level activities in accordance with subsections 
     (e) and (f).
       [``(2) Amount described.--For each fiscal year, the 
     Secretary shall determine and report to the State educational 
     agency an amount that is 25 percent of the amount the State 
     received under this section for fiscal year 1997, 
     cumulatively adjusted by the Secretary for each succeeding 
     fiscal year by the lesser of--
       [``(A) the percentage increase, if any, from the preceding 
     fiscal year in the State's allocation under this section; or
       [``(B) the percentage increase, if any, from the preceding 
     fiscal year in the Consumer Price Index For All Urban 
     Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the 
     Department of Labor.
       [``(e) State Administration.--
       [``(1) In general.--For the purpose of administering this 
     section (including the coordination of activities under this 
     part with, and providing technical assistance to, other 
     programs that provide services to children with disabilities) 
     a State may use not more than 20 percent of the maximum 
     amount the State may reserve under subsection (d) for any 
     fiscal year.
       [``(2) Administration of part c.--Funds described in 
     paragraph (1) may also be used for the administration of part 
     C of this Act, if the State educational agency is the lead 
     agency for the State under that part.
       [``(f) Other State-Level Activities.--Each State shall use 
     any funds the State reserves under subsection (d) and does 
     not use for administration under subsection (e)--
       [``(1) for support services (including establishing and 
     implementing the mediation process required by section 
     615(e)), which may benefit children with disabilities younger 
     than 3 or older than 5 as long as those services also benefit 
     children with disabilities aged 3 through 5;
       [``(2) for direct services for children eligible for 
     services under this section;
       [``(3) for activities at the State and local levels to meet 
     the performance goals established by the State under section 
     612(a)(15) and to support implementation of the State plan 
     under subpart 1 of part D if the State receives funds under 
     that subpart; or
       [``(4) to supplement other funds used to develop and 
     implement a statewide coordinated services system designed to 
     improve results for children and families, including children 
     with disabilities and their families, but not more than 1 
     percent of the amount received by the State under this 
     section for a fiscal year.
       [``(g) Subgrants to Local Educational Agencies.--
       [``(1) Subgrants required.--Each State that receives a 
     grant under this section for any fiscal year shall distribute 
     all of the grant funds that the State does not reserve under 
     subsection (d) to local educational agencies in the State 
     that have established their eligibility under section 613, as 
     follows:
       [``(A) Base payments.--The State shall first award each 
     local educational agency described in paragraph (1) the 
     amount that agency would have received under this section for 
     fiscal year 1997 if the State had distributed 75 percent of 
     its grant for that year under section 619(c)(3), as such 
     section was then in effect.
       [``(B) Allocation of remaining funds.--After making 
     allocations under subparagraph (A), the State shall--
       [``(i) allocate 85 percent of any remaining funds to those 
     local educational agencies on the basis of the relative 
     numbers of children enrolled in public and private elementary 
     schools and secondary schools within the local educational 
     agency's jurisdiction; and
       [``(ii) allocate 15 percent of those remaining funds to 
     those local educational agencies in accordance with their 
     relative numbers of children living in poverty, as determined 
     by the State educational agency.
       [``(2) Reallocation of funds.--If a State educational 
     agency determines that a local educational agency is 
     adequately providing a free appropriate public education to 
     all children with disabilities aged 3 through 5 residing in 
     the area served by that agency with State and local funds, 
     the State educational agency may reallocate any portion of 
     the funds under this section that are not needed by that 
     local educational agency to provide a free appropriate public 
     education to other local educational agencies in the State 
     that are not adequately providing special education and 
     related services to all children with disabilities aged 3 
     through 5 residing in the areas the other local educational 
     agencies serve.
       [``(h) Part C Inapplicable.--Part C of this Act does not 
     apply to any child with a disability receiving a free 
     appropriate public education, in accordance with this 
     part, with funds received under this section.
       [``(i) Definition.--For the purpose of this section, the 
     term `State' means each of the 50 States, the District of 
     Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
       [``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of 
     carrying out this section, there are authorized to be 
     appropriated to the Secretary such sums as may be necessary 
     for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2009.

           [``PART C--INFANTS AND TODDLERS WITH DISABILITIES

     [``SEC. 631. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

       [``(a) Findings.--Congress finds that there is an urgent 
     and substantial need--
       [``(1) to enhance the development of infants and toddlers 
     with disabilities, to minimize their potential for 
     developmental delay, and to recognize the significant brain 
     development which occurs during a child's first 3 years of 
     life;
       [``(2) to reduce the educational costs to our society, 
     including our Nation's schools, by minimizing the need for 
     special education and related services after infants and 
     toddlers with disabilities reach school age;
       [``(3) to maximize the potential for individuals with 
     disabilities to live independently in society;
       [``(4) to enhance the capacity of families to meet the 
     special needs of their infants and toddlers with 
     disabilities; and
       [``(5) to enhance the capacity of State and local agencies 
     and service providers to identify, evaluate, and meet the 
     needs of all children, particularly minority, low-income, 
     inner city, and rural children.
       [``(b) Policy.--It is the policy of the United States to 
     provide financial assistance to States--
       [``(1) to develop and implement a statewide, comprehensive, 
     coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency system that 
     provides early intervention services for infants and toddlers 
     with disabilities and their families;
       [``(2) to facilitate the coordination of payment for early 
     intervention services from Federal, State, local, and private 
     sources (including public and private insurance coverage);
       [``(3) to enhance State capacity to provide quality early 
     intervention services and expand and improve existing early 
     intervention services being provided to infants and toddlers 
     with disabilities and their families; and
       [``(4) to encourage States to expand opportunities for 
     children under 3 years of age who would be at risk of having 
     substantial developmental delay if they did not receive early 
     intervention services.

     [``SEC. 632. DEFINITIONS.

       [``As used in this part:
       [``(1) At-risk infant or toddler.--The term `at-risk infant 
     or toddler' means an individual under 3 years of age who 
     would be at risk of experiencing a substantial developmental 
     delay if early intervention services were not provided to the 
     individual.
       [``(2) Council.--The term `council' means a State 
     interagency coordinating council established under section 
     641.
       [``(3) Developmental delay.--The term `developmental 
     delay', when used with respect to an individual residing in a 
     State, has the meaning given such term by the State under 
     section 635(a)(1).
       [``(4) Early intervention services.--The term `early 
     intervention services' means developmental services that--
       [``(A) are provided under public supervision;
       [``(B) are provided at no cost except where Federal or 
     State law provides for a system of payments by families, 
     including a schedule of sliding fees;
       [``(C) are designed to meet the developmental needs of an 
     infant or toddler with a disability in any 1 or more of the 
     following areas:
       [``(i) physical development;
       [``(ii) cognitive development;
       [``(iii) communication development;
       [``(iv) social or emotional development; or
       [``(v) adaptive development;
       [``(D) meet the standards of the State in which the 
     services are provided, including the requirements of this 
     part;
       [``(E) include--
       [``(i) family training, counseling, and home visits;
       [``(ii) special instruction;
       [``(iii) speech-language pathology and audiology services;
       [``(iv) occupational therapy;
       [``(v) physical therapy;
       [``(vi) psychological services;
       [``(vii) service coordination services;
       [``(viii) medical services only for diagnostic or 
     evaluation purposes;
       [``(ix) early identification, screening, and assessment 
     services;
       [``(x) health services necessary to enable the infant or 
     toddler to benefit from the other early intervention 
     services;
       [``(xi) social work services;

[[Page S5273]]

       [``(xii) vision services;
       [``(xiii) assistive technology devices and assistive 
     technology services; and
       [``(xiv) transportation and related costs that are 
     necessary to enable an infant or toddler and the infant's or 
     toddler's family to receive another service described in this 
     paragraph;
       [``(F) are provided by qualified personnel, including--
       [``(i) special educators;
       [``(ii) speech-language pathologists and audiologists;
       [``(iii) occupational therapists;
       [``(iv) physical therapists;
       [``(v) psychologists;
       [``(vi) social workers;
       [``(vii) nurses;
       [``(viii) nutritionists;
       [``(ix) family therapists;
       [``(x) orientation and mobility specialists; and
       [``(xi) pediatricians and other physicians;
       [``(G) to the maximum extent appropriate, are provided in 
     natural environments, including the home, and community 
     settings in which children without disabilities participate; 
     and
       [``(H) are provided in conformity with an individualized 
     family service plan adopted in accordance with section 636.
       [``(5) Infant or toddler with a disability.--The term 
     `infant or toddler with a disability'--
       [``(A) means an individual under 3 years of age who needs 
     early intervention services because the individual--
       [``(i) is experiencing developmental delays, as measured by 
     appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures in 1 or 
     more of the areas of cognitive development, physical 
     development, communication development, social or emotional 
     development, and adaptive development; or
       [``(ii) has a diagnosed physical or mental condition which 
     has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay; 
     and
       [``(B) may also include, at a State's discretion, at-risk 
     infants and toddlers.

     [``SEC. 633. GENERAL AUTHORITY.

       [``The Secretary shall, in accordance with this part, make 
     grants to States (from their allotments under section 643) to 
     assist each State to maintain and implement a statewide, 
     comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency 
     system to provide early intervention services for infants and 
     toddlers with disabilities and their families.

     [``SEC. 634. ELIGIBILITY.

       [``In order to be eligible for a grant under section 633, a 
     State shall demonstrate to the Secretary that the State--
       [``(1) has adopted a policy that appropriate early 
     intervention services are available to all infants and 
     toddlers with disabilities in the State and their families, 
     including Indian infants and toddlers with disabilities and 
     their families residing on a reservation geographically 
     located in the State; and
       [``(2) has in effect a statewide system that meets the 
     requirements of section 635.

     [``SEC. 635. REQUIREMENTS FOR STATEWIDE SYSTEM.

       [``(a) In General.--A statewide system described in section 
     633 shall include, at a minimum, the following components:
       [``(1) A definition of the term `developmental delay' 
     that--
       [``(A) will be used by the State in carrying out programs 
     under this part; and
       [``(B) covers, at a minimum, all infants and toddlers 
     with--
       [``(i) a developmental delay of 35 percent or more in 1 of 
     the developmental areas described in section 632(5)(A)(i); or
       [``(ii) a developmental delay of 25 percent or more in 2 or 
     more of the developmental areas described in section 
     632(5)(A)(i).
       [``(2) A State policy that is in effect and that ensures 
     that appropriate early intervention services are available to 
     all infants and toddlers with disabilities and their 
     families, including Indian infants and toddlers and their 
     families residing on a reservation geographically located in 
     the State.
       [``(3) A timely, comprehensive, multidisciplinary 
     evaluation of the functioning of each infant or toddler with 
     a disability in the State, and a family-directed 
     identification of the needs of each family of such an infant 
     or toddler, to appropriately assist in the development of the 
     infant or toddler.
       [``(4) For each infant or toddler with a disability in the 
     State, an individualized family service plan in accordance 
     with section 636, including service coordination services in 
     accordance with such service plan.
       [``(5) A comprehensive child find system, consistent with 
     part B, including a system for making referrals to service 
     providers that includes timelines and provides for 
     participation by primary referral sources.
       [``(6) A public awareness program focusing on early 
     identification of infants and toddlers with disabilities, 
     including the preparation and dissemination by the lead 
     agency designated or established under paragraph (10) to all 
     primary referral sources, especially hospitals and 
     physicians, of information for parents on the availability of 
     early intervention services, and procedures for determining 
     the extent to which such sources disseminate such information 
     to parents of infants and toddlers.
       [``(7) A central directory that includes information on 
     early intervention services, resources, and experts available 
     in the State and research and demonstration projects being 
     conducted in the State.
       [``(8) A comprehensive system of personnel development, 
     including the training of paraprofessionals and the training 
     of primary referral sources with respect to the basic 
     components of early intervention services available in the 
     State, which comprehensive system may include--
       [``(A) implementing innovative strategies and activities 
     for the recruitment and retention of early education service 
     providers;
       [``(B) promoting the preparation of early intervention 
     providers who are fully and appropriately qualified to 
     provide early intervention services under this part;
       [``(C) training personnel to work in rural and inner-city 
     areas; and
       [``(D) training personnel to coordinate transition services 
     for infants and toddlers served under this part from an early 
     intervention program under this part to preschool or other 
     appropriate services.
       [``(9) Subject to subsection (b), policies and procedures 
     relating to the establishment and maintenance of standards to 
     ensure that personnel necessary to carry out this part are 
     appropriately and adequately prepared and trained, including 
     the establishment and maintenance of standards which are 
     consistent with any State-approved or recognized 
     certification, licensing, registration, or other comparable 
     requirements which apply to the area in which such personnel 
     are providing early intervention services, except that 
     nothing in this part (including this paragraph) shall be 
     construed to prohibit the use of paraprofessionals and 
     assistants who are appropriately trained in accordance with 
     State law, regulation, or written policy, to assist in the 
     provision of early intervention services under this part to 
     infants and toddlers with disabilities.
       [``(10) A single line of responsibility in a lead agency 
     designated or established by the Governor for carrying out--
       [``(A) the general administration and supervision of 
     programs and activities receiving assistance under section 
     633, and the monitoring of programs and activities used by 
     the State to carry out this part, whether or not such 
     programs or activities are receiving assistance made 
     available under section 633, to ensure that the State 
     complies with this part;
       [``(B) the identification and coordination of all available 
     resources within the State from Federal, State, local, and 
     private sources;
       [``(C) the assignment of financial responsibility in 
     accordance with section 637(a)(2) to the appropriate 
     agencies;
       [``(D) the development of procedures to ensure that 
     services are provided to infants and toddlers with 
     disabilities and their families under this part in a timely 
     manner pending the resolution of any disputes among public 
     agencies or service providers;
       [``(E) the resolution of intra- and interagency disputes; 
     and
       [``(F) the entry into formal interagency agreements that 
     define the financial responsibility of each agency for paying 
     for early intervention services (consistent with State law) 
     and procedures for resolving disputes and that include all 
     additional components necessary to ensure meaningful 
     cooperation and coordination.
       [``(11) A policy pertaining to the contracting or making of 
     other arrangements with service providers to provide early 
     intervention services in the State, consistent with the 
     provisions of this part, including the contents of the 
     application used and the conditions of the contract or other 
     arrangements.
       [``(12) A procedure for securing timely reimbursements of 
     funds used under this part in accordance with section 640(a).
       [``(13) Procedural safeguards with respect to programs 
     under this part, as required by section 639.
       [``(14) A system for compiling data requested by the 
     Secretary under section 618 that relates to this part.
       [``(15) A State interagency coordinating council that meets 
     the requirements of section 641.
       [``(16) Policies and procedures to ensure that, consistent 
     with section 636(d)(5) to the maximum extent appropriate, 
     early intervention services are provided in natural 
     environments unless a specific outcome cannot be met 
     satisfactorily for the infant or toddler in a natural 
     environment.
       [``(b) Policy.--In implementing subsection (a)(9), a State 
     may adopt a policy that includes making ongoing good-faith 
     efforts to recruit and hire appropriately and adequately 
     trained personnel to provide early intervention services to 
     infants and toddlers with disabilities, including, in a 
     geographic area of the State where there is a shortage of 
     such personnel, the most qualified individuals available who 
     are making satisfactory progress toward completing applicable 
     coursework necessary to meet the standards described in 
     subsection (a)(9), consistent with State law within 3 years.

     [``SEC. 636. INDIVIDUALIZED FAMILY SERVICE PLAN.

       [``(a) Assessment and Program Development.--A statewide 
     system described in section 633 shall provide, at a minimum, 
     for each infant or toddler with a disability, and the 
     infant's or toddler's family, to receive--
       [``(1) a multidisciplinary assessment of the unique 
     strengths and needs of the infant or toddler and the 
     identification of services appropriate to meet such needs;
       [``(2) a family-directed assessment of the resources, 
     priorities, and concerns of the family and the identification 
     of the supports and services necessary to enhance the 
     family's capacity to meet the developmental needs of the 
     infant or toddler; and

[[Page S5274]]

       [``(3) a written individualized family service plan 
     developed by a multidisciplinary team, including the parents, 
     as required by subsection (e), including a description of the 
     appropriate transition services for the child.
       [``(b) Periodic Review.--The individualized family service 
     plan shall be evaluated once a year and the family shall be 
     provided a review of the plan at 6-month intervals (or more 
     often where appropriate based on infant or toddler and family 
     needs).
       [``(c) Promptness After Assessment.--The individualized 
     family service plan shall be developed within a reasonable 
     time after the assessment required by subsection (a)(1) is 
     completed. With the parents' consent, early intervention 
     services may commence prior to the completion of the 
     assessment.
       [``(d) Content of Plan.--The individualized family service 
     plan shall be in writing and contain--
       [``(1) a statement of the infant's or toddler's present 
     levels of physical development, cognitive development, 
     communication development, social or emotional development, 
     and adaptive development, based on objective criteria;
       [``(2) a statement of the family's resources, priorities, 
     and concerns relating to enhancing the development of the 
     family's infant or toddler with a disability;
       [``(3) a statement of the measurable outcomes expected to 
     be achieved for the infant or toddler and the family, 
     including, as appropriate, pre-literacy and language skills, 
     and the criteria, procedures, and timelines used to determine 
     the degree to which progress toward achieving the outcomes is 
     being made and whether modifications or revisions of the 
     outcomes or services are necessary;
       [``(4) a statement of specific early intervention services 
     necessary to meet the unique needs of the infant or toddler 
     and the family, including the frequency, intensity, and 
     method of delivering services;
       [``(5) a statement of the natural environments in which 
     early intervention services will appropriately be provided, 
     including a justification of the extent, if any, to which the 
     services will not be provided in a natural environment;
       [``(6) the projected dates for initiation of services and 
     the anticipated length, duration, and frequency of the 
     services;
       [``(7) the identification of the service coordinator from 
     the profession most immediately relevant to the infant's or 
     toddler's or family's needs (or who is otherwise qualified to 
     carry out all applicable responsibilities under this part) 
     who will be responsible for the implementation of the plan 
     and coordination with other agencies and persons, including 
     transition services; and
       [``(8) the steps to be taken to support the transition of 
     the toddler with a disability to preschool or other 
     appropriate services.
       [``(e) Parental Consent.--The contents of the 
     individualized family service plan shall be fully explained 
     to the parents and informed written consent from the parents 
     shall be obtained prior to the provision of early 
     intervention services described in such plan. If the parents 
     do not provide consent with respect to a particular early 
     intervention service, then only the early intervention 
     services to which consent is obtained shall be provided.

     [``SEC. 637. STATE APPLICATION AND ASSURANCES.

       [``(a) Application.--A State desiring to receive a grant 
     under section 633 shall submit an application to the 
     Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary 
     may reasonably require. The application shall contain--
       [``(1) a designation of the lead agency in the State that 
     will be responsible for the administration of funds provided 
     under section 633;
       [``(2) a designation of an individual or entity responsible 
     for assigning financial responsibility among appropriate 
     agencies;
       [``(3) information demonstrating eligibility of the State 
     under section 634, including--
       [``(A) information demonstrating to the Secretary's 
     satisfaction that the State has in effect the statewide 
     system required by section 633; and
       [``(B) a description of services to be provided to infants 
     and toddlers with disabilities and their families through the 
     system;
       [``(4) if the State provides services to at-risk infants 
     and toddlers through the system, a description of such 
     services;
       [``(5) a description of the uses for which funds will be 
     expended in accordance with this part;
       [``(6) a description of the State policies and procedures 
     that require the referral for early intervention services of 
     a child under the age of 3 who--
       [``(A) is involved in a substantiated case of child abuse 
     or neglect; or
       [``(B) is identified as affected by illegal substance 
     abuse, or withdrawal symptoms resulting from prenatal drug 
     exposure;
       [``(7) a description of the procedure used to ensure that 
     resources are made available under this part for all 
     geographic areas within the State;
       [``(8) a description of State policies and procedures that 
     ensure that, prior to the adoption by the State of any other 
     policy or procedure necessary to meet the requirements of 
     this part, there are public hearings, adequate notice of the 
     hearings, and an opportunity for comment available to the 
     general public, including individuals with disabilities and 
     parents of infants and toddlers with disabilities;
       [``(9) a description of the policies and procedures to be 
     used--
       [``(A) to ensure a smooth transition for toddlers receiving 
     early intervention services under this part to preschool, 
     other appropriate services, or exiting the program, including 
     a description of how--
       [``(i) the families of such toddlers will be included in 
     the transition plans required by subparagraph (C); and
       [``(ii) the lead agency designated or established under 
     section 635(a)(10) will--

       [``(I) notify the local educational agency for the area in 
     which such a child resides that the child will shortly reach 
     the age of eligibility for preschool services under part B, 
     as determined in accordance with State law;
       [``(II) in the case of a child who may be eligible for such 
     preschool services, with the approval of the family of the 
     child, convene a conference among the lead agency, the 
     family, and the local educational agency at least 90 days 
     (and at the discretion of all such parties, not more than 6 
     months) before the child is eligible for the preschool 
     services, to discuss any such services that the child may 
     receive; and
       [``(III) in the case of a child who may not be eligible for 
     such preschool services, with the approval of the family, 
     make reasonable efforts to convene a conference among the 
     lead agency, the family, and providers of other appropriate 
     services for children who are not eligible for preschool 
     services under part B, to discuss the appropriate services 
     that the child may receive;

       [``(B) to review the child's program options for the period 
     from the child's third birthday through the remainder of the 
     school year; and
       [``(C) to establish a transition plan, including, as 
     appropriate, steps to exit from the program; and
       [``(10) such other information and assurances as the 
     Secretary may reasonably require.
       [``(b) Assurances.--The application described in subsection 
     (a)--
       [``(1) shall provide satisfactory assurance that Federal 
     funds made available under section 643 to the State will be 
     expended in accordance with this part;
       [``(2) shall contain an assurance that the State will 
     comply with the requirements of section 640;
       [``(3) shall provide satisfactory assurance that the 
     control of funds provided under section 643, and title to 
     property derived from those funds, will be in a public agency 
     for the uses and purposes provided in this part and that a 
     public agency will administer such funds and property;
       [``(4) shall provide for--
       [``(A) making such reports in such form and containing such 
     information as the Secretary may require to carry out the 
     Secretary's functions under this part; and
       [``(B) keeping such reports and affording such access to 
     the reports as the Secretary may find necessary to ensure the 
     correctness and verification of the reports and proper 
     disbursement of Federal funds under this part;
       [``(5) provide satisfactory assurance that Federal funds 
     made available under section 643 to the State--
       [``(A) will not be commingled with State funds; and
       [``(B) will be used so as to supplement the level of State 
     and local funds expended for infants and toddlers with 
     disabilities and their families and in no case to supplant 
     those State and local funds;
       [``(6) shall provide satisfactory assurance that such 
     fiscal control and fund accounting procedures will be adopted 
     as may be necessary to ensure proper disbursement of, and 
     accounting for, Federal funds paid under section 643 to the 
     State;
       [``(7) shall provide satisfactory assurance that policies 
     and procedures have been adopted to ensure meaningful 
     involvement of underserved groups, including minority, low-
     income, and rural families, in the planning and 
     implementation of all the requirements of this part; and
       [``(8) shall contain such other information and assurances 
     as the Secretary may reasonably require by regulation.
       [``(c) Standard for Disapproval of Application.--The 
     Secretary may not disapprove such an application unless the 
     Secretary determines, after notice and opportunity for a 
     hearing, that the application fails to comply with the 
     requirements of this section.
       [``(d) Subsequent State Application.--If a State has on 
     file with the Secretary a policy, procedure, or assurance 
     that demonstrates that the State meets a requirement of this 
     section, including any policy or procedure filed under part 
     C, as in effect before the date of enactment of the 
     Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 
     2003, the Secretary shall consider the State to have met the 
     requirement for purposes of receiving a grant under this 
     part.
       [``(e) Modification of Application.--An application 
     submitted by a State in accordance with this section shall 
     remain in effect until the State submits to the Secretary 
     such modifications as the State determines necessary. This 
     section shall apply to a modification of an application to 
     the same extent and in the same manner as this section 
     applies to the original application.
       [``(f) Modifications Required by the Secretary.--The 
     Secretary may require a State to modify its application under 
     this section, but only to the extent necessary to ensure the 
     State's compliance with this part, if--

[[Page S5275]]

       [``(1) an amendment is made to this Act, or a Federal 
     regulation issued under this Act;
       [``(2) a new interpretation of this Act is made by a 
     Federal court or the State's highest court; or
       [``(3) an official finding of noncompliance with Federal 
     law or regulations is made with respect to the State.

     [``SEC. 638. USES OF FUNDS.

       [``In addition to using funds provided under section 633 to 
     maintain and implement the statewide system required by such 
     section, a State may use such funds--
       [``(1) for direct early intervention services for infants 
     and toddlers with disabilities, and their families, under 
     this part that are not otherwise funded through other public 
     or private sources;
       [``(2) to expand and improve on services for infants and 
     toddlers and their families under this part that are 
     otherwise available;
       [``(3) to provide a free appropriate public education, in 
     accordance with part B, to children with disabilities from 
     their third birthday to the beginning of the following school 
     year; and
       [``(4) in any State that does not provide services for at-
     risk infants and toddlers under section 637(a)(4), to 
     strengthen the statewide system by initiating, expanding, or 
     improving collaborative efforts related to at-risk infants 
     and toddlers, including establishing linkages with 
     appropriate public or private community-based organizations, 
     services, and personnel for the purposes of--
       [``(A) identifying and evaluating at-risk infants and 
     toddlers;
       [``(B) making referrals of the infants and toddlers 
     identified and evaluated under subparagraph (A); and
       [``(C) conducting periodic follow-up on each such referral 
     to determine if the status of the infant or toddler involved 
     has changed with respect to the eligibility of the infant or 
     toddler for services under this part.

     ``SEC. 639. PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS.

       [``(a) Minimum Procedures.--The procedural safeguards 
     required to be included in a statewide system under section 
     635(a)(13) shall provide, at a minimum, the following:
       [``(1) The timely administrative resolution of complaints 
     by parents. Any party aggrieved by the findings and decision 
     regarding an administrative complaint shall have the right to 
     bring a civil action with respect to the complaint in any 
     State court of competent jurisdiction or in a district court 
     of the United States without regard to the amount in 
     controversy. In any action brought under this paragraph, the 
     court shall receive the records of the administrative 
     proceedings, shall hear additional evidence at the request of 
     a party, and, basing its decision on the preponderance of the 
     evidence, shall grant such relief as the court determines is 
     appropriate.
       [``(2) The right to confidentiality of personally 
     identifiable information, including the right of parents to 
     written notice of and written consent to the exchange of such 
     information among agencies consistent with Federal and State 
     law.
       [``(3) The right of the parents to determine whether they, 
     their infant or toddler, or other family members will accept 
     or decline any early intervention service under this part in 
     accordance with State law without jeopardizing other early 
     intervention services under this part.
       [``(4) The opportunity for parents to examine records 
     relating to assessment, screening, eligibility 
     determinations, and the development and implementation of the 
     individualized family service plan.
       [``(5) Procedures to protect the rights of the infant or 
     toddler whenever the parents of the infant or toddler are not 
     known or cannot be found or the infant or toddler is a ward 
     of the State, including the assignment of an individual (who 
     shall not be an employee of the State lead agency, or other 
     State agency, and who shall not be any person, or any 
     employee of a person, providing early intervention services 
     to the infant or toddler or any family member of the infant 
     or toddler) to act as a surrogate for the parents.
       [``(6) Written prior notice to the parents of the infant or 
     toddler with a disability whenever the State agency or 
     service provider proposes to initiate or change, or refuses 
     to initiate or change, the identification, evaluation, or 
     placement of the infant or toddler with a disability, or the 
     provision of appropriate early intervention services to the 
     infant or toddler.
       [``(7) Procedures designed to ensure that the notice 
     required by paragraph (6) fully informs the parents, in the 
     parents' native language, unless it clearly is not feasible 
     to do so, of all procedures available pursuant to this 
     section.
       [``(8) The right of parents to use mediation in accordance 
     with section 615, except that--
       [``(A) any reference in the section to a State educational 
     agency shall be considered to be a reference to a State's 
     lead agency established or designated under section 
     635(a)(10);
       [``(B) any reference in the section to a local educational 
     agency shall be considered to be a reference to a local 
     service provider or the State's lead agency under this part, 
     as the case may be; and
       [``(C) any reference in the section to the provision of 
     free appropriate public education to children with 
     disabilities shall be considered to be a reference to the 
     provision of appropriate early intervention services to 
     infants and toddlers with disabilities.
       [``(b) Services During Pendency of Proceedings.--During the 
     pendency of any proceeding or action involving a complaint by 
     the parents of an infant or toddler with a disability, unless 
     the State agency and the parents otherwise agree, the infant 
     or toddler shall continue to receive the appropriate early 
     intervention services currently being provided or, if 
     applying for initial services, shall receive the services not 
     in dispute.

     [``SEC. 640. PAYOR OF LAST RESORT.

       [``(a) Nonsubstitution.--Funds provided under section 643 
     may not be used to satisfy a financial commitment for 
     services that would have been paid for from another public or 
     private source, including any medical program administered by 
     the Secretary of Defense, but for the enactment of this part, 
     except that whenever considered necessary to prevent a delay 
     in the receipt of appropriate early intervention services by 
     an infant, toddler, or family in a timely fashion, funds 
     provided under section 643 may be used to pay the provider of 
     services pending reimbursement from the agency that has 
     ultimate responsibility for the payment.
       [``(b) Reduction of Other Benefits.--Nothing in this part 
     shall be construed to permit the State to reduce medical or 
     other assistance available or to alter eligibility under 
     title V of the Social Security Act (relating to maternal and 
     child health) or title XIX of the Social Security Act 
     (relating to Medicaid for infants or toddlers with 
     disabilities) within the State.

     [``SEC. 641. STATE INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COUNCIL.

       [``(a) Establishment.--
       [``(1) In general.--A State that desires to receive 
     financial assistance under this part shall establish a State 
     interagency coordinating council.
       [``(2) Appointment.--The council shall be appointed by the 
     Governor. In making appointments to the council, the Governor 
     shall ensure that the membership of the council reasonably 
     represents the population of the State.
       [``(3) Chairperson.--The Governor shall designate a member 
     of the council to serve as the chairperson of the council, or 
     shall require the council to so designate such a member. Any 
     member of the council who is a representative of the lead 
     agency designated under section 635(a)(10) may not serve as 
     the chairperson of the council.
       [``(b) Composition.--
       [``(1) In general.--The council shall be composed as 
     follows:
       [``(A) Parents.--At least 20 percent of the members shall 
     be parents of infants or toddlers with disabilities or 
     children with disabilities aged 12 or younger, with knowledge 
     of, or experience with, programs for infants and toddlers 
     with disabilities. At least 1 such member shall be a parent 
     of an infant or toddler with a disability or a child with a 
     disability aged 6 or younger.
       [``(B) Service providers.--At least 20 percent of the 
     members shall be public or private providers of early 
     intervention services.
       [``(C) State legislature.--At least 1 member shall be from 
     the State legislature.
       [``(D) Personnel preparation.--At least 1 member shall be 
     involved in personnel preparation.
       [``(E) Agency for early intervention services.--At least 1 
     member shall be from each of the State agencies involved in 
     the provision of, or payment for, early intervention services 
     to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families 
     and shall have sufficient authority to engage in policy 
     planning and implementation on behalf of such agencies.
       [``(F) Agency for preschool services.--At least 1 member 
     shall be from the State educational agency responsible for 
     preschool services to children with disabilities and shall 
     have sufficient authority to engage in policy planning and 
     implementation on behalf of such agency.
       [``(G) State medicaid agency.--At least 1 member shall be 
     from the agency responsible for the State medicaid program.
       [``(H) Head start agency.--At least 1 representative from a 
     Head Start agency or program in the State.
       [``(I) Child care agency.--At least 1 representative from a 
     State agency responsible for child care.
       [``(2) Other members.--The council may include other 
     members selected by the Governor, including a representative 
     from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, or where there is no BIA-
     operated or BIA-funded school, from the Indian Health Service 
     or the tribe or tribal council.
       [``(c) Meetings.--The council shall meet at least quarterly 
     and in such places as the council determines necessary. The 
     meetings shall be publicly announced, and, to the extent 
     appropriate, open and accessible to the general public.
       [``(d) Management Authority.--Subject to the approval of 
     the Governor, the council may prepare and approve a budget 
     using funds under this part to conduct hearings and forums, 
     to reimburse members of the council for reasonable and 
     necessary expenses for attending council meetings and 
     performing council duties (including child care for parent 
     representatives), to pay compensation to a member of the 
     council if the member is not employed or must forfeit wages 
     from other employment when performing official council 
     business, to hire staff, and to obtain the services of such 
     professional, technical, and clerical personnel as may be 
     necessary to carry out its functions under this part.
       [``(e) Functions of Council.--

[[Page S5276]]

       [``(1) Duties.--The council shall--
       [``(A) advise and assist the lead agency designated or 
     established under section 635(a)(10) in the performance of 
     the responsibilities set forth in such section, particularly 
     the identification of the sources of fiscal and other support 
     for services for early intervention programs, assignment of 
     financial responsibility to the appropriate agency, and the 
     promotion of the interagency agreements;
       [``(B) advise and assist the lead agency in the preparation 
     of applications and amendments thereto;
       [``(C) advise and assist the State educational agency 
     regarding the transition of toddlers with disabilities to 
     preschool and other appropriate services; and
       [``(D) prepare and submit an annual report to the Governor 
     and to the Secretary on the status of early intervention 
     programs for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their 
     families operated within the State.
       [``(2) Authorized activity.--The council may advise and 
     assist the lead agency and the State educational agency 
     regarding the provision of appropriate services for children 
     from birth through age 5. The council may advise appropriate 
     agencies in the State with respect to the integration of 
     services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and at-
     risk infants and toddlers and their families, regardless of 
     whether at-risk infants and toddlers are eligible for early 
     intervention services in the State.
       [``(f) Conflict of Interest.--No member of the council 
     shall cast a vote on any matter that is likely to provide a 
     direct financial benefit to that member or otherwise give the 
     appearance of a conflict of interest under State law.

     [``SEC. 642. FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.

       [``Sections 616, 617, and 618 shall, to the extent not 
     inconsistent with this part, apply to the program authorized 
     by this part, except that--
       [``(1) any reference in such sections to a State 
     educational agency shall be considered to be a reference to a 
     State's lead agency established or designated under section 
     635(a)(10);
       [``(2) any reference in such sections to a local 
     educational agency, educational service agency, or a State 
     agency shall be considered to be a reference to an early 
     intervention service provider under this part; and
       [``(3) any reference to the education of children with 
     disabilities or the education of all children with 
     disabilities shall be considered to be a reference to the 
     provision of appropriate early intervention services to 
     infants and toddlers with disabilities.

     [``SEC. 643. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.

       [``(a) Reservation of Funds for Outlying Areas.--
       [``(1) In general.--From the sums appropriated to carry out 
     this part for any fiscal year, the Secretary may reserve not 
     more than 1 percent for payments to Guam, American Samoa, the 
     United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the 
     Northern Mariana Islands in accordance with their respective 
     needs.
       [``(2) Consolidation of funds.--The provisions of Public 
     Law 95-134, permitting the consolidation of grants to the 
     outlying areas, shall not apply to funds those areas receive 
     under this part.
       [``(b) Payments to Indians.--
       [``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, subject to this 
     subsection, make payments to the Secretary of the Interior to 
     be distributed to tribes, tribal organizations (as defined 
     under section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 
     Education Assistance Act), or consortia of the above entities 
     for the coordination of assistance in the provision of early 
     intervention services by the States to infants and toddlers 
     with disabilities and their families on reservations served 
     by elementary schools and secondary schools for Indian 
     children operated or funded by the Department of the 
     Interior. The amount of such payment for any fiscal year 
     shall be 1.25 percent of the aggregate of the amount 
     available to all States under this part for such fiscal year.
       [``(2) Allocation.--For each fiscal year, the Secretary of 
     the Interior shall distribute the entire payment received 
     under paragraph (1) by providing to each tribe, tribal 
     organization, or consortium an amount based on the number of 
     infants and toddlers residing on the reservation, as 
     determined annually, divided by the total of such children 
     served by all tribes, tribal organizations, or consortia.
       [``(3) Information.--To receive a payment under this 
     subsection, the tribe, tribal organization, or consortium 
     shall submit such information to the Secretary of the 
     Interior as is needed to determine the amounts to be 
     distributed under paragraph (2).
       [``(4) Use of funds.--The funds received by a tribe, tribal 
     organization, or consortium shall be used to assist States in 
     child find, screening, and other procedures for the early 
     identification of Indian children under 3 years of age and 
     for parent training. Such funds may also be used to provide 
     early intervention services in accordance with this part. 
     Such activities may be carried out directly or through 
     contracts or cooperative agreements with the BIA, local 
     educational agencies, and other public or private nonprofit 
     organizations. The tribe, tribal organization, or consortium 
     is encouraged to involve Indian parents in the development 
     and implementation of these activities. The above entities 
     shall, as appropriate, make referrals to local, State, or 
     Federal entities for the provision of services or further 
     diagnosis.
       [``(5) Reports.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
     paragraph (2), a tribe, tribal organization, or consortium 
     shall make a biennial report to the Secretary of the Interior 
     of activities undertaken under this subsection, including the 
     number of contracts and cooperative agreements entered into, 
     the number of children contacted and receiving services for 
     each year, and the estimated number of children needing 
     services during the 2 years following the year in which the 
     report is made. The Secretary of the Interior shall include a 
     summary of this information on a biennial basis to the 
     Secretary of Education along with such other information as 
     required under section 611(h)(3)(E). The Secretary of 
     Education may require any additional information from the 
     Secretary of the Interior.
       [``(6) Prohibited uses of funds.--None of the funds under 
     this subsection may be used by the Secretary of the Interior 
     for administrative purposes, including child count, and the 
     provision of technical assistance.
       [``(c) State Allotments.--
       [``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraphs (2) 
     and (3) from the funds remaining for each fiscal year after 
     the reservation and payments under subsections (a) and (b), 
     the Secretary shall first allot to each State an amount that 
     bears the same ratio to the amount of such remainder as the 
     number of infants and toddlers in the State bears to the 
     number of infants and toddlers in all States.
       [``(2) Minimum allotments.--Except as provided in paragraph 
     (3), no State shall receive an amount under this section for 
     any fiscal year that is less than the greater of--
       [``(A) \1/2\ of 1 percent of the remaining amount described 
     in paragraph (1); or
       [``(B) $500,000.
       [``(3) Ratable reduction.--
       [``(A) In general.--If the sums made available under this 
     part for any fiscal year are insufficient to pay the full 
     amounts that all States are eligible to receive under this 
     subsection for such year, the Secretary shall ratably reduce 
     the allotments to such States for such year.
       [``(B) Additional funds.--If additional funds become 
     available for making payments under this subsection for a 
     fiscal year, allotments that were reduced under subparagraph 
     (A) shall be increased on the same basis the allotments were 
     reduced.
       [``(4) Definitions.--For the purpose of this subsection--
       [``(A) the terms `infants' and `toddlers' mean children 
     under 3 years of age; and
       [``(B) the term `State' means each of the 50 States, the 
     District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
       [``(d) Reallotment of Funds.--If a State elects not to 
     receive its allotment under subsection (c), the Secretary 
     shall reallot, among the remaining States, amounts from such 
     State in accordance with such subsection.

     [``SEC. 644. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       [``For the purpose of carrying out this part, there are 
     authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary 
     for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2009.

 [``PART D--NATIONAL ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH 
                              DISABILITIES

     [``SEC. 650. FINDINGS.

       [``Congress finds the following:
       [``(1) The Federal Government has an ongoing obligation to 
     support activities that contribute to positive results for 
     children with disabilities, enabling them to lead productive 
     and independent adult lives.
       [``(2) Systemic change benefiting all students, including 
     children with disabilities, requires the involvement of 
     States, local educational agencies, parents, individuals with 
     disabilities and their families, teachers and other service 
     providers, and other interested individuals and organizations 
     to develop and implement comprehensive strategies that 
     improve educational results for children with disabilities.
       [``(3) State educational agencies, in partnership with 
     local educational agencies, parents of children with 
     disabilities, and other individuals and organizations, are in 
     the best position to improve education for children with 
     disabilities and to address their special needs.
       [``(4) An effective educational system serving students 
     with disabilities should--
       [``(A) maintain high academic achievement standards and 
     clear performance goals for children, consistent with the 
     standards and expectations for all students in the 
     educational system, and provide for appropriate and effective 
     strategies and methods to ensure that all children with 
     disabilities have the opportunity to achieve those standards 
     and goals;
       [``(B) clearly define, in objective, measurable terms, the 
     school and post-school results that children with 
     disabilities are expected to achieve; and
       [``(C) promote transition services as described in section 
     602(32) and coordinate State and local education, social, 
     health, mental health, and other services, in addressing the 
     full range of student needs, particularly the needs of 
     children with disabilities who need significant levels of 
     support to participate and learn in school and the community.
       [``(5) The availability of an adequate number of qualified 
     personnel is critical to serve effectively children with 
     disabilities, to assume leadership positions in 
     administration

[[Page S5277]]

     and direct services, to provide teacher training, and to 
     conduct high quality research to improve special 
     education.
       [``(6) High quality, comprehensive professional development 
     programs are essential to ensure that the persons responsible 
     for the education or transition of children with disabilities 
     possess the skills and knowledge necessary to address the 
     educational and related needs of those children.
       [``(7) Models of professional development should be 
     scientifically based and reflect successful practices, 
     including strategies for recruiting, preparing, and retaining 
     personnel.
       [``(8) Continued support is essential for the development 
     and maintenance of a coordinated and high quality program of 
     research to inform successful teaching practices and model 
     curricula for educating children with disabilities.
       [``(9) A comprehensive research agenda should be 
     established and pursued to promote the highest quality and 
     rigor in special education research, and to address the full 
     range of issues facing children with disabilities, parents of 
     children with disabilities, school personnel, and others.
       [``(10) Training, technical assistance, support, and 
     dissemination activities are necessary to ensure that parts B 
     and C are fully implemented and achieve high quality early 
     intervention, educational, and transitional results for 
     children with disabilities and their families.
       [``(11) Parents, teachers, administrators, and related 
     services personnel need technical assistance and information 
     in a timely, coordinated, and accessible manner in order to 
     improve early intervention, educational, and transitional 
     services and results at the State and local levels for 
     children with disabilities and their families.
       [``(12) Parent training and information activities assist 
     parents of a child with a disability in dealing with the 
     multiple pressures of parenting such a child and are of 
     particular importance in--
       [``(A) playing a vital role in creating and preserving 
     constructive relationships between parents of children with 
     disabilities and schools by facilitating open communication 
     between the parents and schools; encouraging dispute 
     resolution at the earliest possible point in time; and 
     discouraging the escalation of an adversarial process between 
     the parents and schools;
       [``(B) ensuring the involvement of parents in planning and 
     decisionmaking with respect to early intervention, 
     educational, and transitional services;
       [``(C) achieving high quality early intervention, 
     educational, and transitional results for children with 
     disabilities;
       [``(D) providing such parents information on their rights, 
     protections, and responsibilities under this Act to ensure 
     improved early intervention, educational, and transitional 
     results for children with disabilities;
       [``(E) assisting such parents in the development of skills 
     to participate effectively in the education and development 
     of their children and in the transitions described in section 
     602(32);
       [``(F) supporting the roles of such parents as participants 
     within partnerships seeking to improve early intervention, 
     educational, and transitional services and results for 
     children with disabilities and their families; and
       [``(G) supporting such parents who may have limited access 
     to services and supports, due to economic, cultural, or 
     linguistic barriers.
       [``(13) Support is needed to improve technological 
     resources and integrate technology, including universally 
     designed technologies, into the lives of children with 
     disabilities, parents of children with disabilities, school 
     personnel, and others through curricula, services, and 
     assistive technologies.

[``Subpart 1--State Personnel Preparation and Professional Development 
                                 Grants

     [``SEC. 651. PURPOSE; DEFINITION; PROGRAM AUTHORITY.

       [``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this subpart is to assist 
     State educational agencies in reforming and improving their 
     systems for personnel preparation and professional 
     development in early intervention, educational, and 
     transition services in order to improve results for children 
     with disabilities.
       [``(b) Definition.--In this subpart the term `personnel' 
     means special education teachers, general education teachers, 
     principals, administrators, related services personnel, 
     paraprofessionals, and early intervention personnel serving 
     infants, toddlers, preschoolers, or children with 
     disabilities.
       [``(c) Program Authority.--
       [``(1) Competitive grants.--
       [``(A) In general.--For any fiscal year for which the 
     amount appropriated under section 655 is less than 
     $100,000,000, the Secretary is authorized to award grants, on 
     a competitive basis, to State educational agencies to carry 
     out the activities described in the State plan submitted 
     under section 654.
       [``(B) Priority.--The Secretary may give priority to 
     awarding grants under subparagraph (A) to State educational 
     agencies that--
       [``(i) have the greatest personnel shortages; or
       [``(ii) demonstrate the greatest difficulty meeting the 
     requirements of section 615(a)(14).
       [``(C) Minimum.--The Secretary shall make a grant to each 
     State educational agency selected under subparagraph (A) in 
     an amount for each fiscal year that is--
       [``(i) not less than $500,000, nor more than $2,000,000, in 
     the case of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 
     Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and
       [``(ii) not less than $80,000 in the case of an outlying 
     area.
       [``(D) Increases.--The Secretary may increase the amount 
     described in subparagraph (C) to account for inflation.
       [``(E) Factors.--The Secretary shall set the amount of each 
     grant under subparagraph (A) after considering--
       [``(i) the amount of funds available for making the grants;
       [``(ii) the relative population of the State or outlying 
     area;
       [``(iii) the types of activities proposed by the State or 
     outlying area;
       [``(iv) the alignment of proposed activities with section 
     612(a)(15);
       [``(v) the alignment of proposed activities with the plans 
     and applications submitted under sections 1111 and 2112, 
     respectively, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
     of 1965; and
       [``(vi) the use, as appropriate, of scientifically based 
     activities.
       [``(2) Formula grants.--
       [``(A) In general.--For any fiscal year for which the funds 
     appropriated under section 655 are equal to or greater than 
     $100,000,000, the Secretary shall--
       [``(i) reserve from such funds an amount sufficient to 
     continue to make payments for the fiscal year in accordance 
     with the terms of each multi-year grant awarded under 
     paragraph (1) for which the grant period has not ended; and
       [``(ii) use the remainder of such funds to award grants to 
     State educational agencies, from allotments under 
     subparagraph (B), to enable the State educational agencies to 
     award contracts and subgrants, on a competitive basis, to 
     carry out the authorized activities described in section 654.
       [``(B) Allotment.--Except as provided in subparagraph (C), 
     from the remainder of funds described in subparagraph (A)(ii) 
     for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall make an allotment to 
     each State educational agency in an amount that bears the 
     same relation to such remainder as the amount of funds the 
     State received under section 611(d)(3) for the preceding 
     fiscal year bears to the amount of funds received by all 
     States under such section for the preceding fiscal year.
       [``(C) Minimum allotment.--The amount of any State 
     educational agency's allotment under this paragraph for any 
     fiscal year shall not be less than \1/4\ of 1 percent of the 
     amount made available under this part for such year.

     [``SEC. 652. ELIGIBILITY AND COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.

       [``(a) Eligible Applicants.--A State educational agency may 
     apply for a grant under this subpart for a grant period of 
     not less than 1 year and not more than 5 years.
       [``(b) Partners.--
       [``(1) In general.--In order to be considered for a grant 
     under this subpart, a State educational agency shall 
     establish a partnership with local educational agencies and 
     other State agencies involved in, or concerned with, the 
     education of children with disabilities, including 
     institutions of higher education and the State agencies 
     responsible for administering part C, child care, and 
     vocational rehabilitation.
       [``(2) Other partners.--In order to be considered for a 
     grant under this subpart, a State educational agency shall 
     work in partnership with other persons and organizations 
     involved in, and concerned with, the education of children 
     with disabilities, which may include--
       [``(A) the Governor;
       [``(B) parents of children with disabilities ages birth 
     through 26;
       [``(C) parents of nondisabled children ages birth through 
     26;
       [``(D) individuals with disabilities;
       [``(E) parent training and information centers or community 
     parent resource centers;
       [``(F) community based and other nonprofit organizations 
     involved in the education and employment of individuals with 
     disabilities;
       [``(G) general and special education teachers, 
     paraprofessionals, related services personnel, and early 
     intervention personnel;
       [``(H) the State advisory panel established under part B;
       [``(I) the State interagency coordinating council 
     established under part C;
       [``(J) institutions of higher education within the State;
       [``(K) individuals knowledgeable about vocational 
     education;
       [``(L) the State agency for higher education;
       [``(M) the State vocational rehabilitation agency;
       [``(N) public agencies with jurisdiction in the areas of 
     health, mental health, social services, and juvenile justice;
       [``(O) other providers of professional development that 
     work with infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and children with 
     disabilities; and
       [``(P) other individuals.

     [``SEC. 653. APPLICATIONS.

       [``(a) In General.--
       [``(1) Submission.--A State educational agency that desires 
     to receive a grant under this subpart shall submit to the 
     Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and 
     including such information as the Secretary may require.
       [``(2) State plan.--The application shall include a plan 
     that identifies and addresses

[[Page S5278]]

     the State and local needs for the professional development of 
     administrators, principals, and teachers, as well as 
     individuals who provide direct supplementary aids and 
     services to children with disabilities, and that--
       [``(A) is designed to enable the State to meet the 
     requirements of section 612(a)(14);
       [``(B) is based on an assessment of State and local needs 
     that identifies critical aspects and areas in need of 
     improvement related to the preparation, ongoing training, and 
     professional development of personnel that serve infants, 
     toddlers, preschoolers, and children with disabilities within 
     the State, including--
       [``(i) current and anticipated personnel vacancies and 
     shortages; and
       [``(ii) the number of preservice programs; and
       [``(C) is integrated and aligned, to the maximum extent 
     possible, with State plans and activities under the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the 
     Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Higher Education Act of 
     1965, as appropriate.
       [``(3) Requirement.--The State application shall contain an 
     assurance that the State educational agency shall carry out 
     each of the strategies described in subsection (b)(4).
       [``(b) Elements of State Personnel Preparation and 
     Professional Development Plan.--Each professional development 
     plan shall--
       [``(1) describe a partnership agreement that is in effect 
     for the period of the grant, which agreement shall specify--
       [``(A) the nature and extent of the partnership described 
     in section 652(b) and the respective roles of each member of 
     the partnership; and
       [``(B) how the State will work in partnership with other 
     persons and organizations involved in, and concerned with, 
     the education of children with disabilities, including the 
     respective roles of each of the persons and organizations;
       [``(2) describe how the strategies and activities described 
     in paragraph (4) will be coordinated with other public 
     resources (including part B and part C funds retained for use 
     at the State level for personnel and professional development 
     purposes) and private resources;
       [``(3) describe how the State will align its professional 
     development plan under this subpart with the plan and 
     application submitted under sections 1111 and 2112, 
     respectively, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
     of 1965;
       [``(4) describe what strategies the State will use to 
     address the professional development and personnel needs 
     identified under subsection (a)(2) and how those strategies 
     will be implemented, including--
       [``(A) a description of the preservice and inservice 
     programs and activities to be supported under this subpart 
     that will provide personnel with the knowledge and skills to 
     meet the needs of, and improve the performance and 
     achievement of, infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and children 
     with disabilities; and
       [``(B) how such strategies shall be integrated, to the 
     maximum extent possible, with other activities supported by 
     grants funded under this part, including those under section 
     664;
       [``(5) provide an assurance that the State will provide 
     technical assistance to local educational agencies to improve 
     the quality of professional development available to meet the 
     needs of personnel who serve children with disabilities;
       [``(6) provide an assurance that the State will provide 
     technical assistance to entities that provide services to 
     infants and toddlers with disabilities to improve the quality 
     of professional development available to meet the needs of 
     personnel serving such children;
       [``(7) describe how the State will recruit and retain 
     highly qualified teachers and other qualified personnel in 
     geographic areas of greatest need;
       [``(8) describe the steps the State will take to ensure 
     that poor and minority children are not taught at higher 
     rates by teachers who are not highly qualified; and
       [``(9) describe how the State will assess, on a regular 
     basis, the extent to which the strategies implemented under 
     this subpart have been effective in meeting the performance 
     goals described in section 612(a)(15).
       [``(c) Peer Review.--
       [``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall use a panel of 
     experts who are competent, by virtue of their training, 
     expertise, or experience, to evaluate applications for grants 
     under section 651(c)(1).
       [``(2) Composition of panel.--A majority of a panel 
     described in paragraph (1) shall be composed of individuals 
     who are not employees of the Federal Government.
       [``(3) Payment of fees and expenses of certain members.--
     The Secretary may use available funds appropriated to carry 
     out this subpart to pay the expenses and fees of panel 
     members who are not employees of the Federal Government.
       [``(d) Reporting Procedures.--Each State educational agency 
     that receives a grant under this subpart shall submit annual 
     performance reports to the Secretary. The reports shall 
     describe the progress of the State in implementing its plan 
     and analyzing the effectiveness of the State's activities 
     under this subpart.

     [``SEC. 654. USE OF FUNDS.

       [``(a) Professional Development Activities.--A State 
     educational agency that receives a grant under this subpart 
     shall use the grant funds to support activities in accordance 
     with the State's plan described in section 653, including 1 
     or more of the following:
       [``(1) Carrying out programs that provide support to both 
     special education and regular education teachers of children 
     with disabilities, such as programs that--
       [``(A) provide teacher mentoring, team teaching, reduced 
     class schedules and case loads, and intensive professional 
     development; and
       [``(B) use standards or assessments for guiding beginning 
     teachers that are consistent with challenging State student 
     academic achievement and functional standards and with the 
     requirements for professional development as defined in 
     section 9101(34) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
     Act of 1965.
       [``(2) Encouraging and supporting the training of special 
     education and regular education teachers and administrators 
     to effectively utilize and integrate technology--
       [``(A) into curricula and instruction, including training 
     to improve the ability to collect, manage, and analyze data 
     to improve teaching, decisionmaking, school improvement 
     efforts, and accountability;
       [``(B) to enhance learning by children with disabilities; 
     and
       [``(C) to effectively communicate with parents.
       [``(3) Providing professional development activities that--
       [``(A) improve the knowledge of special education and 
     regular education teachers concerning--
       [``(i) the academic and developmental or functional needs 
     of students with disabilities; or
       [``(ii) effective instructional strategies, methods, and 
     skills, and the use of State academic content standards and 
     student academic achievement and functional standards, and 
     State assessments, to improve teaching practices and student 
     academic achievement; and
       [``(B) improve the knowledge of special education and 
     regular education teachers and principals and, in appropriate 
     cases, paraprofessionals, concerning effective instructional 
     practices and that--
       [``(i) provide training in how to teach and address the 
     needs of students with different learning styles;
       [``(ii) involve collaborative groups of teachers and 
     administrators;
       [``(iii) provide training in methods of--

       [``(I) positive behavior interventions and supports to 
     improve student behavior in the classroom;
       [``(II) scientifically based reading instruction, including 
     early literacy instruction;
       [``(III) early and appropriate interventions to identify 
     and help children with disabilities;
       [``(IV) effective instruction for children with low 
     incidence disabilities;
       [``(V) successful transitioning to postsecondary 
     opportunities; and
       [``(VI) using classroom-based techniques to assist children 
     prior to referral for special education;

       [``(iv) provide training to enable special education and 
     regular education teachers and principals to work with and 
     involve parents in their child's education, including parents 
     of low income and limited English proficient children with 
     disabilities;
       [``(v) provide training for special education, regular 
     education, principals, and related services personnel in 
     planning, developing, and implementing effective and 
     appropriate IEPs; and
       [``(vi) providing training to meet the needs of students 
     with significant health, mobility, or behavioral needs prior 
     to serving such students;
       [``(C) train administrators, principals, and other relevant 
     school personnel in conducting effective IEP meetings; and
       [``(D) develop and enhance instructional leadership skills 
     of principals.
       [``(4) Developing and implementing initiatives to promote 
     the recruitment and retention of highly qualified special 
     education teachers, particularly initiatives that have been 
     proven effective in recruitment and retaining highly 
     qualified teachers, including programs that provide--
       [``(A) teacher mentoring from exemplary special education 
     teachers, principals, or superintendents;
       [``(B) induction and support for special education teachers 
     during their first 3 years of employment as teachers, 
     respectively; or
       [``(C) incentives, including financial incentives, to 
     retain special education teachers who have a record of 
     success in helping students with disabilities.
       [``(5) Carrying out programs and activities that are 
     designed to improve the quality of personnel who serve 
     children with disabilities, such as--
       [``(A) innovative professional development programs (which 
     may be provided through partnerships that include 
     institutions of higher education), including programs that 
     train teachers and principals to integrate technology into 
     curricula and instruction to improve teaching, learning, and 
     technology literacy, which professional development shall be 
     consistent with the definition of professional development 
     described in section 9101(34) of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965; and
       [``(B) development and use of proven, cost effective 
     strategies for the implementation of professional development 
     activities, such as through the use of technology and 
     distance learning.

[[Page S5279]]

       [``(b) Other Activities.--A State educational agency that 
     receives a grant under this subpart shall use the grant funds 
     to support activities in accordance with the State's plan 
     described in section 653, including 1 or more of the 
     following:
       [``(1) Reforming special education and regular education 
     teacher certification (including recertification) or 
     licensing requirements to ensure that--
       [``(A) special education and regular education teachers 
     have--
       [``(i) the training and information necessary to address 
     the full range of needs of children with disabilities across 
     disability categories; and
       [``(ii) the necessary subject matter knowledge and teaching 
     skills in the academic subjects that they teach;
       [``(B) special education and regular education teacher 
     certification (including recertification) or licensing 
     requirements are aligned with challenging State academic 
     content standards; and
       [``(C) special education and regular education teachers 
     have the subject matter knowledge and teaching skills, 
     including technology literacy, necessary to help students 
     meet challenging State student academic achievement and 
     functional standards.
       [``(2) Programs that establish, expand, or improve 
     alternative routes for State certification of special 
     education teachers for highly qualified individuals with a 
     baccalaureate or master's degree, including mid-career 
     professionals from other occupations, paraprofessionals, 
     and recent college or university graduates with records of 
     academic distinction who demonstrate the potential to 
     become highly effective special education teachers.
       [``(3) Teacher advancement initiatives for special 
     education teachers that promote professional growth and 
     emphasize multiple career paths (such as paths to becoming a 
     career teacher, mentor teacher, or exemplary teacher) and pay 
     differentiation.
       [``(4) Developing and implementing mechanisms to assist 
     local educational agencies and schools in effectively 
     recruiting and retaining highly qualified special education 
     teachers.
       [``(5) Reforming tenure systems, implementing teacher 
     testing for subject matter knowledge, and implementing 
     teacher testing for State certification or licensing, 
     consistent with title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
       [``(6) Funding projects to promote reciprocity of teacher 
     certification or licensing between or among States for 
     special education teachers, except that no reciprocity 
     agreement developed under this paragraph or developed using 
     funds provided under this subpart may lead to the weakening 
     of any State teaching certification or licensing requirement.
       [``(7) Developing or assisting local educational agencies 
     to serve children with disabilities through the development 
     and use of proven, innovative strategies to deliver intensive 
     professional development programs that are both cost 
     effective and easily accessible, such as strategies that 
     involve delivery through the use of technology, peer 
     networks, and distance learning.
       [``(8) Developing, or assisting local educational agencies 
     in developing, merit based performance systems, and 
     strategies that provide differential and bonus pay for 
     special education teachers.
       [``(9) Supporting activities that ensure that teachers are 
     able to use challenging State academic content standards and 
     student academic and functional achievement standards, and 
     State assessments for all children with disabilities, to 
     improve instructional practices and improve the academic 
     achievement of children with disabilities.
       [``(10) Coordinating with, and expanding centers 
     established under, section 2113(c)(18) of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965 to benefit special education 
     teachers.
       [``(c) Contracts and Subgrants.--Each such State 
     educational agency--
       [``(1) shall award contracts or subgrants to local 
     educational agencies, institutions of higher education, 
     parent training and information centers, or community parent 
     resource centers, as appropriate, to carry out its State plan 
     under this subpart; and
       [``(2) may award contracts and subgrants to other public 
     and private entities, including the lead agency under part C, 
     to carry out such plan.
       [``(d) Use of Funds for Professional Development.--A State 
     educational agency that receives a grant under this subpart 
     shall use--
       [``(1) not less than 75 percent of the funds the State 
     educational agency receives under the grant for any fiscal 
     year for activities under subsection (a); and
       [``(2) not more than 25 percent of the funds the State 
     educational agency receives under the grant for any fiscal 
     year for activities under subsection (b).
       [``(e) Grants to Outlying Areas.--Public Law 95-134, 
     permitting the consolidation of grants to the outlying areas, 
     shall not apply to funds received under this subpart.

     [``SEC. 655. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       [``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
     this subpart such sums as may be necessary for each of the 
     fiscal years 2004 through 2009.

  [``Subpart 2--Scientifically Based Research, Technical Assistance, 
     Model Demonstration Projects, and Dissemination of Information

     [``SEC. 660. PURPOSE.

       [``The purpose of this subpart is--
       [``(1) to provide Federal funding for scientifically based 
     research, technical assistance, model demonstration projects, 
     and information dissemination to improve early intervention, 
     educational, and transitional results for children with 
     disabilities; and
       [``(2) to assist State educational agencies and local 
     educational agencies in improving their education systems.

     [``SEC. 661. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

       [``(a) Comprehensive Plan.--
       [``(1) In general.--After receiving input from interested 
     individuals with relevant expertise, the Secretary shall 
     develop and implement a comprehensive plan for activities 
     carried out under this subpart (other than activities 
     assisted under sections 662 and 665) in order to enhance the 
     provision of early intervention, educational, related and 
     transitional services to children with disabilities under 
     parts B and C. The plan shall be coordinated with the agenda 
     developed pursuant to section 662(d) and shall include 
     mechanisms to address early intervention, educational, 
     related service and transitional needs identified by State 
     educational agencies in applications submitted for State 
     program improvement grants under subpart 1.
       [``(2) Public comment.--The Secretary shall provide a 
     public comment period of at least 60 days on the plan.
       [``(3) Distribution of funds.--In implementing the plan, 
     the Secretary shall, to the extent appropriate, ensure that 
     funds are awarded to recipients under this subpart to carry 
     out activities that benefit, directly or indirectly, children 
     with the full range of disabilities and of all ages.
       [``(4) Reports to congress.--The Secretary shall annually 
     report to Congress on the Secretary's activities under this 
     subpart, including an initial report not later than 12 months 
     after the date of enactment of the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003.
       [``(b) Eligible Applicants.--
       [``(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
     subpart, the following entities are eligible to apply for a 
     grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this subpart:
       [``(A) A State educational agency.
       [``(B) A local educational agency.
       [``(C) A public charter school that is a local educational 
     agency under State law.
       [``(D) An institution of higher education.
       [``(E) Any other public agency.
       [``(F) A private nonprofit organization.
       [``(G) An outlying area.
       [``(H) An Indian tribe or a tribal organization (as defined 
     under section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 
     Education Assistance Act).
       [``(I) A for-profit organization.
       [``(2) Special rule.--The Secretary may limit the entities 
     eligible for an award of a grant, contract, or cooperative 
     agreement to 1 or more categories of eligible entities 
     described in paragraph (1).
       [``(c) Special Populations.--
       [``(1) Application requirement.--In making an award of a 
     grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this subpart, 
     the Secretary shall, as appropriate, require an applicant to 
     meet the criteria set forth by the Secretary under this 
     subpart and demonstrate how the applicant will address the 
     needs of children with disabilities from minority 
     backgrounds.
       [``(2) Required outreach and technical assistance.--
     Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act other than 
     paragraph (1), the Secretary shall reserve at least 1 percent 
     of the total amount of funds made available to carry out this 
     subpart for 1 or both of the following activities:
       [``(A) To provide outreach and technical assistance to 
     Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and to 
     institutions of higher education with minority enrollments of 
     at least 25 percent, to promote the participation of such 
     colleges, universities, and institutions in activities under 
     this subpart.
       [``(B) To enable Historically Black Colleges and 
     Universities, and the institutions described in subparagraph 
     (A), to assist other colleges, universities, institutions, 
     and agencies in improving educational and transitional 
     results for children with disabilities.
       [``(C) Reservation of funds.--The Secretary may reserve 
     funds made available under this subpart to satisfy the 
     requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (B).
       [``(d) Priorities.--The Secretary, in making an award of a 
     grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this subpart, 
     may, without regard to the rulemaking procedures under 
     section 553(a) of title 5, United States Code, limit 
     competitions to, or otherwise give priority to--
       [``(1) projects that address 1 or more--
       [``(A) age ranges;
       [``(B) disabilities;
       [``(C) school grades;
       [``(D) types of educational placements or early 
     intervention environments;
       [``(E) types of services;
       [``(F) content areas, such as reading; or
       [``(G) effective strategies for helping children with 
     disabilities learn appropriate behavior in the school and 
     other community based educational settings;
       [``(2) projects that address the needs of children based on 
     the severity or incidence of their disability;
       [``(3) projects that address the needs of--
       [``(A) low achieving students;
       [``(B) underserved populations;
       [``(C) children from low income families;

[[Page S5280]]

       [``(D) limited English proficient children;
       [``(E) unserved and underserved areas;
       [``(F) rural or urban areas;
       [``(G) children whose behavior interferes with their 
     learning and socialization;
       [``(H) children with reading difficulties; or
       [``(I) children in charter schools;
       [``(4) projects to reduce inappropriate identification of 
     children as children with disabilities, particularly among 
     minority children;
       [``(5) projects that are carried out in particular areas of 
     the country, to ensure broad geographic coverage;
       [``(6) projects that promote the development and use of 
     universally designed technologies, assistive technology 
     devices, and assistive technology services to maximize 
     children with disabilities' access to and participation in 
     the general curriculum; and
       [``(7) any activity that is authorized in this subpart or 
     subpart 3.
       [``(e) Applicant and Recipient Responsibilities.--
       [``(1) Development and assessment of projects.--The 
     Secretary shall require that an applicant for, and a 
     recipient of, a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement for 
     a project under this subpart--
       [``(A) involve individuals with disabilities or parents of 
     individuals with disabilities ages birth through 26 in 
     planning, implementing, and evaluating the project; and
       [``(B) where appropriate, determine whether the project has 
     any potential for replication and adoption by other entities.
       [``(2) Additional responsibilities.--The Secretary may 
     require a recipient of a grant, contract, or cooperative 
     agreement under this subpart to--
       [``(A) share in the cost of the project;
       [``(B) prepare the research and evaluation findings and 
     products from the project in formats that are useful for 
     specific audiences, including parents, administrators, 
     teachers, early intervention personnel, related services 
     personnel, and individuals with disabilities;
       [``(C) disseminate such findings and products; and
       [``(D) collaborate with other such recipients in carrying 
     out subparagraphs (B) and (C).
       [``(f) Application Management.--
       [``(1) Standing panel.--
       [``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall establish and use a 
     standing panel of experts who are competent, by virtue of 
     their training, expertise, or experience, to evaluate 
     applications under this subpart (other than applications for 
     assistance under sections 662 and 665) that, individually, 
     request more than $75,000 per year in Federal financial 
     assistance.
       [``(B) Membership.--The standing panel shall include, at a 
     minimum--
       [``(i) individuals who are representatives of institutions 
     of higher education that plan, develop, and carry out high 
     quality programs of personnel preparation;
       [``(ii) individuals who design and carry out scientifically 
     based research targeted to the improvement of special 
     education programs and services;
       [``(iii) individuals who have recognized experience and 
     knowledge necessary to integrate and apply scientifically 
     based research findings to improve educational and 
     transitional results for children with disabilities;
       [``(iv) individuals who administer programs at the State or 
     local level in which children with disabilities participate;
       [``(v) individuals who prepare parents of children with 
     disabilities to participate in making decisions about the 
     education of their children;
       [``(vi) individuals who establish policies that affect the 
     delivery of services to children with disabilities;
       [``(vii) parents of children with disabilities ages birth 
     through 26 who are benefiting, or have benefited, from 
     coordinated research, personnel preparation, and technical 
     assistance; and
       [``(viii) individuals with disabilities.
       [``(C) Term.--Unless approved by the Secretary due to 
     extenuating circumstances related to shortages of experts in 
     a particular area of expertise or for a specific competition, 
     no individual shall serve on the standing panel for more than 
     3 consecutive years.
       [``(2) Peer review panels for particular competitions.--
       [``(A) Composition.--The Secretary shall ensure that each 
     sub panel selected from the standing panel that reviews 
     applications under this subpart (other than sections 662 and 
     665) includes--
       [``(i) individuals with knowledge and expertise on the 
     issues addressed by the activities authorized by this 
     subpart; and
       [``(ii) to the extent practicable, parents of children with 
     disabilities ages birth through 26, individuals with 
     disabilities, and persons from diverse backgrounds.
       [``(B) Federal employment limitation.--A majority of the 
     individuals on each sub panel that reviews an application 
     under this subpart (other than an application under sections 
     662 and 665) shall be individuals who are not employees of 
     the Federal Government.
       [``(3) Use of discretionary funds for administrative 
     purposes.--
       [``(A) Expenses and fees of non-Federal panel members.--The 
     Secretary may use funds made available under this subpart to 
     pay the expenses and fees of the panel members who are not 
     officers or employees of the Federal Government.
       [``(B) Administrative support.--The Secretary may use not 
     more than 1 percent of the funds made available to carry out 
     this subpart to pay non-Federal entities for administrative 
     support related to management of applications submitted under 
     this subpart.
       [``(4) Availability of certain products.--The Secretary 
     shall ensure that recipients of grants, cooperative 
     agreements, or contracts under this subpart and subpart 3 
     make available in formats that are accessible to individuals 
     with disabilities any products developed under such grants, 
     cooperative agreements, or contracts that the recipient is 
     making available to the public.
       [``(g) Program Evaluation.--The Secretary may use funds 
     made available to carry out this subpart to evaluate 
     activities carried out under this subpart.
       [``(h) Minimum Funding Required.--
       [``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary 
     shall ensure that, for each fiscal year, at least the 
     following amounts are provided under this subpart to address 
     the following needs:
       [``(A) $12,832,000 to address the educational, related 
     services, transitional, and early intervention needs of 
     children with deaf-blindness.
       [``(B) $4,000,000 to address the postsecondary, vocational, 
     technical, continuing, and adult education needs of 
     individuals with deafness.
       [``(C) $4,000,000 to address the educational, related 
     services, and transitional needs of children with an 
     emotional disturbance and those who are at risk of developing 
     an emotional disturbance.
       [``(2) Ratable reduction.--If the total amount appropriated 
     to carry out sections 662, 664, and 674 for any fiscal year 
     is less than $130,000,000, the amounts listed in paragraph 
     (1) shall be ratably reduced.
       [``(i) Eligibility for Financial Assistance.--No State or 
     local educational agency, or other public institution or 
     agency, may receive a grant or enter into a contract or 
     cooperative agreement under this subpart that relates 
     exclusively to programs, projects, and activities pertaining 
     to children aged 3 through 5, inclusive, unless the State is 
     eligible to receive a grant under section 619(b).

     [``SEC. 662. RESEARCH TO IMPROVE RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH 
                   DISABILITIES.

       [``(a) National Center for Special Education Research.--
       [``(1) Establishment.--
       [``(A) In general.--There is established, in the Institute 
     of Education Sciences established under section 111 of the 
     Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (hereinafter in this 
     section referred to as `the Institute'), the National Center 
     for Special Education Research.
       [``(B) Mission.--The mission of the National Center for 
     Special Education Research (hereafter in this section 
     referred to as the `Center') shall be to--
       [``(i) sponsor research to expand knowledge and 
     understanding of the needs of infants, toddlers, and children 
     with disabilities in order to improve the developmental, 
     educational, and transitional results of such individuals;
       [``(ii) sponsor research to improve services provided 
     under, and support the implementation of, this Act; and
       [``(iii) evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of 
     this Act in coordination with the National Center for 
     Education Evaluation.
       [``(2) Commissioner.--The Center shall be headed by a 
     Commissioner for Special Education Research (hereinafter in 
     this section referred to as `the Commissioner'). The 
     Commissioner shall be appointed by the Director of the 
     Institute (hereinafter in this section referred to as `the 
     Director') in accordance with section 117 of the Education 
     Sciences Reform Act of 2002. The Commissioner shall have 
     substantial knowledge of the Center's activities, including a 
     high level of expertise in the fields of research, research 
     management, and the education of children with disabilities.
       [``(3) Applicability of education sciences reform act of 
     2002.--Parts A and E of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 
     2002, and the standards for peer review of applications and 
     for the conduct and evaluation of research under sections 
     133(a) and 134 of such Act, respectively, shall apply to the 
     Secretary, the Director, and the Commissioner in carrying out 
     this section.
       [``(4) Grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements.--In 
     carrying out the duties under this part, the Director may 
     award grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative 
     agreements with, eligible entities.
       [``(b) Authorized Activities.--Activities that may be 
     carried out under this section include research activities 
     to--
       [``(1) improve services provided under this Act in order to 
     improve academic achievement, functional outcomes, and 
     educational results for children with disabilities;
       [``(2) identify scientifically based educational practices 
     that support learning and improve academic achievement, 
     functional outcomes, and educational results for all students 
     with disabilities;
       [``(3) examine the special needs of preschool aged 
     children, infants, and toddlers with disabilities, including 
     factors that may result in developmental delays;
       [``(4) identify scientifically based related services and 
     interventions that promote participation and progress in the 
     general education curriculum and general education settings;

[[Page S5281]]

       [``(5) improve the alignment, compatibility, and 
     development of valid and reliable assessments, including 
     alternate assessments as described in section 1111(b) of the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965;
       [``(6) examine State content standards and alternate 
     assessments for students with significant cognitive 
     impairment in terms of academic achievement, individualized 
     instructional need, appropriate education settings, and 
     improved post-school results;
       [``(7) examine the educational, developmental, and 
     transitional needs of children with high incidence and low 
     incidence disabilities;
       [``(8) examine the extent to which overidentification and 
     underidentification of children with disabilities occurs, and 
     the causes thereof;
       [``(9) improve reading and literacy skills of children with 
     disabilities;
       [``(10) examine and improve secondary and postsecondary 
     education and transitional outcomes and results for children 
     with disabilities;
       [``(11) examine methods of early intervention for children 
     with disabilities who need significant levels of support;
       [``(12) examine and incorporate universal design concepts 
     in the development of standards, assessments, curricula, and 
     instructional methods as a method to improve educational and 
     transitional results for children with disabilities;
       [``(13) improve the preparation of personnel who provide 
     educational and related services to children with 
     disabilities to increase the academic achievement of students 
     with disabilities;
       [``(14) examine the excess costs of educating a child with 
     a disability and expenses associated with high cost special 
     education and related services; and
       [``(15) help parents improve educational results for their 
     children, particularly related to transition issues.
       [``(c) Standards.--The Commissioner shall ensure that 
     activities assisted under this section--
       [``(1) conform to high standards of quality, integrity, 
     accuracy, validity, and reliability;
       [``(2) are carried out in conjunction with the standards 
     for the conduct and evaluation of all research and 
     development established by the National Center for Education 
     Research; and
       [``(3) are objective, secular, neutral, and nonideological, 
     and are free of partisan political influence, and racial, 
     cultural, gender, regional, or disability bias.
       [``(d) Plan.--The Commissioner shall propose to the 
     Director a research plan, developed in collaboration with the 
     Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative 
     Services, that--
       [``(1) is consistent with the priorities and mission of the 
     Institute of Education Sciences and the mission of the 
     Special Education Research Center;
       [``(2) shall be carried out, updated, and modified, as 
     appropriate;
       [``(3) is consistent with the purpose of this Act;
       [``(4) contains an appropriate balance across all age 
     ranges and types of children with disabilities;
       [``(5) provides for research that is objective and uses 
     measurable indicators to assess its progress and results;
       [``(6) is coordinated with the comprehensive plan developed 
     under section 661; and
       [``(7) provides that the research conducted under this part 
     is relevant to special education practice and policy.
       [``(e) Applications.--An eligible entity that wishes to 
     receive a grant, or enter into a contract or cooperative 
     agreement, under this section shall submit an application to 
     the Director at such time, in such manner, and containing 
     such information as the Director may require.
       [``(f) Dissemination.--The Center shall--
       [``(1) synthesize and disseminate, through the National 
     Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, the 
     findings and results of special education research conducted 
     or supported by the Center; and
       [``(2) assist the Director in the preparation of a biennial 
     report, as described in section 119 of the Education Sciences 
     Reform Act of 2003.
       [``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such 
     sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2004 
     through 2009.

     [``SEC. 663. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS, 
                   DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION, AND 
                   IMPLEMENTATION OF SCIENTIFICALLY BASED 
                   RESEARCH.

       [``(a) In General.--From amounts made available under 
     section 675, the Secretary, on a competitive basis, shall 
     award grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative 
     agreements with, eligible entities to provide technical 
     assistance, carry out model demonstration projects, 
     disseminate useful information, and implement activities that 
     are supported by scientifically based research.
       [``(b) Required Activities.--The Secretary shall support 
     activities to improve services provided under this Act, 
     including the practices of professionals and others involved 
     in providing such services to children with disabilities, 
     that promote academic achievement and functional performance 
     to improve educational results and functional outcomes for 
     children with disabilities through--
       [``(1) implementing effective strategies that are conducive 
     to learning and for addressing inappropriate behavior of 
     students with disabilities in schools, including strategies 
     to prevent children with emotional and behavioral problems 
     from developing emotional disturbances that require the 
     provision of special education and related services;
       [``(2) improving the alignment, compatibility, and 
     development of valid and reliable assessment methods, 
     including alternate assessment methods and evaluation 
     methods, for assessing adequately yearly progress as 
     described in section 1111(b)(2)(B) of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965;
       [``(3) providing information to both regular education 
     teachers and special education teachers to address the 
     different learning styles and disabilities of students;
       [``(4) disseminating innovative, effective, and efficient 
     curricula, materials (including those that are universally 
     designed), instructional approaches, and strategies that--
       [``(A) support effective transitions between educational 
     settings or from school to post-school settings;
       [``(B) support effective inclusion of students with 
     disabilities in general education settings, especially 
     students with low-incidence disabilities; and
       [``(C) improve educational and transitional results at all 
     levels of the educational system in which the activities are 
     carried out and, in particular, that improve the progress of 
     children with disabilities, as measured by assessments within 
     the general education curriculum involved; and
       [``(5) demonstrating and applying scientifically-based 
     findings to facilitate systematic changes related to the 
     provision of services to children with disabilities.
       [``(c) Authorized Activities.--Activities that may be 
     carried out under this section include activities to improve 
     services provided under this Act, including the practices of 
     professionals and others involved in providing such services 
     to children with disabilities, that promote academic 
     achievement and functional outcomes to improve results for 
     children with disabilities through--
       [``(1) applying and testing research findings in typical 
     service settings to determine the usability, effectiveness, 
     and general applicability of those findings in such areas as 
     improving instructional methods, curricula, and tools, such 
     as textbooks and media;
       [``(2) demonstrating and applying scientifically-based 
     findings to facilitate systemic changes related to the 
     provision of services to children with disabilities, in 
     policy, procedure, practice, and the training and use of 
     personnel;
       [``(3) supporting and promoting the coordination of early 
     intervention, education, and transitional services for 
     children with disabilities with services provided by health, 
     rehabilitation, and social service agencies;
       [``(4) promoting improved alignment and compatibility of 
     general and special education reforms concerned with 
     curriculum and instructional reform, and evaluating of such 
     reforms;
       [``(5) enabling professionals, parents of children with 
     disabilities, and other persons, to learn about, and 
     implement, the findings of scientifically based research and 
     effective practices developed in model demonstration 
     projects, relating to the provision of services to children 
     with disabilities;
       [``(6) disseminating information relating to successful 
     approaches to overcoming systemic barriers to the effective 
     and efficient delivery of early intervention, educational, 
     and transitional services, to personnel who provide services 
     to children with disabilities;
       [``(7) assisting States and local educational agencies with 
     the process of planning systemic changes that will promote 
     improved early intervention, educational, and transitional 
     results for children with disabilities;
       [``(8) promoting change through a multi-State or regional 
     framework that benefits States, local educational agencies, 
     and other participants in partnerships that are in the 
     process of achieving systemic-change outcomes;
       [``(9) focusing on the needs and issues that are specific 
     to a population of children with disabilities, such as 
     providing single-State and multi-State technical assistance 
     and in-service training--
       [``(A) to schools and agencies serving deaf-blind children 
     and their families;
       [``(B) to programs and agencies serving other groups of 
     children with low-incidence disabilities and their families; 
     and
       [``(C) to address the postsecondary education needs of 
     individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing;
       [``(10) demonstrating models of personnel preparation to 
     ensure appropriate placements and services for all students 
     with disabilities and to reduce disproportionality in 
     eligibility, placement, and disciplinary actions for minority 
     and limited English proficient children; and
       [``(11) disseminating information on how to reduce racial 
     and ethnic disproportionalities.
       [``(d) Balance Among Disabilities and Age Ranges.--In 
     carrying out this section, the Secretary shall ensure that 
     there is an appropriate balance across all age ranges and 
     disabilities.
       [``(e) Linking States to Information Sources.--In carrying 
     out this section, the Secretary may support projects that 
     link States to technical assistance resources, including 
     special education and general education resources, and may 
     make research and related products available through 
     libraries, electronic networks, parent training projects, and 
     other information sources.

[[Page S5282]]

       [``(f) Applications.--
       [``(1) In general.--An eligible entity that desires to 
     receive a grant, or to enter into a contract or cooperative 
     agreement, under this section shall submit an application to 
     the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 
     such information as the Secretary may require.
       [``(2) Contents.--The Secretary may, as appropriate, 
     require eligible entities to demonstrate that the projects 
     described in their applications are supported by 
     scientifically based research that has been carried out in 
     conjunction with the standards for the conduct and evaluation 
     of all research and development established by the National 
     Center for Education Research.
       [``(3) Priority.--As appropriate, the Secretary shall give 
     priority to applications that propose to serve teachers and 
     school personnel directly in the school environment or that 
     strengthen State and local agency capacity to improve 
     instructional practices of personnel to improve educational 
     results for children with disabilities in the school 
     environment.

     [``SEC. 664. PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT TO IMPROVE SERVICES AND 
                   RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES.

       [``(a) In General.--The Secretary, on a competitive basis, 
     shall award grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative 
     agreements with, eligible entities--
       [``(1) to help address State identified needs for highly 
     qualified personnel in special education, related services, 
     early intervention, transition, and regular education, to 
     work with children with disabilities, consistent with the 
     needs identified in the State plan described in section 
     653(a)(2) and the standards described in section 612(a)(14);
       [``(2) to ensure that those personnel have the necessary 
     skills and knowledge, derived from practices that have been 
     determined, through scientifically based research, to be 
     successful in serving those children;
       [``(3) to encourage increased focus on academics and core 
     content areas in special education personnel preparation 
     programs;
       [``(4) to ensure that regular education teachers have the 
     necessary skills and knowledge to provide instruction to 
     students with disabilities in the regular education 
     classroom;
       [``(5) to ensure that all special education teachers 
     teaching in core academic subjects are highly qualified;
       [``(6) to ensure that preservice and in-service personnel 
     preparation programs include training in--
       [``(A) the use of new technologies;
       [``(B) the area of early intervention, educational, and 
     transition services;
       [``(C) effectively involving parents; and
       [``(D) positive behavior supports; and
       [``(7) to provide high-quality professional development for 
     principals, superintendents, and other administrators, 
     including training in--
       [``(A) instructional leadership;
       [``(B) behavioral supports in the school and classroom;
       [``(C) paperwork reduction;
       [``(D) promoting improved collaboration between special 
     education and general education teachers;
       [``(E) assessment and accountability;
       [``(F) ensuring effective learning environments; and
       [``(G) fostering positive relationships with parents.
       [``(b) Personnel Development; Authorized Activities.--
       [``(1) In general.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Secretary shall support activities to prepare personnel, 
     including activities for the preparation of personnel who 
     will serve children with high-incidence and low-incidence 
     disabilities, consistent with the objectives described in 
     subsection (a).
       [``(2) Authorized activities.--Activities that may be 
     carried out under this subsection include the following:
       [``(A) Supporting collaborative personnel preparation 
     activities undertaken by institutions of higher education, 
     local educational agencies, and other local entities--
       [``(i) to improve and reform their existing programs, to 
     support effective existing programs, to support the 
     development of new programs, and to prepare teachers and 
     related services personnel--

       [``(I) to meet the diverse needs of children with 
     disabilities for early intervention, educational, and 
     transitional services; and
       [``(II) to work collaboratively in regular classroom 
     settings; and

       [``(ii) to incorporate best practices and scientifically 
     based research about preparing personnel--

       [``(I) so the personnel will have the knowledge and skills 
     to improve educational results for children with 
     disabilities; and
       [``(II) to implement effective teaching strategies and 
     interventions to prevent the misidentification, 
     overidentification, or underidentification of children as 
     having a disability, especially minority and limited English 
     proficient children.

       [``(B) Developing, evaluating, and disseminating innovative 
     models for the recruitment, induction, retention, and 
     assessment of highly qualified teachers to reduce shortages 
     in personnel.
       [``(C) Providing continuous personnel preparation, 
     training, and professional development designed to provide 
     support and ensure retention of teachers and personnel who 
     teach and provide related services to children with 
     disabilities.
       [``(D) Developing and improving programs for 
     paraprofessionals to become special education teachers, 
     related services personnel, and early intervention personnel, 
     including interdisciplinary training to enable the 
     paraprofessionals to improve early intervention, educational, 
     and transitional results for children with disabilities.
       [``(E) Demonstrating models for the preparation of, and 
     interdisciplinary training of, early intervention, special 
     education, and general education personnel, to enable the 
     personnel to acquire the collaboration skills necessary to 
     work within teams and to improve results for children with 
     disabilities, particularly within the general education 
     curriculum.
       [``(F) Promoting effective parental involvement practices 
     to enable the personnel to work with parents and involve 
     parents in the education of such parents' children.
       [``(G) Promoting the transferability, across State and 
     local jurisdictions, of licensure and certification of 
     teachers and administrators working with such children.
       [``(H) Developing and disseminating models that prepare 
     teachers with strategies, including positive behavioral 
     interventions, for addressing the conduct of children with 
     disabilities that impedes their learning and that of others 
     in the classroom.
       [``(I) Developing and improving programs to enhance the 
     ability of general education teachers, principals, school 
     administrators, and school board members to improve results 
     for children with disabilities.
       [``(J) Supporting institutions of higher education with 
     minority enrollments of at least 25 percent for the purpose 
     of preparing personnel to work with children with 
     disabilities.
       [``(K) Preparing personnel to work in high need elementary 
     schools and secondary schools, including urban schools, rural 
     schools, and schools operated by an entity described in 
     section 7113(d)(1)(A)(ii) of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965, and schools that serve high numbers or 
     percentages of limited English proficient children.
       [``(L) Developing, evaluating, and disseminating innovative 
     models for the recruitment, induction, retention, and 
     assessment of new, qualified teachers, especially from groups 
     that are underrepresented in the teaching profession, 
     including individuals with disabilities.
       [``(c) Low Incidence Disabilities; Authorized Activities.--
       [``(1) In general.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Secretary shall support activities, consistent with the 
     objectives described in subsection (a), that benefit children 
     with low incidence disabilities.
       [``(2) Authorized activities.--Activities that may be 
     carried out under this subsection include activities such as 
     the following:
       [``(A) Preparing persons who--
       [``(i) have prior training in educational and other related 
     service fields; and
       [``(ii) are studying to obtain degrees, certificates, or 
     licensure that will enable the persons to assist children 
     with low incidence disabilities to achieve the objectives set 
     out in their individualized education programs described in 
     section 614(d), or to assist infants and toddlers with low 
     incidence disabilities to achieve the outcomes described in 
     their individualized family service plans described in 
     section 636.
       [``(B) Providing personnel from various disciplines with 
     interdisciplinary training that will contribute to 
     improvement in early intervention, educational, and 
     transitional results for children with low incidence 
     disabilities.
       [``(C) Preparing personnel in the innovative uses and 
     application of technology, including universally designed 
     technologies, assistive technology devices, and assistive 
     technology services--
       [``(i) to enhance learning by children with low incidence 
     disabilities through early intervention, educational, and 
     transitional services; and
       [``(ii) to improve communication with parents.
       [``(D) Preparing personnel who provide services to visually 
     impaired or blind children to teach and use Braille in the 
     provision of services to such children.
       [``(E) Preparing personnel to be qualified educational 
     interpreters, to assist children with low incidence 
     disabilities, particularly deaf and hard of hearing children 
     in school and school related activities, and deaf and hard of 
     hearing infants and toddlers and preschool children in early 
     intervention and preschool programs.
       [``(F) Preparing personnel who provide services to children 
     with significant cognitive disabilities and children with 
     multiple disabilities.
       [``(3) Definition.--As used in this section, the term `low 
     incidence disability' means--
       [``(A) a visual or hearing impairment, or simultaneous 
     visual and hearing impairments;
       [``(B) a significant cognitive impairment; or
       [``(C) any impairment for which a small number of personnel 
     with highly specialized skills and knowledge are needed in 
     order for children with that impairment to receive early 
     intervention services or a free appropriate public education.
       [``(4) Selection of recipients.--In selecting recipients 
     under this subsection, the Secretary may give preference to 
     eligible entities submitting applications that include 1 or 
     more of the following:

[[Page S5283]]

       [``(A) A proposal to prepare personnel in more than 1 low 
     incidence disability, such as deaf and blindness.
       [``(B) A demonstration of an effective collaboration with 
     an eligible entity and a local educational agency that 
     ensures recruitment and subsequent retention of highly 
     qualified personnel to serve children with disabilities.
       [``(C) A proposal to address the personnel and professional 
     development needs in the State, as identified in section 
     653(a)(2).
       [``(5) Preparation in use of braille.--The Secretary shall 
     ensure that all recipients of assistance under this 
     subsection who will use that assistance to prepare personnel 
     to provide services to visually impaired or blind children 
     that can appropriately be provided in Braille will prepare 
     those individuals to provide those services in Braille.
       [``(d) Leadership Preparation; Authorized Activities.--
       [``(1) In general.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Secretary shall support leadership preparation activities 
     that are consistent with the objectives described in 
     subsection (a).
       [``(2) Authorized activities.--Activities that may be 
     carried out under this subsection include activities such as 
     the following:
       [``(A) Preparing personnel at the graduate, doctoral, and 
     postdoctoral levels of training to administer, enhance, or 
     provide services to improve results for children with 
     disabilities.
       [``(B) Providing interdisciplinary training for various 
     types of leadership personnel, including teacher preparation 
     faculty, administrators, researchers, supervisors, 
     principals, related services personnel, and other persons 
     whose work affects early intervention, educational, and 
     transitional services for children with disabilities.
       [``(e) Enhanced Support and Training for Beginning Special 
     Educators; Authorized Activities.--
       [``(1) In general.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Secretary shall support personnel preparation activities that 
     are consistent with the objectives described in subsection 
     (a).
       [``(2) Authorized activities.--Activities that may be 
     carried out under this subsection include--
       [``(A) enhancing and restructuring an existing program or 
     developing a preservice teacher education program, to prepare 
     special education teachers, at colleges or departments of 
     education within the institution of higher education, by 
     incorporating an additional 5th year clinical learning 
     opportunity, field experience, or supervised practicum into a 
     program of preparation and coursework for special education 
     teachers; or
       [``(B) Creating or supporting professional development 
     schools that provide--
       [``(i) high quality mentoring and induction opportunities 
     with ongoing support for beginning special education 
     teachers; or
       [``(ii) inservice professional development to veteran 
     special education teachers through the ongoing exchange of 
     information and instructional strategies.
       [``(3) Eligible partnerships.--Eligible recipients of 
     assistance under this subsection are partnerships--
       [``(A) that shall consist of--
       [``(i) 1 or more institutions of higher education with 
     special education personnel preparation programs;
       [``(ii) 1 or more local educational agencies; and
       [``(iii) in the case of activities assisted under paragraph 
     (2)(B), an elementary school or secondary school; and
       [``(B) that may consist of other entities eligible for 
     assistance under this part, such as a State educational 
     agency.
       [``(4) Priority.--In awarding grants or entering into 
     contracts or cooperative agreements under this subsection, 
     the Secretary shall give priority to partnerships that 
     include local educational agencies that serve--
       [``(A) high numbers or percentages of low-income students; 
     or
       [``(B) schools that have failed to make adequate yearly 
     progress toward enabling children with disabilities to meet 
     academic achievement standards.
       [``(f) Training To Support General Educators; Authorized 
     Activities.--
       [``(1) In general.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Secretary shall support personnel preparation activities that 
     are consistent with the objectives described in subsection 
     (a).
       [``(2) Authorized activities.--Activities that may be 
     carried out under this subsection include--
       [``(A) high quality professional development for general 
     educators that develops the knowledge and skills, and 
     enhances the ability, of general educators to--
       [``(i) utilize classroom-based techniques to identify 
     students who may be eligible for special education services, 
     and deliver instruction in a way that meets the 
     individualized needs of children with disabilities through 
     appropriate supports, accommodations, and curriculum 
     modifications;
       [``(ii) utilize classroom-based techniques, such as 
     scientifically based reading instruction;
       [``(iii) work collaboratively with special education 
     teachers and related services personnel;
       [``(iv) implement strategies, such as positive behavioral 
     interventions--

       [``(I) to address the behavior of children with 
     disabilities that impedes the learning of such children and 
     others; or
       [``(II) to prevent children from being misidentified as 
     children with disabilities;

       [``(v) prepare children with disabilities to participate in 
     statewide assessments (with and without accommodations) and 
     alternative assessment, as appropriate;
       [``(vi) develop effective practices for ensuring that all 
     children with disabilities are a part of all accountability 
     systems under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
     1965;
       [``(vii) work with and involve parents of children with 
     disabilities in their child's education;
       [``(viii) understand how to effectively construct IEPs, 
     participate in IEP meetings, and implement IEPs; and
       [``(ix) in the case of principals and superintendents, be 
     instructional leaders and promote improved collaboration 
     between general educators, special education teachers, and 
     related services personnel; and
       [``(B) release and planning time for the activities 
     described in this subsection.
       [``(3) Eligible partnerships.--Eligible recipients of 
     assistance under this subsection are partnerships--
       [``(A) that shall consist of--
       [``(i) 1 or more institutions of higher education with 
     special education personnel preparation programs;
       [``(ii) 1 or more local educational agencies; and
       [``(B) that may consist of other entities eligible for 
     assistance under this part, such as a State educational 
     agency.
       [``(g) Applications.--
       [``(1) In general.--Any eligible entity that desires to 
     receive a grant, or enter into a contract or cooperative 
     agreement, under this section shall submit an application 
     to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 
     containing such information as the Secretary may require.
       [``(2) Identified state needs.--
       [``(A) Requirement to address identified needs.--Any 
     application under subsection (b), (c), (d), (e), or (f) shall 
     include information demonstrating to the satisfaction of the 
     Secretary that the activities described in the application 
     will address needs identified by the State or States the 
     applicant proposes to serve, consistent with the needs 
     identified in the State plan described in section 653(a)(2).
       [``(B) Cooperation with state educational agencies.--Any 
     applicant that is not a local educational agency or a State 
     educational agency shall include in the application 
     information demonstrating to the satisfaction of the 
     Secretary that the applicant and 1 or more State educational 
     agencies have engaged in a cooperative effort to carry out 
     and monitor the project to be assisted.
       [``(3) Acceptance by states of personnel preparation 
     requirements.--The Secretary may require applicants to 
     provide assurances from 1 or more States that such States--
       [``(A) intend to accept successful completion of the 
     proposed personnel preparation program as meeting State 
     personnel standards for serving children with disabilities or 
     serving infants and toddlers with disabilities; and
       [``(B) need personnel in the area or areas in which the 
     applicant proposes to provide preparation, as identified in 
     the States' comprehensive systems of personnel development 
     under parts B and C.
       [``(h) Selection of Recipients.--
       [``(1) Impact of project.--In selecting award recipients 
     under this section, the Secretary shall consider the impact 
     of the proposed project described in the application in 
     meeting the need for personnel identified by the States.
       [``(2) Requirement for applicants to meet state and 
     professional standards.--The Secretary shall make grants and 
     enter into contracts and cooperative agreements under this 
     section only to eligible applicants that meet State and 
     professionally recognized standards for the preparation of 
     special education and related services personnel, if the 
     purpose of the project is to assist personnel in obtaining 
     degrees.
       [``(3) Preferences.--In selecting recipients under this 
     section, the Secretary may give preference to institutions of 
     higher education that are--
       [``(A) educating regular education personnel to meet the 
     needs of children with disabilities in integrated settings;
       [``(B) educating special education personnel to work in 
     collaboration with regular educators in integrated settings; 
     and
       [``(C) successfully recruiting and preparing individuals 
     with disabilities and individuals from groups that are 
     underrepresented in the profession for which the institution 
     of higher education is preparing individuals.
       [``(i) Service Obligation.--Each application for funds 
     under subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) shall include an 
     assurance that the applicant will ensure that individuals who 
     receive a scholarship under the proposed project will 
     subsequently provide special education and related services 
     to children with disabilities for a period of 1 year for 
     every year for which assistance was received, or repay all or 
     part of the cost of that assistance, in accordance with 
     regulations issued by the Secretary.
       [``(j) Scholarships.--The Secretary may include funds for 
     scholarships, with necessary stipends and allowances, in 
     awards under subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e).
       [``(k) Definitions.--In this section the term `personnel' 
     means special education

[[Page S5284]]

     teachers, general education teachers, principals, 
     administrators, related services personnel, 
     paraprofessionals, and early intervention personnel serving 
     infants, toddlers, preschoolers, or children with 
     disabilities.
       [``(l) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such 
     sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2004 
     through 2010.

     [``SEC. 665. STUDIES AND EVALUATIONS.

       [``(a) Studies and Evaluations.--
       [``(1) Delegation.--The Secretary shall delegate to the 
     Director of the Institute for Education Sciences 
     responsibility to carry out this section.
       [``(2) Assessment.--The Secretary shall, directly or 
     through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements awarded 
     on a competitive basis, assess the progress in the 
     implementation of this Act, including the effectiveness of 
     State and local efforts to provide--
       [``(A) a free appropriate public education to children with 
     disabilities; and
       [``(B) early intervention services to infants and toddlers 
     with disabilities, and infants and toddlers who would be at 
     risk of having substantial developmental delays if early 
     intervention services were not provided to them.
       [``(b) National Assessment.--
       [``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out a 
     national assessment of activities carried out with Federal 
     funds under this Act in order--
       [``(A) to determine the effectiveness of this Act in 
     achieving its purposes;
       [``(B) to provide timely information to the President, 
     Congress, the States, local educational agencies, and the 
     public on how to implement this Act more effectively; and
       [``(C) to provide the President and Congress with 
     information that will be useful in developing legislation to 
     achieve the purposes of this Act more effectively.
       [``(2) Consultation.--The Secretary shall plan, review, and 
     conduct the national assessment under this subsection in 
     consultation with researchers, State practitioners, local 
     practitioners, parents of children with disabilities, and 
     other appropriate individuals.
       [``(3) Scope of assessment.--The national assessment shall 
     assess the--
       [``(A) implementation of programs assisted under this Act 
     and the impact of those programs on addressing the 
     developmental, educational, and transitional needs of, and 
     improving the academic achievement and functional outcomes 
     of, children with disabilities to enable the children to 
     reach challenging developmental goals and challenging State 
     academic content standards based on State academic 
     assessments, including alternative assessments;
       [``(B) types of programs and services that have 
     demonstrated the greatest likelihood of helping students 
     reach the challenging State academic content standards and 
     developmental goals;
       [``(C) implementation of the personal preparation 
     professional development activities assisted under this Act 
     and the impact on instruction, student academic achievement, 
     and teacher qualifications to enhance the ability of special 
     education teachers and regular education teachers to improve 
     results for children with disabilities; and
       [``(D) effectiveness of schools, local educational 
     agencies, States, and other recipients of assistance under 
     this Act, in achieving the purposes of this Act in--
       [``(i) improving the academic achievement of children with 
     disabilities and their performance on regular statewide 
     assessments, and the performance of children with 
     disabilities on alternate assessments;
       [``(ii) improving the participation rate of children with 
     disabilities in the general education curriculum;
       [``(iii) improving the transitions of children with 
     disabilities at natural transition points;
       [``(iv) placing and serving children with disabilities, 
     including minority children, in the least restrictive 
     environment appropriate;
       [``(v) preventing children with disabilities, especially 
     children with emotional disturbances and specific learning 
     disabilities, from dropping out of school;
       [``(vi) addressing the reading and literacy needs of 
     children with disabilities;
       [``(vii) coordinating services provided under this Act with 
     each other, with other educational and pupil services 
     (including preschool services), and with health and social 
     services funded from other sources;
       [``(viii) improving the participation of parents of 
     children with disabilities in the education of their 
     children;
       [``(ix) resolving disagreements between education personnel 
     and parents through alternate dispute resolution activities 
     including mediation and voluntary binding arbitration; and
       [``(x) reducing the misidentification of children, 
     especially minority and limited English proficient children.
       [``(4) Interim and final reports.--The Secretary shall 
     submit to the President and Congress--
       [``(A) an interim report that summarizes the preliminary 
     findings of the national assessment not later than 3 years 
     after the date of enactment of the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003; and
       [``(B) a final report of the findings of the assessment not 
     later than 5 years after the date of enactment of the 
     Individual with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 
     2003.
       [``(c) Study on Ensuring Accountability for Students With 
     Significant Disabilities.--The Secretary shall carry out a 
     national study or studies to examine--
       [``(1) the criteria that States use to determine 
     eligibility for alternate assessments and the number and type 
     of children who take those assessments;
       [``(2) the validity and reliability of alternate assessment 
     instruments and procedures;
       [``(3) the alignment of alternate assessments with State 
     academic content and achievement standards or with alternate 
     academic achievement standards; and
       [``(4) the use and effectiveness of alternate assessments 
     in appropriately measuring student progress and outcomes 
     specific to individualized instructional need.
       [``(d) Annual Report.--The Secretary shall provide an 
     annual report to Congress that--
       [``(1) summarizes the research conducted under section 662;
       [``(2) analyzes and summarizes the data reported by the 
     States and the Secretary of the Interior under section 618;
       [``(3) summarizes the studies and evaluations conducted 
     under this section and the timeline for their completion;
       [``(4) describes the extent and progress of the national 
     assessment; and
       [``(5) describes the findings and determinations resulting 
     from reviews of State implementation of this Act.
       [``(e) Authorized Activities.--In carrying out this 
     subsection, the Secretary may support objective studies, 
     evaluations, and assessments, including studies that--
       [``(1) analyze measurable impact, outcomes, and results 
     achieved by State educational agencies and local educational 
     agencies through their activities to reform policies, 
     procedures, and practices designed to improve educational and 
     transitional services and results for children with 
     disabilities;
       [``(2) analyze State and local needs for professional 
     development, parent training, and other appropriate 
     activities that can reduce the need for disciplinary actions 
     involving children with disabilities;
       [``(3) assess educational and transitional services and 
     results for children with disabilities from minority 
     backgrounds, including--
       [``(A) data on--
       [``(i) the number of minority children who are referred for 
     special education evaluation;
       [``(ii) the number of minority children who are receiving 
     special education and related services and their educational 
     or other service placement;
       [``(iii) the number of minority children who graduated from 
     secondary programs with a regular diploma in the standard 
     number of years; and
       [``(iv) the number of minority children who drop out of the 
     educational system; and
       [``(B) the performance of children with disabilities from 
     minority backgrounds on State assessments and other 
     performance indicators established for all students;
       [``(4) measure educational and transitional services and 
     results of children with disabilities served under this Act, 
     including longitudinal studies that--
       [``(A) examine educational and transitional services and 
     results for children with disabilities who are 3 through 17 
     years of age and are receiving special education and related 
     services under this Act, using a national, representative 
     sample of distinct age cohorts and disability categories; and
       [``(B) examine educational results, transition services, 
     postsecondary placement, and employment status of individuals 
     with disabilities, 18 through 21 years of age, who are 
     receiving or have received special education and related 
     services under this Act; and
       [``(5) identify and report on the placement of children 
     with disabilities by disability category.
       [``(f) Reservation for Studies and Technical Assistance.--
       [``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2) and 
     notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the 
     Secretary may reserve not more than \1/2\ of 1 percent of the 
     amount appropriated under parts B and C for each fiscal year 
     to carry out this section, of which $3,000,000 shall be 
     available to carry out subsection (c).
       [``(2) Maximum amount.--For the first fiscal year for which 
     the amount described in paragraph (1) is at least 
     $40,000,000, the maximum amount the Secretary may reserve 
     under paragraph (1), is $40,000,000. For each subsequent 
     fiscal year, the maximum amount the Secretary may reserve 
     under paragraph (1) is $40,000,000, increased by the 
     cumulative rate of inflation since the fiscal year described 
     in the previous sentence.
       [``(3) Use of maximum amount.--In any fiscal year described 
     in paragraph (2) for which the Secretary reserves the maximum 
     amount described in that paragraph, the Secretary shall use 
     at least \1/2\ of the reserved amount for activities under 
     subsection (d).

      [``Subpart 3--Supports To Improve Results for Children With 
                              Disabilities

     [``SEC. 670. PURPOSES.

       [``The purposes of this subpart are to ensure that--
       [``(1) children with disabilities and their parents receive 
     training and information on their rights, responsibilities, 
     and protections under this Act, in order to develop the 
     skills necessary to cooperatively and effectively participate 
     in planning and decision making relating to early 
     intervention, educational, and transitional services;

[[Page S5285]]

       [``(2) parents, teachers, administrators, early 
     intervention personnel, related services personnel, and 
     transition personnel receive coordinated and accessible 
     technical assistance and information to assist them in 
     improving early intervention, educational, and transitional 
     services and results for children with disabilities and their 
     families; and
       [``(3) appropriate technology and media are researched, 
     developed, and demonstrated, to improve and implement early 
     intervention, educational, and transitional services and 
     results for children with disabilities and their families.

     [``SEC. 671. PARENT TRAINING AND INFORMATION CENTERS.

       [``(a) Program Authorized.--The Secretary may award grants 
     to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, 
     parent organizations to support parent training and 
     information centers to carry out activities under this 
     section.
       [``(b) Required Activities.--Each parent training and 
     information center that receives assistance under this 
     section shall--
       [``(1) provide training and information that meets the 
     needs of parents of children with disabilities living in the 
     area served by the center, particularly underserved parents 
     and parents of children who may be inappropriately 
     identified, to enable their children with disabilities to--
       [``(A) meet developmental and functional goals, and 
     challenging academic achievement goals that have been 
     established for all children; and
       [``(B) be prepared to lead productive independent adult 
     lives, to the maximum extent possible;
       [``(2) serve the parents of infants, toddlers, and children 
     with the full range of disabilities described in section 
     602(3);
       [``(3) assist parents to--
       [``(A) better understand the nature of their children's 
     disabilities and their educational, developmental, and 
     transitional needs;
       [``(B) communicate effectively and work collaboratively 
     with personnel responsible for providing special education, 
     early intervention, transition services, and related 
     services;
       [``(C) participate in decisionmaking processes and the 
     development of individualized education programs under part B 
     and individualized family service plans under part C;
       [``(D) obtain appropriate information about the range, 
     type, and quality of options, programs, services, 
     technologies, and research based practices and interventions, 
     and resources available to assist children with disabilities 
     and their families in school and at home;
       [``(E) understand the provisions of this Act for the 
     education of, and the provision of early intervention 
     services to, children with disabilities; and
       [``(F) participate in school reform activities;
       [``(4) in States where the State elects to contract with 
     the parent training and information center, contract with 
     State educational agencies to provide, consistent with 
     subparagraphs (B) and (D) of section 615(e)(2), individuals 
     who meet with parents to explain the mediation process to the 
     parents;
       [``(5) assist parents in resolving disputes in the most 
     expeditious and effective way possible, including encouraging 
     the use, and explaining the benefits, of alternative methods 
     of dispute resolution, such as the mediation process 
     described in section 615(e);
       [``(6) assist parents and students with disabilities to 
     understand their rights and responsibilities under this Act, 
     including those under section 615(m) on the student's 
     reaching the age of majority;
       [``(7) assist parents to understand the availability of, 
     and how to effectively use, procedural safeguards under this 
     Act;
       [``(8) assist parents in understanding, preparing for, and 
     participating in, the process described in section 
     615(f)(1)(B);
       [``(9) network with appropriate clearinghouses, including 
     organizations conducting national dissemination activities 
     under section 663, and with other national, State, and local 
     organizations and agencies, such as protection and advocacy 
     agencies, that serve parents and families of children with 
     the full range of disabilities described in section 602(3); 
     and
       [``(10) annually report to the Secretary on--
       [``(A) the number and demographics of parents to whom the 
     center provided information and training in the most recently 
     concluded fiscal year;
       [``(B) the effectiveness of strategies used to reach and 
     serve parents, including underserved parents of children with 
     disabilities; and
       [``(C) the number of parents served who have resolved 
     disputes through alternative methods of dispute resolution.
       [``(c) Optional Activities.--A parent training and 
     information center that receives assistance under this 
     section may provide information to teachers and other 
     professionals to assist the teachers and professionals in 
     improving results for children with disabilities.
       [``(d) Application Requirements.--Each application for 
     assistance under this section shall identify with specificity 
     the special efforts that the parent organization will 
     undertake--
       [``(1) to ensure that the needs for training and 
     information of underserved parents of children with 
     disabilities in the area to be served are effectively met; 
     and
       [``(2) to work with community based organizations.
       [``(e) Distribution of Funds.--
       [``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall--
       [``(A) make at least 1 award to a parent organization in 
     each State for a parent training and information center which 
     is designated as the statewide parent training and 
     information center; or
       [``(B) in the case of a large State, make awards to 
     multiple parent training and information centers, but only if 
     the centers demonstrate that coordinated services and 
     supports will occur among the multiple centers.
       [``(2) Selection requirement.--The Secretary shall select 
     among applications submitted by parent organizations in a 
     State in a manner that ensures the most effective assistance 
     to parents, including parents in urban and rural areas, in 
     the State.
       [``(f) Quarterly Review.--
       [``(1) Meetings.--The board of directors of each parent 
     organization that receives an award under this section shall 
     meet at least once in each calendar quarter to review the 
     activities for which the award was made.
       [``(2) Continuation award.--When an organization requests a 
     continuation award under this section, the board of directors 
     shall submit to the Secretary a written review of the parent 
     training and information program conducted by the 
     organization during the preceding fiscal year.
       [``(g) Definition of Parent Organization.--As used in this 
     section, the term `parent organization' means a private 
     nonprofit organization (other than an institution of higher 
     education) that has a board of directors--
       [``(1) the majority of whom are parents of children with 
     disabilities ages birth through 26;
       [``(2) that includes--
       [``(A) individuals working in the fields of special 
     education, related services, and early intervention; and
       [``(B) individuals with disabilities;
       [``(3) the parent and professional members of which are 
     broadly representative of the population to be served; and
       [``(4) has as its mission serving families of children and 
     youth with disabilities who--
       [``(A) are ages birth through 26; and
       [``(B) have the full range of disabilities described in 
     section 602(3).

     [``SEC. 672. COMMUNITY PARENT RESOURCE CENTERS.

       [``(a) In General.--The Secretary may award grants to, and 
     enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, local 
     parent organizations to support parent training and 
     information centers that will help ensure that underserved 
     parents of children with disabilities, including low income 
     parents, parents of children with limited English 
     proficiency, and parents with disabilities, have the training 
     and information the parents need to enable the parents to 
     participate effectively in helping their children with 
     disabilities--
       [``(1) to meet developmental and functional goals, and 
     challenging academic achievement goals that have been 
     established for all children; and
       [``(2) to be prepared to lead productive independent adult 
     lives, to the maximum extent possible.
       [``(b) Required Activities.--Each community parent resource 
     center assisted under this section shall--
       [``(1) provide training and information that meets the 
     training and information needs of parents of children with 
     disabilities proposed to be served by the grant, contract, or 
     cooperative agreement;
       [``(2) carry out the activities required of parent training 
     and information centers under paragraphs (2) through (9) of 
     section 671(b);
       [``(3) establish cooperative partnerships with the parent 
     training and information centers funded under section 671; 
     and
       [``(4) be designed to meet the specific needs of families 
     who experience significant isolation from available sources 
     of information and support.
       [``(c) Definition.--As used in this section, the term 
     `local parent organization' means a parent organization, as 
     defined in section 671(g), that--
       [``(1) has a board of directors the majority of whom are 
     parents of children with disabilities ages birth through 26 
     from the community to be served; and
       [``(2) has as its mission serving parents of children with 
     disabilities who--
       [``(A) are ages birth through 26; and
       [``(B) have the full range of disabilities described in 
     section 602(3).

     [``SEC. 673. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR PARENT TRAINING AND 
                   INFORMATION CENTERS.

       [``(a) In General.--The Secretary may, directly or through 
     awards to eligible entities, provide technical assistance for 
     developing, assisting, and coordinating parent training and 
     information programs carried out by parent training and 
     information centers receiving assistance under sections 671 
     and 672.
       [``(b) Authorized Activities.--The Secretary may provide 
     technical assistance to a parent training and information 
     center under this section in areas such as--
       [``(1) effective national coordination of parent training 
     efforts, which includes encouraging collaborative efforts 
     among award recipients under sections 671 and 672;
       [``(2) dissemination of information, scientifically based 
     research, and research based practices and interventions;
       [``(3) promotion of the use of technology, including 
     universal designed technologies,

[[Page S5286]]

     assistive technology devices, and assistive technology 
     services;
       [``(4) reaching underserved populations;
       [``(5) including children with disabilities in general 
     education programs;
       [``(6) facilitation of transitions from--
       [``(A) early intervention services to preschool;
       [``(B) preschool to elementary school;
       [``(C) elementary school to secondary school; and
       [``(D) secondary school to postsecondary environments; and
       [``(7) promotion of alternative methods of dispute 
     resolution, including mediation.

     [``SEC. 674. TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRATION, AND 
                   UTILIZATION; AND MEDIA SERVICES.

       [``(a) In General.--The Secretary, on a competitive basis, 
     shall award grants to, and enter into contracts and 
     cooperative agreements with, eligible entities to support 
     activities described in subsections (b) and (c).
       [``(b) Technology Development, Demonstration, and Use.--
       [``(1) In general.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Secretary shall support activities to promote the 
     development, demonstration, and use of technology.
       [``(2) Authorized activities.--The following activities may 
     be carried out under this subsection:
       [``(A) Conducting research on and promoting the 
     demonstration and use of innovative, emerging, and 
     universally designed technologies for children with 
     disabilities, by improving the transfer of technology from 
     research and development to practice.
       [``(B) Supporting research, development, and dissemination 
     of technology with universal design features, so that the 
     technology is accessible to the broadest range of individuals 
     with disabilities without further modification or adaptation.
       [``(C) Demonstrating the use of systems to provide parents 
     and teachers with information and training concerning early 
     diagnosis of, intervention for, and effective teaching 
     strategies for, young children with reading disabilities.
       [``(D) Supporting the use of Internet-based communications 
     for students with cognitive disabilities in order to maximize 
     their academic and functional skills.
       [``(c) Educational Media Services; Optional Activities.--In 
     carrying out this section, the Secretary may support--
       [``(1) educational media activities that are designed to be 
     of educational value in the classroom setting to children 
     with disabilities;
       [``(2) providing (A) video description, (B) open 
     captioning, (C) closed captioning of television programs, 
     videos, or other materials appropriate for use in the 
     classroom setting, or (D) news (but news only until September 
     30, 2006), when such services are not provided by the 
     producer or distributor of such information, materials, or 
     news, including programs and materials associated with new 
     and emerging technologies, such as CDs, DVDs, video 
     streaming, and other forms of multimedia;
       [``(3) distributing materials described in paragraphs (1) 
     and (2) through such mechanisms as a loan service; and
       [``(4) providing free educational materials, including 
     textbooks, in accessible media for visually impaired and 
     print disabled students in elementary schools and secondary 
     schools.
       [``(d) Applications.--Any eligible entity that wishes to 
     receive a grant, or enter into a contract or cooperative 
     agreement, under this section shall submit an application to 
     the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 
     such information as the Secretary may require.
       [``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such 
     sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2004 
     through 2009.

     [``SEC. 675. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       [``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
     sections 671, 672, 673, and 663 such sums as may be necessary 
     for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2009.

  [``Subpart 4--Interim Alternative Educational Settings, Behavioral 
                Supports, and Whole School Interventions

     ``SEC. 681. PURPOSE.

       [``The purpose of this subpart is to authorize resources to 
     foster a safe learning environment that supports academic 
     achievement for all students by improving the quality of 
     interim alternative educational settings, providing more 
     behavioral supports in schools, and supporting whole school 
     interventions.

     [``SEC. 682. DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.

       [``In this subpart, the term `eligible entity' means--
       [``(1) a local educational agency; or
       [``(2) a consortium consisting of a local educational 
     agency and 1 or more of the following entities:
       [``(A) another local educational agency;
       [``(B) a community-based organization with a demonstrated 
     record of effectiveness in helping special needs students 
     with behavioral challenges succeed;
       [``(C) an institution of higher education;
       [``(D) a mental health provider; or
       [``(E) an educational service agency.

     [``SEC. 683. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

       [``The Secretary is authorized to award grants, on a 
     competitive basis, to eligible entities to enable the 
     eligible entities--
       [``(1) to establish or expand behavioral supports and whole 
     school behavioral interventions by providing for effective, 
     research-based practices, including--
       [``(A) comprehensive, early screening efforts for students 
     at risk for emotional and behavioral difficulties;
       [``(B) training for school staff on early identification, 
     prereferral, and referral procedures;
       [``(C) training for administrators, teachers, related 
     services personnel, behavioral specialists, and other school 
     staff in whole school positive behavioral interventions and 
     supports, behavioral intervention planning, and classroom and 
     student management techniques;
       [``(D) joint training for administrators, parents, 
     teachers, related services personnel, behavioral specialists, 
     and other school staff on effective strategies for positive 
     behavioral interventions and behavior management strategies 
     that focus on the prevention of behavior problems;
       [``(E) developing or implementing specific curricula, 
     programs, or interventions aimed at addressing behavioral 
     problems;
       [``(F) stronger linkages between school-based services and 
     community-based resources, such as community mental health 
     and primary care providers; or
       [``(G) using behavioral specialists, related services 
     personnel, and other staff necessary to implement behavioral 
     supports; or
       [``(2) to improve interim alternative educational settings 
     by--
       [``(A) improving the training of administrators, teachers, 
     related services personnel, behavioral specialists, and other 
     school staff (including ongoing mentoring of new teachers);
       [``(B) attracting and retaining a high quality, diverse 
     staff;
       [``(C) providing for on-site counseling services;
       [``(D) utilizing research-based interventions, curriculum, 
     and practices;
       [``(E) allowing students to use instructional technology 
     that provides individualized instruction;
       [``(F) ensuring that the services are fully consistent with 
     the goals of the individual student's IEP;
       [``(G) promoting effective case management and 
     collaboration among parents, teachers, physicians, related 
     services personnel, behavioral specialists, principals, 
     administrators, and other school staff;
       [``(H) promoting interagency coordination and coordinated 
     service delivery among schools, juvenile courts, child 
     welfare agencies, community mental health providers, primary 
     care providers, public recreation agencies, and community-
     based organizations; or
       [``(I) providing for behavioral specialists to help 
     students transitioning from interim alternative educational 
     settings reintegrate into their regular classrooms.

     [``SEC. 684. PROGRAM EVALUATIONS.

       [``(a) Report and Evaluation.--Each eligible entity 
     receiving a grant under this subpart shall prepare and submit 
     annually to the Secretary a report on the outcomes of the 
     activities assisted under the grant.
       [``(b) Best Practices on Web Site.--The Secretary shall 
     make available on the Department's web site information for 
     parents, teachers, and school administrators on best 
     practices for interim alternative educational settings, 
     behavior supports, and whole school intervention.

     [``SEC. 685. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       [``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
     this subpart $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and such sums 
     as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal 
     years.''.

                 [TITLE II--REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973

     [SEC. 201. FINDINGS.

       [Section 2(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 
     701(a)) is amended--
       [(1) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       [(2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period and inserting 
     ``; and''; and
       [(3) by adding at the end the following:
       [``(7) there is a substantial need to improve and expand 
     services for students with disabilities under this Act.''.

     [SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.

       [Section 7 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 
     705) is amended--
       [(1) by redesignating paragraphs (35) through (39) as 
     paragraphs (36) through (40), respectively;
       [(2) in subparagraph (A)(ii) of paragraph (36) (as 
     redesignated in paragraph (1)), by striking ``paragraph 
     (36)(C)'' and inserting ``paragraph (37)(C)''; and
       [(3) by inserting after paragraph (34) the following:
       [``(35)(A) The term `student with a disability' means an 
     individual with a disability who--
       [``(i) is not younger than 14 and not older than 21;
       [``(ii) has been determined to be eligible under section 
     102(a) for assistance under this title; and
       [``(iii)(I) is eligible for, and is receiving, special 
     education under part B of the Individuals with Disabilities 
     Education Act (29 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.); or
       [``(II) is an individual with a disability, for purposes of 
     section 504.
       [``(B) The term `students with disabilities' means more 
     than 1 student with a disability.''.

     [SEC. 203. ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       [Section 100 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 
     720) is amended--

[[Page S5287]]

       [(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
       [(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
       [``(d) Additional Authorization of Appropriations for 
     Services to Students With Disabilities.--In addition to any 
     funds appropriated under subsection (b)(1), there are 
     authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary 
     for fiscal years 2004 through 2009 to carry out programs and 
     activities under sections 101(a)(25)(B) and 103(b)(6).''.

     [SEC. 204. STATE PLAN.

       [(a) Assessment and Strategies.--Section 101(a)(15) of the 
     Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 721(a)(15)) is 
     amended--
       [(1) in subparagraph (A)(i)--
       [(A) in subclause (II), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       [(B) in subclause (III), by adding ``and'' at the end; and
       [(C) by adding at the end the following:

       [``(IV) students with disabilities, including their need 
     for transition services;''; and

       [(2) in subparagraph (D)--
       [(A) by redesignating clauses (iii), (iv), and (v) as 
     clauses (iv), (v), and (vi), respectively; and
       [(B) by inserting after clause (ii) the following:
       [``(iii) the methods to be used to improve and expand 
     vocational rehabilitation services for students with 
     disabilities, including the coordination of services designed 
     to facilitate the transition of such students from the 
     receipt of educational services in school to the receipt of 
     vocational rehabilitation services under this title.''.
       [(b) Services for Students With Disabilities.--Section 
     101(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 721(a)) 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:
       [``(25) Services for students with disabilities.--The State 
     plan shall provide an assurance satisfactory to the Secretary 
     that the State--
       [``(A) has developed and implemented strategies to address 
     the needs identified in the assessment described in paragraph 
     (15), and achieve the goals and priorities identified by the 
     State, to improve and expand vocational rehabilitation 
     services for students with disabilities on a statewide basis 
     in accordance with paragraph (15); and
       [``(B) will use funds appropriated under section 100(d) to 
     carry out programs or activities designed to improve and 
     expand vocational rehabilitation services for students with 
     disabilities that--
       [``(i) facilitate the transition of the students with 
     disabilities from the receipt of educational services in 
     school, to the receipt of vocational rehabilitation services 
     under this title, including, at a minimum, those services 
     specified in the interagency agreement required in paragraph 
     (11)(D);
       [``(ii) improve the achievement of post-school goals of 
     students with disabilities, including improving the 
     achievement through attendance at meetings regarding 
     individualized education programs developed under section 614 
     of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
     1414);
       [``(iii) provide vocational guidance, career exploration 
     services, and job search skills and strategies and technical 
     assistance to students with disabilities;
       [``(iv) support the provision of training and technical 
     assistance to State and local educational agency and 
     designated State agency personnel responsible for the 
     planning and provision of services to students with 
     disabilities; and
       [``(v) support outreach activities to students with 
     disabilities who are eligible for, and need, services under 
     this title.''.

     [SEC. 205. SCOPE OF SERVICES.

       [Section 103 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 
     723) is amended--
       [(1) in subsection (a)(15), by inserting ``, including 
     services described in clauses (i) through (iii) of section 
     101(a)(25)(B)'' before the semicolon; and
       [(2) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (6) and 
     inserting the following:
       [``(6)(A)(i) Consultation and technical assistance services 
     to assist State and local educational agencies in planning 
     for the transition of students with disabilities from school 
     to post-school activities, including employment.
       [``(ii) Training and technical assistance described in 
     section 101(a)(25)(B)(iv).
       [``(B) Services for groups of individuals with disabilities 
     who meet the requirements of clauses (i) and (iii) of section 
     7(35)(A), including services described in clauses (i), (ii), 
     (iii), and (v) of section 101(a)(25)(B), to assist in the 
     transition from school to post-school activities.''.

     [SEC. 206. STANDARDS AND INDICATORS.

       [Section 106(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 
     U.S.C. 726(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (1)(C) and 
     all that follows through paragraph (2) and inserting the 
     following:
       [``(2) Measures.--The standards and indicators shall 
     include outcome and related measures of program performance 
     that--
       [``(A) facilitate the accomplishment of the purpose and 
     policy of this title;
       [``(B) to the maximum extent practicable, are consistent 
     with the core indicators of performance, and corresponding 
     State adjusted levels of performance, established under 
     section 136(b) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 
     U.S.C. 2871(b)); and
       [``(C) include measures of the program's performance with 
     respect to the transition to post-school activities, and 
     achievement of the post-school goals, of students with 
     disabilities served under the program.''.]

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. ORGANIZATION OF THE ACT.

       This Act is organized into the following titles:

 TITLE I--AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT

         TITLE II--AMENDMENTS TO THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973

       TITLE III--NATIONAL CENTER FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH

   TITLE IV--COMMISSION ON UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND THE ACCESSIBILITY OF 
                 CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

 TITLE I--AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT

     SEC. 101. AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES 
                   EDUCATION ACT.

       Parts A through D of the Individuals with Disabilities 
     Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) are amended to read as 
     follows:

                      ``PART A--GENERAL PROVISIONS

     ``SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; FINDINGS; 
                   PURPOSES.

       ``(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the 
     `Individuals with Disabilities Education Act'.
       ``(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this 
     Act is as follows:

                      ``Part A--General Provisions

``Sec. 601. Short title; table of contents; findings; purposes.
``Sec. 602. Definitions.
``Sec. 603. Office of Special Education Programs.
``Sec. 604. Abrogation of State sovereign immunity.
``Sec. 605. Acquisition of equipment; construction or alteration of 
              facilities.
``Sec. 606. Employment of individuals with disabilities.
``Sec. 607. Requirements for prescribing regulations.
``Sec. 608. State administration.
``Sec. 609. Report to Congress.

  ``Part B--Assistance for Education of All Children With Disabilities

``Sec. 611. Authorization; allotment; use of funds; authorization of 
              appropriations.
``Sec. 612. State eligibility.
``Sec. 613. Local educational agency eligibility.
``Sec. 614. Evaluations, eligibility determinations, individualized 
              education programs, and educational placements.
``Sec. 615. Procedural safeguards.
``Sec. 616. Monitoring, technical assistance, and enforcement.
``Sec. 617. Administration.
``Sec. 618. Program information.
``Sec. 619. Preschool grants.

            ``Part C--Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities

``Sec. 631. Findings and policy.
``Sec. 632. Definitions.
``Sec. 633. General authority.
``Sec. 634. Eligibility.
``Sec. 635. Requirements for statewide system.
``Sec. 636. Individualized family service plan.
``Sec. 637. State application and assurances.
``Sec. 638. Uses of funds.
``Sec. 639. Procedural safeguards.
``Sec. 640. Payor of last resort.
``Sec. 641. State Interagency Coordinating Council.
``Sec. 642. Federal administration.
``Sec. 643. Allocation of funds.
``Sec. 644. Authorization of appropriations.

  ``Part D--National Activities To Improve Education of Children With 
                              Disabilities

``Sec. 650. Findings.

 ``Subpart 1--State Personnel Preparation and Professional Development 
                                 Grants

``Sec. 651. Purpose; definition; program authority.
``Sec. 652. Eligibility and collaborative process.
``Sec. 653. Applications.
``Sec. 654. Use of funds.
``Sec. 655. Authorization of appropriations.

``Subpart 2--Scientifically Based Research, Technical Assistance, Model 
        Demonstration Projects, and Dissemination of Information

``Sec. 660. Purpose.
``Sec. 661. Administrative provisions.
``Sec. 662. Research to improve results for children with disabilities.
``Sec. 663. Technical assistance, demonstration projects, dissemination 
              of information, and implementation of scientifically 
              based research.
``Sec. 664. Personnel development to improve services and results for 
              children with disabilities.
``Sec. 665. Studies and evaluations.

``Subpart 3--Supports To Improve Results for Children With Disabilities

``Sec. 670. Purposes.
``Sec. 671. Parent training and information centers.
``Sec. 672. Community parent resource centers.
``Sec. 673. Technical assistance for parent training and information 
              centers.

[[Page S5288]]

``Sec. 674. Technology development, demonstration, and utilization; and 
              media services.
``Sec. 675. Accessibility of instructional materials.
``Sec. 676. Authorization of appropriations.

   ``Subpart 4--Interim Alternative Educational Settings, Behavioral 
                Supports, and Whole School Interventions

``Sec. 681. Purpose.
``Sec. 682. Definition of eligible entity.
``Sec. 683. Program authorized.
``Sec. 684. Program evaluations.
``Sec. 685. Authorization of appropriations.
       ``(c) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       ``(1) Disability is a natural part of the human experience 
     and in no way diminishes the right of individuals to 
     participate in or contribute to society. Improving 
     educational results for children with disabilities is an 
     essential element of our national policy of ensuring equality 
     of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and 
     economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities.
       ``(2) Before the date of the enactment of the Education for 
     All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (Public Law 94-142), the 
     educational needs of millions of children with disabilities 
     were not being fully met because--
       ``(A) the children did not receive appropriate educational 
     services;
       ``(B) the children were excluded entirely from the public 
     school system and from being educated with their peers;
       ``(C) undiagnosed disabilities prevented the children from 
     having a successful educational experience; or
       ``(D) a lack of adequate resources within the public school 
     system forced families to find services outside the public 
     school system.
       ``(3) Since the enactment and implementation of the 
     Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, this Act 
     has been successful in ensuring children with disabilities 
     and the families of such children access to a free 
     appropriate public education and in improving educational 
     results for children with disabilities.
       ``(4) However, the implementation of this Act has been 
     impeded by low expectations, and an insufficient focus on 
     applying replicable research on proven methods of teaching 
     and learning for children with disabilities.
       ``(5) Over 25 years of research and experience has 
     demonstrated that the education of children with disabilities 
     can be made more effective by--
       ``(A) having high expectations for such children and 
     ensuring their access to the general education curriculum in 
     the regular classroom to the maximum extent possible in order 
     to--
       ``(i) meet developmental goals and, to the maximum extent 
     possible, the challenging expectations that have been 
     established for all children; and
       ``(ii) be prepared to lead productive and independent adult 
     lives, to the maximum extent possible;
       ``(B) strengthening the role and responsibility of parents 
     and ensuring that families of such children have meaningful 
     opportunities to participate in the education of their 
     children at school and at home;
       ``(C) coordinating this Act with other local, educational 
     service agency, State, and Federal school improvement 
     efforts, including improvement efforts under the Elementary 
     and Secondary Education Act of 1965, in order to ensure that 
     such children benefit from such efforts and that special 
     education can become a service for such children rather than 
     a place where they are sent;
       ``(D) providing appropriate special education and related 
     services, and aids and supports in the regular classroom, to 
     such children, whenever appropriate;
       ``(E) supporting high-quality, intensive preservice 
     preparation and professional development for all personnel 
     who work with children with disabilities in order to ensure 
     that such personnel have the skills and knowledge necessary 
     to improve the academic achievement and functional 
     performance of children with disabilities, including the use 
     of scientifically based instructional practices, to the 
     maximum extent possible;
       ``(F) providing incentives for whole-school approaches, 
     scientifically based early reading programs, positive 
     behavioral interventions and supports, and prereferral 
     interventions to reduce the need to label children as 
     disabled in order to address their learning and behavioral 
     needs;
       ``(G) focusing resources on teaching and learning while 
     reducing paperwork and requirements that do not assist in 
     improving educational results; and
       ``(H) supporting the development and use of technology, 
     including assistive technology devices and assistive 
     technology services, to maximize accessibility for children 
     with disabilities.
       ``(6) While States, local educational agencies, and 
     educational service agencies are primarily responsible for 
     providing an education for all children with disabilities, it 
     is in the national interest that the Federal Government have 
     a supporting role in assisting State and local efforts to 
     educate children with disabilities in order to improve 
     results for such children and to ensure equal protection of 
     the law.
       ``(7) A more equitable allocation of resources is essential 
     for the Federal Government to meet its responsibility to 
     provide an equal educational opportunity for all individuals.
       ``(8) Parents and schools should be given expanded 
     opportunities to resolve their disagreements in positive and 
     constructive ways.
       ``(9) Teachers, schools, local educational agencies, and 
     States should be relieved of irrelevant and unnecessary 
     paperwork burdens that do not lead to improved educational 
     outcomes.
       ``(10)(A) The Federal Government must be responsive to the 
     growing needs of an increasingly more diverse society.
       ``(B) America's ethnic profile is rapidly changing. In the 
     year 2000, 1 of every 3 persons in the United States was a 
     member of a minority group or was limited English proficient.
       ``(C) Minority children comprise an increasing percentage 
     of public school students.
       ``(D) With such changing demographics, recruitment efforts 
     for special education personnel should focus on increasing 
     the participation of minorities in the teaching profession.
       ``(11)(A) The limited English proficient population is the 
     fastest growing in our Nation, and the growth is occurring in 
     many parts of our Nation.
       ``(B) Studies have documented apparent discrepancies in the 
     levels of referral and placement of limited English 
     proficient children in special education.
       ``(C) This poses a special challenge for special education 
     in the referral of, assessment of, and services for, our 
     Nation's students from non-English language backgrounds.
       ``(12)(A) Greater efforts are needed to prevent the 
     intensification of problems connected with mislabeling and 
     high dropout rates among minority children with disabilities.
       ``(B) More minority children continue to be served in 
     special education than would be expected from the percentage 
     of minority students in the general school population.
       ``(C) African-American children are identified as having 
     mental retardation and emotional disturbance at rates greater 
     than their white counterparts.
       ``(D) In the 1998-1999 school year, African-American 
     children represented just 14.8 percent of the population aged 
     6 through 21, but comprised 20.2 percent of all children with 
     disabilities.
       ``(E) Studies have found that schools with predominately 
     Caucasian students and teachers have placed 
     disproportionately high numbers of their minority students 
     into special education.
       ``(13)(A) As the number of minority students in special 
     education increases, the number of minority teachers and 
     related services personnel produced in colleges and 
     universities continues to decrease.
       ``(B) The opportunity for minority individuals, 
     organizations, and Historically Black Colleges and 
     Universities to participate fully in awards for grants and 
     contracts, boards of organizations receiving funds under this 
     Act, and peer review panels, and in the training of 
     professionals in the area of special education is essential 
     if we are to obtain greater success in the education of 
     minority children with disabilities.
       ``(14) As the graduation rates for children with 
     disabilities continue to climb, providing effective 
     transition services to promote successful post-school 
     employment or education is an important measure of 
     accountability for children with disabilities.
       ``(d) Purposes.--The purposes of this title are--
       ``(1)(A) to ensure that all children with disabilities have 
     available to them a free appropriate public education that 
     emphasizes special education and related services designed to 
     meet their unique needs and prepare them for employment, 
     further education, and independent living;
       ``(B) to ensure that the rights of children with 
     disabilities and parents of such children are protected; and
       ``(C) to assist States, localities, educational service 
     agencies, and Federal agencies to provide for the education 
     of all children with disabilities;
       ``(2) to assist States in the implementation of a 
     Statewide, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency system 
     of early intervention services for infants and toddlers with 
     disabilities and their families;
       ``(3) to ensure that educators and parents have the 
     necessary tools to improve educational results for children 
     with disabilities by supporting systemic-change activities; 
     coordinated research and personnel preparation; coordinated 
     technical assistance, dissemination, and support; and 
     technology development and media services; and
       ``(4) to assess, and ensure the effectiveness of, efforts 
     to educate children with disabilities.

     ``SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS.

       ``Except as otherwise provided, as used in this Act:
       ``(1) Assistive technology device.--The term `assistive 
     technology device' means any item, piece of equipment, or 
     product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, 
     modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, 
     or improve functional capabilities of a child with a 
     disability. The term does not include a medical device that 
     is surgically implanted, or the post-surgical maintenance, 
     programming, or replacement of such device, or an external 
     device connected with the use of a surgically implanted 
     medical device (other than the costs of performing routine 
     maintenance and monitoring of such external device at the 
     same time the child is receiving other services under this 
     Act).
       ``(2) Assistive technology service.--The term `assistive 
     technology service' means any service that directly assists a 
     child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use 
     of an assistive technology device. Such term includes--
       ``(A) the evaluation of the needs of such child, including 
     a functional evaluation of the child in the child's customary 
     environment;
       ``(B) purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the 
     acquisition of assistive technology devices by such child;
       ``(C) selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, adapting, 
     applying, maintaining, repairing, or replacing of assistive 
     technology devices;
       ``(D) coordinating and using other therapies, 
     interventions, or services with assistive technology devices, 
     such as those associated with existing education and 
     rehabilitation plans and programs;

[[Page S5289]]

       ``(E) training or technical assistance for such child, or, 
     where appropriate, the family of such child; and
       ``(F) training or technical assistance for professionals 
     (including individuals providing education and rehabilitation 
     services), employers, or other individuals who provide 
     services to, employ, or are otherwise substantially involved 
     in the major life functions of such child.
       ``(3) Child with a disability.--
       ``(A) In general.--The term `child with a disability' means 
     a child--
       ``(i) with mental retardation, hearing impairments 
     (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual 
     impairments (including blindness), serious emotional 
     disturbance (hereinafter referred to as `emotional 
     disturbance'), orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic 
     brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning 
     disabilities; and
       ``(ii) who, by reason thereof, needs special education and 
     related services.
       ``(B) Child aged 3 through 9.--The term `child with a 
     disability' for a child aged 3 through 9 (or any subset of 
     that age range, including ages 3 through 5), may, at the 
     discretion of the State and the local educational agency, 
     include a child--
       ``(i) experiencing developmental delays, as defined by the 
     State and as measured by appropriate diagnostic instruments 
     and procedures, in 1 or more of the following areas: physical 
     development, cognitive development, communication 
     development, social or emotional development, or adaptive 
     development; and
       ``(ii) who, by reason thereof, needs special education and 
     related services.
       ``(4) Core academic subject.--The term `core academic 
     subject' has the meaning given the term in section 9101(11) 
     of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
       ``(5) Educational service agency.--The term `educational 
     service agency'--
       ``(A) means a regional public multiservice agency--
       ``(i) authorized by State law to develop, manage, and 
     provide services or programs to local educational agencies; 
     and
       ``(ii) recognized as an administrative agency for purposes 
     of the provision of special education and related services 
     provided within public elementary schools and secondary 
     schools of the State; and
       ``(B) includes any other public institution or agency 
     having administrative control and direction over a public 
     elementary school or secondary school.
       ``(6) Elementary school.--The term `elementary school' 
     means a nonprofit institutional day or residential school 
     that provides elementary education, as determined under State 
     law.
       ``(7) Equipment.--The term `equipment' includes--
       ``(A) machinery, utilities, and built-in equipment, and any 
     necessary enclosures or structures to house such machinery, 
     utilities, or equipment; and
       ``(B) all other items necessary for the functioning of a 
     particular facility as a facility for the provision of 
     educational services, including items such as instructional 
     equipment and necessary furniture; printed, published, and 
     audio-visual instructional materials; telecommunications, 
     sensory, and other technological aids and devices; and books, 
     periodicals, documents, and other related materials.
       ``(8) Excess costs.--The term `excess costs' means those 
     costs that are in excess of the average annual per-student 
     expenditure in a local educational agency during the 
     preceding school year for an elementary school or secondary 
     school student, as may be appropriate, and which shall be 
     computed after deducting--
       ``(A) amounts received--
       ``(i) under part B of this title;
       ``(ii) under part A of title I of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965; and
       ``(iii) under parts A and B of title III of that Act; and
       ``(B) any State or local funds expended for programs that 
     would qualify for assistance under any of those parts.
       ``(9) Free appropriate public education.--The term `free 
     appropriate public education' means special education and 
     related services that--
       ``(A) have been provided at public expense, under public 
     supervision and direction, and without charge;
       ``(B) meet the standards of the State educational agency;
       ``(C) include an appropriate preschool, elementary school, 
     or secondary school education in the State involved; and
       ``(D) are provided in conformity with the individualized 
     education program required under section 614(d).
       ``(10) Highly qualified.--The term `highly qualified' means 
     the following:
       ``(A) All special education teachers.--When used with 
     respect to any public elementary school or secondary school 
     special education teacher teaching in a State, means that the 
     teacher holds at least a bachelor's degree and that--
       ``(i) the teacher has obtained full State certification as 
     a special education teacher through a State-approved special 
     education teacher preparation program (including 
     certification obtained through alternative routes to 
     certification) or other comparably rigorous methods, or 
     passed the State teacher special education licensing 
     examination, and holds a license to teach in the State as a 
     special education teacher, except that when used with respect 
     to any teacher teaching in a public charter school, the term 
     means that the teacher meets the requirements set forth in 
     the State's public charter school law;
       ``(ii) the teacher has not had certification or licensure 
     requirements waived on an emergency, temporary, or 
     provisional basis; and
       ``(iii) the teacher demonstrates knowledge of special 
     education and the teaching skills necessary to teach children 
     with disabilities.
       ``(B) New elementary school special education teachers.--
     When used with respect to a special education elementary 
     school teacher who is new to the profession, means that the 
     teacher demonstrated, by passing a rigorous State test, 
     subject knowledge and teaching skills in reading, writing, 
     mathematics, and other areas of the basic elementary school 
     curriculum (which may consist of passing a State-required 
     certification or licensing test or tests in reading, writing, 
     mathematics, and other areas of the basic elementary school 
     curriculum).
       ``(C) New middle school and secondary school special 
     education teachers.--When used with respect to a special 
     education middle school or secondary school teacher who is 
     new to the profession, means that the teacher has 
     demonstrated a high level of competency in each of the 
     academic subjects in which the teacher teaches by--
       ``(i) passing a rigorous State academic subject test in 
     each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches 
     (which may consist of a passing level of performance on a 
     State-required certification or licensing test or tests in 
     each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches); 
     or
       ``(ii) successful completion, in each of the academic 
     subjects in which the teacher teaches, of an academic major, 
     graduate degree, coursework equivalent to an undergraduate 
     academic major, or advanced certification or credentialing.
       ``(D) Veteran special education teachers.--When used with 
     respect to an elementary school, middle school, or secondary 
     school special education teacher who is not new to the 
     profession, means that the teacher has--
       ``(i) met the applicable standard in subparagraph (B) or 
     (C), which includes an option for a test; or
       ``(ii) has demonstrated competence in all the academic 
     subjects in which the teacher teaches based on a high 
     objective uniform State standard of evaluation for special 
     education teachers that--

       ``(I) is set by the State for both grade-appropriate 
     academic subject matter knowledge and special education 
     teaching skills;
       ``(II) is aligned with challenging State academic content 
     and student academic achievement standards and developed in 
     consultation with special education teachers, core content 
     specialists, teachers, principals, and school administrators;
       ``(III) provides objective, coherent information about the 
     teachers' attainment of knowledge of core content knowledge 
     in the academic subjects in which a teacher teaches;
       ``(IV) is applied uniformly to all special education 
     teachers who teach in the same academic subject and the same 
     grade level throughout the State;
       ``(V) takes into consideration, but is not based primarily 
     on, the time the teacher has been teaching in the academic 
     subject;
       ``(VI) is made available to the public on request; and
       ``(VII) may involve multiple objective measures of teacher 
     competency.

       ``(E) Teachers providing consultative services.--
       ``(i) In general.--Notwithstanding subparagraphs (B) 
     through (D), when used with respect to a special education 
     teacher who provides only consultative services to a highly 
     qualified regular education teacher (as the term highly 
     qualified is defined in section 9101(23) of the Elementary 
     and Secondary Education Act of 1965), means that the teacher 
     meets the requirements of subparagraph (A).
       ``(ii) Consultative services.--As used in clause (i), the 
     term `consultative services' means services that adjust the 
     learning environment, modify instructional methods, adapt 
     curricula, use positive behavior supports and interventions, 
     and select and implement appropriate accommodations to meet 
     the needs of individual children.
       ``(F) Exception.--Notwithstanding subparagraphs (B) through 
     (D), when used with respect to a special education teacher 
     who teaches more than 1 subject, primarily to middle school 
     and secondary school-aged children with significant cognitive 
     disabilities, means that the teacher has demonstrated subject 
     knowledge and teaching skills in reading, mathematics, and 
     other areas of the basic elementary school curriculum by--
       ``(i) passing a rigorous State test (which may consist of 
     passing a State-required certification or licensing test or 
     tests in those areas); or
       ``(ii) demonstrating competency in all the academic 
     subjects in which the teacher teaches, based on a high 
     objective uniform State standard as described in subparagraph 
     (D)(ii).
       ``(11) Indian.--The term `Indian' means an individual who 
     is a member of an Indian tribe.
       ``(12) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian tribe' means any 
     Federal or State Indian tribe, band, rancheria, pueblo, 
     colony, or community, including any Alaska Native village or 
     regional village corporation (as defined in or established 
     under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act).
       ``(13) Individualized education program.--The term 
     `individualized education program' or `IEP' means a written 
     statement for each child with a disability that is developed, 
     reviewed, and revised in accordance with section 614(d).
       ``(14) Individualized family service plan.--The term 
     `individualized family service plan' has the meaning given 
     such term in section 636.
       ``(15) Infant or toddler with a disability.--The term 
     `infant or toddler with a disability' has the meaning given 
     such term in section 632.
       ``(16) Institution of higher education.--The term 
     `institution of higher education'--
       ``(A) has the meaning given such term in section 101 (a) 
     and (b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965; and

[[Page S5290]]

       ``(B) also includes any community college receiving funding 
     from the Secretary of the Interior under the Tribally 
     Controlled College or University Assistance Act of 1978.
       ``(17) Limited english proficient.--The term `limited 
     English proficient' has the meaning given the term in section 
     9101(25) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
     1965.
       ``(18) Local educational agency.--
       ``(A) The term `local educational agency' means a public 
     board of education or other public authority legally 
     constituted within a State for either administrative control 
     or direction of, or to perform a service function for, public 
     elementary schools or secondary schools in a city, county, 
     township, school district, or other political subdivision of 
     a State, or for such combination of school districts or 
     counties as are recognized in a State as an administrative 
     agency for its public elementary schools or secondary 
     schools.
       ``(B) The term includes--
       ``(i) an educational service agency, as defined in 
     paragraph (5); and
       ``(ii) any other public institution or agency having 
     administrative control and direction of a public elementary 
     school or secondary school.
       ``(C) The term includes an elementary school or secondary 
     school funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but only to 
     the extent that such inclusion makes the school eligible for 
     programs for which specific eligibility is not provided to 
     the school in another provision of law and the school does 
     not have a student population that is smaller than the 
     student population of the local educational agency receiving 
     assistance under this Act with the smallest student 
     population, except that the school shall not be subject to 
     the jurisdiction of any State educational agency other than 
     the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
       ``(19) Native language.--The term `native language', when 
     used with respect to an individual of limited English 
     proficiency, means the language normally used by the 
     individual, or in the case of a child, the language normally 
     used by the parents of the child.
       ``(20) Nonprofit.--The term `nonprofit', as applied to a 
     school, agency, organization, or institution, means a school, 
     agency, organization, or institution owned and operated by 1 
     or more nonprofit corporations or associations no part of the 
     net earnings of which inures, or may lawfully inure, to the 
     benefit of any private shareholder or individual.
       ``(21) Outlying area.--The term `outlying area' means the 
     United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the 
     Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
       ``(22) Parent.--The term `parent'--
       ``(A) includes a legal guardian; and
       ``(B) except as used in sections 615(b)(2) and 639(a)(5), 
     includes an individual assigned under either of those 
     sections to be a surrogate parent.
       ``(23) Parent organization.--The term `parent organization' 
     has the meaning given such term in section 671(g).
       ``(24) Parent training and information center.--The term 
     `parent training and information center' means a center 
     assisted under section 671 or 672.
       ``(25) Related services.--The term `related services' means 
     transportation, and such developmental, corrective, and other 
     supportive services (including speech-language pathology and 
     audiology services, interpreting services, psychological 
     services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, 
     including therapeutic recreation, social work services, 
     school health services, counseling services, including 
     rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, 
     travel training instruction, and medical services, except 
     that such medical services shall be for diagnostic and 
     evaluation purposes only) as may be required to assist a 
     child with a disability to benefit from special education, 
     and includes the early identification and assessment of 
     disabling conditions in children. The term does not include a 
     medical device that is surgically implanted, or the post-
     surgical maintenance, programming, or replacement of such 
     device, or an external device connected with the use of a 
     surgically implanted medical device (other than the costs of 
     performing routine maintenance and monitoring of such 
     external device at the same time the child is receiving other 
     services under this Act).
       ``(26) Secondary school.--The term `secondary school' means 
     a nonprofit institutional day or residential school that 
     provides secondary education, as determined under State law, 
     except that it does not include any education beyond grade 
     12.
       ``(27) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
     of Education.
       ``(28) Special education.--The term `special education' 
     means specially designed instruction, at no cost to parents, 
     to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability, 
     including--
       ``(A) instruction conducted in the classroom, in the home, 
     in hospitals and institutions, and in other settings; and
       ``(B) instruction in physical education.
       ``(29) Specific learning disability.--
       ``(A) In general.--The term `specific learning disability' 
     means a disorder in 1 or more of the basic psychological 
     processes involved in understanding or in using language, 
     spoken or written, which disorder may manifest itself in the 
     imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, 
     spell, or do mathematical calculations.
       ``(B) Disorders included.--Such term includes such 
     conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal 
     brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.
       ``(C) Disorders not included.--Such term does not include a 
     learning problem that is primarily the result of visual, 
     hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of 
     emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or 
     economic disadvantage.
       ``(30) State.--The term `State' means each of the 50 
     States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
     Rico, and each of the outlying areas.
       ``(31) State educational agency.--The term `State 
     educational agency' means the State board of education or 
     other agency or officer primarily responsible for the State 
     supervision of public elementary schools and secondary 
     schools, or, if there is no such officer or agency, an 
     officer or agency designated by the Governor or by State law.
       ``(32) Supplementary aids and services.--The term 
     `supplementary aids and services' means aids, services, and 
     other supports that are provided in regular education classes 
     or other education-related settings to enable children with 
     disabilities to be educated with nondisabled children to the 
     maximum extent appropriate in accordance with section 
     612(a)(5).
       ``(33) Transition services.--The term `transition services' 
     means a coordinated set of activities for a child with a 
     disability (as defined in paragraph (3)(A)) that--
       ``(A) is designed to be within a results-oriented process, 
     that is focused on improving the academic and functional 
     achievement of the child with a disability to facilitate the 
     child's movement from school to post-school activities, 
     including post-secondary education, vocational training, 
     integrated employment (including supported employment), 
     continuing and adult education, adult services, independent 
     living, or community participation;
       ``(B) is based on the individual child's needs, taking into 
     account the child's strengths, preferences, and interests; 
     and
       ``(C) includes instruction, related services, community 
     experiences, the development of employment and other post-
     school adult living objectives, and, when appropriate, 
     acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational 
     evaluation.

     ``SEC. 603. OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

       ``(a) Establishment.--There shall be, within the Office of 
     Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the 
     Department of Education, an Office of Special Education 
     Programs, which shall be the principal agency in such 
     Department for administering and carrying out this Act and 
     other programs and activities concerning the education of 
     children with disabilities.
       ``(b) Director.--The Office established under subsection 
     (a) shall be headed by a Director who shall be selected by 
     the Secretary and shall report directly to the Assistant 
     Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
       ``(c) Voluntary and Uncompensated Services.--
     Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, 
     the Secretary is authorized to accept voluntary and 
     uncompensated services in furtherance of the purposes of this 
     Act.

     ``SEC. 604. ABROGATION OF STATE SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.

       ``(a) In General.--A State shall not be immune under the 
     11th amendment to the Constitution of the United States from 
     suit in Federal court for a violation of this Act.
       ``(b) Remedies.--In a suit against a State for a violation 
     of this Act, remedies (including remedies both at law and in 
     equity) are available for such a violation to the same extent 
     as those remedies are available for such a violation in the 
     suit against any public entity other than a State.
       ``(c) Effective Date.--Subsections (a) and (b) apply with 
     respect to violations that occur in whole or part after the 
     date of enactment of the Education of the Handicapped Act 
     Amendments of 1990.

     ``SEC. 605. ACQUISITION OF EQUIPMENT; CONSTRUCTION OR 
                   ALTERATION OF FACILITIES.

       ``(a) In General.--If the Secretary determines that a 
     program authorized under this Act will be improved by 
     permitting program funds to be used to acquire appropriate 
     equipment, or to construct new facilities or alter existing 
     facilities, the Secretary is authorized to allow the use of 
     those funds for those purposes.
       ``(b) Compliance With Certain Regulations.--Any 
     construction of new facilities or alteration of existing 
     facilities under subsection (a) shall comply with the 
     requirements of--
       ``(1) appendix A of part 36 of title 28, Code of Federal 
     Regulations (commonly known as the `Americans with 
     Disabilities Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and 
     Facilities'); or
       ``(2) appendix A of subpart 101-19.6 of title 41, Code of 
     Federal Regulations (commonly known as the `Uniform Federal 
     Accessibility Standards').

     ``SEC. 606. EMPLOYMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.

       ``The Secretary shall ensure that each recipient of 
     assistance under this Act makes positive efforts to employ 
     and advance in employment qualified individuals with 
     disabilities in programs assisted under this Act.

     ``SEC. 607. REQUIREMENTS FOR PRESCRIBING REGULATIONS.

       ``(a) In General.--In carrying out the provisions of this 
     Act, the Secretary shall issue regulations under this Act 
     only to the extent that such regulations are necessary to 
     ensure that there is compliance with the specific 
     requirements of this Act.
       ``(b) Protections Provided to Children.--The Secretary may 
     not implement, or publish in final form, any regulation 
     prescribed pursuant to this Act that--
       ``(1) violates or contradicts any provision of this Act; 
     and
       ``(2) procedurally or substantively lessens the protections 
     provided to children with disabilities under this Act, as 
     embodied in regulations in effect on July 20, 1983 
     (particularly as such protections related to parental consent 
     to initial evaluation or initial placement in special 
     education, least restrictive environment, related services, 
     timelines, attendance of evaluation personnel at 
     individualized education program

[[Page S5291]]

     meetings, or qualifications of personnel), except to the 
     extent that such regulation reflects the clear and 
     unequivocal intent of the Congress in legislation.
       ``(c) Public Comment Period.--The Secretary shall provide a 
     public comment period of not more than 90 days on any 
     regulation proposed under part B or part C of this Act on 
     which an opportunity for public comment is otherwise required 
     by law.
       ``(d) Policy Letters and Statements.--The Secretary may not 
     issue policy letters or other statements (including letters 
     or statements regarding issues of national significance) 
     that--
       ``(1) violate or contradict any provision of this Act; or
       ``(2) establish a rule that is required for compliance 
     with, and eligibility under, this Act without following the 
     requirements of section 553 of title 5, United States Code.
       ``(e) Explanation and Assurances.--Any written response by 
     the Secretary under subsection (d) regarding a policy, 
     question, or interpretation under part B of this Act shall 
     include an explanation in the written response that--
       ``(1) such response is provided as informal guidance and is 
     not legally binding;
       ``(2) when required, such response is issued in compliance 
     with the requirements of section 553 of title 5, United 
     States Code; and
       ``(3) such response represents the interpretation by the 
     Department of Education of the applicable statutory or 
     regulatory requirements in the context of the specific facts 
     presented.
       ``(f) Correspondence From Department of Education 
     Describing Interpretations of This Act.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, on a quarterly 
     basis, publish in the Federal Register, and widely 
     disseminate to interested entities through various additional 
     forms of communication, a list of correspondence from the 
     Department of Education received by individuals during the 
     previous quarter that describes the interpretations of the 
     Department of Education of this Act or the regulations 
     implemented pursuant to this Act.
       ``(2) Additional information.--For each item of 
     correspondence published in a list under paragraph (1), the 
     Secretary shall--
       ``(A) identify the topic addressed by the correspondence 
     and shall include such other summary information as the 
     Secretary determines to be appropriate; and
       ``(B) ensure that all such correspondence is issued, where 
     applicable, in compliance with the requirements of section 
     553 of title 5, United States Code.

     ``SEC. 608. STATE ADMINISTRATION.

       ``(a) Rulemaking.--Each State that receives funds under 
     this Act shall--
       ``(1) ensure that any State rules, regulations, and 
     policies relating to this Act conform to the purposes of this 
     Act; and
       ``(2) identify in writing to its local educational agencies 
     and the Secretary any such rule, regulation, or policy as a 
     State-imposed requirement that is not required by this Act 
     and Federal regulations.
       ``(b) Support and Facilitation.--State rules, regulations, 
     and policies under this Act shall support and facilitate 
     local educational agency and school-level systemic reform 
     designed to enable children with disabilities to meet the 
     challenging State student academic achievement standards.

     ``SEC. 609. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

       ``The Comptroller General shall conduct a review of 
     Federal, State, and local requirements relating to the 
     education of children with disabilities to determine which 
     requirements result in excessive paperwork completion burdens 
     for teachers, related services providers, and school 
     administrators, and shall report to Congress not later than 
     18 months after the date of enactment of the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003 regarding such 
     review along with strategic proposals for reducing the 
     paperwork burdens on teachers.

  ``PART B--ASSISTANCE FOR EDUCATION OF ALL CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

     ``SEC. 611. AUTHORIZATION; ALLOTMENT; USE OF FUNDS; 
                   AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       ``(a) Grants to States.--
       ``(1) Purpose of grants.--The Secretary shall make grants 
     to States and the outlying areas, and provide funds to the 
     Secretary of the Interior, to assist them to provide special 
     education and related services to children with disabilities 
     in accordance with this part.
       ``(2) Maximum amount.--The maximum amount available for 
     awarding grants under this section for any fiscal year is--
       ``(A) the total number of children with disabilities in the 
     2002-2003 school year in the States who received special 
     education and related services and who were--
       ``(i) aged 3 through 5, if the State was eligible for a 
     grant under section 619; and
       ``(ii) aged 6 through 21; multiplied by
       ``(B) 40 percent of the average per-pupil expenditure in 
     public elementary schools and secondary schools in the United 
     States; adjusted by;
       ``(C) the rate of change in the sum of--
       ``(i) 85 percent of the change in the nationwide total of 
     the population described in subsection (d)(3)(A)(i)(II); and
       ``(ii) 15 percent of the change in the nationwide total of 
     the population described in subsection (d)(3)(A)(i)(III).
       ``(b) Outlying Areas and Freely Associated States.--
       ``(1) Funds reserved.--From the amount appropriated for any 
     fiscal year under subsection (i), the Secretary shall reserve 
     not more than 1 percent, which shall be used--
       ``(A) to provide assistance to the outlying areas in 
     accordance with their respective populations of individuals 
     aged 3 through 21; and
       ``(B) to provide each freely associated State a grant in 
     the amount that such freely associated State received for 
     fiscal year 2003 under this part, but only if the freely 
     associated State meets the applicable requirements of this 
     part, as well as the requirements of section 611(b)(2)(C) as 
     such section was in effect on the day before the date of 
     enactment of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
     Improvement Act of 2003.
       ``(2) Special rule.--The provisions of Public Law 95-134, 
     permitting the consolidation of grants by the outlying areas, 
     shall not apply to funds provided to the outlying areas or 
     the freely associated States under this section.
       ``(3) Definition.--As used in this subsection, the term 
     `freely associated States' means the Republic of the Marshall 
     Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic 
     of Palau.
       ``(c) Secretary of the Interior.--From the amount 
     appropriated for any fiscal year under subsection (i), the 
     Secretary shall reserve 1.226 percent to provide assistance 
     to the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with 
     subsection (i).
       ``(d) Allocations to States.--
       ``(1) In general.--After reserving funds for studies and 
     evaluations under section 665, and for payments to the 
     outlying areas, the freely associated States, and the 
     Secretary of the Interior under subsections (b) and (c) for a 
     fiscal year, the Secretary shall allocate the remaining 
     amount among the States in accordance with this subsection.
       ``(2) Special rule for use of fiscal year 1999 amount.--If 
     a State received any funds under this section for fiscal year 
     1999 on the basis of children aged 3 through 5, but does not 
     make a free appropriate public education available to all 
     children with disabilities aged 3 through 5 in the State in 
     any subsequent fiscal year, the Secretary shall compute the 
     State's amount for fiscal year 1999, solely for the purpose 
     of calculating the State's allocation in that subsequent year 
     under paragraph (3) or (4), by subtracting the amount 
     allocated to the State for fiscal year 1999 on the basis of 
     those children.
       ``(3) Increase in funds.--If the amount available for 
     allocations to States under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year 
     is equal to or greater than the amount allocated to the 
     States under this paragraph for the preceding fiscal year, 
     those allocations shall be calculated as follows:
       ``(A) Allocation of increase.--
       ``(i) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     the Secretary shall allocate for the fiscal year--

       ``(I) to each State the amount the State received under 
     this section for fiscal year 1999;
       ``(II) 85 percent of any remaining funds to States on the 
     basis of the States' relative populations of children aged 3 
     through 21 who are of the same age as children with 
     disabilities for whom the State ensures the availability of a 
     free appropriate public education under this part; and
       ``(III) 15 percent of those remaining funds to States on 
     the basis of the States' relative populations of children 
     described in subclause (II) who are living in poverty.

       ``(ii) Data.--For the purpose of making grants under this 
     paragraph, the Secretary shall use the most recent population 
     data, including data on children living in poverty, that are 
     available and satisfactory to the Secretary.
       ``(B) Limitations.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), 
     allocations under this paragraph shall be subject to the 
     following:
       ``(i) Preceding year allocation.--No State's allocation 
     shall be less than its allocation under this section for the 
     preceding fiscal year.
       ``(ii) Minimum.--No State's allocation shall be less than 
     the greatest of--

       ``(I) the sum of--

       ``(aa) the amount the State received under this section for 
     fiscal year 1999; and
       ``(bb) \1/3\ of 1 percent of the amount by which the amount 
     appropriated under subsection (i) for the fiscal year exceeds 
     the amount appropriated for this section for fiscal year 
     1999;

       ``(II) the sum of--

       ``(aa) the amount the State received under this section for 
     the preceding fiscal year; and
       ``(bb) that amount multiplied by the percentage by which 
     the increase in the funds appropriated for this section from 
     the preceding fiscal year exceeds 1.5 percent; or

       ``(III) the sum of--

       ``(aa) the amount the State received under this section for 
     the preceding fiscal year; and
       ``(bb) that amount multiplied by 90 percent of the 
     percentage increase in the amount appropriated for this 
     section from the preceding fiscal year.
       ``(iii) Maximum.--Notwithstanding clause (ii), no State's 
     allocation under this paragraph shall exceed the sum of--

       ``(I) the amount the State received under this section for 
     the preceding fiscal year; and
       ``(II) that amount multiplied by the sum of 1.5 percent and 
     the percentage increase in the amount appropriated under this 
     section from the preceding fiscal year.

       ``(C) Ratable reduction.--If the amount available for 
     allocations under this paragraph is insufficient to pay those 
     allocations in full, those allocations shall be ratably 
     reduced, subject to subparagraph (B)(i).
       ``(4) Decrease in funds.--If the amount available for 
     allocations to States under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year 
     is less than the amount allocated to the States under this 
     section for the preceding fiscal year, those allocations 
     shall be calculated as follows:
       ``(A) Amounts greater than fiscal year 1999 allocations.--
     If the amount available for allocations is greater than the 
     amount allocated to the States for fiscal year 1999, each 
     State shall be allocated the sum of--
       ``(i) the amount the State received under this section for 
     fiscal year 1999; and

[[Page S5292]]

       ``(ii) an amount that bears the same relation to any 
     remaining funds as the increase the State received under this 
     section for the preceding fiscal year over fiscal year 1999 
     bears to the total of all such increases for all States.
       ``(B) Amounts equal to or less than fiscal year 1999 
     allocations.--
       ``(i) In general.--If the amount available for allocations 
     under this paragraph is equal to or less than the amount 
     allocated to the States for fiscal year 1999, each State 
     shall be allocated the amount the State received for fiscal 
     year 1999.
       ``(ii) Ratable reduction.--If the amount available for 
     allocations under this paragraph is insufficient to make the 
     allocations described in clause (i), those allocations shall 
     be ratably reduced.
       ``(e) State-Level Activities.--
       ``(1) State administration.--
       ``(A) In general.--For the purpose of administering this 
     part, including paragraph (3), section 619, and the 
     coordination of activities under this part with, and 
     providing technical assistance to, other programs that 
     provide services to children with disabilities--
       ``(i) each State may reserve not more than the maximum 
     amount the State was eligible to reserve for State 
     administration for fiscal year 2003 or $800,000 (adjusted by 
     the cumulative rate of inflation since fiscal year 2003 as 
     measured by the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer 
     Price Index For All Urban Consumers, published by the Bureau 
     of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor), whichever is 
     greater; and
       ``(ii) each outlying area may reserve not more than 5 
     percent of the amount the outlying area receives under 
     subsection (b) for any fiscal year or $35,000, whichever is 
     greater.
       ``(B) Part c.--Funds reserved under subparagraph (A) may be 
     used for the administration of part C, if the State 
     educational agency is the lead agency for the State under 
     that part.
       ``(C) Certification.--Prior to expenditure of funds under 
     this paragraph, the State shall certify to the Secretary that 
     the arrangements to establish responsibility for services 
     pursuant to section 612(a)(12)(A) are current as of the date 
     of submission of the certification.
       ``(2) Other state-level activities.--
       ``(A) State-level activities.--
       ``(i) In general.--For the purpose of carrying out State-
     level activities, each State may reserve for each of the 
     fiscal years 2004 and 2005, not more than 10 percent of the 
     amount that remains after subtracting the amount reserved 
     under paragraph (1) from the amount of the State's allocation 
     under subsection (d) for fiscal years 2004 and 2005, 
     respectively. For fiscal years 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, 
     the State may reserve the maximum amount the State was 
     eligible to reserve under the preceding sentence for fiscal 
     year 2005 (adjusted by the cumulative rate of inflation since 
     fiscal year 2005 as measured by the percentage increase, if 
     any, in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, 
     published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department 
     of Labor).
       ``(ii) Small State adjustment.--Notwithstanding clause (i), 
     in the case of a State for which the maximum amount reserved 
     for State administration under paragraph (1) is not greater 
     than $800,000 (as adjusted pursuant to paragraph (1)(A)(i)), 
     the State may reserve for the purpose of carrying out State-
     level activities for each of the fiscal years 2004 and 2005, 
     not more than 12 percent of the amount that remains after 
     subtracting the amount reserved under paragraph (1) from the 
     amount of the State's allocation under subsection (d) for 
     fiscal years 2004 and 2005, respectively. For each of the 
     fiscal years 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, each such State may 
     reserve for such purpose the maximum amount the State was 
     eligible to reserve under the preceding sentence for fiscal 
     year 2005 (adjusted by the cumulative rate of inflation since 
     fiscal year 2005 as measured by the percentage increase, if 
     any, in the Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers, 
     published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department 
     of Labor).
       ``(B) Required activities.--Funds reserved under 
     subparagraph (A) shall be used to carry out the following 
     activities:
       ``(i) For monitoring, enforcement and complaint 
     investigation.
       ``(ii) To establish and implement the mediation, processes 
     required by section 615(e)(1), including providing for the 
     costs of mediators and support personnel;
       ``(iii) To support the State protection and advocacy system 
     to advise and assist parents in the areas of--

       ``(I) dispute resolution and due process;
       ``(II) voluntary mediation; and
       ``(III) the opportunity to resolve complaints.

       ``(C) Authorized activities.--Funds reserved under 
     subparagraph (A) may be used to carry out the following 
     activities:
       ``(i) For support and direct services, including technical 
     assistance, personnel preparation, and professional 
     development and training.
       ``(ii) To support paperwork reduction activities, including 
     expanding the use of technology in the IEP process.
       ``(iii) To assist local educational agencies in providing 
     positive behavioral interventions and supports and mental 
     health services for children with disabilities.
       ``(iv) To improve the use of technology in the classroom by 
     children with disabilities to enhance learning.
       ``(v) To support the development and use of technology, 
     including universally designed technologies and assistive 
     technology devices, to maximize accessibility to the general 
     curriculum for children with disabilities.
       ``(vi) Development and implementation of transition 
     programs, including coordination of services with agencies 
     involved in supporting the transition of students with 
     disabilities to post-secondary activities.
       ``(vii) To assist local educational agencies in meeting 
     personnel shortages.
       ``(viii) To support capacity building activities and 
     improve the delivery of services by local educational 
     agencies to improve results for children with disabilities.
       ``(ix) Alternative programming for children who have been 
     expelled from school, and services for children in 
     correctional facilities, children enrolled in State-operated 
     or State-supported schools, and children in charter schools.
       ``(x) To support the development and provision of 
     appropriate accommodations for children with disabilities, or 
     the development and provision of alternate assessments that 
     are valid and reliable for assessing the performance of 
     children with disabilities, in accordance with sections 
     1111(b) and 6111 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
     Act of 1965.
       ``(3) Local educational agency risk pool.--
       ``(A) In general.--For the purpose of assisting local 
     educational agencies (and charter schools that are local 
     educational agencies) in addressing the needs of high-need 
     children and the unanticipated enrollment of other children 
     eligible for services under this part, each State shall 
     reserve for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2009, 2 
     percent of the amount that remains after subtracting the 
     amount reserved under paragraph (1) from the amount of the 
     State's allocation under subsection (d) for each of the 
     fiscal years 2004 through 2009, respectively, to--
       ``(i) establish a high-cost fund; and
       ``(ii) make disbursements from the high-cost fund to local 
     educational agencies in accordance with this paragraph.
       ``(B) Required disbursements from the fund.--
       ``(i) In general.--Each State educational agency shall make 
     disbursements from the fund established under subparagraph 
     (A) to local educational agencies to pay the percentage, 
     described in subparagraph (D), of the costs of providing a 
     free appropriate public education to high-need children.
       ``(ii) Special rule.--If funds reserved for a fiscal year 
     under subparagraph (A) are insufficient to pay the percentage 
     described in subparagraph (D) to assist all the local 
     educational agencies having applications approved under 
     subparagraph (C), then the State educational agency shall 
     ratably reduce the amount paid to each local educational 
     agency that receives a disbursement for that fiscal year.
       ``(C) Application.--A local educational agency that desires 
     a disbursement under this subsection 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. Such application shall 
     include assurances that funds provided under this paragraph 
     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.
       ``(D) Disbursements.--
       ``(i) In general.--A State educational agency shall make a 
     disbursement to a local educational agency that submits an 
     application under subparagraph (C) 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 the United States or in the 
     State where the child resides (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 direct special education and 
     related services to such child that are identified in such 
     child's appropriately developed IEP.
       ``(E) Legal fees.--The disbursements under subparagraph (D) 
     shall not support 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.
       ``(F) 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 
     subparagraph (D) for a fiscal year for the following 
     purposes:
       ``(i) To pay the costs associated with serving children 
     with disabilities who moved into the areas served by such 
     local agencies after the budget for the following school year 
     had been finalized to assist the local educational agencies 
     in providing a free appropriate public education for such 
     children in such year.
       ``(ii) To compensate local educational agencies for 
     extraordinary costs, as determined by the State, of any 
     children eligible for services under this part due to--

       ``(I) unexpected enrollment or placement of children 
     eligible for services under this part; or
       ``(II) a significant underestimate of the average cost of 
     providing services to children eligible for services under 
     this part.

       ``(G) Remaining funds.--Funds reserved under subparagraph 
     (A) in any fiscal year but not expended in that fiscal year 
     pursuant to subparagraph (D) or subparagraph (F) shall--
       ``(i) be allocated to local educational agencies pursuant 
     to subparagraphs (D) or (F) for the next fiscal year; or
       ``(ii) be allocated to local educational agencies in the 
     same manner as funds are allocated to local educational 
     agencies under subsection (f).
       ``(H) Assurance of a free appropriate public education.--
     Nothing in this section shall be construed--
       ``(i) 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

[[Page S5293]]

     pursuant to section 612(a)(1) in a least restrictive 
     environment pursuant to section 612(a)(5); or
       ``(ii) 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.
       ``(I) Medicaid services not affected.--Disbursements 
     provided under this subsection 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.
       ``(J) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
       ``(i) 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.
       ``(ii) High-need child.--The term `high-need', when used 
     with respect to a child with a disability, 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.
       ``(K) Special rule for risk pool and high-need assistance 
     programs in effect as of january 1, 2003.--Notwithstanding 
     the provisions of subparagraphs (A) through (J), a State may 
     use funds reserved pursuant to this paragraph for 
     administering and implementing a placement-neutral cost-
     sharing and reimbursement program of high-need, low-
     incidence, emergency, catastrophic, or extraordinary aid to 
     local educational agencies that provides services to students 
     eligible under this part based on eligibility criteria for 
     such programs that were operative on January 1, 2003.
       ``(4) Inapplicability of certain prohibitions.--A State may 
     use funds the State reserves under paragraphs (1), (2), and 
     (3) without regard to--
       ``(A) the prohibition on commingling of funds in section 
     612(a)(17)(B); and
       ``(B) the prohibition on supplanting other funds in section 
     612(a)(17)(C).
       ``(5) Report on use of funds.--As part of the information 
     required to be submitted to the Secretary under section 612, 
     each State shall annually describe how amounts under this 
     section--
       ``(A) will be used to meet the requirements of this Act; 
     and
       ``(B) will be allocated among the activities described in 
     this section to meet State priorities based on input from 
     local educational agencies.
       ``(6) Flexibility in using funds for part c.--Any State 
     eligible to receive a grant under section 619 may use funds 
     made available under paragraph (1)(A), subsection (f)(3), or 
     section 619(f)(5) to develop and implement a State policy 
     jointly with the lead agency under part C and the State 
     educational agency to provide early intervention services 
     (which shall include an educational component that promotes 
     school readiness and incorporates pre-literacy, language, and 
     numeracy skills) in accordance with part C to children with 
     disabilities who are eligible for services under section 619 
     and who previously received services under part C until such 
     children enter, or are eligible under State law to enter, 
     kindergarten.
       ``(f) Subgrants to Local Educational Agencies.--
       ``(1) Subgrants required.--Each State that receives a grant 
     under this section for any fiscal year shall distribute any 
     funds the State does not reserve under subsection (e) to 
     local educational agencies (including public charter schools 
     that operate as local educational agencies) in the State that 
     have established their eligibility under section 613 for use 
     in accordance with this part.
       ``(2) Procedure for allocations to local educational 
     agencies.--
       ``(A) Procedure.--For each fiscal year for which funds are 
     allocated to States under subsection (d), each State shall 
     allocate funds under paragraph (1) as follows:
       ``(i) Base payments.--The State shall first award each 
     local educational agency described in paragraph (1) the 
     amount the local educational agency would have received under 
     this section for fiscal year 1999, if the State had 
     distributed 75 percent of its grant for that year under 
     section 611(d) as section 611(d) was then in effect.
       ``(ii) Allocation of remaining funds.--After making 
     allocations under clause (i), the State shall--

       ``(I) allocate 85 percent of any remaining funds to those 
     local educational agencies on the basis of the relative 
     numbers of children enrolled in public and private elementary 
     schools and secondary schools within the local educational 
     agency's jurisdiction; and
       ``(II) allocate 15 percent of those remaining funds to 
     those local educational agencies in accordance with their 
     relative numbers of children living in poverty, as determined 
     by the State educational agency.

       ``(3) Reallocation of funds.--If a State educational agency 
     determines that a local educational agency is adequately 
     providing a free appropriate public education to all children 
     with disabilities residing in the area served by that local 
     educational agency with State and local funds, the State 
     educational agency may reallocate any portion of the funds 
     under this part that are not needed by that local educational 
     agency to provide a free appropriate public education to 
     other local educational agencies in the State that are not 
     adequately providing special education and related services 
     to all children with disabilities residing in the areas 
     served by those other local educational agencies.
       ``(g) Definitions.--For the purpose of this section--
       ``(1) the term `average per-pupil expenditure in public 
     elementary schools and secondary schools in the United 
     States' means--
       ``(A) without regard to the source of funds--
       ``(i) the aggregate current expenditures, during the second 
     fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the 
     determination is made (or, if satisfactory data for that year 
     are not available, during the most recent preceding fiscal 
     year for which satisfactory data are available) of all local 
     educational agencies in the 50 States and the District of 
     Columbia; plus
       ``(ii) any direct expenditures by the State for the 
     operation of those local educational agencies; divided by
       ``(B) the aggregate number of children in average daily 
     attendance to whom those local educational agencies provided 
     free public education during that preceding year; and
       ``(2) the term `State' means each of the 50 States, the 
     District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
       ``(h) Use of Amounts by Secretary of the Interior.--
       ``(1) Provision of amounts for assistance.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Secretary of Education shall provide 
     amounts to the Secretary of the Interior to meet the need for 
     assistance for the education of children with disabilities on 
     reservations aged 5 through 21 who are enrolled in elementary 
     schools and secondary schools for Indian children operated or 
     funded by the Secretary of the Interior. The amount of such 
     payment for any fiscal year shall be equal to 80 percent of 
     the amount allotted under subsection (c) for that fiscal 
     year.
       ``(B) Calculation of number of children.--In the case of 
     Indian students aged 3 through 5 who are enrolled in programs 
     affiliated with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (hereafter in 
     this subsection referred to as `BIA') schools, and that are 
     required by the States in which such schools are located to 
     attain or maintain State accreditation, and which schools had 
     such accreditation prior to the date of enactment of the 
     Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 
     1991, the school shall be allowed to count those children for 
     the purpose of distribution of the funds provided under this 
     paragraph to the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary of 
     the Interior shall be responsible for meeting all of the 
     requirements of this part for these children, in accordance 
     with paragraph (2).
       ``(C) Additional requirement.--With respect to all other 
     children aged 3 through 21 on reservations, the State 
     educational agency shall be responsible for ensuring that all 
     of the requirements of this part are implemented.
       ``(2) Submission of information.--The Secretary of 
     Education may provide the Secretary of the Interior amounts 
     under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year only if the Secretary 
     of the Interior submits to the Secretary of Education 
     information that--
       ``(A) demonstrates that the Department of the Interior 
     meets the appropriate requirements, as determined by the 
     Secretary of Education, of sections 612 (including monitoring 
     and evaluation activities) and 613;
       ``(B) includes a description of how the Secretary of the 
     Interior will coordinate the provision of services under this 
     part with local educational agencies, tribes and tribal 
     organizations, and other private and Federal service 
     providers;
       ``(C) includes an assurance that there are public hearings, 
     adequate notice of such hearings, and an opportunity for 
     comment afforded to members of tribes, tribal governing 
     bodies, and affected local school boards before the adoption 
     of the policies, programs, and procedures described in 
     subparagraph (A);
       ``(D) includes an assurance that the Secretary of the 
     Interior will provide such information as the Secretary of 
     Education may require to comply with section 618;
       ``(E) includes an assurance that the Secretary of the 
     Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Services have 
     entered into a memorandum of agreement, to be provided to the 
     Secretary of Education, for the coordination of services, 
     resources, and personnel between their respective Federal, 
     State, and local offices and with State and local educational 
     agencies and other entities to facilitate the provision of 
     services to Indian children with disabilities residing on or 
     near reservations (such agreement shall provide for the 
     apportionment of responsibilities and costs including, but 
     not limited to, child find, evaluation, diagnosis, 
     remediation or therapeutic measures, and (where appropriate) 
     equipment and medical or personal supplies as needed for a 
     child to remain in school or a program); and
       ``(F) includes an assurance that the Department of the 
     Interior will cooperate with the Department of Education in 
     its exercise of monitoring and oversight of this application, 
     and any agreements entered into between the Secretary of the 
     Interior and other entities under this part, and will fulfill 
     its duties under this part.
       ``(3) Applicability.--Section 616(a) shall apply to the 
     information described in this paragraph.
       ``(4) Payments for education and services for indian 
     children with disabilities aged 3 through 5.--
       ``(A) In general.--With funds appropriated under subsection 
     (i), the Secretary of Education shall make payments to the 
     Secretary of the Interior to be distributed to tribes or 
     tribal organizations (as defined under section 4 of the 
     Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act) or 
     consortia of the above to provide for the coordination of 
     assistance for special education and related services for 
     children with disabilities aged 3 through 5 on reservations 
     served by elementary schools and secondary schools for Indian 
     children operated or funded by the Department of the 
     Interior. The amount of such payments under subparagraph (B) 
     for any fiscal year shall be equal to 20 percent of the 
     amount allotted under subsection (c).
       ``(B) Distribution of funds.--The Secretary of the Interior 
     shall distribute the total amount of the payment under 
     subparagraph (A) by allocating to each tribe or tribal 
     organization an

[[Page S5294]]

     amount based on the number of children with disabilities ages 
     3 through 5 residing on reservations as reported annually, 
     divided by the total of those children served by all tribes 
     or tribal organizations.
       ``(C) Submission of information.--To receive a payment 
     under this paragraph, the tribe or tribal organization shall 
     submit such figures to the Secretary of the Interior as 
     required to determine the amounts to be allocated under 
     subparagraph (B). This information shall be compiled and 
     submitted to the Secretary of Education.
       ``(D) Use of funds.--The funds received by a tribe or 
     tribal organization shall be used to assist in child find, 
     screening, and other procedures for the early identification 
     of children aged 3 through 5, parent training, and the 
     provision of direct services. These activities may be carried 
     out directly or through contracts or cooperative agreements 
     with the BIA, local educational agencies, and other public or 
     private nonprofit organizations. The tribe or tribal 
     organization is encouraged to involve Indian parents in the 
     development and implementation of these activities. The above 
     entities shall, as appropriate, make referrals to local, 
     State, or Federal entities for the provision of services or 
     further diagnosis.
       ``(E) Biennial report.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
     pursuant to subparagraph (A), the tribe or tribal 
     organization shall provide to the Secretary of the Interior a 
     biennial report of activities undertaken under this 
     paragraph, including the number of contracts and cooperative 
     agreements entered into, the number of children contacted and 
     receiving services for each year, and the estimated number of 
     children needing services during the 2 years following the 
     year in which the report is made. The Secretary of the 
     Interior shall include a summary of this information on a 
     biennial basis in the report to the Secretary of Education 
     required under this subsection. The Secretary of Education 
     may require any additional information from the Secretary of 
     the Interior.
       ``(F) Prohibitions.--None of the funds allocated under this 
     paragraph may be used by the Secretary of the Interior for 
     administrative purposes, including child count and the 
     provision of technical assistance.
       ``(5) Plan for coordination of services.--The Secretary of 
     the Interior shall develop and implement a plan for the 
     coordination of services for all Indian children with 
     disabilities residing on reservations covered under this Act. 
     Such plan shall provide for the coordination of services 
     benefiting these children from whatever source, including 
     tribes, the Indian Health Service, other BIA divisions, and 
     other Federal agencies. In developing the plan, the Secretary 
     of the Interior shall consult with all interested and 
     involved parties. The plan shall be based on the needs of the 
     children and the system best suited for meeting those needs, 
     and may involve the establishment of cooperative agreements 
     between the BIA, other Federal agencies, and other entities. 
     The plan shall also be distributed upon request to States, 
     State and local educational agencies, and other agencies 
     providing services to infants, toddlers, and children with 
     disabilities, to tribes, and to other interested parties.
       ``(6) Establishment of advisory board.--To meet the 
     requirements of section 612(a)(20), the Secretary of the 
     Interior shall establish, under the BIA, an advisory board 
     composed of individuals involved in or concerned with the 
     education and provision of services to Indian infants, 
     toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities, including 
     Indians with disabilities, Indian parents or guardians of 
     such children, teachers, service providers, State and local 
     educational officials, representatives of tribes or tribal 
     organizations, representatives from State Interagency 
     Coordinating Councils under section 641 in States having 
     reservations, and other members representing the various 
     divisions and entities of the BIA. The chairperson shall be 
     selected by the Secretary of the Interior. The advisory board 
     shall--
       ``(A) assist in the coordination of services within the BIA 
     and with other local, State, and Federal agencies in the 
     provision of education for infants, toddlers, and children 
     with disabilities;
       ``(B) advise and assist the Secretary of the Interior in 
     the performance of the Secretary's responsibilities described 
     in this subsection;
       ``(C) develop and recommend policies concerning effective 
     inter- and intra-agency collaboration, including 
     modifications to regulations, and the elimination of barriers 
     to inter- and intra-agency programs and activities;
       ``(D) provide assistance and disseminate information on 
     best practices, effective program coordination strategies, 
     and recommendations for improved educational programming for 
     Indian infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities; and
       ``(E) provide assistance in the preparation of information 
     required under paragraph (2)(D).
       ``(7) Annual reports.--
       ``(A) In general.--The advisory board established under 
     paragraph (6) shall prepare and submit to the Secretary of 
     the Interior and to Congress an annual report containing a 
     description of the activities of the advisory board for the 
     preceding year.
       ``(B) Availability.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
     make available to the Secretary of Education the report 
     described in subparagraph (A).
       ``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of 
     carrying out this part, other than section 619, there are 
     authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary.

     ``SEC. 612. STATE ELIGIBILITY.

       ``(a) In General.--A State is eligible for assistance under 
     this part for a fiscal year if the State submits a plan that 
     provides assurances to the Secretary that the State has in 
     effect policies and procedures to ensure that the State meets 
     each of the following conditions:
       ``(1) Free appropriate public education.--
       ``(A) In general.--A free appropriate public education is 
     available to all children with disabilities residing in the 
     State between the ages of 3 and 21, inclusive, including 
     children with disabilities who have been suspended or 
     expelled from school.
       ``(B) Limitation.--The obligation to make a free 
     appropriate public education available to all children with 
     disabilities does not apply with respect to children--
       ``(i) aged 3 through 5 and 18 through 21 in a State to the 
     extent that its application to those children would be 
     inconsistent with State law or practice, or the order of any 
     court, respecting the provision of public education to 
     children in those age ranges; and
       ``(ii) aged 18 through 21 to the extent that State law does 
     not require that special education and related services under 
     this part be provided to children with disabilities who, in 
     the educational placement prior to their incarceration in an 
     adult correctional facility--

       ``(I) were not actually identified as being a child with a 
     disability under section 602(3); or
       ``(II) did not have an individualized education program 
     under this part.

       ``(C) State flexibility.--A State that provides early 
     intervention services in accordance with part C to a child 
     who is eligible for services under section 619, is not 
     required to provide such child with a free appropriate public 
     education.
       ``(2) Full educational opportunity goal.--The State has 
     established a goal of providing full educational opportunity 
     to all children with disabilities and a detailed timetable 
     for accomplishing that goal.
       ``(3) Child find.--
       ``(A) In general.--All children with disabilities residing 
     in the State, including children with disabilities attending 
     private schools, regardless of the severity of their 
     disabilities, and who are in need of special education and 
     related services, are identified, located, and evaluated and 
     a practical method is developed and implemented to determine 
     which children with disabilities are currently receiving 
     needed special education and related services.
       ``(B) Construction.--Nothing in this Act requires that 
     children be classified by their disability so long as each 
     child who has a disability listed in section 602 and who, by 
     reason of that disability, needs special education and 
     related services is regarded as a child with a disability 
     under this part.
       ``(4) Individualized education program.--An individualized 
     education program, or an individualized family service plan 
     that meets the requirements of section 636(d), is developed, 
     reviewed, and revised for each child with a disability in 
     accordance with section 614(d).
       ``(5) Least restrictive environment.--
       ``(A) In general.--To the maximum extent appropriate, 
     children with disabilities, including children in public or 
     private institutions or other care facilities, are educated 
     with children who are not disabled, and special classes, 
     separate schooling, or other removal of children with 
     disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs 
     only when the nature or severity of the disability of a child 
     is such that education in regular classes with the use of 
     supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved 
     satisfactorily.
       ``(B) Additional requirement.--
       ``(i) In general.--A State funding mechanism shall not 
     result in placements that violate the requirements of 
     subparagraph (A), and a State shall not use a funding 
     mechanism by which the State distributes funds on the basis 
     of the type of setting in which a child is served that will 
     result in the failure to provide a child with a disability a 
     free appropriate public education according to the unique 
     needs of the child as described in the child's IEP.
       ``(ii) Assurance.--If the State does not have policies and 
     procedures to ensure compliance with clause (i), the State 
     shall provide the Secretary an assurance that the State will 
     revise the funding mechanism as soon as feasible to ensure 
     that such mechanism does not result in such placements.
       ``(6) Procedural safeguards.--
       ``(A) In general.--Children with disabilities and their 
     parents are afforded the procedural safeguards required by 
     section 615.
       ``(B) Additional procedural safeguards.--Procedures to 
     ensure that testing and evaluation materials and procedures 
     utilized for the purposes of evaluation and placement of 
     children with disabilities will be selected and administered 
     so as not to be racially or culturally discriminatory. Such 
     materials or procedures shall be provided and administered in 
     the child's native language or mode of communication, unless 
     it clearly is not feasible to do so, and no single procedure 
     shall be the sole criterion for determining an appropriate 
     educational program for a child.
       ``(7) Evaluation.--Children with disabilities are evaluated 
     in accordance with subsections (a) and (b) of section 614.
       ``(8) Confidentiality.--Agencies in the State comply with 
     section 617(c) (relating to the confidentiality of records 
     and information).
       ``(9) Transition from part c to preschool programs.--
     Children participating in early-intervention programs 
     assisted under part C, and who will participate in preschool 
     programs assisted under this part, experience a smooth and 
     effective transition to those preschool programs in a manner 
     consistent with section 637(a)(8). By the third birthday of 
     such a child, an individualized education program or, if 
     consistent with sections 614(d)(2)(B) and 636(d), an 
     individualized family service plan, has been developed and is 
     being implemented for the child. The local educational agency 
     will participate in

[[Page S5295]]

     transition planning conferences arranged by the designated 
     lead agency under section 635(a)(10).
       ``(10) Children in private schools.--
       ``(A) Children enrolled in private schools by their 
     parents.--
       ``(i) In general.--To the extent consistent with the number 
     and location of children with disabilities in the State who 
     are enrolled by their parents in private elementary schools 
     and secondary schools in the school district served by a 
     local educational agency, provision is made for the 
     participation of those children in the program assisted or 
     carried out under this part by providing for such children 
     special education and related services in accordance with the 
     following requirements, unless the Secretary has arranged for 
     services to those children under subsection (f):

       ``(I) Amounts to be expended for the provision of those 
     services (including direct services to parentally placed 
     children) by the local educational agency shall be equal to a 
     proportionate amount of Federal funds made available under 
     this part.
       ``(II) Such services may be provided to children with 
     disabilities on the premises of private, including religious, 
     schools, to the extent consistent with law.
       ``(III) Each local educational agency shall maintain in its 
     records and provide to the State educational agency the 
     number of children evaluated under this paragraph, the number 
     of children determined to be children with disabilities, and 
     the number of children served under this subsection.

       ``(ii) Child-find requirement.--

       ``(I) In general.--The requirements of paragraph (3) of 
     this subsection (relating to child find) shall apply with 
     respect to children with disabilities in the State who are 
     enrolled in private, including religious, elementary schools 
     and secondary schools. Such child find process shall be 
     conducted in a comparable time period as for other students 
     attending public schools in the local educational agency.
       ``(II) Equitable participation.--The child find process 
     shall be designed to ensure the equitable participation of 
     parentally placed private school children and an accurate 
     count of such children.
       ``(III) Activities.--In carrying out this clause, the local 
     educational agency, or where applicable, the State 
     educational agency, shall undertake activities similar to 
     those activities undertaken for its public school children.
       ``(IV) Cost.--The cost of carrying out this clause, 
     including individual evaluations, may not be considered in 
     determining whether a local education agency has met its 
     obligations under clause (i).

       ``(iii) Consultation.--To ensure timely and meaningful 
     consultation, a local educational agency, or where 
     appropriate, a State educational agency, shall consult, with 
     representatives of children with disabilities who are 
     parentally placed in private schools, during the design and 
     development of special education and related services for 
     these children, including consultation regarding--

       ``(I) the child find process and how parentally placed 
     private school children suspected of having a disability can 
     participate equitably, including how parents, teachers, and 
     private school officials will be informed of the process;
       ``(II) the determination of the proportionate share of 
     Federal funds available to serve parentally placed private 
     school children with disabilities under this paragraph, 
     including the determination of how the proportionate share of 
     those funds were calculated;
       ``(III) the consultation process among the school district, 
     private school officials, and parents of parentally placed 
     private school children with disabilities, including how such 
     process will operate throughout the school year to ensure 
     that parentally placed children with disabilities identified 
     through the child find process can meaningfully participate 
     in special education and related services;
       ``(IV) how, where, and by whom special education and 
     related services will be provided for parentally placed 
     private school children, including a discussion of alternate 
     service delivery mechanisms, how such services will be 
     apportioned if funds are insufficient to serve all children, 
     and how and when these decisions will be made; and
       ``(V) how, if the local educational agency disagrees with 
     the views of the private school officials on the provision of 
     services through a contract, the local educational agency 
     shall provide to the private school officials a written 
     explanation of the reasons why the local educational agency 
     chose not to provide services through a contract.

       ``(iv) Written affirmation.--When timely and meaningful 
     consultation as required by this section has occurred, the 
     local educational agency shall obtain a written affirmation 
     signed by the representatives of participating private 
     schools, and if such officials do not provide such 
     affirmations within a reasonable period of time, the local 
     educational agency shall forward the documentation of the 
     consultation process to the State educational agency.
       ``(v) Compliance.--

       ``(I) In general.--A private school official shall have the 
     right to complain to the State educational agency that the 
     local educational agency did not engage in consultation that 
     was meaningful and timely, or did not give due consideration 
     to the views of the private school official.
       ``(II) Procedure.--If the private school official wishes to 
     complain, the official shall provide the basis of the 
     noncompliance with this section by the local educational 
     agency to the State educational agency, and the local 
     educational agency shall forward the appropriate 
     documentation to the State educational agency. If the private 
     school official is dissatisfied with the decision of the 
     State educational agency, such official may complain to the 
     Secretary by providing the basis of the noncompliance with 
     this section by the local educational agency to the 
     Secretary, and the State educational agency shall forward the 
     appropriate documentation to the Secretary.

       ``(vi) Provision of equitable services.--

       ``(I) Direct services.--To the extent practicable, the 
     local educational agency shall provide direct services to 
     children with disabilities parentally placed in private 
     schools.
       ``(II) Directly or through contracts.--A public agency may 
     provide special education and related services directly or 
     through contracts with public and private agencies, 
     organizations, and institutions.
       ``(III) Secular, neutral, nonideological.--Special 
     education and related services provided to children with 
     disabilities attending private schools, including materials 
     and equipment, shall be secular, neutral, and nonideological.

       ``(vii) Public control of funds.--The control of funds used 
     to provide special education and related services under this 
     section, and title to materials, equipment, and property 
     purchased with those funds, shall be in a public agency for 
     the uses and purposes provided in this Act, and a public 
     agency shall administer the funds and property.
       ``(B) Children placed in, or referred to, private schools 
     by public agencies.--
       ``(i) In general.--Children with disabilities in private 
     schools and facilities are provided special education and 
     related services, in accordance with an individualized 
     education program, at no cost to their parents, if such 
     children are placed in, or referred to, such schools or 
     facilities by the State or appropriate local educational 
     agency as the means of carrying out the requirements of this 
     part or any other applicable law requiring the provision of 
     special education and related services to all children with 
     disabilities within such State.
       ``(ii) Standards.--In all cases described in clause (i), 
     the State educational agency shall determine whether such 
     schools and facilities meet standards that apply to State and 
     local educational agencies and that children so served have 
     all the rights the children would have if served by such 
     agencies.
       ``(C) Payment for education of children enrolled in private 
     schools without consent of or referral by the public 
     agency.--
       ``(i) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (A), this part 
     does not require a local educational agency to pay for the 
     cost of education, including special education and related 
     services, of a child with a disability at a private school or 
     facility if that agency made a free appropriate public 
     education available to the child and the parents elected to 
     place the child in such private school or facility.
       ``(ii) Reimbursement for private school placement.--If the 
     parents of a child with a disability, who previously received 
     special education and related services under the authority of 
     a public agency, enroll the child in a private elementary 
     school or secondary school without the consent of or referral 
     by the public agency, a court or a hearing officer may 
     require the agency to reimburse the parents for the cost of 
     that enrollment if the court or hearing officer finds that 
     the agency had not made a free appropriate public education 
     available to the child in a timely manner prior to that 
     enrollment.
       ``(iii) Limitation on reimbursement.--The cost of 
     reimbursement described in clause (ii) may be reduced or 
     denied--

       ``(I) if--

       ``(aa) at the most recent IEP meeting that the parents 
     attended prior to removal of the child from the public 
     school, the parents did not inform the IEP Team that they 
     were rejecting the placement proposed by the public agency to 
     provide a free appropriate public education to their child, 
     including stating their concerns and their intent to enroll 
     their child in a private school at public expense; or
       ``(bb) 10 business days (including any holidays that occur 
     on a business day) prior to the removal of the child from the 
     public school, the parents did not give written notice to the 
     public agency of the information described in division (aa);

       ``(II) if, prior to the parents' removal of the child from 
     the public school, the public agency informed the parents, 
     through the notice requirements described in section 
     615(b)(3), of its intent to evaluate the child (including a 
     statement of the purpose of the evaluation that was 
     appropriate and reasonable), but the parents did not make the 
     child available for such evaluation; or
       ``(III) upon a judicial finding of unreasonableness with 
     respect to actions taken by the parents.

       ``(iv) Exception.--Notwithstanding the notice requirement 
     in clause (iii)(I), the cost of reimbursement--

       ``(I) shall not be reduced or denied for failure to provide 
     such notice if--

       ``(aa) the school prevented the parent from providing such 
     notice; or
       ``(bb) the parents had not received notice, pursuant to 
     section 615, of the notice requirement in clause (iii)(I); 
     and

       ``(II) may, in the discretion of a court or a hearing 
     officer, not be reduced or denied for failure to provide such 
     notice if--

       ``(aa) the parent is illiterate and cannot write in 
     English; or
       ``(bb) compliance with clause (iii)(I) would likely have 
     resulted in physical or serious emotional harm to the child.
       ``(11) State educational agency responsible for general 
     supervision.--
       ``(A) In general.--The State educational agency is 
     responsible for ensuring that--
       ``(i) the requirements of this part are met; and
       ``(ii) all educational programs for children with 
     disabilities in the State, including all such programs 
     administered by any other State or local agency--

[[Page S5296]]

       ``(I) are under the general supervision of individuals in 
     the State who are responsible for educational programs for 
     children with disabilities; and
       ``(II) meet the educational standards of the State 
     educational agency.

       ``(B) Limitation.--Subparagraph (A) shall not limit the 
     responsibility of agencies in the State other than the State 
     educational agency to provide, or pay for some or all of the 
     costs of, a free appropriate public education for any child 
     with a disability in the State.
       ``(C) Exception.--Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and 
     (B), the Governor (or another individual pursuant to State 
     law), consistent with State law, may assign to any public 
     agency in the State the responsibility of ensuring that the 
     requirements of this part are met with respect to children 
     with disabilities who are convicted as adults under State law 
     and incarcerated in adult prisons.
       ``(12) Obligations related to and methods of ensuring 
     services.--
       ``(A) Establishing responsibility for services.--The Chief 
     Executive Officer of a State or designee of the officer shall 
     ensure that an interagency agreement or other mechanism for 
     interagency coordination is in effect between each public 
     agency described in subparagraph (B) and the State 
     educational agency, in order to ensure that all services 
     described in subparagraph (B)(i) that are needed to ensure a 
     free appropriate public education are provided, including the 
     provision of such services during the pendency of any dispute 
     under clause (iii). Such agreement or mechanism shall include 
     the following:
       ``(i) Agency financial responsibility.--An identification 
     of, or a method for defining, the financial responsibility of 
     each agency for providing services described in subparagraph 
     (B)(i) to ensure a free appropriate public education to 
     children with disabilities, provided that the financial 
     responsibility of each public agency described in 
     subparagraph (B), including the State Medicaid agency and 
     other public insurers of children with disabilities, shall 
     precede the financial responsibility of the local educational 
     agency (or the State agency responsible for developing the 
     child's IEP).
       ``(ii) Conditions and terms of reimbursement.--The 
     conditions, terms, and procedures under which a local 
     educational agency shall be reimbursed by other agencies.
       ``(iii) Interagency disputes.--Procedures for resolving 
     interagency disputes (including procedures under which local 
     educational agencies may initiate proceedings) under the 
     agreement or other mechanism to secure reimbursement from 
     other agencies or otherwise implement the provisions of the 
     agreement or mechanism.
       ``(iv) Coordination of services procedures.--Policies and 
     procedures for agencies to determine and identify the 
     interagency coordination responsibilities of each agency to 
     promote the coordination and timely and appropriate delivery 
     of services described in subparagraph (B)(i).
       ``(B) Obligation of public agency.--
       ``(i) In general.--If any public agency other than an 
     educational agency is otherwise obligated under Federal or 
     State law, or assigned responsibility under State policy 
     pursuant to subparagraph (A), to provide or pay for any 
     services that are also considered special education or 
     related services (such as, but not limited to, services 
     described in section 602(1) relating to assistive technology 
     devices, 602(2) relating to assistive technology services, 
     602(25) relating to related services, 602(32) relating to 
     supplementary aids and services, and 602(33) relating to 
     transition services) that are necessary for ensuring a free 
     appropriate public education to children with disabilities 
     within the State, such public agency shall fulfill that 
     obligation or responsibility, either directly or through 
     contract or other arrangement pursuant to subparagraph (A) or 
     an agreement pursuant to subparagraph (C).
       ``(ii) Reimbursement for services by public agency.--If a 
     public agency other than an educational agency fails to 
     provide or pay for the special education and related services 
     described in clause (i), the local educational agency (or 
     State agency responsible for developing the child's IEP) 
     shall provide or pay for such services to the child. Such 
     local educational agency or State agency is authorized to 
     claim reimbursement for the services from the public agency 
     that failed to provide or pay for such services and such 
     public agency shall reimburse the local educational agency or 
     State agency pursuant to the terms of the interagency 
     agreement or other mechanism described in subparagraph (A)(i) 
     according to the procedures established in such agreement 
     pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii).
       ``(C) Special rule.--The requirements of subparagraph (A) 
     may be met through--
       ``(i) State statute or regulation;
       ``(ii) signed agreements between respective agency 
     officials that clearly identify the responsibilities of each 
     agency relating to the provision of services; or
       ``(iii) other appropriate written methods as determined by 
     the Chief Executive Officer of the State or designee of the 
     officer and approved by the Secretary.
       ``(13) Procedural requirements relating to local 
     educational agency eligibility.--The State educational agency 
     will not make a final determination that a local educational 
     agency is not eligible for assistance under this part without 
     first affording that agency reasonable notice and an 
     opportunity for a hearing.
       ``(14) Personnel standards.--
       ``(A) In general.--The State educational agency has 
     established and maintains standards to ensure that personnel 
     necessary to carry out this part are appropriately and 
     adequately prepared and trained, including that those 
     personnel have the content knowledge and skills to serve 
     children with disabilities.
       ``(B) Related services personnel and paraprofessionals.--
     The standards under subparagraph (A) include standards for 
     related services personnel and paraprofessionals that--
       ``(i) are consistent with any State-approved or State-
     recognized certification, licensing, registration, or other 
     comparable requirements that apply to the professional 
     discipline in which those personnel are providing special 
     education or related services;
       ``(ii) ensure that related services personnel who deliver 
     services in their discipline or profession meet the 
     requirements of clause (i) and have not had certification or 
     licensure requirements waived on an emergency, temporary, or 
     provisional basis; and
       ``(iii) allow paraprofessionals and assistants who are 
     appropriately trained and supervised, in accordance with 
     State law, regulation, or written policy, in meeting the 
     requirements of this part to be used to assist in the 
     provision of special education and related services under 
     this part to children with disabilities.
       ``(C) Standards for special education teachers.--
       ``(i) In general.--The standards described in subparagraph 
     (A) shall ensure that each person employed as a special 
     education teacher in the State who teaches in an elementary, 
     middle, or secondary school is highly qualified not later 
     than the end of the 2006-2007 school year.
       ``(ii) Compliance.--Notwithstanding paragraphs (2) and (3) 
     of section 1119(a) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
     Act of 1965, for purposes of determining compliance with such 
     paragraphs--

       ``(I) the Secretary, the State educational agency, and 
     local educational agencies shall apply the definition of 
     highly qualified in section 602(10) to special education 
     teachers; and
       ``(II) the State shall ensure that all special education 
     teachers teaching in core academic subjects within the State 
     are highly qualified (as defined in section 602(10)) not 
     later than the end of the 2006-2007 school year.

       ``(iii) Parents' right to know.--In carrying out section 
     1111(h)(6) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
     1965 with respect to special education teachers, a local 
     educational agency shall--

       ``(I) include in a response to a request under such section 
     any additional information needed to demonstrate that the 
     teacher meets the applicable requirements of section 602(10) 
     relating to certification or licensure as a special education 
     teacher; and
       ``(II) apply the definition of highly qualified in section 
     602(10) in carrying out section 1111(h)(6)(B)(ii).

       ``(D) Policy.--In implementing this section, a State shall 
     adopt a policy that includes a requirement that local 
     educational agencies in the State take measurable steps to 
     recruit, hire, train, and retain highly qualified personnel 
     to provide special education and related services under this 
     part to children with disabilities.
       ``(E) Rule of construction.--Notwithstanding any other 
     individual right of action that a parent or student may 
     maintain under this part, nothing in this subsection shall be 
     construed to create a right of action on behalf of an 
     individual student for the failure of a particular State 
     educational agency or local educational agency staff person 
     to be highly qualified, or to prevent a parent from filing a 
     complaint about staff qualifications with the State 
     educational agency as provided for under this part.
       ``(15) Performance goals and indicators.--The State--
       ``(A) has established goals for the performance of children 
     with disabilities in the State that--
       ``(i) promote the purposes of this Act, as stated in 
     section 601(d);
       ``(ii) are the same as the State's definition of adequate 
     yearly progress, including the State's objectives for 
     progress by children with disabilities, under section 
     1111(b)(2)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
     of 1965;
       ``(iii) address graduation rates and drop out rates, as 
     well as such other factors as the State may determine; and
       ``(iv) are consistent, to the extent appropriate, with any 
     other goals and standards for children established by the 
     State;
       ``(B) has established performance indicators the State will 
     use to assess progress toward achieving the goals described 
     in subparagraph (A), including measurable annual objectives 
     for progress by children with disabilities under section 
     1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)(cc) of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965; and
       ``(C) will annually report to the Secretary and the public 
     on the progress of the State, and of children with 
     disabilities in the State, toward meeting the goals 
     established under subparagraph (A).
       ``(16) Participation in assessments.--
       ``(A) In general.-- All children with disabilities are 
     included in all general State and districtwide assessment 
     programs and accountability systems, including assessments 
     and accountability systems described under section 1111 of 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, with 
     appropriate accommodations, alternate assessments where 
     necessary, and as indicated in their respective 
     individualized education programs.
       ``(B) Accommodation guidelines.--The State (or, in the case 
     of a districtwide assessment, the local educational agency) 
     has developed guidelines for the provision of appropriate 
     accommodations.
       ``(C) Alternate assessments.--
       ``(i) In general.--The State (or, in the case of a 
     districtwide assessment, the local educational agency) has 
     developed and implemented guidelines for the participation of 
     children with disabilities in alternate assessments for those 
     children who cannot participate in regular assessments under 
     subparagraph (B) as indicated in their respective 
     individualized education programs.

[[Page S5297]]

       ``(ii) Requirements for alternate assessments.--The 
     guidelines under clause (i) shall provide for alternate 
     assessments that--

       ``(I) are aligned with the State's challenging academic 
     content and academic achievement standards; and
       ``(II) if the State has adopted alternate academic 
     achievement standards permitted under section 1111(b)(1) of 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, measure 
     the achievement of children with disabilities against those 
     standards.

       ``(iii) Conduct of alternative assessments.--The State 
     conducts the alternate assessments described in this 
     subparagraph.
       ``(D) Reports.--The State educational agency (or, in the 
     case of a districtwide assessment, the local educational 
     agency) makes available to the public, and reports to the 
     public with the same frequency and in the same detail as it 
     reports on the assessment of nondisabled children, the 
     following:
       ``(i) The number of children with disabilities 
     participating in regular assessments, and the number of those 
     children who were provided accommodations in order to 
     participate in those assessments.
       ``(ii) The number of children with disabilities 
     participating in alternate assessments described in 
     subparagraph (C)(ii)(I).
       ``(iii) The number of children with disabilities 
     participating in alternate assessments described in 
     subparagraph (C)(ii)(II).
       ``(iv) The performance of children with disabilities on 
     regular assessments and on alternate assessments (if the 
     number of children with disabilities participating in those 
     assessments is sufficient to yield statistically reliable 
     information and reporting that information will not reveal 
     personally identifiable information about an individual 
     student), compared with the achievement of all children, 
     including children with disabilities, on those assessments.
       ``(E) Universal design.--The State educational agency (or, 
     in the case of a districtwide assessment, the local 
     educational agency) shall, to the extent feasible, use 
     universal design principles in developing and administering 
     any assessments under this paragraph.
       ``(17) Supplementation of state, local, and other federal 
     funds.--
       ``(A) Expenditures.--Funds paid to a State under this part 
     will be expended in accordance with all the provisions of 
     this part.
       ``(B) Prohibition against commingling.--Funds paid to a 
     State under this part will not be commingled with State 
     funds.
       ``(C) Prohibition against supplantation and conditions for 
     waiver by secretary.--Except as provided in section 613, 
     funds paid to a State under this part will be used to 
     supplement the level of Federal, State, and local funds 
     (including funds that are not under the direct control of 
     State or local educational agencies) expended for special 
     education and related services provided to children with 
     disabilities under this part and in no case to supplant such 
     Federal, State, and local funds, except that, where the State 
     provides clear and convincing evidence that all children with 
     disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public 
     education, the Secretary may waive, in whole or in part, the 
     requirements of this subparagraph if the Secretary concurs 
     with the evidence provided by the State.
       ``(18) Maintenance of state financial support.--
       ``(A) In general.--The State does not reduce the amount of 
     State financial support for special education and related 
     services for children with disabilities, or otherwise made 
     available because of the excess costs of educating those 
     children, below the amount of that support for the preceding 
     fiscal year.
       ``(B) Reduction of funds for failure to maintain support.--
     The Secretary shall reduce the allocation of funds under 
     section 611 for any fiscal year following the fiscal year in 
     which the State fails to comply with the requirement of 
     subparagraph (A) by the same amount by which the State fails 
     to meet the requirement.
       ``(C) Waivers for exceptional or uncontrollable 
     circumstances.--The Secretary may waive the requirement of 
     subparagraph (A) for a State, for 1 fiscal year at a time, if 
     the Secretary determines that--
       ``(i) granting a waiver would be equitable due to 
     exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances such as a natural 
     disaster or a precipitous and unforeseen decline in the 
     financial resources of the State; or
       ``(ii) the State meets the standard in paragraph (17)(C) 
     for a waiver of the requirement to supplement, and not to 
     supplant, funds received under this part.
       ``(D) Subsequent years.--If, for any year, a State fails to 
     meet the requirement of subparagraph (A), including any year 
     for which the State is granted a waiver under subparagraph 
     (C), the financial support required of the State in future 
     years under subparagraph (A) shall be the amount that would 
     have been required in the absence of that failure and not the 
     reduced level of the State's support.
       ``(19) Public participation.--Prior to the adoption of any 
     policies and procedures needed to comply with this section 
     (including any amendments to such policies and procedures), 
     the State ensures that there are public hearings, adequate 
     notice of the hearings, and an opportunity for comment 
     available to the general public, including individuals with 
     disabilities and parents of children with disabilities.
       ``(20) State advisory panel.--
       ``(A) In general.--The State has established and maintains 
     an advisory panel for the purpose of providing policy 
     guidance with respect to special education and related 
     services for children with disabilities in the State.
       ``(B) Membership.--Such advisory panel shall consist of 
     members appointed by the Governor, or any other official 
     authorized under State law to make such appointments, that is 
     representative of the State population and that is composed 
     of individuals involved in, or concerned with, the education 
     of children with disabilities, including--
       ``(i) parents of children with disabilities ages birth 
     through 26;
       ``(ii) individuals with disabilities;
       ``(iii) teachers;
       ``(iv) representatives of institutions of higher education 
     that prepare special education and related services 
     personnel;
       ``(v) State and local education officials;
       ``(vi) administrators of programs for children with 
     disabilities;
       ``(vii) representatives of other State agencies involved in 
     the financing or delivery of related services to children 
     with disabilities;
       ``(viii) representatives of private schools and public 
     charter schools;
       ``(ix) at least 1 representative of a vocational, 
     community, or business organization concerned with the 
     provision of transition services to children with 
     disabilities; and
       ``(x) representatives from the State juvenile and adult 
     corrections agencies.
       ``(C) Special rule.--A majority of the members of the panel 
     shall be individuals with disabilities ages birth through 26 
     or parents of such individuals.
       ``(D) Duties.--The advisory panel shall--
       ``(i) advise the State educational agency of unmet needs 
     within the State in the education of children with 
     disabilities;
       ``(ii) comment publicly on any rules or regulations 
     proposed by the State regarding the education of children 
     with disabilities;
       ``(iii) advise the State educational agency in developing 
     evaluations and reporting on data to the Secretary under 
     section 618;
       ``(iv) advise the State educational agency in developing 
     corrective action plans to address findings identified in 
     Federal monitoring reports under this part; and
       ``(v) advise the State educational agency in developing and 
     implementing policies relating to the coordination of 
     services for children with disabilities.
       ``(21) Suspension and expulsion rates.--
       ``(A) In general.--The State educational agency examines 
     data to determine if significant discrepancies are occurring 
     in the rate of long-term suspensions and expulsions of 
     children with disabilities--
       ``(i) among local educational agencies in the State; or
       ``(ii) compared to such rates for nondisabled children 
     within such agencies.
       ``(B) Review and revision of policies.--If such 
     discrepancies are occurring, the State educational agency 
     reviews and, if appropriate, revises (or requires the 
     affected State or local educational agency to revise) its 
     policies, procedures, and practices relating to the 
     development and implementation of IEPs, the use of behavioral 
     interventions, and procedural safeguards, to ensure that such 
     policies, procedures, and practices comply with this Act.
       ``(22) Access to instructional materials.--
       ``(A) In general.--The State adopts the national 
     Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard described in 
     section 675(a) for the purposes of providing instructional 
     materials to blind persons or other persons with print 
     disabilities in a timely manner after the publication of the 
     standard in the Federal Register.
       ``(B) Preparation and delivery of files.--Not later than 2 
     years after the date of enactment of the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003, a State 
     educational agency, as part of any print instructional 
     materials adoption process, procurement contract, or other 
     practice or instrument used for purchase of print 
     instructional materials, enters into a written contract with 
     the publisher of the print instructional materials to--
       ``(i) prepare, and on or before delivery of the print 
     instructional materials, provide to the National 
     Instructional Materials Access Center, established pursuant 
     to section 675(b), electronic files containing the contents 
     of the print instructional materials using the Instructional 
     Materials Accessibility Standard; or
       ``(ii) purchase instructional materials from a publisher 
     that are produced in or may be rendered in the specialized 
     formats described in section 675(a)(4)(C).
       ``(C) Assistive technology.--In carrying out subparagraph 
     (B), the State educational agency, to the maximum extent 
     possible, shall work collaboratively with the State agency 
     responsible for assistive technology programs.
       ``(b) State Educational Agency as Provider of Free 
     Appropriate Public Education or Direct Services.--If the 
     State educational agency provides free appropriate public 
     education to children with disabilities, or provides direct 
     services to such children, such agency--
       ``(1) shall comply with any additional requirements of 
     section 613(a), as if such agency were a local educational 
     agency; and
       ``(2) may use amounts that are otherwise available to such 
     agency under this part to serve those children without regard 
     to section 613(a)(2)(A)(i) (relating to excess costs).
       ``(c) Exception for Prior State Plans.--
       ``(1) In general.--If a State has on file with the 
     Secretary policies and procedures that demonstrate that such 
     State meets any requirement of subsection (a), including any 
     policies and procedures filed under this part as in effect 
     before the effective date of the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003, the Secretary 
     shall consider such State to have met such requirement for 
     purposes of receiving a grant under this part.
       ``(2) Modifications made by state.--Subject to paragraph 
     (3), an application submitted by a State in accordance with 
     this section shall remain in effect until the State submits 
     to the Secretary such modifications as the State determines 
     necessary. This section shall apply to a

[[Page S5298]]

     modification to an application to the same extent and in the 
     same manner as this section applies to the original plan.
       ``(3) Modifications required by the secretary.--If, after 
     the effective date of the Individuals with Disabilities 
     Education Improvement Act of 2003, the provisions of this Act 
     are amended (or the regulations developed to carry out this 
     Act are amended), there is a new interpretation of this Act 
     by a Federal court or a State's highest court, or there is an 
     official finding of noncompliance with Federal law or 
     regulations, then the Secretary may require a State to modify 
     its application only to the extent necessary to ensure the 
     State's compliance with this part.
       ``(d) Approval by the Secretary.--
       ``(1) In general.--If the Secretary determines that a State 
     is eligible to receive a grant under this part, the Secretary 
     shall notify the State of that determination.
       ``(2) Notice and hearing.--The Secretary shall not make a 
     final determination that a State is not eligible to receive a 
     grant under this part until after providing the State--
       ``(A) with reasonable notice; and
       ``(B) with an opportunity for a hearing.
       ``(e) Assistance Under Other Federal Programs.--Nothing in 
     this title permits a State to reduce medical and other 
     assistance available, or to alter eligibility, under titles V 
     and XIX of the Social Security Act with respect to the 
     provision of a free appropriate public education for children 
     with disabilities in the State.
       ``(f) By-Pass for Children in Private Schools.--
       ``(1) In general.--If, on the date of enactment of the 
     Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1983, a State 
     educational agency was prohibited by law from providing for 
     the equitable participation in special programs of children 
     with disabilities enrolled in private elementary schools and 
     secondary schools as required by subsection (a)(10)(A), or if 
     the Secretary determines that a State educational agency, 
     local educational agency, or other entity has substantially 
     failed or is unwilling to provide for such equitable 
     participation, then the Secretary shall, notwithstanding such 
     provision of law, arrange for the provision of services to 
     such children through arrangements which shall be subject to 
     the requirements of such subsection.
       ``(2) Payments.--
       ``(A) Determination of amounts.--If the Secretary arranges 
     for services pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary, 
     after consultation with the appropriate public and private 
     school officials, shall pay to the provider of such services 
     for a fiscal year an amount per child that does not exceed 
     the amount determined by dividing--
       ``(i) the total amount received by the State under this 
     part for such fiscal year; by
       ``(ii) the number of children with disabilities served in 
     the prior year, as reported to the Secretary by the State 
     under section 618.
       ``(B) Withholding of certain amounts.--Pending final 
     resolution of any investigation or complaint that may result 
     in a determination under this subsection, the Secretary may 
     withhold from the allocation of the affected State 
     educational agency the amount the Secretary estimates will be 
     necessary to pay the cost of services described in 
     subparagraph (A).
       ``(C) Period of payments.--The period under which payments 
     are made under subparagraph (A) shall continue until the 
     Secretary determines that there will no longer be any failure 
     or inability on the part of the State educational agency to 
     meet the requirements of subsection (a)(10)(A).
       ``(3) Notice and hearing.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall not take any final 
     action under this subsection until the State educational 
     agency affected by such action has had an opportunity, for at 
     least 45 days after receiving written notice thereof, to 
     submit written objections and to appear before the Secretary 
     or the Secretary's designee to show cause why such action 
     should not be taken.
       ``(B) Review of action.--If a State educational agency is 
     dissatisfied with the Secretary's final action after a 
     proceeding under subparagraph (A), such agency may, not later 
     than 60 days after notice of such action, file with the 
     United States court of appeals for the circuit in which such 
     State is located a petition for review of that action. A copy 
     of the petition shall be forthwith transmitted by the clerk 
     of the court to the Secretary. The Secretary thereupon shall 
     file in the court the record of the proceedings on which the 
     Secretary based the Secretary's action, as provided in 
     section 2112 of title 28, United States Code.
       ``(C) Review of findings of fact.--The findings of fact by 
     the Secretary, if supported by substantial evidence, shall be 
     conclusive, but the court, for good cause shown, may remand 
     the case to the Secretary to take further evidence, and the 
     Secretary may thereupon make new or modified findings of fact 
     and may modify the Secretary's previous action, and shall 
     file in the court the record of the further proceedings. Such 
     new or modified findings of fact shall likewise be conclusive 
     if supported by substantial evidence.
       ``(D) Jurisdiction of court of appeals; review by united 
     states supreme court.--Upon the filing of a petition under 
     subparagraph (B), the United States court of appeals shall 
     have jurisdiction to affirm the action of the Secretary or to 
     set it aside, in whole or in part. The judgment of the court 
     shall be subject to review by the Supreme Court of the United 
     States upon certiorari or certification as provided in 
     section 1254 of title 28, United States Code.

     ``SEC. 613. LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY ELIGIBILITY.

       ``(a) In General.--A local educational agency is eligible 
     for assistance under this part for a fiscal year if such 
     agency submits a plan that provides assurances to the State 
     educational agency that the local educational agency meets 
     each of the following conditions:
       ``(1) Consistency with state policies.--The local 
     educational agency, in providing for the education of 
     children with disabilities within its jurisdiction, has in 
     effect policies, procedures, and programs that are consistent 
     with the State policies and procedures established under 
     section 612.
       ``(2) Use of amounts.--
       ``(A) In general.--Amounts provided to the local 
     educational agency under this part shall be expended in 
     accordance with the applicable provisions of this part and--
       ``(i) shall be used only to pay the excess costs of 
     providing special education and related services to children 
     with disabilities;
       ``(ii) shall be used to supplement State, local, and other 
     Federal funds and not to supplant such funds; and
       ``(iii) shall not be used, except as provided in 
     subparagraphs (B) and (C), to reduce the level of 
     expenditures for the education of children with disabilities 
     made by the local educational agency from local funds below 
     the level of those expenditures for the preceding fiscal 
     year.
       ``(B) Exception.--Notwithstanding the restriction in 
     subparagraph (A)(iii), a local educational agency may reduce 
     the level of expenditures where such reduction is 
     attributable to--
       ``(i) the voluntary departure, by retirement or otherwise, 
     or departure for just cause, of special education personnel;
       ``(ii) a decrease in the enrollment of children with 
     disabilities;
       ``(iii) the termination of the obligation of the agency, 
     consistent with this part, to provide a program of special 
     education to a particular child with a disability that is an 
     exceptionally costly program, as determined by the State 
     educational agency, because the child--

       ``(I) has left the jurisdiction of the agency;
       ``(II) has reached the age at which the obligation of the 
     agency to provide a free appropriate public education to the 
     child has terminated; or
       ``(III) no longer needs such program of special education; 
     or

       ``(iv) the termination of costly expenditures for long-term 
     purchases, such as the acquisition of equipment or the 
     construction of school facilities.
       ``(C) Treatment of federal funds in certain fiscal years.--
       ``(i) 8 percent rule.--Notwithstanding clauses (ii) and 
     (iii) of subparagraph (A), a local educational agency may 
     treat as local funds, for the purposes of such clauses, not 
     more than 8 percent of the amount of funds the local 
     educational agency receives under this part.
       ``(ii) 40 percent rule.--Notwithstanding clauses (ii) and 
     (iii) of subparagraph (A), for any fiscal year for which 
     States are allocated the maximum amount of grants pursuant to 
     section 611(a)(2), a local educational agency may treat as 
     local funds, for the purposes of such clauses, not more than 
     40 percent of the amount of funds the local educational 
     agency receives under this part, subject to clause (iv).
       ``(iii) Early intervening services.--

       ``(I) 8 percent rule.--If a local educational agency 
     exercises authority pursuant to clause (i), the 8 percent 
     funds shall be counted toward the percentage and amount of 
     funds that may be used to provide early intervening 
     educational services pursuant to subsection (f).
       ``(II) 40 percent rule.--If a local educational agency 
     exercises authority pursuant to clause (ii), the local 
     educational agency shall use an amount of the 40 percent 
     funds from clause (ii) that represents 15 percent of the 
     total amount of funds the local educational agency receives 
     under this part, to provide early intervening educational 
     services pursuant to subsection (f).

       ``(iv) Special rule.--Funds treated as local funds pursuant 
     to clause (i) or (ii) may be considered non-Federal or local 
     funds for the purposes of--

       ``(I) clauses (ii) and (iii) of subparagraph (A); and
       ``(II) the provision of the local share of costs for title 
     XIX of the Social Security Act.

       ``(v) Report.--For each fiscal year in which a local 
     educational agency exercises its authority pursuant to this 
     subparagraph and treats Federal funds as local funds, the 
     local educational agency shall report to the State 
     educational agency the amount of funds so treated and the 
     activities that were funded with such funds.
       ``(D) Schoolwide programs under title i of the esea.--
     Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) or any other provision of 
     this part, a local educational agency may use funds received 
     under this part for any fiscal year to carry out a schoolwide 
     program under section 1114 of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965, except that the amount so used in any 
     such program shall not exceed--
       ``(i) the number of children with disabilities 
     participating in the schoolwide program; multiplied by
       ``(ii)(I) the amount received by the local educational 
     agency under this part for that fiscal year; divided by
       ``(II) the number of children with disabilities in the 
     jurisdiction of that agency.
       ``(3) Personnel development.--The local educational agency 
     shall ensure that all personnel necessary to carry out this 
     part are appropriately and adequately prepared, consistent 
     with the requirements of section 612(a)(14) of this Act and 
     section 2122 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
     1965.
       ``(4) Permissive use of funds.--
       ``(A) Uses.--Notwithstanding paragraph (2)(A) or section 
     612(a)(17)(B) (relating to commingled funds), funds provided 
     to the local educational agency under this part may be used 
     for the following activities:
       ``(i) Services and aids that also benefit nondisabled 
     children.--For the costs of special education and related 
     services, and supplementary aids and services, provided in a 
     regular

[[Page S5299]]

     class or other education-related setting to a child with a 
     disability in accordance with the individualized education 
     program of the child, even if 1 or more nondisabled children 
     benefit from such services.
       ``(ii) Early intervening services.--To develop and 
     implement coordinated, early intervening educational services 
     in accordance with subsection (f).
       ``(B) Administrative case management.--A local educational 
     agency may use funds received under this part to purchase 
     appropriate technology for recordkeeping, data collection, 
     and related case management activities of teachers and 
     related services personnel providing services described in 
     the individualized education program of children with 
     disabilities, that is needed for the implementation of such 
     case management activities.
       ``(5) Treatment of charter schools and their students.--In 
     carrying out this part with respect to charter schools that 
     are public schools of the local educational agency, the local 
     educational agency--
       ``(A) serves children with disabilities attending those 
     charter schools in the same manner as the local educational 
     agency serves children with disabilities in its other 
     schools, including providing supplementary and related 
     services on site at the charter school to the same extent to 
     which the local educational agency has a policy or practice 
     of providing such services on the site to its other public 
     schools; and
       ``(B) provides funds under this part to those charter 
     schools on the same basis, including proportional 
     distribution based on relative enrollment of children with 
     disabilities, and at the same time, as the local educational 
     agency distributes State, local, or a combination of State 
     and local, funds to those charter schools under the State's 
     charter school law.
       ``(6) Purchase of instructional materials.--Not later than 
     2 years after the date of enactment of the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003, a local 
     educational agency, when purchasing print instructional 
     materials, acquires these instructional materials in the same 
     manner as a State educational agency described in section 
     612(a)(22).
       ``(7) Information for state educational agency.--The local 
     educational agency shall provide the State educational agency 
     with information necessary to enable the State educational 
     agency to carry out its duties under this part, including, 
     with respect to paragraphs (15) and (16) of section 612(a), 
     information relating to the performance of children with 
     disabilities participating in programs carried out under this 
     part.
       ``(8) Public information.--The local educational agency 
     shall make available to parents of children with disabilities 
     and to the general public all documents relating to the 
     eligibility of such agency under this part.
       ``(9) Records regarding migratory children with 
     disabilities.--The local educational agency shall cooperate 
     in the Secretary's efforts under section 1308 of the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     6398) to ensure the linkage of records pertaining to 
     migratory children with a disability for the purpose of 
     electronically exchanging, among the States, health and 
     educational information regarding such children.
       ``(b) Exception for Prior Local Plans.--
       ``(1) In general.--If a local educational agency or State 
     agency has on file with the State educational agency policies 
     and procedures that demonstrate that such local educational 
     agency, or such State agency, as the case may be, meets any 
     requirement of subsection (a), including any policies and 
     procedures filed under this part as in effect before the 
     effective date of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
     Improvement Act of 2003, the State educational agency shall 
     consider such local educational agency or State agency, as 
     the case may be, to have met such requirement for purposes of 
     receiving assistance under this part.
       ``(2) Modification made by local educational agency.--
     Subject to paragraph (3), an application submitted by a local 
     educational agency in accordance with this section shall 
     remain in effect until the local educational agency submits 
     to the State educational agency such modifications as the 
     local educational agency determines necessary.
       ``(3) Modifications required by state educational agency.--
     If, after the effective date of the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003, the 
     provisions of this Act are amended (or the regulations 
     developed to carry out this Act are amended), there is a new 
     interpretation of this Act by Federal or State courts, or 
     there is an official finding of noncompliance with Federal or 
     State law or regulations, then the State educational agency 
     may require a local educational agency to modify its 
     application only to the extent necessary to ensure the local 
     educational agency's compliance with this part or State law.
       ``(c) Notification of Local Educational Agency or State 
     Agency in Case of Ineligibility.--If the State educational 
     agency determines that a local educational agency or State 
     agency is not eligible under this section, then the State 
     educational agency shall notify the local educational agency 
     or State agency, as the case may be, of that determination 
     and shall provide such local educational agency or State 
     agency with reasonable notice and an opportunity for a 
     hearing.
       ``(d) Local Educational Agency Compliance.--
       ``(1) In general.--If the State educational agency, after 
     reasonable notice and an opportunity for a hearing, finds 
     that a local educational agency or State agency that has been 
     determined to be eligible under this section is failing to 
     comply with any requirement described in subsection (a), the 
     State educational agency shall reduce or shall not provide 
     any further payments to the local educational agency or State 
     agency until the State educational agency is satisfied that 
     the local educational agency or State agency, as the case may 
     be, is complying with that requirement.
       ``(2) Additional requirement.--Any State agency or local 
     educational agency in receipt of a notice described in 
     paragraph (1) shall, by means of public notice, take such 
     measures as may be necessary to bring the pendency of an 
     action pursuant to this subsection to the attention of the 
     public within the jurisdiction of such agency.
       ``(3) Consideration.--In carrying out its responsibilities 
     under paragraph (1), the State educational agency shall 
     consider any decision made in a hearing held under section 
     615 that is adverse to the local educational agency or State 
     agency involved in that decision.
       ``(e) Joint Establishment of Eligibility.--
       ``(1) Joint establishment.--
       ``(A) In general.--A State educational agency may require a 
     local educational agency to establish its eligibility jointly 
     with another local educational agency if the State 
     educational agency determines that the local educational 
     agency will be ineligible under this section because the 
     local educational agency will not be able to establish and 
     maintain programs of sufficient size and scope to effectively 
     meet the needs of children with disabilities.
       ``(B) Charter school exception.--A State educational agency 
     may not require a charter school that is a local educational 
     agency to jointly establish its eligibility under 
     subparagraph (A) unless the charter school is explicitly 
     permitted to do so under the State's charter school law.
       ``(2) Amount of payments.--If a State educational agency 
     requires the joint establishment of eligibility under 
     paragraph (1), the total amount of funds made available to 
     the affected local educational agencies shall be equal to the 
     sum of the payments that each such local educational agency 
     would have received under section 611(f) if such agencies 
     were eligible for such payments.
       ``(3) Requirements.--Local educational agencies that 
     establish joint eligibility under this subsection shall--
       ``(A) adopt policies and procedures that are consistent 
     with the State's policies and procedures under section 
     612(a); and
       ``(B) be jointly responsible for implementing programs that 
     receive assistance under this part.
       ``(4) Requirements for educational service agencies.--
       ``(A) In general.--If an educational service agency is 
     required by State law to carry out programs under this part, 
     the joint responsibilities given to local educational 
     agencies under this subsection shall--
       ``(i) not apply to the administration and disbursement of 
     any payments received by that educational service agency; and
       ``(ii) be carried out only by that educational service 
     agency.
       ``(B) Additional requirement.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of this subsection, an educational service agency 
     shall provide for the education of children with disabilities 
     in the least restrictive environment, as required by section 
     612(a)(5).
       ``(f) Early Intervening Services.--
       ``(1) In general.--A local educational agency may not use 
     more than 15 percent of the amount such agency receives under 
     this part for any fiscal year, less any amount treated as 
     local funds pursuant to subsection (a)(2)(C), if any, in 
     combination with other amounts (which may include amounts 
     other than education funds), to develop and implement 
     coordinated, early intervening educational services, which 
     may include interagency financing structures, for students in 
     kindergarten through grade 12 (with a particular emphasis on 
     students in kindergarten through grade 3) who do not meet the 
     definition of a child with a disability under section 602(3) 
     but who need additional academic and behavioral support to 
     succeed in a general education environment.
       ``(2) Activities.--In implementing coordinated, early 
     intervening educational services under this subsection, a 
     local educational agency may carry out activities that 
     include--
       ``(A) professional development (which may be provided by 
     entities other than local educational agencies) for teachers 
     and other school staff to enable such personnel to deliver 
     scientifically based academic and behavioral interventions, 
     including scientifically based literacy instruction, and, 
     where appropriate, instruction on the use of adaptive and 
     instructional software;
       ``(B) providing educational and behavioral evaluations, 
     services, and supports, including scientifically based 
     literacy instruction; and
       ``(C) developing and implementing interagency financing 
     structures for the provision of such services and supports.
       ``(3) Construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall be 
     construed to either limit or create a right to a free 
     appropriate public education under this part.
       ``(4) Reporting.--Each local educational agency that 
     develops and maintains coordinated, early intervening 
     educational services with funds made available for this 
     subsection, shall annually report to the State educational 
     agency on--
       ``(A) the number of children served under this subsection; 
     and
       ``(B) the number of children served under this subsection 
     who are subsequently referred to special education.
       ``(5) Coordination with certain projects under elementary 
     and secondary education act of 1965.--Funds made available to 
     carry out this subsection may be used to carry out 
     coordinated, early intervening educational services aligned 
     with activities funded by, and carried

[[Page S5300]]

     out under, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
     if such funds are used to supplement, and not supplant, funds 
     made available under the Elementary and Secondary Education 
     Act of 1965 for the activities and services assisted under 
     this subsection.
       ``(6) Report to congress.--Not later than 1 year after the 
     date of enactment of the Individuals with Disabilities 
     Education Improvement Act of 2003, the Comptroller General 
     shall conduct a study on the types of services provided to 
     children served under this subsection, and shall submit a 
     report to Congress regarding the study.
       ``(g) Direct Services by the State Educational Agency.--
       ``(1) In general.--A State educational agency shall use the 
     payments that would otherwise have been available to a local 
     educational agency or to a State agency to provide special 
     education and related services directly to children with 
     disabilities residing in the area served by that local 
     educational agency, or for whom that State agency is 
     responsible, if the State educational agency determines that 
     the local educational agency or State agency, as the case may 
     be--
       ``(A) has not provided the information needed to establish 
     the eligibility of such agency under this section;
       ``(B) is unable to establish and maintain programs of free 
     appropriate public education that meet the requirements of 
     subsection (a);
       ``(C) is unable or unwilling to be consolidated with 1 or 
     more local educational agencies in order to establish and 
     maintain such programs; or
       ``(D) has 1 or more children with disabilities who can best 
     be served by a regional or State program or service delivery 
     system designed to meet the needs of such children.
       ``(2) Manner and location of education and services.--The 
     State educational agency may provide special education and 
     related services under paragraph (1) in such manner and at 
     such locations (including regional or State centers) as the 
     State agency considers appropriate. Such education and 
     services shall be provided in accordance with this part.
       ``(h) State Agency Eligibility.--Any State agency that 
     desires to receive a subgrant for any fiscal year under 
     section 611(f) shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the 
     State educational agency that--
       ``(1) all children with disabilities who are participating 
     in programs and projects funded under this part receive a 
     free appropriate public education, and that those children 
     and their parents are provided all the rights and procedural 
     safeguards described in this part; and
       ``(2) the agency meets such other conditions of this 
     section as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
       ``(i) Disciplinary Information.--The State may require that 
     a local educational agency include in the records of a child 
     with a disability a statement of any current or previous 
     disciplinary action that has been taken against the child and 
     transmit such statement to the same extent that such 
     disciplinary information is included in, and transmitted 
     with, the student records of nondisabled children. The 
     statement may include a description of any behavior engaged 
     in by the child that required disciplinary action, a 
     description of the disciplinary action taken, and any other 
     information that is relevant to the safety of the child and 
     other individuals involved with the child. If the State 
     adopts such a policy, and the child transfers from 1 school 
     to another, the transmission of any of the child's records 
     shall include both the child's current individualized 
     education program and any such statement of current or 
     previous disciplinary action that has been taken against the 
     child.
       ``(j) State Agency Flexibility.--
       ``(1) Treatment of federal funds in certain fiscal years.--
     If a State educational agency pays or reimburses local 
     educational agencies within the State for not less than 80 
     percent of the non-Federal share of the costs of special 
     education and related services, or the State is the sole 
     provider of free appropriate public education or direct 
     services pursuant to section 612(b), then the State 
     educational agency, notwithstanding sections 612(a) (17) and 
     (18) and 612(b), may treat funds allocated pursuant to 
     section 611 as general funds available to support the 
     educational purposes described in paragraph (2) (A) and (B).
       ``(2) Conditions.--A State educational agency may use funds 
     in accordance with paragraph (1) subject to the following 
     conditions:
       ``(A) 8 percent rule.--A State educational agency may treat 
     not more than 8 percent of the funds the State educational 
     agency receives under this part as general funds to support 
     any educational purpose described in the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965, needs-based student or 
     teacher higher education programs, or the non-Federal share 
     of costs of title XIX of the Social Security Act.
       ``(B) 40 percent rule.--For any fiscal year for which 
     States are allocated the maximum amount of grants pursuant to 
     section 611(a)(2), a State educational agency may treat not 
     more than 40 percent of the amount of funds the State 
     educational agency receives under this part as general funds 
     to support any educational purpose described in the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, needs-based 
     student or teacher higher education programs, or the non-
     Federal share of costs of title XIX of the Social Security 
     Act, subject to subparagraph (C).
       ``(C) Requirement.--A State educational agency may exercise 
     its authority pursuant to subparagraph (B) only if the State 
     educational agency uses an amount of the 40 percent funds 
     from subparagraph (B) that represents 15 percent of the total 
     amount of funds the State educational agency receives under 
     this part, to provide, or to pay or reimburse local 
     educational agencies for providing, early intervening 
     prereferral services pursuant to subsection (f).
       ``(2) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), if the 
     Secretary determines that a State educational agency is 
     unable to establish, maintain, or oversee programs of free 
     appropriate public education that meet the requirements of 
     this part, then the Secretary shall prohibit the State 
     educational agency from treating funds allocated under this 
     part as general funds pursuant to paragraph (1).
       ``(3) Report.--For each fiscal year for which a State 
     educational agency exercises its authority pursuant to 
     paragraph (1) and treats Federal funds as general funds, the 
     State educational agency shall report to the Secretary the 
     amount of funds so treated and the activities that were 
     funded with such funds.

     ``SEC. 614. EVALUATIONS, ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATIONS, 
                   INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS, AND 
                   EDUCATIONAL PLACEMENTS.

       ``(a) Evaluations and Reevaluations.--
       ``(1) Initial evaluations.--
       ``(A) In general.--A State educational agency, other State 
     agency, or local educational agency shall conduct a full and 
     individual initial evaluation in accordance with this 
     paragraph and subsection (b), before the initial provision of 
     special education and related services to a child with a 
     disability under this part.
       ``(B) Request for initial evaluation.--Consistent with 
     subparagraph (D), either a parent of a child, or a State 
     educational agency, other State agency, or local educational 
     agency may initiate a request for an initial evaluation to 
     determine if the child is a child with a disability.
       ``(C) Procedures.--Such initial evaluation shall consist of 
     procedures--
       ``(i) to determine whether a child is a child with a 
     disability (as defined in section 602(3)) within 60 days of 
     receiving parental consent for the evaluation, or, if the 
     State has established a timeframe within which the evaluation 
     must be conducted, within such timeframe; and
       ``(ii) to determine the educational needs of such child.
       ``(D) Parental consent.--
       ``(i) In general.--The agency proposing to conduct an 
     initial evaluation to determine if the child qualifies as a 
     child with a disability as defined in section 602(3) (A) or 
     (B) shall obtain an informed consent from the parent of such 
     child before the evaluation is conducted. Parental consent 
     for evaluation shall not be construed as consent for 
     placement for receipt of special education and related 
     services.
       ``(ii) Refusal.--If the parents of such child refuse 
     consent for the evaluation, the agency may continue to pursue 
     an evaluation by utilizing the mediation and due process 
     procedures under section 615, except to the extent 
     inconsistent with State law relating to parental consent.
       ``(iii) Refusal or failure to consent.--If the parent of a 
     child does not provide informed consent to the receipt of 
     special education and related services, or the parent fails 
     to respond to a request to provide the consent, the local 
     educational agency shall not be considered to be in violation 
     of the requirement to make available a free appropriate 
     public education to the child for the failure to provide the 
     special education and related services for which the local 
     educational agency requests such informed consent.
       ``(2) Reevaluations.--
       ``(A) In general.--A local educational agency shall ensure 
     that a reevaluation of each child with a disability is 
     conducted in accordance with subsections (b) and (c)--
       ``(i) if the local educational agency determines that the 
     educational or related services needs, including improved 
     academic achievement and functional performance, of the child 
     warrant a reevaluation; or
       ``(ii) if the child's parents or teacher requests a 
     reevaluation.
       ``(B) Limitation.--A reevaluation conducted under 
     subparagraph (A) shall occur--
       ``(i) not more than once a year, unless the parent and the 
     local educational agency agree otherwise; and
       ``(ii) at least once every 3 years, unless the parent and 
     the local educational agency agree that a reevaluation is 
     unnecessary.
       ``(b) Evaluation Procedures.--
       ``(1) Notice.--The local educational agency shall provide 
     notice to the parents of a child with a disability, in 
     accordance with subsections (b)(3), (b)(4), and (c) of 
     section 615, that describes any evaluation procedures such 
     agency proposes to conduct.
       ``(2) Conduct of evaluation.--In conducting the evaluation, 
     the local educational agency shall--
       ``(A) use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to 
     gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic 
     information, including information provided by the parent, 
     that may assist in determining--
       ``(i) whether the child is a child with a disability; and
       ``(ii) the content of the child's individualized education 
     program, including information related to enabling the child 
     to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum, or 
     for preschool children, to participate in appropriate 
     activities;
       ``(B) not use any single procedure, measure, or assessment 
     as the sole criterion for determining whether a child is a 
     child with a disability or determining an appropriate 
     educational program for the child; and
       ``(C) use technically sound instruments that may assess the 
     relative contribution of cognitive and behavioral factors, in 
     addition to physical or developmental factors.
       ``(3) Additional requirements.--Each local educational 
     agency shall ensure that--
       ``(A) tests and other evaluation materials used to assess a 
     child under this section--
       ``(i) are selected and administered so as not to be 
     discriminatory on a racial or cultural basis;

[[Page S5301]]

       ``(ii) are provided and administered, to the extent 
     practicable, in the language and form most likely to yield 
     accurate information on what the child knows and can do 
     academically, developmentally, and functionally;
       ``(iii) are used for purposes for which the assessments or 
     measures are valid and reliable;
       ``(iv) are administered by trained and knowledgeable 
     personnel; and
       ``(v) are administered in accordance with any instructions 
     provided by the producer of such tests;
       ``(B) the child is assessed in all areas of suspected 
     disability; and
       ``(C) assessment tools and strategies that provide relevant 
     information that directly assists persons in determining the 
     educational needs of the child are provided.
       ``(4) Determination of eligibility.--Upon completion of 
     administration of tests and other evaluation materials--
       ``(A) the determination of whether the child is a child 
     with a disability as defined in section 602(3) shall be made 
     by a team of qualified professionals and the parent of the 
     child in accordance with paragraph (5); and
       ``(B) a copy of the evaluation report and the documentation 
     of determination of eligibility shall be given to the parent.
       ``(5) Special rule for eligibility determination.--In 
     making a determination of eligibility under paragraph (4)(A), 
     a child shall not be determined to be a child with a 
     disability if the determinant factor for such determination 
     is--
       ``(A) lack of scientifically based instruction in reading;
       ``(B) lack of instruction in mathematics; or
       ``(C) limited English proficiency.
       ``(6) Specific learning disabilities.--
       ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding section 607(b), when 
     determining whether a child has a specific learning 
     disability as defined in section 602(29), a local educational 
     agency shall not be required to take into consideration 
     whether a child has a severe discrepancy between achievement 
     and intellectual ability in oral expression, listening 
     comprehension, written expression, basic reading skill, 
     reading comprehension, mathematical calculation, or 
     mathematical reasoning.
       ``(B) Additional authority.--In determining whether a child 
     has a specific learning disability, a local educational 
     agency may use a process that determines if the child 
     responds to scientific, research-based intervention as a part 
     of the evaluation procedures described in paragraphs (2) and 
     (3).
       ``(c) Additional Requirements for Evaluation and 
     Reevaluations.--
       ``(1) Review of existing evaluation data.--As part of an 
     initial evaluation (if appropriate) and as part of any 
     reevaluation under this section, the IEP Team described in 
     subsection (d)(1)(B) and other qualified professionals, as 
     appropriate, shall--
       ``(A) review existing evaluation data on the child, 
     including evaluations and information provided by the parents 
     of the child, current classroom-based assessments, and 
     observations, and teacher and related services providers 
     observations; and
       ``(B) on the basis of that review, and input from the 
     child's parents, identify what additional data, if any, are 
     needed to determine--
       ``(i) whether the child has a particular category of 
     disability, as described in section 602(3), or, in case of a 
     reevaluation of a child, whether the child continues to have 
     such a disability;
       ``(ii) the present levels of performance and educational 
     needs of the child;
       ``(iii) whether the child needs special education and 
     related services, or in the case of a reevaluation of a 
     child, whether the child continues to need special education 
     and related services; and
       ``(iv) whether any additions or modifications to the 
     special education and related services are needed to enable 
     the child to meet the measurable annual goals set out in the 
     individualized education program of the child and to 
     participate, as appropriate, in the general curriculum.
       ``(2) Source of data.--The local educational agency shall 
     administer such tests and other evaluation materials and 
     procedures as may be needed to produce the data identified by 
     the IEP Team under paragraph (1)(B).
       ``(3) Parental consent.--Each local educational agency 
     shall obtain informed parental consent, in accordance with 
     subsection (a)(1)(D), prior to conducting any reevaluation of 
     a child with a disability, except that such informed parental 
     consent need not be obtained if the local educational agency 
     can demonstrate that the local educational agency had taken 
     reasonable measures to obtain such consent and the child's 
     parent has failed to respond.
       ``(4) Requirements if additional data are not needed.--If 
     the IEP Team and other qualified professionals, as 
     appropriate, determine that no additional data are needed to 
     determine whether the child is or continues to be a child 
     with a disability, the local educational agency--
       ``(A) shall notify the child's parents of--
       ``(i) that determination and the reasons for the 
     determination; and
       ``(ii) the right of such parents to request an assessment 
     to determine whether the child is or continues to be a child 
     with a disability; and
       ``(B) shall not be required to conduct such an assessment 
     unless requested by the child's parents.
       ``(5) Evaluations before change in eligibility.--
       ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     a local educational agency shall evaluate a child with a 
     disability in accordance with this section before determining 
     that the child is no longer a child with a disability.
       ``(B) Exception.--
       ``(i) In general.--The evaluation described in subparagraph 
     (A) shall not be required before the termination of a child's 
     eligibility under this part due to graduation from secondary 
     school with a regular diploma, or to exceeding the age 
     eligibility for a free appropriate public education under 
     State law.
       ``(ii) Summary of performance.--For a child whose 
     eligibility under this part terminates under circumstances 
     described in clause (i), a local educational agency shall 
     provide the child with a summary of the child's academic 
     achievement and functional performance, which shall include 
     recommendations on how to assist the child in meeting the 
     child's postsecondary goals.
       ``(d) Individualized Education Programs.--
       ``(1) Definitions.--As used in this title:
       ``(A) Individualized education program.--
       ``(i) In general.--The term `individualized education 
     program' or `IEP' means a written statement for each child 
     with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in 
     accordance with this section and that includes--

       ``(I) a statement of the child's present levels of academic 
     achievement and functional performance, including--

       ``(aa) how the child's disability affects the child's 
     involvement and progress in the general curriculum; or
       ``(bb) for preschool children, as appropriate, how the 
     disability affects the child's participation in appropriate 
     activities;

       ``(II) a statement of measurable annual goals, including 
     academic and functional goals, designed to--

       ``(aa) meet the child's needs that result from the child's 
     disability to enable the child to be involved in and make 
     progress in the general curriculum; and
       ``(bb) meet each of the child's other educational needs 
     that result from the child's disability;

       ``(III) a description of how the child's progress toward 
     meeting the annual goals described in subclause (II) will be 
     measured and when periodic reports on the progress the child 
     is making toward meeting the annual goals (such as through 
     the use of quarterly or other periodic reports, concurrent 
     with the issuance of report cards) will be provided;
       ``(IV) a statement of the special education and related 
     services, and supplementary aids and services, to be provided 
     to the child, or on behalf of the child, and a statement of 
     the program modifications or supports for school personnel 
     that will be provided for the child--

       ``(aa) to advance appropriately toward attaining the annual 
     goals;
       ``(bb) to be involved in and make progress in the general 
     curriculum in accordance with subclause (I) and to 
     participate in extracurricular and other nonacademic 
     activities; and
       ``(cc) to be educated and participate with other children 
     with disabilities and nondisabled children in the activities 
     described in this paragraph;

       ``(V) an explanation of the extent, if any, to which the 
     child will not participate with nondisabled children in the 
     regular class and in the activities described in subclause 
     (IV)(cc);
       ``(VI)(aa) a statement of any individual appropriate 
     accommodations that are necessary to measure the academic 
     achievement and functional performance of the child on State 
     and districtwide assessments consistent with section 
     612(a)(16)(A); and
       ``(bb) if the IEP Team determines that the child shall take 
     an alternate assessment on a particular State or districtwide 
     assessment of student achievement, a statement of why--

       ``(AA) the child cannot participate in the regular 
     assessment; and
       ``(BB) the particular alternate assessment selected is 
     appropriate for the child;

       ``(VII) the projected date for the beginning of the 
     services and modifications described in subclause (IV), and 
     the anticipated frequency, location, and duration of those 
     services and modifications; and
       ``(VIII) beginning not later than the first IEP to be in 
     effect when the child is 14, and updated annually 
     thereafter--

       ``(aa) appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based 
     upon age appropriate transition assessments related to 
     training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, 
     independent living skills;
       ``(bb) the transition services (including courses of study) 
     needed by the child to reach those goals, including services 
     to be provided by other agencies when needed; and
       ``(cc) beginning at least 1 year before the child reaches 
     the age of majority under State law, a statement that the 
     child has been informed of the child's rights under this 
     title, if any, that will transfer to the child on reaching 
     the age of majority under section 615(m).
       ``(ii) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section shall 
     be construed to require--

       ``(I) that additional information be included in a child's 
     IEP beyond what is explicitly required in this section; and
       ``(II) the IEP Team to include information under 1 
     component of a child's IEP that is already contained under 
     another component of such IEP.

       ``(B) Individualized education program team.--The term 
     `individualized education program team' or `IEP Team' means a 
     group of individuals composed of--
       ``(i) the parents of a child with a disability;
       ``(ii) at least 1 regular education teacher of such child 
     (if the child is, or may be, participating in the regular 
     education environment);
       ``(iii) at least 1 special education teacher, or where 
     appropriate, at least 1 special education provider of such 
     child;
       ``(iv) a representative of the local educational agency 
     who--

       ``(I) is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision 
     of, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs 
     of children with disabilities;
       ``(II) is knowledgeable about the general curriculum; and

[[Page S5302]]

       ``(III) is knowledgeable about the availability of 
     resources of the local educational agency;

       ``(v) an individual who can interpret the instructional 
     implications of evaluation results, who may be a member of 
     the team described in clauses (ii) through (vi);
       ``(vi) at the discretion of the parent or the agency, other 
     individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding 
     the child, including related services personnel as 
     appropriate; and
       ``(vii) whenever appropriate, the child with a disability.
       ``(C) IEP team attendance.--
       ``(i) Attendance not necessary.--A member of the IEP Team 
     shall not be required to attend an IEP meeting, in whole or 
     in part, if that member, the parent of a child with a 
     disability, and the local educational agency agree that the 
     attendance of such member is not necessary because no 
     modification to the member's area of the curriculum or 
     related services is being modified or discussed in the 
     meeting.
       ``(ii) Excusal.--A member of the IEP Team may be excused 
     from attending an IEP meeting, in whole or in part, when the 
     meeting involves a modification to or discussion of the 
     member's area of the curriculum or related services, if--

       ``(I) that member, the parent, and the local educational 
     agency consent to the excusal; and
       ``(II) the member submits input into the development of the 
     IEP prior to the meeting.

       ``(iii) Written agreement and consent required.--A parent's 
     agreement under clause (i) and consent under clause (ii) 
     shall be in writing.
       ``(2) Requirement that program be in effect.--
       ``(A) In general.--At the beginning of each school year, 
     each local educational agency, State educational agency, or 
     other State agency, as the case may be, shall have in effect, 
     for each child with a disability in its jurisdiction, an 
     individualized education program, as defined in paragraph 
     (1)(A).
       ``(B) Program for child aged 3 through 5.--In the case of a 
     child with a disability aged 3 through 5 (or, at the 
     discretion of the State educational agency, a 2-year-old 
     child with a disability who will turn age 3 during the school 
     year), an individualized family service plan that contains 
     the material described in section 636, and that is developed 
     in accordance with this section, may serve as the IEP of the 
     child if using that plan as the IEP is--
       ``(i) consistent with State policy; and
       ``(ii) agreed to by the agency and the child's parents.
       ``(3) Development of iep.--
       ``(A) In general.--In developing each child's IEP, the IEP 
     Team, subject to subparagraph (C), shall consider--
       ``(i) the strengths of the child;
       ``(ii) the concerns of the parents for enhancing the 
     education of their child;
       ``(iii) the results of the initial evaluation or most 
     recent evaluation of the child; and
       ``(iv) the academic, developmental, and functional needs of 
     the child.
       ``(B) Consideration of special factors.--The IEP Team 
     shall--
       ``(i) in the case of a child whose behavior impedes the 
     child's learning or that of others, provide for positive 
     behavioral interventions and supports, and other strategies 
     to address that behavior;
       ``(ii) in the case of a child with limited English 
     proficiency, consider the language needs of the child as such 
     needs relate to the child's IEP;
       ``(iii) in the case of a child who is blind or visually 
     impaired--

       ``(I) provide for instruction in Braille and the use of 
     Braille unless the IEP Team determines, after an evaluation 
     of the child's reading and writing skills, needs, and 
     appropriate reading and writing media (including an 
     evaluation of the child's future needs for instruction in 
     Braille or the use of Braille), that instruction in Braille 
     or the use of Braille is not appropriate for the child; and
       ``(II) consider, when appropriate, instructional services 
     related to functional performance skills, orientation and 
     mobility, and skills in the use of assistive technology 
     devices, including low vision devices;

       ``(iv) consider the communication needs of the child, and 
     in the case of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing, 
     consider the child's language and communication needs, 
     opportunities for direct communications with peers and 
     professional personnel in the child's language and 
     communication mode, academic level, and full range of needs, 
     including opportunities for direct instruction in the child's 
     language and communication mode; and
       ``(v) consider whether the child requires assistive 
     technology devices and services.
       ``(C) Requirement with respect to regular education 
     teacher.--A regular education teacher of the child, as a 
     member of the IEP Team shall, to the extent appropriate, 
     participate in the development of the IEP of the child, 
     including the determination of appropriate positive 
     behavioral interventions and supports, and other strategies, 
     and the determination of supplementary aids and services, 
     program modifications, and support for school personnel 
     consistent with paragraph (1)(A)(i)(IV).
       ``(D) Agreement.--In making changes to a child's IEP after 
     the annual IEP meeting for a school year, the parent of a 
     child with a disability and the local educational agency may 
     agree not to convene an IEP meeting for the purposes of 
     making such changes, and instead may develop a written 
     document to amend or modify the child's current IEP.
       ``(E) Consolidation of iep team meetings.--To the extent 
     possible, the local educational agency shall encourage the 
     consolidation of reevaluations of a child with IEP Team 
     meetings for the child.
       ``(4) Review and revision of iep.--
       ``(A) In general.--The local educational agency shall 
     ensure that, subject to subparagraph (B), the IEP Team--
       ``(i) reviews the child's IEP periodically, but not less 
     than annually, to determine whether the annual goals for the 
     child are being achieved; and
       ``(ii) revise the IEP as appropriate to address--

       ``(I) any lack of expected progress toward the annual goals 
     and in the general curriculum, where appropriate;
       ``(II) the results of any reevaluation conducted under this 
     section;
       ``(III) information about the child provided to, or by, the 
     parents, as described in subsection (c)(1)(B);
       ``(IV) the child's anticipated needs; or
       ``(V) other matters.

       ``(B) Requirement with respect to regular education 
     teacher.--A regular education teacher of the child, as a 
     member of the IEP Team, shall, consistent with paragraph 
     (1)(C), participate in the review and revision of the IEP of 
     the child.
       ``(5) Three-year iep.--
       ``(A) Development of 3-year iep.--The local educational 
     agency may offer a child with a disability who has reached 
     the age of 18, the option of developing a comprehensive 3-
     year IEP. With the consent of the parent, when appropriate, 
     the IEP Team shall develop an IEP, as described in paragraphs 
     (1) and (3), that is designed to serve the child for the 
     final 3-year transition period, which includes a statement 
     of--
       ``(i) measurable goals that will enable the child to be 
     involved in and make progress in the general education 
     curriculum and that will meet the child's transitional and 
     postsecondary needs that result from the child's disability; 
     and
       ``(ii) measurable annual goals for measuring progress 
     toward meeting the postsecondary goals described in clause 
     (i).
       ``(B) Review and revision of 3-year iep.--
       ``(i) Requirement.--Each year the local educational agency 
     shall ensure that the IEP Team--

       ``(I) provides an annual review of the child's IEP to 
     determine the child's current levels of progress and 
     determine whether the annual goals for the child are being 
     achieved; and
       ``(II) revises the IEP, as appropriate, to enable the child 
     to continue to meet the measurable transition goals set out 
     in the IEP.

       ``(ii) Comprehensive review.--If the review under clause 
     (i) determines that the child is not making sufficient 
     progress toward the goals described in subparagraph (A), the 
     local educational agency shall ensure that the IEP Team 
     provides a review, within 30 calendar days, of the IEP under 
     paragraph (4).
       ``(iii) Preference.--At the request of the child, or when 
     appropriate, the parent, the IEP Team shall conduct a review 
     of the child's 3-year IEP under paragraph (4) rather than an 
     annual review under subparagraph (B)(i).
       ``(6) Failure to meet transition objectives.--If a 
     participating agency, other than the local educational 
     agency, fails to provide the transition services described in 
     the IEP in accordance with paragraph (1)(A)(i)(VIII), the 
     local educational agency shall reconvene the IEP Team to 
     identify alternative strategies to meet the transition 
     objectives for the child set out in that program.
       ``(7) Children with disabilities in adult prisons.--
       ``(A) In general.--The following requirements shall not 
     apply to children with disabilities who are convicted as 
     adults under State law and incarcerated in adult prisons:
       ``(i) The requirements contained in section 612(a)(16) and 
     paragraph (1)(A)(i)(V) (relating to participation of children 
     with disabilities in general assessments).
       ``(ii) The requirements of items (aa) and (bb) of paragraph 
     (1)(A)(i)(VIII) (relating to transition planning and 
     transition services), do not apply with respect to such 
     children whose eligibility under this part will end, because 
     of their age, before they will be released from prison.
       ``(B) Additional requirement.--If a child with a disability 
     is convicted as an adult under State law and incarcerated in 
     an adult prison, the child's IEP Team may modify the child's 
     IEP or placement notwithstanding the requirements of sections 
     612(a)(5)(A) and 614(d)(1)(A) if the State has demonstrated a 
     bona fide security or compelling penological interest that 
     cannot otherwise be accommodated.
       ``(e) Educational Placements.--Each local educational 
     agency or State educational agency shall ensure that the 
     parents of each child with a disability are members of any 
     group that makes decisions on the educational placement of 
     their child.
       ``(f) Alternative Means of Meeting Participation.--When 
     conducting IEP Team meetings and placement meetings pursuant 
     to this section, the parent of a child with a disability and 
     a local educational agency may agree to use alternative means 
     of meeting participation, such as video conferences and 
     conference calls.

     ``SEC. 615. PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS.

       ``(a) Establishment of Procedures.--Any State educational 
     agency, State agency, or local educational agency that 
     receives assistance under this part shall establish and 
     maintain procedures in accordance with this section to ensure 
     that children with disabilities and their parents are 
     guaranteed procedural safeguards with respect to the 
     provision of free appropriate public education by such 
     agencies.
       ``(b) Types of Procedures.--The procedures required by this 
     section shall include--
       ``(1) an opportunity for the parents of a child with a 
     disability to examine all records relating to such child and 
     to participate in meetings with respect to the 
     identification, evaluation, and educational placement of the 
     child, and the provision of a free appropriate public 
     education to

[[Page S5303]]

     such child, and to obtain an independent educational 
     evaluation of the child;
       ``(2) procedures to protect the rights of the child 
     whenever the parents of the child are not known, the agency 
     cannot, after reasonable efforts, locate the parents, or the 
     child is a ward of the State, including the assignment of an 
     individual (who shall not be an employee of the State 
     educational agency, the local educational agency, or any 
     other agency that is involved in the education or care of the 
     child) to act as a surrogate for the parents;
       ``(3) written prior notice to the parents of the child, in 
     accordance with subsection (c)(1), whenever the local 
     educational agency--
       ``(A) proposes to initiate or change; or
       ``(B) refuses to initiate or change,

     the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of 
     the child, or the provision of a free appropriate public 
     education to the child;
       ``(4) procedures designed to ensure that the notice 
     required by paragraph (3) is in the native language of the 
     parents, unless it clearly is not feasible to do so;
       ``(5) an opportunity for mediation in accordance with 
     subsection (e);
       ``(6) an opportunity for either party to present complaints 
     with respect to any matter relating to the identification, 
     evaluation, or educational placement of the child, or the 
     provision of a free appropriate public education to such 
     child;
       ``(7)(A) procedures that require either party, or the 
     attorney representing a party, to provide due process 
     complaint notice in accordance with subsection (c)(2) (which 
     shall remain confidential)--
       ``(i) to the other party, in the complaint filed under 
     paragraph (6), and forward a copy of such notice to the State 
     educational agency; and
       ``(ii) that shall include--
       ``(I) the name of the child, the address of the residence 
     of the child, and the name of the school the child is 
     attending;
       ``(II) in the case of a homeless child or youth (within the 
     meaning of section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 
     Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2)), available contact 
     information for the child and the name of the school the 
     child is attending;
       ``(III) a description of the nature of the problem of the 
     child relating to such proposed initiation or change, 
     including facts relating to such problem; and
       ``(IV) a proposed resolution of the problem to the extent 
     known and available to the party at the time; and
       ``(B) a requirement that a party may not have a due process 
     hearing until the party, or the attorney representing the 
     party, files a notice that meets the requirements of 
     subparagraph (A)(ii);
       ``(8) a requirement that the local educational agency shall 
     send a prior written notice pursuant to subsection (c)(1) in 
     response to a parent's due process complaint notice under 
     paragraph (7) if the local educational agency has not sent 
     such a prior written notice to the parent regarding the 
     subject matter contained in the parent's due process 
     complaint notice; and
       ``(9) procedures that require the State educational agency 
     to develop a model form to assist parents in filing a 
     complaint and due process complaint notice in accordance with 
     paragraphs (6) and (7), respectively.
       ``(c) Notification Requirements.--
       ``(1) Content of prior written notice.--The prior written 
     notice of the local educational agency required by subsection 
     (b)(3) shall include--
       ``(A) a description of the action proposed or refused by 
     the agency;
       ``(B) an explanation of why the agency proposes or refuses 
     to take the action;
       ``(C) a description of any other options that the agency 
     considered and the reasons why those options were rejected;
       ``(D) a description of each evaluation procedure, test, 
     record, or report the agency used as a basis for the proposed 
     or refused action;
       ``(E) a description of any other factors that are relevant 
     to the agency's proposal or refusal;
       ``(F) a statement that the parents of a child with a 
     disability have protection under the procedural safeguards of 
     this part and, if this notice is not an initial referral for 
     evaluation, the means by which a copy of a description of the 
     procedural safeguards can be obtained; and
       ``(G) sources for parents to contact to obtain assistance 
     in understanding the provisions of this part.
       ``(2) Due process complaint notice.--
       ``(A) In general.--The due process complaint notice 
     required under subsection (b)(7)(A) shall be deemed to be 
     sufficient unless the party receiving the notice notifies the 
     hearing officer and the other party in writing that the 
     receiving party believes the notice has not met the 
     requirements of that subsection.
       ``(B) Timing.--The party sending a hearing officer 
     notification under subparagraph (A) shall send the 
     notification within 20 days of receiving the complaint.
       ``(C) Determination.--Within 5 days of receipt of the 
     notification provided under subparagraph (B), the hearing 
     officer shall make a determination on the face of the notice 
     of whether the notification meets the requirements of 
     subsection (b)(7)(A), and shall immediately notify both 
     parties in writing of such determination.
       ``(D) Parent's amended notice of complaint.--
       ``(i) In general.--A parent may amend the parent's due 
     process complaint notice only if--

       ``(I) the public agency consents in writing to such 
     amendment and is given the opportunity to resolve the 
     complaint through a meeting held pursuant to subsection 
     (f)(1)(B); or
       ``(II) the hearing officer grants permission, but may do so 
     only before a due process hearing occurs.

       ``(ii) Applicable timeline.--The applicable timeline for a 
     due process hearing under this part shall recommence at the 
     time the party files an amended notice.
       ``(d) Procedural Safeguards Notice.--
       ``(1) In general.--A copy of the procedural safeguards 
     available to the parents of a child with a disability shall 
     be given to the parents only 1 time a year, except that a 
     copy also shall be given to the parents--
       ``(A) upon initial referral or parental request for 
     evaluation;
       ``(B) upon registration of a complaint under subsection 
     (b)(6); and
       ``(C) upon request by a parent.
       ``(2) Contents.--The procedural safeguards notice shall 
     include a full explanation of the procedural safeguards, 
     written in the native language of the parents, unless it 
     clearly is not feasible to do so, and written in an easily 
     understandable manner, available under this section and under 
     regulations promulgated by the Secretary relating to--
       ``(A) independent educational evaluation;
       ``(B) prior written notice;
       ``(C) parental consent;
       ``(D) access to educational records;
       ``(E) the opportunity to present and resolve complaints, 
     including--
       ``(i) the time period in which to make a complaint;
       ``(ii) the opportunity for the agency to resolve the 
     complaint; and
       ``(iii) the availability of mediation;
       ``(F) the child's placement during pendency of due process 
     proceedings;
       ``(G) procedures for students who are subject to placement 
     in an interim alternative educational setting;
       ``(H) requirements for unilateral placement by parents of 
     children in private schools at public expense;
       ``(I) due process hearings, including requirements for 
     disclosure of evaluation results and recommendations;
       ``(J) State-level appeals (if applicable in that State);
       ``(K) civil actions, including the time period in which to 
     file such actions; and
       ``(L) attorney's fees.
       ``(e) Mediation.--
       ``(1) In general.--Any State educational agency or local 
     educational agency that receives assistance under this part 
     shall ensure that procedures are established and implemented 
     to allow parties to disputes involving any matter, including 
     matters arising prior to the filing of a complaint pursuant 
     to subsection (b)(6), to resolve such disputes through a 
     mediation process.
       ``(2) Requirements.--Such procedures shall meet the 
     following requirements:
       ``(A) The procedures shall ensure that the mediation 
     process--
       ``(i) is voluntary on the part of the parties;
       ``(ii) is not used to deny or delay a parent's right to a 
     due process hearing under subsection (f), or to deny any 
     other rights afforded under this part; and
       ``(iii) is conducted by a qualified and impartial mediator 
     who is trained in effective mediation techniques.
       ``(B) Opportunity to meet with a disinterested party.--A 
     local educational agency or a State agency may establish 
     procedures to offer to parents and schools who choose not to 
     use the mediation process, an opportunity to meet, at a time 
     and location convenient to the parents, with a disinterested 
     party who is under contract with--
       ``(i) a parent training and information center or community 
     parent resource center in the State established under section 
     671 or 672; or
       ``(ii) an appropriate alternative dispute resolution 
     entity,
     to encourage the use, and explain the benefits, of the 
     mediation process to the parents.
       ``(C) List of qualified mediators.--The State shall 
     maintain a list of individuals who are qualified mediators 
     and knowledgeable in laws and regulations relating to the 
     provision of special education and related services.
       ``(D) Costs.--The State shall bear the cost of the 
     mediation process, including the costs of meetings described 
     in subparagraph (B).
       ``(E) Scheduling and location.--Each session in the 
     mediation process shall be scheduled in a timely manner and 
     shall be held in a location that is convenient to the parties 
     to the dispute.
       ``(F) Written mediation agreement.--An agreement reached by 
     the parties to the dispute in the mediation process shall be 
     set forth in a written mediation agreement that is 
     enforceable in any State court of competent jurisdiction or 
     in a district court of the United States.
       ``(G) Mediation discussions.--Discussions that occur during 
     the mediation process shall be confidential and may not be 
     used as evidence in any subsequent due process hearings or 
     civil proceedings, and the parties to the mediation process 
     may be required to sign a confidentiality pledge prior to the 
     commencement of such process.
       ``(f) Impartial Due Process Hearing.--
       ``(1) In general.--
       ``(A) Hearing.--Whenever a complaint has been received 
     under subsection (b)(6) or (k), the parents or the local 
     educational agency involved in such complaint shall have an 
     opportunity for an impartial due process hearing, which shall 
     be conducted by the State educational agency or by the local 
     educational agency, as determined by State law or by the 
     State educational agency.
       ``(B) Opportunity to resolve complaint.--
       ``(i) Preliminary meeting.--Prior to the opportunity for an 
     impartial due process hearing under subparagraph (A), the 
     local educational agency shall convene a meeting with the 
     parents and the IEP Team--

       ``(I) within 15 days of receiving notice of the parents' 
     complaint;
       ``(II) which shall include a representative of the public 
     agency who has decisionmaking authority on behalf of such 
     agency;
       ``(III) which may not include an attorney of the local 
     educational agency unless the parent is accompanied by an 
     attorney; and

[[Page S5304]]

       ``(IV) where the parents of the child discuss their 
     complaint, and the specific issues that form the basis of the 
     complaint, and the local educational agency is provided the 
     opportunity to resolve the complaint,

     unless the parents and the local educational agency agree in 
     writing to waive such meeting, or agree to use the mediation 
     process described in subsection (e).
       ``(ii) Hearing.--If the local educational agency has not 
     resolved the complaint to the satisfaction of the parents 
     within 15 days of the receipt of the complaint, the due 
     process hearing may occur, and all of the applicable 
     timelines for a due process hearing under this part shall 
     commence.
       ``(iii) Written settlement agreement.--In the case that an 
     agreement is reached to resolve the complaint at such 
     meeting, the agreement shall be set forth in a written 
     settlement agreement that is--

       ``(I) signed by both the parent and a representative of the 
     public agency who has decisionmaking authority on behalf of 
     such agency; and
       ``(II) enforceable in any State court of competent 
     jurisdiction or in a district court of the United States.

       ``(2) Disclosure of evaluations and recommendations.--
       ``(A) In general.--Not less than 5 business days prior to a 
     hearing conducted pursuant to paragraph (1), each party shall 
     disclose to all other parties all evaluations completed by 
     that date, and recommendations based on the offering party's 
     evaluations, that the party intends to use at the hearing.
       ``(B) Failure to disclose.--A hearing officer may bar any 
     party that fails to comply with subparagraph (A) from 
     introducing the relevant evaluation or recommendation at the 
     hearing without the consent of the other party.
       ``(3) Limitations on hearing.--
       ``(A) Person conducting hearing.--A hearing officer 
     conducting a hearing pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) shall, at a 
     minimum--
       ``(i) not be--

       ``(I) an employee of the State educational agency or the 
     local educational agency involved in the education or care of 
     the child; or
       ``(II) a person having a personal or professional interest 
     that conflicts with the person's objectivity in the hearing;

       ``(ii) possess a fundamental understanding of this Act, 
     Federal and State regulations pertaining to this Act, and 
     interpretations of this Act by State and Federal courts;
       ``(iii) possess the knowledge and ability to conduct 
     hearings in accordance with appropriate, standard legal 
     practice; and
       ``(iv) possess the knowledge and ability to render and 
     write decisions in accordance with appropriate, standard 
     legal practice.
       ``(B) Subject matter of hearing.--The party requesting the 
     due process hearing shall not be allowed to raise issues at 
     the due process hearing that were not raised in the notice 
     filed under subsection (b)(7), unless the other party agrees 
     otherwise.
       ``(C) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section shall 
     be construed to preclude a parent from filing a separate due 
     process complaint on an issue separate from a due process 
     complaint already filed.
       ``(D) Timeline for requesting hearing.--A parent or public 
     agency shall request an impartial due process hearing within 
     2 years of the date the parent or public agency knew or 
     should have known about the alleged action that forms the 
     basis of the complaint, or, if the State has an explicit time 
     limitation for requesting such a hearing under this part, in 
     such time as the State law allows.
       ``(E) Exception to the statute of limitations.--The statute 
     of limitations described in subparagraph (D) shall not apply 
     if the parent was prevented from requesting the hearing due 
     to--
       ``(i) failure of the local educational agency to provide 
     prior written or procedural safeguards notices;
       ``(ii) false representations that the local educational 
     agency was attempting to resolve the problem forming the 
     basis of the complaint; or
       ``(iii) the local educational agency's withholding of 
     information from parents.
       ``(F) Decision of hearing officer.--
       ``(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii), a decision made 
     by a hearing officer shall be made on substantive grounds 
     based on a determination of whether the child received a free 
     appropriate public education.
       ``(ii) Procedural issues.--In matters alleging a procedural 
     violation, a hearing officer may find that a child did not 
     receive a free appropriate public education only if the 
     procedural inadequacies--

       ``(I) compromised the child's right to an appropriate 
     public education;
       ``(II) seriously hampered the parents' opportunity to 
     participate in the process; or
       ``(III) caused a deprivation of educational benefits.

       ``(iii) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this paragraph 
     shall be construed to preclude a hearing officer from 
     ordering a local educational agency to comply with procedural 
     requirements under this section.
       ``(G) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section shall 
     be construed to affect the right of a parent to file a 
     complaint with the State educational agency.
       ``(g) Appeal.--If the hearing required by subsection (f) is 
     conducted by a local educational agency, any party aggrieved 
     by the findings and decision rendered in such a hearing may 
     appeal such findings and decision to the State educational 
     agency. Such State educational agency shall conduct an 
     impartial review of such decision. The officer conducting 
     such review shall make an independent decision upon 
     completion of such review.
       ``(h) Safeguards.--Any party to a hearing conducted 
     pursuant to subsection (f) or (k), or an appeal conducted 
     pursuant to subsection (g), shall be accorded--
       ``(1) the right to be accompanied and advised by counsel 
     and by individuals with special knowledge or training with 
     respect to the problems of children with disabilities;
       ``(2) the right to present evidence and confront, cross-
     examine, and compel the attendance of witnesses;
       ``(3) the right to a written, or, at the option of the 
     parents, electronic verbatim record of such hearing; and
       ``(4) the right to a written, or, at the option of the 
     parents, electronic findings of fact and decisions, which 
     findings and decisions--
       ``(A) shall be made available to the public consistent with 
     the requirements of section 617(b) (relating to the 
     confidentiality of data, information, and records); and
       ``(B) shall be transmitted to the advisory panel 
     established pursuant to section 612(a)(20).
       ``(i) Administrative Procedures.--
       ``(1) In general.--
       ``(A) Decision made in hearing.--A decision made in a 
     hearing conducted pursuant to subsection (f) or (k) shall be 
     final, except that any party involved in such hearing may 
     appeal such decision under the provisions of subsection (g) 
     and paragraph (2).
       ``(B) Decision made at appeal.--A decision made under 
     subsection (g) shall be final, except that any party may 
     bring an action under paragraph (2).
       ``(2) Right to bring civil action.--
       ``(A) In general.--Any party aggrieved by the findings and 
     decision made under subsection (f) or (k) who does not have 
     the right to an appeal under subsection (g), and any party 
     aggrieved by the findings and decision under this subsection, 
     shall have the right to bring a civil action with respect to 
     the complaint presented pursuant to this section, which 
     action may be brought in any State court of competent 
     jurisdiction or in a district court of the United States, 
     without regard to the amount in controversy.
       ``(B) Limitation.--The party bringing the action shall have 
     90 days from the date of the decision of the hearing officer 
     to bring such an action, or, if the State has an explicit 
     time limitation for bringing such action under this part, in 
     such time as the State law allows.
       ``(C) Additional requirements.--In any action brought under 
     this paragraph, the court--
       ``(i) shall receive the records of the administrative 
     proceedings;
       ``(ii) shall hear additional evidence at the request of a 
     party; and
       ``(iii) basing its decision on the preponderance of the 
     evidence, shall grant such relief as the court determines is 
     appropriate.
       ``(3) Jurisdiction of district courts; attorneys' fees.--
       ``(A) In general.--The district courts of the United States 
     shall have jurisdiction of actions brought under this section 
     without regard to the amount in controversy.
       ``(B) Award of attorneys' fees.--In any action or 
     proceeding brought under this section, the court, in its 
     discretion, may award reasonable attorneys' fees as part of 
     the costs to the parents of a child with a disability who is 
     the prevailing party.
       ``(C) Determination of amount of attorneys' fees.--Fees 
     awarded under this paragraph shall be based on rates 
     prevailing in the community in which the action or proceeding 
     arose for the kind and quality of services furnished. No 
     bonus or multiplier may be used in calculating the fees 
     awarded under this subsection.
       ``(D) Prohibition of attorneys' fees and related costs for 
     certain services.--
       ``(i) In general.--Attorneys' fees may not be awarded and 
     related costs may not be reimbursed in any action or 
     proceeding under this section for services performed 
     subsequent to the time of a written offer of settlement to a 
     parent if--

       ``(I) the offer is made within the time prescribed by Rule 
     68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or, in the case of 
     an administrative proceeding, at any time more than 10 days 
     before the proceeding begins;
       ``(II) the offer is not accepted within 10 days; and
       ``(III) the court or administrative hearing officer finds 
     that the relief finally obtained by the parents is not more 
     favorable to the parents than the offer of settlement.

       ``(ii) IEP team meetings.--Attorneys' fees may not be 
     awarded relating to any meeting of the IEP Team unless such 
     meeting is convened as a result of an administrative 
     proceeding or judicial action, or, at the discretion of the 
     State, for a mediation described in subsection (e).
       ``(iii) Opportunity to resolve complaints.--A meeting 
     conducted pursuant to subsection (f)(1)(B)(i) shall not be 
     considered--

       ``(I) a meeting convened as a result of an administrative 
     hearing or judicial action; or
       ``(II) an administrative hearing or judicial action for 
     purposes of this paragraph.

       ``(E) Exception to prohibition on attorneys' fees and 
     related costs.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (D), an award of 
     attorneys' fees and related costs may be made to a parent who 
     is the prevailing party and who was substantially justified 
     in rejecting the settlement offer.
       ``(F) Reduction in amount of attorneys' fees.--Except as 
     provided in subparagraph (G), whenever the court finds that--
       ``(i) the parent, or the parent's attorney, during the 
     course of the action or proceeding, unreasonably protracted 
     the final resolution of the controversy;

[[Page S5305]]

       ``(ii) the amount of the attorneys' fees otherwise 
     authorized to be awarded unreasonably exceeds the hourly rate 
     prevailing in the community for similar services by attorneys 
     of reasonably comparable skill, reputation, and experience;
       ``(iii) the time spent and legal services furnished were 
     excessive considering the nature of the action or proceeding; 
     or
       ``(iv) the attorney representing the parent did not provide 
     to the local educational agency the appropriate information 
     in the notice of the complaint described in subsection 
     (b)(7)(A),

     the court shall reduce, accordingly, the amount of the 
     attorneys' fees awarded under this section.
       ``(G) Exception to reduction in amount of attorneys' 
     fees.--The provisions of subparagraph (F) shall not apply in 
     any action or proceeding if the court finds that the State or 
     local educational agency unreasonably protracted the final 
     resolution of the action or proceeding or there was a 
     violation of this section.
       ``(4) Parents representing their children in court.--
     Subject to subsection (m), and notwithstanding any other 
     provision of Federal law regarding attorney representation 
     (including the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure), a parent of 
     a child with a disability may represent the child in any 
     action under this part in Federal or State court, without the 
     assistance of an attorney.
       ``(j) Maintenance of Current Educational Placement.--Except 
     as provided in subsection (k)(4), during the pendency of any 
     proceedings conducted pursuant to this section, unless the 
     State or local educational agency and the parents otherwise 
     agree, the child shall remain in the then-current educational 
     placement of such child, or, if applying for initial 
     admission to a public school, shall, with the consent of the 
     parents, be placed in the public school program until all 
     such proceedings have been completed.
       ``(k) Placement in Alternative Educational Setting.--
       ``(1) Authority of school personnel.--
       ``(A) In general.--School personnel under this section may 
     order a change in the placement of a child with a disability 
     who violates a code of student conduct to an appropriate 
     interim alternative educational setting, another setting, or 
     suspension, for not more than 10 school days (to the extent 
     such alternatives are applied to children without 
     disabilities).
       ``(B) Additional authority.--If school personnel seek to 
     order a change in placement that would exceed 10 school days 
     and the behavior that gave rise to the violation of the 
     school code is determined not to be a manifestation of the 
     child's disability pursuant to subparagraph (C), the relevant 
     disciplinary procedures applicable to children without 
     disabilities may be applied to the child in the same manner 
     in which the procedures would be applied to children without 
     disabilities, except as provided in section 612(a)(1).
       ``(C) Manifestation determination.--
       ``(i) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraphs (A) 
     and (D), within 10 school days of any decision to change the 
     placement of a child with a disability because of a violation 
     of a code of student conduct, the IEP Team shall review all 
     relevant information in the student's file, any information 
     provided by the parents, and teacher observations, to 
     determine--

       ``(I) if the conduct in question was the result of the 
     child's disability; or
       ``(II) if the conduct in question resulted from the failure 
     to implement the IEP or to implement behavioral interventions 
     as required by section 614(d)(3)(B)(i).

       ``(ii) Manifestation.--If the IEP Team determines that 
     either subclause (I) or (II) of clause (i) is applicable for 
     the child, the conduct shall be determined to be a 
     manifestation of the child's disability.
       ``(D) Special circumstances.--In cases where a child--
       ``(i) carries or possesses a weapon to or at school, on 
     school premises, or to or at a school function under the 
     jurisdiction of a State or local educational agency; or
       ``(ii) knowingly possesses or uses illegal drugs, or sells 
     or solicits the sale of a controlled substance, while at 
     school or a school function under the jurisdiction of a State 
     or local educational agency; or
       ``(iii) has committed serious bodily injury upon another 
     person while at school or at a school function under the 
     jurisdiction of a State or local educational agency,

     school personnel may remove a student to an interim 
     alternative educational setting for not more than 45 school 
     days, without regard to whether the behavior is determined to 
     be a manifestation of the child's disability.
       ``(E) Notification.--Not later than the date on which the 
     decision to take disciplinary action is made, the local 
     educational agency shall notify the parents of that decision, 
     and of all procedural safeguards accorded under this section.
       ``(F) Services.--A child with a disability who is removed 
     from the child's current placement under subparagraph (B) or 
     (D) shall--
       ``(i) continue to receive educational services pursuant to 
     section 612(a)(1), so as to enable the child to continue to 
     participate in the general education curriculum, although in 
     another setting, and to progress toward meeting the goals set 
     out in the child's IEP; and
       ``(ii) receive behavioral intervention services as 
     described in section 614(d)(3)(B)(i), and a functional 
     behavioral assessment (but only if the local educational 
     agency did not conduct such an assessment before the 
     violation occurred), designed to address the behavior 
     violation so that the violation does not recur.
       ``(2) Determination of setting.--The alternative 
     educational setting shall be determined by the IEP Team.
       ``(3) Appeal.--
       ``(A) In general.--The parent of a child with a disability 
     who disagrees with any decision regarding disciplinary 
     action, placement, or the manifestation determination under 
     this subsection, or a local educational agency that believes 
     that maintaining the current placement of the child is 
     substantially likely to result in injury to the child or to 
     others, may request a hearing.
       ``(B) Authority of hearing officer.--
       ``(i) In general.--If a parent of a child with a disability 
     disagrees with a decision as described in subparagraph (A), 
     the hearing officer may determine whether the decision 
     regarding such action was appropriate.
       ``(ii) Change of placement order.--A hearing officer under 
     this section may order a change in placement of a child with 
     a disability to an appropriate interim alternative 
     educational setting for not more than 45 school days if the 
     hearing officer determines that maintaining the current 
     placement of such child is substantially likely to result in 
     injury to the child or to others.
       ``(4) Placement during appeals.--When a parent requests a 
     hearing regarding a disciplinary procedure described in 
     paragraph (1)(B) or challenges the interim alternative 
     educational setting or manifestation determination--
       ``(A) the child shall remain in the interim alternative 
     educational setting pending the decision of the hearing 
     officer or until the expiration of the time period provided 
     for in paragraph (1)(B), whichever occurs first, unless the 
     parent and the State or local educational agency agree 
     otherwise; and
       ``(B) the State or local educational agency shall arrange 
     for an expedited hearing, which shall occur within 20 school 
     days of the date the hearing is requested.
       ``(5) Protections for children not yet eligible for special 
     education and related services.--
       ``(A) In general.--A child who has not been determined to 
     be eligible for special education and related services under 
     this part and who has engaged in behavior that violates a 
     code of student conduct, may assert any of the protections 
     provided for in this part if the local educational agency had 
     knowledge (as determined in accordance with this paragraph) 
     that the child was a child with a disability before the 
     behavior that precipitated the disciplinary action occurred.
       ``(B) Basis of knowledge.--A local educational agency shall 
     be deemed to have knowledge that a child is a child with a 
     disability if, before the behavior that precipitated the 
     disciplinary action occurred--
       ``(i) the parent of the child has expressed concern in 
     writing (unless the parent is illiterate or has a disability 
     that prevents compliance with the requirements contained in 
     this clause) to personnel of the appropriate educational 
     agency that the child is in need of special education and 
     related services;
       ``(ii) the parent of the child has requested an evaluation 
     of the child pursuant to section 614;
       ``(iii) the teacher of the child, or other personnel of the 
     local educational agency, has expressed concern about a 
     pattern of behavior demonstrated by the child, to the 
     director of special education of such agency or to other 
     administrative personnel of the agency; or
       ``(iv) the child has engaged in a pattern of behavior that 
     should have alerted personnel of the local educational agency 
     that the child may be in need of special education and 
     related services.
       ``(C) Exception.--A local educational agency shall not be 
     deemed to have knowledge that the child has a disability if 
     the parent of the child has not agreed to allow an evaluation 
     of the child pursuant to section 614.
       ``(D) Conditions that apply if no basis of knowledge.--
       ``(i) In general.--If a local educational agency does not 
     have knowledge that a child is a child with a disability (in 
     accordance with subparagraph (B) or (C)) prior to taking 
     disciplinary measures against the child, the child may be 
     subjected to disciplinary measures applied to children 
     without disabilities who engaged in comparable behaviors 
     consistent with clause (ii).
       ``(ii) Limitations.--If a request is made for an evaluation 
     of a child during the time period in which the child is 
     subjected to disciplinary measures under paragraph (1), the 
     evaluation shall be conducted in an expedited manner. If the 
     child is determined to be a child with a disability, taking 
     into consideration information from the evaluation conducted 
     by the agency and information provided by the parents, the 
     agency shall provide special education and related services 
     in accordance with this part, except that, pending the 
     results of the evaluation, the child shall remain in the 
     educational placement determined by school authorities.
       ``(6) Referral to and action by law enforcement and 
     judicial authorities.--
       ``(A) Construction.--Nothing in this part shall be 
     construed to prohibit an agency from reporting a crime 
     committed by a child with a disability to appropriate 
     authorities or to prevent State law enforcement and judicial 
     authorities from exercising their responsibilities with 
     regard to the application of Federal and State law to crimes 
     committed by a child with a disability.
       ``(B) Transmittal of records.--An agency reporting a crime 
     committed by a child with a disability shall ensure that 
     copies of the special education and disciplinary records of 
     the child are transmitted for consideration by the 
     appropriate authorities to whom the agency reports the crime.
       ``(7) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection, the 
     following definitions apply:
       ``(A) Controlled substance.--The term `controlled 
     substance' means a drug or other substance identified under 
     schedule I, II, III, IV, or

[[Page S5306]]

     V in section 202(c) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 
     U.S.C. 812(c)).
       ``(B) Illegal drug.--The term `illegal drug' means a 
     controlled substance but does not include a controlled 
     substance that is legally possessed or used under the 
     supervision of a licensed health-care professional or that is 
     legally possessed or used under any other authority under 
     that Act or under any other provision of Federal law.
       ``(C) Weapon.--The term `weapon' has the meaning given the 
     term `dangerous weapon' under section 930(g)(2) of title 18, 
     United States Code.
       ``(D) Serious bodily injury.--The term `serious bodily 
     injury' has the meaning given the term `serious bodily 
     injury' under paragraph (3) of subsection (h) of section 1365 
     of title 18, United States Code.
       ``(l) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this title shall be 
     construed to restrict or limit the rights, procedures, and 
     remedies available under the Constitution, the Americans with 
     Disabilities Act of 1990, title V of the Rehabilitation Act 
     of 1973, or other Federal laws protecting the rights of 
     children with disabilities, except that before the filing of 
     a civil action under such laws seeking relief that is also 
     available under this part, the procedures under subsections 
     (f) and (g) shall be exhausted to the same extent as would be 
     required had the action been brought under this part.
       ``(m) Transfer of Parental Rights at Age of Majority.--
       ``(1) In general.--A State that receives amounts from a 
     grant under this part may provide that, when a child with a 
     disability reaches the age of majority under State law 
     (except for a child with a disability who has been determined 
     to be incompetent under State law)--
       ``(A) the public agency shall provide any notice required 
     by this section to both the individual and the parents;
       ``(B) all other rights accorded to parents under this part 
     transfer to the child;
       ``(C) the agency shall notify the individual and the 
     parents of the transfer of rights; and
       ``(D) all rights accorded to parents under this part 
     transfer to children who are incarcerated in an adult or 
     juvenile Federal, State, or local correctional institution.
       ``(2) Special rule.--If, under State law, a child with a 
     disability who has reached the age of majority under State 
     law, who has not been determined to be incompetent, but who 
     is determined not to have the ability to provide informed 
     consent with respect to the educational program of the child, 
     the State shall establish procedures for appointing the 
     parent of the child, or if the parent is not available, 
     another appropriate individual, to represent the educational 
     interests of the child throughout the period of eligibility 
     of the child under this part.
       ``(n) E-Mail.--A parent of a child with a disability may 
     elect to receive notices required under this section by e-
     mail communication, if the public agency makes such option 
     available.

     ``SEC. 616. MONITORING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND 
                   ENFORCEMENT.

       ``(a) Federal and State Monitoring.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall--
       ``(A) monitor implementation of this Act through--
       ``(i) oversight of the States' exercise of general 
     supervision, as required in section 612(a)(11); and
       ``(ii) the system of indicators, described in subsection 
     (b)(2); and
       ``(B) enforce this Act in accordance with subsection (c); 
     and
       ``(C) require States to monitor implementation of this Act 
     by local educational agencies and enforce this Act in 
     accordance with paragraph (3) of this subsection and 
     subsection (c).
       ``(2) Focused monitoring.--The primary focus of Federal and 
     State monitoring activities described in paragraph (1) shall 
     be on improving educational results and functional outcomes 
     for all children with disabilities, while ensuring compliance 
     with program requirements, with a particular emphasis on 
     those requirements that are most closely related to improving 
     educational results for children with disabilities.
       ``(3) Monitoring priorities.--The Secretary shall monitor, 
     and shall require States to monitor, the following priority 
     areas:
       ``(A) Provision of a free appropriate public education in 
     the least restrictive environment.
       ``(B) Provision of transition services, as defined in 
     section 602(33).
       ``(C) State exercise of general supervisory authority, 
     including the effective use of complaint resolution and 
     mediation.
       ``(D) Overrepresentation of racial and ethnic groups in 
     special education and related services, to the extent the 
     overrepresentation is the result of inappropriate policies, 
     procedures, and practices.
       ``(4) Permissive areas of review.--The Secretary may 
     examine other relevant information and data, including data 
     provided by States under section 618, and data from the 
     State's compliance plan under subsection (b)(2)(C).
       ``(b) Indicators.--
       ``(1) System.--The Secretary shall implement and administer 
     a system of required indicators as described in paragraph (2) 
     that measures the progress of States in improving their 
     performance under this Act.
       ``(2) Indicators.--
       ``(A) In general.--Using the performance indicators 
     established by States under section 612(a)(15), the Secretary 
     shall review--
       ``(i) the performance of children with disabilities in the 
     State on assessments, including alternate assessments, 
     dropout rates, and graduation rates, which for purposes of 
     this paragraph means the number and percentage of students 
     with disabilities who graduate with a regular diploma within 
     the number of years specified in a student's IEP; and
       ``(ii) the performance of children with disabilities in the 
     State on assessments, including alternate assessments, 
     dropout rates, and graduation rates, as compared to the 
     performance and rates for all children.
       ``(B) Secretary's assessment.--Based on that review and a 
     review of the State's compliance plan under subparagraph (C), 
     the Secretary shall assess the State's progress in improving 
     educational results for children with disabilities.
       ``(C) State compliance plan.--Not later than 1 year after 
     the date of the enactment of the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003, each State 
     shall have in place a compliance plan developed in 
     collaboration with the Secretary. Each State's compliance 
     plan shall--
       ``(i) include benchmarks to measure continuous progress on 
     the priority areas described in subsection (a)(3);
       ``(ii) describe strategies the State will use to achieve 
     the benchmarks; and
       ``(iii) be approved by the Secretary.
       ``(D) Public reporting and privacy.--
       ``(i) In general.--After the Secretary approves a State's 
     compliance plan under subparagraph (C), the State shall use 
     the benchmarks in the plan and the indicators described in 
     this subsection to analyze the progress of each local 
     educational agency in the State on those benchmarks and 
     indicators.
       ``(ii) Report.--The State shall report annually to the 
     public on each local educational agency's progress under 
     clause (i), except where doing so would result in the 
     disclosure of personally identifiable information about 
     individual children or where the available data is 
     insufficient to yield statistically reliable information.
       ``(3) Data collection and analysis.--The Secretary shall--
       ``(A) review the data collection and analysis capacity of 
     States to ensure that data and information determined 
     necessary for implementation of this subsection is collected, 
     analyzed, and accurately reported to the Secretary; and
       ``(B) provide technical assistance to improve the capacity 
     of States to meet these data collection requirements.
       ``(c) Compliance and Enforcement.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall examine relevant 
     State information and data annually, to determine whether the 
     State is making satisfactory progress toward improving 
     educational results for children with disabilities using the 
     indicators described in subsection (b)(2)(A) and the 
     benchmarks established in the State compliance plan under 
     subsection (b)(2)(C), and is in compliance with the 
     provisions of this Act.
       ``(2) Lack of satisfactory progress by a state.--
       ``(A) In general.--If after examining data, as provided in 
     subsection (b)(2) (A) and (C), the Secretary determines that 
     a State failed to make satisfactory progress in meeting the 
     indicators described in subsection (b)(2)(A) or has failed to 
     meet the benchmarks described in subsection (b)(2)(C) for 2 
     consecutive years after the State has developed its 
     compliance plan, the Secretary shall notify the State that 
     the State has failed to make satisfactory progress, and shall 
     take 1 or more of the following actions:
       ``(i) Direct the use of State level funds for technical 
     assistance, services, or other expenditures to ensure that 
     the State resolves the area or areas of unsatisfactory 
     progress.
       ``(ii) Withhold not less than 20, but not more than 50, 
     percent of the State's funds for State administration and 
     activities for the fiscal year under section 611(e), after 
     providing the State the opportunity to show cause why the 
     withholding should not occur, until the Secretary determines 
     that sufficient progress has been made in improving 
     educational results for children with disabilities.
       ``(B) Additional secretarial action.--If, at the end of the 
     5th year after the Secretary has approved the compliance plan 
     that the State has developed under subsection (b)(2)(C), the 
     Secretary determines that a State failed to meet the 
     benchmarks in the State compliance plan and make satisfactory 
     progress in improving educational results for children with 
     disabilities pursuant to the indicators described in 
     subsection (b)(2)(A), the Secretary shall take 1 or more of 
     the following actions:
       ``(i) Seek to recover funds under section 452 of the 
     General Education Provisions Act.
       ``(ii) After providing reasonable notice and an opportunity 
     for a hearing to the State educational agency involved, 
     withhold, in whole or in part, any further payments to the 
     State under this part pursuant to subsection (c)(5).
       ``(iii) After providing reasonable notice and an 
     opportunity for a hearing to the State educational agency 
     involved, refer the matter for appropriate enforcement 
     action, which may include referral to the Department of 
     Justice.
       ``(iv) Pending the outcome of any hearing to withhold 
     payments under clause (ii), the Secretary may suspend 
     payments to a recipient, suspend the authority of the 
     recipient to obligate Federal funds, or both, after such 
     recipient has been given reasonable notice and an opportunity 
     to show cause why future payments or authority to obligate 
     Federal funds should not be suspended.
       ``(C) Substantial noncompliance.--Notwithstanding 
     subparagraph (B), at any time that the Secretary determines 
     that a State is not in substantial compliance with any 
     provision of this part or that there is a substantial failure 
     to comply with any condition of a local agency's or State 
     agency's eligibility under this part, the Secretary shall 
     take 1 or more of the following actions:
       ``(i) Request that the State prepare a corrective action 
     plan or improvement plan if the Secretary determines that the 
     State should be able to correct the problem within 1 year.

[[Page S5307]]

       ``(ii) Identify the State as a high-risk grantee and impose 
     special conditions on the State's grant under this part.
       ``(iii) Require the State to enter into a compliance 
     agreement under section 457 of the General Education 
     Provisions Act, if the Secretary has reason to believe that 
     the State cannot correct the problem within 1 year.
       ``(iv) Recovery of funds under section 452 of the General 
     Education Provisions Act.
       ``(v) After providing reasonable notice and an opportunity 
     for a hearing to the State educational agency involved, 
     withhold, in whole or in part, any further payments to the 
     State under this part.
       ``(vi) After providing reasonable notice and an opportunity 
     for a hearing to the State educational agency involved, refer 
     the matter for appropriate enforcement action, which may 
     include referral to the Department of Justice.
       ``(vii) Pending the outcome of any hearing to withhold 
     payments under clause (v), the Secretary may suspend payments 
     to a recipient, suspend the authority of the recipient to 
     obligate Federal funds, or both, after such recipient has 
     been given reasonable notice and an opportunity to show cause 
     why future payments or authority to obligate Federal funds 
     should not be suspended.
       ``(3) Egregious noncompliance.--At any time that the 
     Secretary determines that a State is in egregious 
     noncompliance or is willfully disregarding the provisions of 
     this Act, the Secretary shall take such additional 
     enforcement actions as the Secretary determines to be 
     appropriate from among those actions specified in paragraph 
     (2)(C), and, additionally, may impose 1 or more of the 
     following sanctions upon that State:
       ``(A) Institute a cease and desist action under section 456 
     of the General Education Provisions Act.
       ``(B) Refer the case to the Office of the Inspector 
     General.
       ``(4) Report to congress.--The Secretary shall report to 
     Congress within 30 days of taking enforcement action pursuant 
     to paragraph (2) (B) or (C), or (3), on the specific action 
     taken and the reasons why enforcement action was taken.
       ``(5) Nature of withholding.--If the Secretary withholds 
     further payments under paragraphs (2)(B)(ii) and (2)(C)(v), 
     the Secretary may determine that such withholding will be 
     limited to programs or projects, or portions thereof, 
     affected by the failure, or that the State educational agency 
     shall not make further payments under this part to specified 
     local educational agencies or State agencies affected by the 
     failure. Until the Secretary is satisfied that there is no 
     longer any failure to make satisfactory progress as specified 
     in paragraph (2)(B), or to comply with the provisions of this 
     part, as specified in paragraph (2)(C), payments to the State 
     under this part shall be withheld in whole or in part, or 
     payments by the State educational agency under this part 
     shall be limited to local educational agencies and State 
     agencies whose actions did not cause or were not involved in 
     the failure, as the case may be. Any State educational 
     agency, State agency, or local educational agency that has 
     received notice under paragraph (2)(B) or (2)(C) shall, by 
     means of a public notice, take such measures as may be 
     necessary to bring the pendency of an action pursuant to this 
     subsection to the attention of the public within the 
     jurisdiction of such agency.
       ``(6) Judicial review.--
       ``(A) In general.--If any State is dissatisfied with the 
     Secretary's final action with respect to the eligibility of 
     the State under section 612, such State may, not later than 
     60 days after notice of such action, file with the United 
     States court of appeals for the circuit in which such State 
     is located a petition for review of that action. A copy of 
     the petition shall be forthwith transmitted by the clerk of 
     the court to the Secretary. The Secretary thereupon shall 
     file in the court the record of the proceedings upon which 
     the Secretary's action was based, as provided in section 2112 
     of title 28, United States Code.
       ``(B) Jurisdiction; review by united states supreme 
     court.--Upon the filing of such petition, the court shall 
     have jurisdiction to affirm the action of the Secretary or to 
     set it aside, in whole or in part. The judgment of the court 
     shall be subject to review by the Supreme Court of the United 
     States upon certiorari or certification as provided in 
     section 1254 of title 28, United States Code.
       ``(C) Standard of review.--The findings of fact by the 
     Secretary, if supported by substantial evidence, shall be 
     conclusive, but the court, for good cause shown, may remand 
     the case to the Secretary to take further evidence, and the 
     Secretary may thereupon make new or modified findings of fact 
     and may modify the Secretary's previous action, and shall 
     file in the court the record of the further proceedings. Such 
     new or modified findings of fact shall likewise be conclusive 
     if supported by substantial evidence.
       ``(d) Divided State Agency Responsibility.--For purposes of 
     this section, where responsibility for ensuring that the 
     requirements of this part are met with respect to children 
     with disabilities who are convicted as adults under State law 
     and incarcerated in adult prisons is assigned to a public 
     agency other than the State educational agency pursuant to 
     section 612(a)(11)(C), the Secretary, in instances where the 
     Secretary finds that the failure to comply substantially with 
     the provisions of this part are related to a failure by the 
     public agency, shall take appropriate corrective action to 
     ensure compliance with this part, except that--
       ``(1) any reduction or withholding of payments to the State 
     shall be proportionate to the total funds allotted under 
     section 611 to the State as the number of eligible children 
     with disabilities in adult prisons under the supervision of 
     the other public agency is proportionate to the number of 
     eligible individuals with disabilities in the State under the 
     supervision of the State educational agency; and
       ``(2) any withholding of funds under paragraph (1) shall be 
     limited to the specific agency responsible for the failure to 
     comply with this part.
       ``(e) State and Local Monitoring.--
       ``(1) In general.--The State educational agency shall 
     monitor and enforce implementation of this Act, implement a 
     system of monitoring the benchmarks in the State's compliance 
     plan under subsection (b)(2)(C), and require local 
     educational agencies to monitor and enforce implementation of 
     this Act.
       ``(2) Additional enforcement options.--If a State 
     educational agency determines that a local educational agency 
     is not meeting the requirements of this part, including the 
     benchmarks in the State's compliance plan, the State 
     educational agency shall prohibit the local educational 
     agency from treating funds received under this part as local 
     funds under section 613(a)(2)(C) for any fiscal year.

     ``SEC. 617. ADMINISTRATION.

       ``(a) Responsibilities of Secretary.--The Secretary shall--
       ``(1) cooperate with, and (directly or by grant or 
     contract) furnish technical assistance necessary to, a State 
     in matters relating to--
       ``(A) the education of children with disabilities; and
       ``(B) carrying out this part; and
       ``(2) provide short-term training programs and institutes.
       ``(b) Confidentiality.--The Secretary shall take 
     appropriate action, in accordance with section 444 of the 
     General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g), to assure 
     the protection of the confidentiality of any personally 
     identifiable data, information, and records collected or 
     maintained by the Secretary and by State and local 
     educational agencies pursuant to this part.
       ``(c) Personnel.--The Secretary is authorized to hire 
     qualified personnel necessary to carry out the Secretary's 
     duties under subsection (a) and under sections 618, 661, and 
     664, without regard to the provisions of title 5, United 
     States Code, relating to appointments in the competitive 
     service and without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III 
     of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and 
     general schedule pay rates, except that not more than 20 such 
     personnel shall be employed at any 1 time.
       ``(d) Model Forms.--Not later than the date that the 
     Secretary publishes final regulations under this Act, to 
     implement amendments made by the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003, the Secretary 
     shall publish and disseminate widely to States, local 
     educational agencies, and parent and community training and 
     information centers--
       ``(1) a model IEP form;
       ``(2) a model individualized family service plan (IFSP) 
     form;
       ``(3) a model form of the notice of procedural safeguards 
     described in section 615(d); and
       ``(4) a model form of the prior written notice described in 
     section 615 (b)(3) and (c)(1) that is consistent with the 
     requirements of this part and is sufficient to meet such 
     requirements.

     ``SEC. 618. PROGRAM INFORMATION.

       ``(a) In General.--Each State that receives assistance 
     under this part, and the Secretary of the Interior, shall 
     provide data each year to the Secretary of Education and the 
     public on--
       ``(1)(A) the number and percentage of children with 
     disabilities, by race, ethnicity, limited English proficiency 
     status, gender, and disability category, who are receiving a 
     free appropriate public education;
       ``(B) the number and percentage of children with 
     disabilities, by race, gender, and ethnicity, who are 
     receiving early intervention services;
       ``(C) the number and percentage of children with 
     disabilities, by race, ethnicity, limited English proficiency 
     status, gender, and disability category, who are 
     participating in regular education;
       ``(D) the number and percentage of children with 
     disabilities, by race, ethnicity, limited English proficiency 
     status, gender, and disability category, who are in separate 
     classes, separate schools or facilities, or public or private 
     residential facilities;
       ``(E) the number and percentage of children with 
     disabilities, by race, ethnicity, limited English proficiency 
     status, gender, and disability category, who, for each year 
     of age from age 14 through 21, stopped receiving special 
     education and related services because of program completion 
     (including graduation with a regular secondary school 
     diploma), or other reasons, and the reasons why those 
     children stopped receiving special education and related 
     services;
       ``(F) the number and percentage of children with 
     disabilities, by race, gender, and ethnicity, who, from birth 
     through age 2, stopped receiving early intervention services 
     because of program completion or for other reasons;
       ``(G)(i) the number and percentage of children with 
     disabilities, by race, ethnicity, limited English proficiency 
     status, gender, and disability category, who are removed to 
     an interim alternative educational setting under section 
     615(k)(1);
       ``(ii) the acts or items precipitating those removals; and
       ``(iii) the number of children with disabilities who are 
     subject to long-term suspensions or expulsions;
       ``(H) the incidence and duration of disciplinary actions by 
     race, ethnicity, limited English proficiency status, gender, 
     and disability category, of children with disabilities, 
     including suspensions of 1 day or more;
       ``(I) the number and percentage of children with 
     disabilities who are removed to alternative educational 
     settings or expelled as compared to children without 
     disabilities who are removed to alternative educational 
     settings or expelled;

[[Page S5308]]

       ``(J) the number of due process complaints filed under 
     section 615 and the number of hearings conducted;
       ``(K) the number of hearings requested under section 615(k) 
     and the number of changes in placements ordered as a result 
     of those hearings;
       ``(L) the number of hearings requested under section 
     615(k)(3)(B)(ii) and the number of changes in placements 
     ordered as a result of those hearings; and
       ``(M) the number of mediations held and the number of 
     settlement agreements reached through such mediations;
       ``(2) the number and percentage of infants and toddlers, by 
     race, and ethnicity, who are at risk of having substantial 
     developmental delays (as defined in section 632), and who are 
     receiving early intervention services under part C; and
       ``(3) any other information that may be required by the 
     Secretary.
       ``(b) Data Reporting.--The data described in subsection (a) 
     shall be reported by each State at the school district and 
     State level in a manner that does not result in the 
     disclosure of data identifiable to individual children.
       ``(c) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary may provide 
     technical assistance to States to ensure compliance with the 
     data collection and reporting requirements under this Act.
       ``(d) Disproportionality.--
       ``(1) In general.--Each State that receives assistance 
     under this part, and the Secretary of the Interior, shall 
     provide for the collection and examination of data to 
     determine if significant disproportionality based on race is 
     occurring in the State with respect to--
       ``(A) the identification of children as children with 
     disabilities, including the identification of children as 
     children with disabilities in accordance with a particular 
     impairment described in section 602(3);
       ``(B) the placement in particular educational settings of 
     such children; and
       ``(C) the incidence, duration, and type of disciplinary 
     actions, including suspensions and expulsions.
       ``(2) Review and revision of policies, practices, and 
     procedures.--In the case of a determination of significant 
     disproportionality with respect to the identification of 
     children as children with disabilities, or the placement in 
     particular educational settings of such children, in 
     accordance with paragraph (1), the State or the Secretary of 
     the Interior, as the case may be, shall provide for the 
     review and, if appropriate, revision of the policies, 
     procedures, and practices used in such identification or 
     placement to ensure that such policies, procedures, and 
     practices comply with the requirements of this Act.

     ``SEC. 619. PRESCHOOL GRANTS.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall provide grants under 
     this section to assist States to provide special education 
     and related services, in accordance with this part--
       ``(1) to children with disabilities aged 3 through 5, 
     inclusive; and
       ``(2) at the State's discretion, to 2-year-old children 
     with disabilities who will turn 3 during the school year.
       ``(b) Eligibility.--A State shall be eligible for a grant 
     under this section if such State--
       ``(1) is eligible under section 612 to receive a grant 
     under this part; and
       ``(2) makes a free appropriate public education available 
     to all children with disabilities, aged 3 through 5, residing 
     in the State.
       ``(c) Allocations to States.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall allocate the amount 
     made available to carry out this section for a fiscal year 
     among the States in accordance with paragraph (2) or (3), as 
     the case may be.
       ``(2) Increase in funds.--If the amount available for 
     allocations to States under paragraph (1) is equal to or 
     greater than the amount allocated to the States under this 
     section for the preceding fiscal year, those allocations 
     shall be calculated as follows:
       ``(A) Allocation.--
       ``(i) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     the Secretary shall--

       ``(I) allocate to each State the amount the State received 
     under this section for fiscal year 1997;
       ``(II) allocate 85 percent of any remaining funds to States 
     on the basis of the States' relative populations of children 
     aged 3 through 5; and
       ``(III) allocate 15 percent of those remaining funds to 
     States on the basis of the States' relative populations of 
     all children aged 3 through 5 who are living in poverty.

       ``(ii) Data.--For the purpose of making grants under this 
     paragraph, the Secretary shall use the most recent population 
     data, including data on children living in poverty, that are 
     available and satisfactory to the Secretary.
       ``(B) Limitations.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), 
     allocations under this paragraph shall be subject to the 
     following:
       ``(i) Preceding years.--No State's allocation shall be less 
     than its allocation under this section for the preceding 
     fiscal year.
       ``(ii) Minimum.--No State's allocation shall be less than 
     the greatest of--

       ``(I) the sum of--

       ``(aa) the amount the State received under this section for 
     fiscal year 1997; and
       ``(bb) \1/3\ of 1 percent of the amount by which the amount 
     appropriated under subsection (j) for the fiscal year exceeds 
     the amount appropriated for this section for fiscal year 
     1997;

       ``(II) the sum of--

       ``(aa) the amount the State received under this section for 
     the preceding fiscal year; and
       ``(bb) that amount multiplied by the percentage by which 
     the increase in the funds appropriated under this section 
     from the preceding fiscal year exceeds 1.5 percent; or

       ``(III) the sum of--

       ``(aa) the amount the State received under this section for 
     the preceding fiscal year; and
       ``(bb) that amount multiplied by 90 percent of the 
     percentage increase in the amount appropriated under this 
     section from the preceding fiscal year.
       ``(iii) Maximum.--Notwithstanding clause (ii), no State's 
     allocation under this paragraph shall exceed the sum of--

       ``(I) the amount the State received under this section for 
     the preceding fiscal year; and
       ``(II) that amount multiplied by the sum of 1.5 percent and 
     the percentage increase in the amount appropriated under this 
     section from the preceding fiscal year.

       ``(C) Ratable reductions.--If the amount available for 
     allocations under this paragraph is insufficient to pay those 
     allocations in full, those allocations shall be ratably 
     reduced, subject to subparagraph (B)(i).
       ``(3) Decrease in funds.--If the amount available for 
     allocations to States under paragraph (1) is less than the 
     amount allocated to the States under this section for the 
     preceding fiscal year, those allocations shall be calculated 
     as follows:
       ``(A) Allocations.--If the amount available for allocations 
     is greater than the amount allocated to the States for fiscal 
     year 1997, each State shall be allocated the sum of--
       ``(i) the amount the State received under this section for 
     fiscal year 1997; and
       ``(ii) an amount that bears the same relation to any 
     remaining funds as the increase the State received under this 
     section for the preceding fiscal year over fiscal year 1997 
     bears to the total of all such increases for all States.
       ``(B) If the amount available for allocations under this 
     paragraph is equal to or less than the amount allocated under 
     this section to the States for fiscal year 1997, each State 
     shall be allocated the amount the State received for that 
     year, ratably reduced, if necessary.
       ``(d) Reservation for State Activities.--
       ``(1) In general.--Each State may reserve not more than the 
     amount described in paragraph (2) for administration and 
     other State-level activities in accordance with subsections 
     (e) and (f).
       ``(2) Amount described.--For each fiscal year, the 
     Secretary shall determine and report to the State educational 
     agency an amount that is 25 percent of the amount the State 
     received under this section for fiscal year 1997, 
     cumulatively adjusted by the Secretary for each succeeding 
     fiscal year by the lesser of--
       ``(A) the percentage increase, if any, from the preceding 
     fiscal year in the State's allocation under this section; or
       ``(B) the percentage increase, if any, from the preceding 
     fiscal year in the Consumer Price Index For All Urban 
     Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the 
     Department of Labor.
       ``(e) State Administration.--
       ``(1) In general.--For the purpose of administering this 
     section (including the coordination of activities under this 
     part with, and providing technical assistance to, other 
     programs that provide services to children with disabilities) 
     a State may use not more than 20 percent of the maximum 
     amount the State may reserve under subsection (d) for any 
     fiscal year.
       ``(2) Administration of part c.--Funds described in 
     paragraph (1) may also be used for the administration of part 
     C of this Act, if the State educational agency is the lead 
     agency for the State under that part.
       ``(f) Other State-Level Activities.--Each State shall use 
     any funds the State reserves under subsection (d) and does 
     not use for administration under subsection (e)--
       ``(1) for support services (including establishing and 
     implementing the mediation process required by section 
     615(e)), which may benefit children with disabilities younger 
     than 3 or older than 5 as long as those services also benefit 
     children with disabilities aged 3 through 5;
       ``(2) for direct services for children eligible for 
     services under this section;
       ``(3) for activities at the State and local levels to meet 
     the performance goals established by the State under section 
     612(a)(15);
       ``(4) to supplement other funds used to develop and 
     implement a statewide coordinated services system designed to 
     improve results for children and families, including children 
     with disabilities and their families, but not more than 1 
     percent of the amount received by the State under this 
     section for a fiscal year; or
       ``(5) to provide early intervention services (which shall 
     include an educational component that promotes school 
     readiness and incorporates pre-literacy, language, and 
     numeracy skills) in accordance with part C to children with 
     disabilities who are eligible for services under this section 
     and who previously received services under part C until such 
     children enter, or are eligible under State law to enter, 
     kindergarten.
       ``(g) Subgrants to Local Educational Agencies.--
       ``(1) Subgrants required.--Each State that receives a grant 
     under this section for any fiscal year shall distribute all 
     of the grant funds that the State does not reserve under 
     subsection (d) to local educational agencies in the State 
     that have established their eligibility under section 613, as 
     follows:
       ``(A) Base payments.--The State shall first award each 
     local educational agency described in paragraph (1) the 
     amount that agency would have received under this section for 
     fiscal year 1997 if the State had distributed 75 percent of 
     its grant for that year under section 619(c)(3), as such 
     section was then in effect.
       ``(B) Allocation of remaining funds.--After making 
     allocations under subparagraph (A), the State shall--
       ``(i) allocate 85 percent of any remaining funds to those 
     local educational agencies on the basis of the relative 
     numbers of children enrolled in public and private elementary 
     schools

[[Page S5309]]

     and secondary schools within the local educational agency's 
     jurisdiction; and
       ``(ii) allocate 15 percent of those remaining funds to 
     those local educational agencies in accordance with their 
     relative numbers of children living in poverty, as determined 
     by the State educational agency.
       ``(2) Reallocation of funds.--If a State educational agency 
     determines that a local educational agency is adequately 
     providing a free appropriate public education to all children 
     with disabilities aged 3 through 5 residing in the area 
     served by that agency with State and local funds, the State 
     educational agency may reallocate any portion of the funds 
     under this section that are not needed by that local 
     educational agency to provide a free appropriate public 
     education to other local educational agencies in the State 
     that are not adequately providing special education and 
     related services to all children with disabilities aged 3 
     through 5 residing in the areas the other local educational 
     agencies serve.
       ``(h) Part C Inapplicable.--Part C of this Act does not 
     apply to any child with a disability receiving a free 
     appropriate public education, in accordance with this part, 
     with funds received under this section.
       ``(i) Definition.--For the purpose of this section, the 
     term `State' means each of the 50 States, the District of 
     Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
       ``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of 
     carrying out this section, there are authorized to be 
     appropriated such sums as may be necessary.

            ``PART C--INFANTS AND TODDLERS WITH DISABILITIES

     ``SEC. 631. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

       ``(a) Findings.--Congress finds that there is an urgent and 
     substantial need--
       ``(1) to enhance the development of infants and toddlers 
     with disabilities, to minimize their potential for 
     developmental delay, and to recognize the significant brain 
     development which occurs during a child's first 3 years of 
     life;
       ``(2) to reduce the educational costs to our society, 
     including our Nation's schools, by minimizing the need for 
     special education and related services after infants and 
     toddlers with disabilities reach school age;
       ``(3) to maximize the potential for individuals with 
     disabilities to live independently in society;
       ``(4) to enhance the capacity of families to meet the 
     special needs of their infants and toddlers with 
     disabilities; and
       ``(5) to enhance the capacity of State and local agencies 
     and service providers to identify, evaluate, and meet the 
     needs of all children, particularly minority, low-income, 
     inner city, and rural children.
       ``(b) Policy.--It is the policy of the United States to 
     provide financial assistance to States--
       ``(1) to develop and implement a statewide, comprehensive, 
     coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency system that 
     provides early intervention services for infants and toddlers 
     with disabilities and their families;
       ``(2) to facilitate the coordination of payment for early 
     intervention services from Federal, State, local, and private 
     sources (including public and private insurance coverage);
       ``(3) to enhance State capacity to provide high quality 
     early intervention services and expand and improve existing 
     early intervention services being provided to infants and 
     toddlers with disabilities and their families; and
       ``(4) to encourage States to expand opportunities for 
     children under 3 years of age who would be at risk of having 
     substantial developmental delay if they did not receive early 
     intervention services.

     ``SEC. 632. DEFINITIONS.

       ``As used in this part:
       ``(1) At-risk infant or toddler.--The term `at-risk infant 
     or toddler' means an individual under 3 years of age who 
     would be at risk of experiencing a substantial developmental 
     delay if early intervention services were not provided to the 
     individual.
       ``(2) Council.--The term `council' means a State 
     interagency coordinating council established under section 
     641.
       ``(3) Developmental delay.--The term `developmental delay', 
     when used with respect to an individual residing in a State, 
     has the meaning given such term by the State under section 
     635(a)(1).
       ``(4) Early intervention services.--The term `early 
     intervention services' means developmental services that--
       ``(A) are provided under public supervision;
       ``(B) are provided at no cost except where Federal or State 
     law provides for a system of payments by families, including 
     a schedule of sliding fees;
       ``(C) are designed to meet the developmental needs of an 
     infant or toddler with a disability in any 1 or more of the 
     following areas:
       ``(i) physical development;
       ``(ii) cognitive development;
       ``(iii) communication development;
       ``(iv) social or emotional development; or
       ``(v) adaptive development;
       ``(D) meet the standards of the State in which the services 
     are provided, including the requirements of this part;
       ``(E) include--
       ``(i) family training, counseling, and home visits;
       ``(ii) special instruction;
       ``(iii) speech-language pathology and audiology services, 
     and sign language and cued language services;
       ``(iv) occupational therapy;
       ``(v) physical therapy;
       ``(vi) psychological services;
       ``(vii) service coordination services;
       ``(viii) medical services only for diagnostic or evaluation 
     purposes;
       ``(ix) early identification, screening, and assessment 
     services;
       ``(x) health services necessary to enable the infant or 
     toddler to benefit from the other early intervention 
     services;
       ``(xi) social work services;
       ``(xii) vision services;
       ``(xiii) assistive technology devices and assistive 
     technology services; and
       ``(xiv) transportation and related costs that are necessary 
     to enable an infant or toddler and the infant's or toddler's 
     family to receive another service described in this 
     paragraph;
       ``(F) are provided by qualified personnel, including--
       ``(i) special educators;
       ``(ii) speech-language pathologists and audiologists;
       ``(iii) teachers of the deaf;
       ``(iv) occupational therapists;
       ``(v) physical therapists;
       ``(vi) psychologists;
       ``(vii) social workers;
       ``(viii) nurses;
       ``(ix) nutritionists;
       ``(x) family therapists;
       ``(xi) orientation and mobility specialists;
       ``(xii) vision specialists, including opthamologists and 
     optometrists; and
       ``(xiii) pediatricians and other physicians;
       ``(G) to the maximum extent appropriate, are provided in 
     natural environments, including the home, and community 
     settings in which children without disabilities participate; 
     and
       ``(H) are provided in conformity with an individualized 
     family service plan adopted in accordance with section 636.
       ``(5) Infant or toddler with a disability.--The term 
     `infant or toddler with a disability'--
       ``(A) means an individual under 3 years of age who needs 
     early intervention services because the individual--
       ``(i) is experiencing developmental delays, as measured by 
     appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures in 1 or 
     more of the areas of cognitive development, physical 
     development, communication development, social or emotional 
     development, and adaptive development; or
       ``(ii) has a diagnosed physical or mental condition which 
     has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay; 
     and
       ``(B) may also include, at a State's discretion--
       ``(i) at-risk infants and toddlers; and
       ``(ii) children with disabilities who are eligible for 
     services under section 619 and who previously received 
     services under this part until such children enter, or are 
     eligible under State law to enter, kindergarten.

     ``SEC. 633. GENERAL AUTHORITY.

       ``The Secretary shall, in accordance with this part, make 
     grants to States (from their allotments under section 643) to 
     assist each State to maintain and implement a statewide, 
     comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency 
     system to provide early intervention services for infants and 
     toddlers with disabilities and their families.

     ``SEC. 634. ELIGIBILITY.

       ``In order to be eligible for a grant under section 633, a 
     State shall demonstrate to the Secretary that the State--
       ``(1) has adopted a policy that appropriate early 
     intervention services are available to all infants and 
     toddlers with disabilities in the State and their families, 
     including Indian infants and toddlers with disabilities and 
     their families residing on a reservation geographically 
     located in the State; and
       ``(2) has in effect a statewide system that meets the 
     requirements of section 635.

     ``SEC. 635. REQUIREMENTS FOR STATEWIDE SYSTEM.

       ``(a) In General.--A statewide system described in section 
     633 shall include, at a minimum, the following components:
       ``(1) A definition of the term `developmental delay' that--
       ``(A) will be used by the State in carrying out programs 
     under this part; and
       ``(B) covers, at a minimum, all infants and toddlers with--
       ``(i) a developmental delay of 35 percent or more in 1 of 
     the developmental areas described in section 632(5)(A)(i); or
       ``(ii) a developmental delay of 25 percent or more in 2 or 
     more of the developmental areas described in section 
     632(5)(A)(i).
       ``(2) A State policy that is in effect and that ensures 
     that appropriate early intervention services are available to 
     all infants and toddlers with disabilities and their 
     families, including Indian infants and toddlers and their 
     families residing on a reservation geographically located in 
     the State.
       ``(3) A timely, comprehensive, multidisciplinary evaluation 
     of the functioning of each infant or toddler with a 
     disability in the State, and a family-directed identification 
     of the needs of each family of such an infant or toddler, to 
     appropriately assist in the development of the infant or 
     toddler.
       ``(4) For each infant or toddler with a disability in the 
     State, an individualized family service plan in accordance 
     with section 636, including service coordination services in 
     accordance with such service plan.
       ``(5) A comprehensive child find system, consistent with 
     part B, including a system for making referrals to service 
     providers that includes timelines and provides for 
     participation by primary referral sources.
       ``(6) A public awareness program focusing on early 
     identification of infants and toddlers with disabilities, 
     including the preparation and dissemination by the lead 
     agency designated or established under paragraph (10) to all 
     primary referral sources, especially hospitals and 
     physicians, of information for parents on the availability of 
     early intervention services, and procedures for determining 
     the extent to which such sources disseminate such information 
     to parents of infants and toddlers.

[[Page S5310]]

       ``(7) A central directory that includes information on 
     early intervention services, resources, and experts available 
     in the State and research and demonstration projects being 
     conducted in the State.
       ``(8) A comprehensive system of personnel development, 
     including the training of paraprofessionals and the training 
     of primary referral sources with respect to the basic 
     components of early intervention services available in the 
     State, which comprehensive system may include--
       ``(A) implementing innovative strategies and activities for 
     the recruitment and retention of early education service 
     providers;
       ``(B) promoting the preparation of early intervention 
     providers who are fully and appropriately qualified to 
     provide early intervention services under this part;
       ``(C) training personnel to work in rural and inner-city 
     areas; and
       ``(D) training personnel to coordinate transition services 
     for infants and toddlers served under this part from an early 
     intervention program under this part to preschool or other 
     appropriate services.
       ``(9) Policies and procedures relating to the establishment 
     and maintenance of standards to ensure that personnel 
     necessary to carry out this part are appropriately and 
     adequately prepared and trained, including the establishment 
     and maintenance of standards which are consistent with any 
     State-approved or recognized certification, licensing, 
     registration, or other comparable requirements which apply to 
     the area in which such personnel are providing early 
     intervention services, except that nothing in this part 
     (including this paragraph) shall be construed to prohibit the 
     use of paraprofessionals and assistants who are appropriately 
     trained in accordance with State law, regulation, or written 
     policy, to assist in the provision of early intervention 
     services under this part to infants and toddlers with 
     disabilities.
       ``(10) A single line of responsibility in a lead agency 
     designated or established by the Governor for carrying out--
       ``(A) the general administration and supervision of 
     programs and activities receiving assistance under section 
     633, and the monitoring of programs and activities used by 
     the State to carry out this part, whether or not such 
     programs or activities are receiving assistance made 
     available under section 633, to ensure that the State 
     complies with this part;
       ``(B) the identification and coordination of all available 
     resources within the State from Federal, State, local, and 
     private sources;
       ``(C) the assignment of financial responsibility in 
     accordance with section 637(a)(2) to the appropriate 
     agencies;
       ``(D) the development of procedures to ensure that services 
     are provided to infants and toddlers with disabilities and 
     their families under this part in a timely manner pending the 
     resolution of any disputes among public agencies or service 
     providers;
       ``(E) the resolution of intra- and interagency disputes; 
     and
       ``(F) the entry into formal interagency agreements that 
     define the financial responsibility of each agency for paying 
     for early intervention services (consistent with State law) 
     and procedures for resolving disputes and that include all 
     additional components necessary to ensure meaningful 
     cooperation and coordination.
       ``(11) A policy pertaining to the contracting or making of 
     other arrangements with service providers to provide early 
     intervention services in the State, consistent with the 
     provisions of this part, including the contents of the 
     application used and the conditions of the contract or other 
     arrangements.
       ``(12) A procedure for securing timely reimbursements of 
     funds used under this part in accordance with section 640(a).
       ``(13) Procedural safeguards with respect to programs under 
     this part, as required by section 639.
       ``(14) A system for compiling data requested by the 
     Secretary under section 618 that relates to this part.
       ``(15) A State interagency coordinating council that meets 
     the requirements of section 641.
       ``(16) Policies and procedures to ensure that, consistent 
     with section 636(d)(5) to the maximum extent appropriate, 
     early intervention services are provided in natural 
     environments unless a specific outcome cannot be met 
     satisfactorily for the infant or toddler in a natural 
     environment.
       ``(b) Flexibility To Serve Children 3 Years of Age to Under 
     6 Years of Age.--
       ``(1) In general.--A statewide system described in section 
     633 may include a State policy, developed and implemented 
     jointly by the lead agency and the State educational agency, 
     under which parents of children with disabilities who are 
     eligible for services under section 619 and previously 
     received services under this part, may choose the 
     continuation of early intervention services (which shall 
     include an educational component that promotes school 
     readiness and incorporates preliteracy, language, and 
     numeracy skills) for such children under this part until such 
     children enter, or are eligible under State law to enter, 
     kindergarten.
       ``(2) Requirements.--If a statewide system includes a State 
     policy described in paragraph (1), the statewide system shall 
     ensure--
       ``(A) that parents of infants or toddlers with disabilities 
     (as defined in section 632(5)(A)) provide informed written 
     consent to the State, before such infants and toddlers reach 
     3 years of age, as to whether such parents intend to choose 
     the continuation of early intervention services pursuant to 
     this subsection for such infants or toddlers;
       ``(B) that the State policy will not affect the right of 
     any child served pursuant to this subsection to instead 
     receive a free appropriate public education under part B;
       ``(C) that parents of children served pursuant to this 
     subsection are provided with annual notice--
       ``(i) of such parents' right to elect services pursuant to 
     this subsection or under part B; and
       ``(ii) fully explaining the differences between receiving 
     services pursuant to this subsection and receiving services 
     under part B, including--

       ``(I) the types of services available under both 
     provisions;
       ``(II) applicable procedural safeguards under both 
     provisions, including due-process protections and mediation 
     or other dispute resolution options; and
       ``(III) the possible costs, if any (including any fees to 
     be charged to families as described in section 632(4)(B)) to 
     parents under both provisions;

       ``(D) that the conference under section 
     637(a)(9)(A)(ii)(II), the review under section 637(a)(9)(B), 
     and the establishment of a transition plan under section 
     637(a)(9)(C) occur not less than 90 days (and at the 
     discretion of the parties to the conference, not more than 9 
     months) before each of the following:
       ``(i) the time the child will first be eligible for 
     services under part B, including under section 619; and
       ``(ii) if the child is receiving services in accordance 
     with this subsection, the time the child will no longer 
     receive those services;
       ``(E) the continuance of all early intervention services 
     outlined in the child's individualized family service plan 
     under section 636 while any eligibility determination is 
     being made for services under this subsection;
       ``(F) that services provided pursuant to this subsection 
     include an educational component that promotes school 
     readiness and incorporates preliteracy, language, and 
     numeracy skills and are provided in accordance with an 
     individualized family service plan under section 636; and
       ``(G) the referral for evaluation for early intervention 
     services of a child below the age of 3 who experiences a 
     substantiated case of exposure to violence or trauma.
       ``(3) Reporting requirement.--If a statewide system 
     includes a State policy described in paragraph (1), the State 
     shall submit to the Secretary, in the State's report under 
     section 637(b)(4)(A), a report on--
       ``(A) the percentage of children with disabilities who are 
     eligible for services under section 619 but whose parents 
     choose for such children to continue to receive early 
     intervention services under this part; and
       ``(B) the number of children who are eligible for services 
     under section 619 who instead continue to receive early 
     intervention services under this part.
       ``(4) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
     shall be construed to require a provider of services under 
     this part to provide a child served under this part with a 
     free appropriate public education.
       ``(5) Available funds.--If a statewide system includes a 
     State policy described in paragraph (1), the policy shall 
     describe the funds (including an identification as Federal, 
     State, or local funds) that will be used to ensure that the 
     option described in paragraph (1) is available to eligible 
     children and families who provide the consent described in 
     paragraph (2)(A), including fees to be charged to families as 
     described in section 632(4)(B).

     ``SEC. 636. INDIVIDUALIZED FAMILY SERVICE PLAN.

       ``(a) Assessment and Program Development.--A statewide 
     system described in section 633 shall provide, at a minimum, 
     for each infant or toddler with a disability, and the 
     infant's or toddler's family, to receive--
       ``(1) a multidisciplinary assessment of the unique 
     strengths and needs of the infant or toddler and the 
     identification of services appropriate to meet such needs;
       ``(2) a family-directed assessment of the resources, 
     priorities, and concerns of the family and the identification 
     of the supports and services necessary to enhance the 
     family's capacity to meet the developmental needs of the 
     infant or toddler; and
       ``(3) a written individualized family service plan 
     developed by a multidisciplinary team, including the parents, 
     as required by subsection (e), including a description of the 
     appropriate transition services for the child.
       ``(b) Periodic Review.--The individualized family service 
     plan shall be evaluated once a year and the family shall be 
     provided a review of the plan at 6-month intervals (or more 
     often where appropriate based on infant or toddler and family 
     needs).
       ``(c) Promptness After Assessment.--The individualized 
     family service plan shall be developed within a reasonable 
     time after the assessment required by subsection (a)(1) is 
     completed. With the parents' consent, early intervention 
     services may commence prior to the completion of the 
     assessment.
       ``(d) Content of Plan.--The individualized family service 
     plan shall be in writing and contain--
       ``(1) a statement of the infant's or toddler's present 
     levels of physical development, cognitive development, 
     communication development, social or emotional development, 
     and adaptive development, based on objective criteria;
       ``(2) a statement of the family's resources, priorities, 
     and concerns relating to enhancing the development of the 
     family's infant or toddler with a disability;
       ``(3) a statement of the measurable outcomes expected to be 
     achieved for the infant or toddler and the family, including, 
     as appropriate, preliteracy and language skills, and the 
     criteria, procedures, and timelines used to determine the 
     degree to which progress toward achieving the outcomes is 
     being made and whether modifications or revisions of the 
     outcomes or services are necessary;
       ``(4) a statement of specific early intervention services 
     necessary to meet the unique needs of the infant or toddler 
     and the family, including

[[Page S5311]]

     the frequency, intensity, and method of delivering services;
       ``(5) a statement of the natural environments in which 
     early intervention services will appropriately be provided, 
     including a justification of the extent, if any, to which the 
     services will not be provided in a natural environment;
       ``(6) the projected dates for initiation of services and 
     the anticipated length, duration, and frequency of the 
     services;
       ``(7) the identification of the service coordinator from 
     the profession most immediately relevant to the infant's or 
     toddler's or family's needs (or who is otherwise qualified to 
     carry out all applicable responsibilities under this part) 
     who will be responsible for the implementation of the plan 
     and coordination with other agencies and persons, including 
     transition services; and
       ``(8) the steps to be taken to support the transition of 
     the toddler with a disability to preschool or other 
     appropriate services.
       ``(e) Parental Consent.--The contents of the individualized 
     family service plan shall be fully explained to the parents 
     and informed written consent from the parents shall be 
     obtained prior to the provision of early intervention 
     services described in such plan. If the parents do not 
     provide consent with respect to a particular early 
     intervention service, then only the early intervention 
     services to which consent is obtained shall be provided.

     ``SEC. 637. STATE APPLICATION AND ASSURANCES.

       ``(a) Application.--A State desiring to receive a grant 
     under section 633 shall submit an application to the 
     Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary 
     may reasonably require. The application shall contain--
       ``(1) a designation of the lead agency in the State that 
     will be responsible for the administration of funds provided 
     under section 633;
       ``(2) a certification to the Secretary that the 
     arrangements to establish financial responsibility for 
     services provided under this part pursuant to section 640(b) 
     are current as of the date of submission of the 
     certification;
       ``(3) information demonstrating eligibility of the State 
     under section 634, including--
       ``(A) information demonstrating to the Secretary's 
     satisfaction that the State has in effect the statewide 
     system required by section 633; and
       ``(B) a description of services to be provided to infants 
     and toddlers with disabilities and their families through the 
     system;
       ``(4) if the State provides services to at-risk infants and 
     toddlers through the system, a description of such services;
       ``(5) a description of the uses for which funds will be 
     expended in accordance with this part;
       ``(6) a description of the State policies and procedures 
     that require the referral for evaluation for early 
     intervention services of a child under the age of 3 who--
       ``(A) is involved in a substantiated case of child abuse or 
     neglect; or
       ``(B) is identified as affected by illegal substance abuse, 
     or withdrawal symptoms resulting from prenatal drug exposure;
       ``(7) a description of the procedure used to ensure that 
     resources are made available under this part for all 
     geographic areas within the State;
       ``(8) a description of State policies and procedures that 
     ensure that, prior to the adoption by the State of any other 
     policy or procedure necessary to meet the requirements of 
     this part, there are public hearings, adequate notice of the 
     hearings, and an opportunity for comment available to the 
     general public, including individuals with disabilities and 
     parents of infants and toddlers with disabilities;
       ``(9) a description of the policies and procedures to be 
     used--
       ``(A) to ensure a smooth transition for toddlers receiving 
     early intervention services under this part (and children 
     receiving those services under section 635(b)) to preschool, 
     other appropriate services, or exiting the program, including 
     a description of how--
       ``(i) the families of such toddlers and children will be 
     included in the transition plans required by subparagraph 
     (C); and
       ``(ii) the lead agency designated or established under 
     section 635(a)(10) will--

       ``(I) notify the local educational agency for the area in 
     which such a child resides that the child will shortly reach 
     the age of eligibility for preschool services under part B, 
     as determined in accordance with State law;
       ``(II) in the case of a child who may be eligible for such 
     preschool services, with the approval of the family of the 
     child, convene a conference among the lead agency, the 
     family, and the local educational agency at least 90 days 
     (and at the discretion of all such parties, not more than 9 
     months) before the child is eligible for the preschool 
     services, to discuss any such services that the child may 
     receive; and
       ``(III) in the case of a child who may not be eligible for 
     such preschool services, with the approval of the family, 
     make reasonable efforts to convene a conference among the 
     lead agency, the family, and providers of other appropriate 
     services for children who are not eligible for preschool 
     services under part B, to discuss the appropriate services 
     that the child may receive;

       ``(B) to review the child's program options for the period 
     from the child's third birthday through the remainder of the 
     school year; and
       ``(C) to establish a transition plan, including, as 
     appropriate, steps to exit from the program; and
       ``(10) such other information and assurances as the 
     Secretary may reasonably require.
       ``(b) Assurances.--The application described in subsection 
     (a)--
       ``(1) shall provide satisfactory assurance that Federal 
     funds made available under section 643 to the State will be 
     expended in accordance with this part;
       ``(2) shall contain an assurance that the State will comply 
     with the requirements of section 640;
       ``(3) shall provide satisfactory assurance that the control 
     of funds provided under section 643, and title to property 
     derived from those funds, will be in a public agency for the 
     uses and purposes provided in this part and that a public 
     agency will administer such funds and property;
       ``(4) shall provide for--
       ``(A) making such reports in such form and containing such 
     information as the Secretary may require to carry out the 
     Secretary's functions under this part; and
       ``(B) keeping such reports and affording such access to the 
     reports as the Secretary may find necessary to ensure the 
     correctness and verification of the reports and proper 
     disbursement of Federal funds under this part;
       ``(5) provide satisfactory assurance that Federal funds 
     made available under section 643 to the State--
       ``(A) will not be commingled with State funds; and
       ``(B) will be used so as to supplement the level of State 
     and local funds expended for infants and toddlers with 
     disabilities and their families and in no case to supplant 
     those State and local funds;
       ``(6) shall provide satisfactory assurance that such fiscal 
     control and fund accounting procedures will be adopted as may 
     be necessary to ensure proper disbursement of, and accounting 
     for, Federal funds paid under section 643 to the State;
       ``(7) shall provide satisfactory assurance that policies 
     and procedures have been adopted to ensure meaningful 
     involvement of underserved groups, including minority, low-
     income, and rural families, in the planning and 
     implementation of all the requirements of this part; and
       ``(8) shall contain such other information and assurances 
     as the Secretary may reasonably require by regulation.
       ``(c) Standard for Disapproval of Application.--The 
     Secretary may not disapprove such an application unless the 
     Secretary determines, after notice and opportunity for a 
     hearing, that the application fails to comply with the 
     requirements of this section.
       ``(d) Subsequent State Application.--If a State has on file 
     with the Secretary a policy, procedure, or assurance that 
     demonstrates that the State meets a requirement of this 
     section, including any policy or procedure filed under part 
     C, as in effect before the date of enactment of the 
     Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 
     2003, the Secretary shall consider the State to have met the 
     requirement for purposes of receiving a grant under this 
     part.
       ``(e) Modification of Application.--An application 
     submitted by a State in accordance with this section shall 
     remain in effect until the State submits to the Secretary 
     such modifications as the State determines necessary. This 
     section shall apply to a modification of an application to 
     the same extent and in the same manner as this section 
     applies to the original application.
       ``(f) Modifications Required by the Secretary.--The 
     Secretary may require a State to modify its application under 
     this section, but only to the extent necessary to ensure the 
     State's compliance with this part, if--
       ``(1) an amendment is made to this Act, or a Federal 
     regulation issued under this Act;
       ``(2) a new interpretation of this Act is made by a Federal 
     court or the State's highest court; or
       ``(3) an official finding of noncompliance with Federal law 
     or regulations is made with respect to the State.

     ``SEC. 638. USES OF FUNDS.

       ``In addition to using funds provided under section 633 to 
     maintain and implement the statewide system required by such 
     section, a State may use such funds--
       ``(1) for direct early intervention services for infants 
     and toddlers with disabilities, and their families, under 
     this part that are not otherwise funded through other public 
     or private sources;
       ``(2) to expand and improve on services for infants and 
     toddlers and their families under this part that are 
     otherwise available;
       ``(3) to provide a free appropriate public education, in 
     accordance with part B, to children with disabilities from 
     their third birthday to the beginning of the following school 
     year;
       ``(4) with the written consent of the parents, to continue 
     to provide early intervention services under this part to 
     children with disabilities from their 3rd birthday to the 
     beginning of the following school year, in lieu of a free 
     appropriate public education provided in accordance with part 
     B; and
       ``(5) in any State that does not provide services for at-
     risk infants and toddlers under section 637(a)(4), to 
     strengthen the statewide system by initiating, expanding, or 
     improving collaborative efforts related to at-risk infants 
     and toddlers, including establishing linkages with 
     appropriate public or private community-based organizations, 
     services, and personnel for the purposes of--
       ``(A) identifying and evaluating at-risk infants and 
     toddlers;
       ``(B) making referrals of the infants and toddlers 
     identified and evaluated under subparagraph (A); and
       ``(C) conducting periodic follow-up on each such referral 
     to determine if the status of the infant or toddler involved 
     has changed with respect to the eligibility of the infant or 
     toddler for services under this part.

     ``SEC. 639. PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS.

       ``(a) Minimum Procedures.--The procedural safeguards 
     required to be included in a statewide system under section 
     635(a)(13) shall provide, at a minimum, the following:
       ``(1) The timely administrative resolution of complaints by 
     parents. Any party aggrieved by the findings and decision 
     regarding an administrative complaint shall have the right to 
     bring a

[[Page S5312]]

     civil action with respect to the complaint in any State court 
     of competent jurisdiction or in a district court of the 
     United States without regard to the amount in controversy. In 
     any action brought under this paragraph, the court shall 
     receive the records of the administrative proceedings, shall 
     hear additional evidence at the request of a party, and, 
     basing its decision on the preponderance of the evidence, 
     shall grant such relief as the court determines is 
     appropriate.
       ``(2) The right to confidentiality of personally 
     identifiable information, including the right of parents to 
     written notice of and written consent to the exchange of such 
     information among agencies consistent with Federal and State 
     law.
       ``(3) The right of the parents to determine whether they, 
     their infant or toddler, or other family members will accept 
     or decline any early intervention service under this part in 
     accordance with State law without jeopardizing other early 
     intervention services under this part.
       ``(4) The opportunity for parents to examine records 
     relating to assessment, screening, eligibility 
     determinations, and the development and implementation of the 
     individualized family service plan.
       ``(5) Procedures to protect the rights of the infant or 
     toddler whenever the parents of the infant or toddler are not 
     known or cannot be found or the infant or toddler is a ward 
     of the State, including the assignment of an individual (who 
     shall not be an employee of the State lead agency, or other 
     State agency, and who shall not be any person, or any 
     employee of a person, providing early intervention services 
     to the infant or toddler or any family member of the infant 
     or toddler) to act as a surrogate for the parents.
       ``(6) Written prior notice to the parents of the infant or 
     toddler with a disability whenever the State agency or 
     service provider proposes to initiate or change, or refuses 
     to initiate or change, the identification, evaluation, or 
     placement of the infant or toddler with a disability, or the 
     provision of appropriate early intervention services to the 
     infant or toddler.
       ``(7) Procedures designed to ensure that the notice 
     required by paragraph (6) fully informs the parents, in the 
     parents' native language, unless it clearly is not feasible 
     to do so, of all procedures available pursuant to this 
     section.
       ``(8) The right of parents to use mediation in accordance 
     with section 615, except that--
       ``(A) any reference in the section to a State educational 
     agency shall be considered to be a reference to a State's 
     lead agency established or designated under section 
     635(a)(10);
       ``(B) any reference in the section to a local educational 
     agency shall be considered to be a reference to a local 
     service provider or the State's lead agency under this part, 
     as the case may be; and
       ``(C) any reference in the section to the provision of free 
     appropriate public education to children with disabilities 
     shall be considered to be a reference to the provision of 
     appropriate early intervention services to infants and 
     toddlers with disabilities.
       ``(b) Services During Pendency of Proceedings.--During the 
     pendency of any proceeding or action involving a complaint by 
     the parents of an infant or toddler with a disability, unless 
     the State agency and the parents otherwise agree, the infant 
     or toddler shall continue to receive the appropriate early 
     intervention services currently being provided or, if 
     applying for initial services, shall receive the services not 
     in dispute.

     ``SEC. 640. PAYOR OF LAST RESORT.

       ``(a) Nonsubstitution.--Funds provided under section 643 
     may not be used to satisfy a financial commitment for 
     services that would have been paid for from another public or 
     private source, including any medical program administered by 
     the Secretary of Defense, but for the enactment of this part, 
     except that whenever considered necessary to prevent a delay 
     in the receipt of appropriate early intervention services by 
     an infant, toddler, or family in a timely fashion, funds 
     provided under section 643 may be used to pay the provider of 
     services pending reimbursement from the agency that has 
     ultimate responsibility for the payment.
       ``(b) Obligations Related to and Methods of Ensuring 
     Services.--
       ``(1) Establishing financial responsibility for services.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Chief Executive Officer of a State 
     or designee of the officer shall ensure that an interagency 
     agreement or other mechanism for interagency coordination is 
     in effect between each public agency and the State 
     educational agency, in order to ensure--
       ``(i) the provision of, and financial responsibility for, 
     services provided under this part; and
       ``(ii) such services are consistent with the requirements 
     of section 635 and the State's application pursuant to 
     section 637, including the provision of such services during 
     the pendency of any dispute.
       ``(B) Consistency between agreements or mechanisms under 
     parts b and d.--The Chief Executive Officer of a State or 
     designee of the officer shall ensure that the terms and 
     conditions of such agreement or mechanism are consistent with 
     the terms and conditions of the State's agreement or 
     mechanism under section 612(a)(12).
       ``(2) Reimbursement for services by public agency.--
       ``(A) In general.--If a public agency other than an 
     educational agency fails to provide or pay for the services 
     pursuant to an agreement required under paragraph (1) the 
     local educational agency or State agency (as determined by 
     the Chief Executive Officer or designee) shall provide or pay 
     for the provision of such services to the child.
       ``(B) Reimbursement.--Such local educational agency or 
     State agency is authorized to claim reimbursement for the 
     services from the public agency that failed to provide or pay 
     for such services and such public agency shall reimburse the 
     local educational agency or State agency pursuant to the 
     terms of the interagency agreement or other mechanism 
     required under paragraph (1).
       ``(3) Special rule.--The requirements of paragraph (1) may 
     be met through--
       ``(A) State statute or regulation;
       ``(B) signed agreements between respective agency officials 
     that clearly identify the responsibilities of each agency 
     relating to the provision of services; or
       ``(C) other appropriate written methods as determined by 
     the Chief Executive Officer of the State or designee of the 
     officer and approved by the Secretary through the review and 
     approval of the State's application pursuant to section 637.
       ``(c) Reduction of Other Benefits.--Nothing in this part 
     shall be construed to permit the State to reduce medical or 
     other assistance available or to alter eligibility under 
     title V of the Social Security Act (relating to maternal and 
     child health) or title XIX of the Social Security Act 
     (relating to Medicaid for infants or toddlers with 
     disabilities) within the State.

     ``SEC. 641. STATE INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COUNCIL.

       ``(a) Establishment.--
       ``(1) In general.--A State that desires to receive 
     financial assistance under this part shall establish a State 
     interagency coordinating council.
       ``(2) Appointment.--The council shall be appointed by the 
     Governor. In making appointments to the council, the Governor 
     shall ensure that the membership of the council reasonably 
     represents the population of the State.
       ``(3) Chairperson.--The Governor shall designate a member 
     of the council to serve as the chairperson of the council, or 
     shall require the council to so designate such a member. Any 
     member of the council who is a representative of the lead 
     agency designated under section 635(a)(10) may not serve as 
     the chairperson of the council.
       ``(b) Composition.--
       ``(1) In general.--The council shall be composed as 
     follows:
       ``(A) Parents.--At least 20 percent of the members shall be 
     parents of infants or toddlers with disabilities or children 
     with disabilities aged 12 or younger, with knowledge of, or 
     experience with, programs for infants and toddlers with 
     disabilities. At least 1 such member shall be a parent of an 
     infant or toddler with a disability or a child with a 
     disability aged 6 or younger.
       ``(B) Service providers.--At least 20 percent of the 
     members shall be public or private providers of early 
     intervention services.
       ``(C) State legislature.--At least 1 member shall be from 
     the State legislature.
       ``(D) Personnel preparation.--At least 1 member shall be 
     involved in personnel preparation.
       ``(E) Agency for early intervention services.--At least 1 
     member shall be from each of the State agencies involved in 
     the provision of, or payment for, early intervention services 
     to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families 
     and shall have sufficient authority to engage in policy 
     planning and implementation on behalf of such agencies.
       ``(F) Agency for preschool services.--At least 1 member 
     shall be from the State educational agency responsible for 
     preschool services to children with disabilities and shall 
     have sufficient authority to engage in policy planning and 
     implementation on behalf of such agency.
       ``(G) State medicaid agency.--At least 1 member shall be 
     from the agency responsible for the State medicaid program.
       ``(H) Head start agency.--At least 1 representative from a 
     Head Start agency or program in the State.
       ``(I) Child care agency.--At least 1 representative from a 
     State agency responsible for child care.
       ``(J) Agency for health insurance.--At least 1 member shall 
     be from the agency responsible for the State regulation of 
     health insurance.
       ``(2) Other members.--The council may include other members 
     selected by the Governor, including a representative from the 
     Bureau of Indian Affairs, or where there is no BIA-operated 
     or BIA-funded school, from the Indian Health Service or the 
     tribe or tribal council.
       ``(c) Meetings.--The council shall meet at least quarterly 
     and in such places as the council determines necessary. The 
     meetings shall be publicly announced, and, to the extent 
     appropriate, open and accessible to the general public.
       ``(d) Management Authority.--Subject to the approval of the 
     Governor, the council may prepare and approve a budget using 
     funds under this part to conduct hearings and forums, to 
     reimburse members of the council for reasonable and necessary 
     expenses for attending council meetings and performing 
     council duties (including child care for parent 
     representatives), to pay compensation to a member of the 
     council if the member is not employed or must forfeit wages 
     from other employment when performing official council 
     business, to hire staff, and to obtain the services of such 
     professional, technical, and clerical personnel as may be 
     necessary to carry out its functions under this part.
       ``(e) Functions of Council.--
       ``(1) Duties.--The council shall--
       ``(A) advise and assist the lead agency designated or 
     established under section 635(a)(10) in the performance of 
     the responsibilities set forth in such section, particularly 
     the identification of the sources of fiscal and other support 
     for services for early intervention programs, assignment of 
     financial responsibility to the appropriate agency, and the 
     promotion of the interagency agreements;

[[Page S5313]]

       ``(B) advise and assist the lead agency in the preparation 
     of applications and amendments thereto;
       ``(C) advise and assist the State educational agency 
     regarding the transition of toddlers with disabilities to 
     preschool and other appropriate services; and
       ``(D) prepare and submit an annual report to the Governor 
     and to the Secretary on the status of early intervention 
     programs for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their 
     families operated within the State.
       ``(2) Authorized activity.--The council may advise and 
     assist the lead agency and the State educational agency 
     regarding the provision of appropriate services for children 
     from birth through age 5. The council may advise appropriate 
     agencies in the State with respect to the integration of 
     services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and at-
     risk infants and toddlers and their families, regardless of 
     whether at-risk infants and toddlers are eligible for early 
     intervention services in the State.
       ``(f) Conflict of Interest.--No member of the council shall 
     cast a vote on any matter that is likely to provide a direct 
     financial benefit to that member or otherwise give the 
     appearance of a conflict of interest under State law.

     ``SEC. 642. FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.

       ``Sections 616, 617, and 618 shall, to the extent not 
     inconsistent with this part, apply to the program authorized 
     by this part, except that--
       ``(1) any reference in such sections to a State educational 
     agency shall be considered to be a reference to a State's 
     lead agency established or designated under section 
     635(a)(10);
       ``(2) any reference in such sections to a local educational 
     agency, educational service agency, or a State agency shall 
     be considered to be a reference to an early intervention 
     service provider under this part; and
       ``(3) any reference to the education of children with 
     disabilities or the education of all children with 
     disabilities shall be considered to be a reference to the 
     provision of appropriate early intervention services to 
     infants and toddlers with disabilities.

     ``SEC. 643. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.

       ``(a) Reservation of Funds for Outlying Areas.--
       ``(1) In general.--From the sums appropriated to carry out 
     this part for any fiscal year, the Secretary may reserve not 
     more than 1 percent for payments to Guam, American Samoa, the 
     United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the 
     Northern Mariana Islands in accordance with their respective 
     needs.
       ``(2) Consolidation of funds.--The provisions of Public Law 
     95-134, permitting the consolidation of grants to the 
     outlying areas, shall not apply to funds those areas receive 
     under this part.
       ``(b) Payments to Indians.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, subject to this 
     subsection, make payments to the Secretary of the Interior to 
     be distributed to tribes, tribal organizations (as defined 
     under section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 
     Education Assistance Act), or consortia of the above entities 
     for the coordination of assistance in the provision of early 
     intervention services by the States to infants and toddlers 
     with disabilities and their families on reservations served 
     by elementary schools and secondary schools for Indian 
     children operated or funded by the Department of the 
     Interior. The amount of such payment for any fiscal year 
     shall be 1.25 percent of the aggregate of the amount 
     available to all States under this part for such fiscal year.
       ``(2) Allocation.--For each fiscal year, the Secretary of 
     the Interior shall distribute the entire payment received 
     under paragraph (1) by providing to each tribe, tribal 
     organization, or consortium an amount based on the number of 
     infants and toddlers residing on the reservation, as 
     determined annually, divided by the total of such children 
     served by all tribes, tribal organizations, or consortia.
       ``(3) Information.--To receive a payment under this 
     subsection, the tribe, tribal organization, or consortium 
     shall submit such information to the Secretary of the 
     Interior as is needed to determine the amounts to be 
     distributed under paragraph (2).
       ``(4) Use of funds.--The funds received by a tribe, tribal 
     organization, or consortium shall be used to assist States in 
     child find, screening, and other procedures for the early 
     identification of Indian children under 3 years of age and 
     for parent training. Such funds may also be used to provide 
     early intervention services in accordance with this part. 
     Such activities may be carried out directly or through 
     contracts or cooperative agreements with the BIA, local 
     educational agencies, and other public or private nonprofit 
     organizations. The tribe, tribal organization, or consortium 
     is encouraged to involve Indian parents in the development 
     and implementation of these activities. The above entities 
     shall, as appropriate, make referrals to local, State, or 
     Federal entities for the provision of services or further 
     diagnosis.
       ``(5) Reports.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
     paragraph (2), a tribe, tribal organization, or consortium 
     shall make a biennial report to the Secretary of the Interior 
     of activities undertaken under this subsection, including the 
     number of contracts and cooperative agreements entered into, 
     the number of children contacted and receiving services for 
     each year, and the estimated number of children needing 
     services during the 2 years following the year in which the 
     report is made. The Secretary of the Interior shall include a 
     summary of this information on a biennial basis to the 
     Secretary of Education along with such other information as 
     required under section 611(h)(3)(E). The Secretary of 
     Education may require any additional information from the 
     Secretary of the Interior.
       ``(6) Prohibited uses of funds.--None of the funds under 
     this subsection may be used by the Secretary of the Interior 
     for administrative purposes, including child count, and the 
     provision of technical assistance.
       ``(c) State Allotments.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and 
     (3), from the funds remaining for each fiscal year after the 
     reservation and payments under subsections (a), (b), and (e), 
     the Secretary shall first allot to each State an amount that 
     bears the same ratio to the amount of such remainder as the 
     number of infants and toddlers in the State bears to the 
     number of infants and toddlers in all States.
       ``(2) Minimum allotments.--Except as provided in paragraph 
     (3), no State shall receive an amount under this section for 
     any fiscal year that is less than the greater of--
       ``(A) \1/2\ of 1 percent of the remaining amount described 
     in paragraph (1); or
       ``(B) $500,000.
       ``(3) Ratable reduction.--
       ``(A) In general.--If the sums made available under this 
     part for any fiscal year are insufficient to pay the full 
     amounts that all States are eligible to receive under this 
     subsection for such year, the Secretary shall ratably reduce 
     the allotments to such States for such year.
       ``(B) Additional funds.--If additional funds become 
     available for making payments under this subsection for a 
     fiscal year, allotments that were reduced under subparagraph 
     (A) shall be increased on the same basis the allotments were 
     reduced.
       ``(4) Definitions.--For the purpose of this subsection--
       ``(A) the terms `infants' and `toddlers' mean children 
     under 3 years of age; and
       ``(B) the term `State' means each of the 50 States, the 
     District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
       ``(d) Reallotment of Funds.--If a State elects not to 
     receive its allotment under subsection (c), the Secretary 
     shall reallot, among the remaining States, amounts from such 
     State in accordance with such subsection.
       ``(e) Reservation for State Bonus Grants.--The Secretary 
     shall reserve 10 percent of the amount by which the amount 
     appropriated under section 644 for any fiscal year exceeds 
     $434,159,000 to make allotments to States that are carrying 
     out the policy described in section 635(b), in accordance 
     with the formula described in subsection (c)(1) without 
     regard to subsections (c) (2) and (3).

     ``SEC. 644. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       ``For the purpose of carrying out this part, there are 
     authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary 
     for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2009.

  ``PART D--NATIONAL ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH 
                              DISABILITIES

     ``SEC. 650. FINDINGS.

       ``Congress finds the following:
       ``(1) The Federal Government has an ongoing obligation to 
     support activities that contribute to positive results for 
     children with disabilities, enabling them to lead productive 
     and independent adult lives.
       ``(2) Systemic change benefiting all students, including 
     children with disabilities, requires the involvement of 
     States, local educational agencies, parents, individuals with 
     disabilities and their families, teachers and other service 
     providers, and other interested individuals and organizations 
     to develop and implement comprehensive strategies that 
     improve educational results for children with disabilities.
       ``(3) State educational agencies, in partnership with local 
     educational agencies, parents of children with disabilities, 
     and other individuals and organizations, are in the best 
     position to improve education for children with disabilities 
     and to address their special needs.
       ``(4) An effective educational system serving students with 
     disabilities should--
       ``(A) maintain high academic achievement standards and 
     clear performance goals for children with disabilities, 
     consistent with the standards and expectations for all 
     students in the educational system, and provide for 
     appropriate and effective strategies and methods to ensure 
     that all children with disabilities have the opportunity to 
     achieve those standards and goals;
       ``(B) clearly define, in objective, measurable terms, the 
     school and post-school results that children with 
     disabilities are expected to achieve; and
       ``(C) promote transition services and coordinate State and 
     local education, social, health, mental health, and other 
     services, in addressing the full range of student needs, 
     particularly the needs of children with disabilities who need 
     significant levels of support to participate and learn in 
     school and the community.
       ``(5) The availability of an adequate number of qualified 
     personnel is critical to serve effectively children with 
     disabilities, to assume leadership positions in 
     administration and direct services, to provide teacher 
     training, and to conduct high quality research to improve 
     special education.
       ``(6) High quality, comprehensive professional development 
     programs are essential to ensure that the persons responsible 
     for the education or transition of children with disabilities 
     possess the skills and knowledge necessary to address the 
     educational and related needs of those children.
       ``(7) Models of professional development should be 
     scientifically based and reflect successful practices, 
     including strategies for recruiting, preparing, and retaining 
     personnel.
       ``(8) Continued support is essential for the development 
     and maintenance of a coordinated and high quality program of 
     research to inform successful teaching practices and model 
     curricula for educating children with disabilities.
       ``(9) A comprehensive research agenda should be established 
     and pursued to promote the highest quality and rigor in 
     special education research, and to address the full range of 
     issues

[[Page S5314]]

     facing children with disabilities, parents of children with 
     disabilities, school personnel, and others.
       ``(10) Training, technical assistance, support, and 
     dissemination activities are necessary to ensure that parts B 
     and C are fully implemented and achieve high quality early 
     intervention, educational, and transitional results for 
     children with disabilities and their families.
       ``(11) Parents, teachers, administrators, and related 
     services personnel need technical assistance and information 
     in a timely, coordinated, and accessible manner in order to 
     improve early intervention, educational, and transitional 
     services and results at the State and local levels for 
     children with disabilities and their families.
       ``(12) Parent training and information activities assist 
     parents of a child with a disability in dealing with the 
     multiple pressures of parenting such a child and are of 
     particular importance in--
       ``(A) playing a vital role in creating and preserving 
     constructive relationships between parents of children with 
     disabilities and schools by facilitating open communication 
     between the parents and schools; encouraging dispute 
     resolution at the earliest possible point in time; and 
     discouraging the escalation of an adversarial process between 
     the parents and schools;
       ``(B) ensuring the involvement of parents in planning and 
     decisionmaking with respect to early intervention, 
     educational, and transitional services;
       ``(C) achieving high quality early intervention, 
     educational, and transitional results for children with 
     disabilities;
       ``(D) providing such parents information on their rights, 
     protections, and responsibilities under this Act to ensure 
     improved early intervention, educational, and transitional 
     results for children with disabilities;
       ``(E) assisting such parents in the development of skills 
     to participate effectively in the education and development 
     of their children and in the transitions described in section 
     673(b)(6);
       ``(F) supporting the roles of such parents as participants 
     within partnerships seeking to improve early intervention, 
     educational, and transitional services and results for 
     children with disabilities and their families; and
       ``(G) supporting such parents who may have limited access 
     to services and supports, due to economic, cultural, or 
     linguistic barriers.
       ``(13) Support is needed to improve technological resources 
     and integrate technology, including universally designed 
     technologies, into the lives of children with disabilities, 
     parents of children with disabilities, school personnel, and 
     others through curricula, services, and assistive 
     technologies.

 ``Subpart 1--State Personnel Preparation and Professional Development 
                                 Grants

     ``SEC. 651. PURPOSE; DEFINITION; PROGRAM AUTHORITY.

       ``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this subpart is to assist 
     State educational agencies in reforming and improving their 
     systems for personnel preparation and professional 
     development in early intervention, educational, and 
     transition services in order to improve results for children 
     with disabilities.
       ``(b) Definition.--In this subpart, the term `personnel' 
     means special education teachers, regular education teachers, 
     principals, administrators, related services personnel, 
     paraprofessionals, and early intervention personnel serving 
     infants, toddlers, preschoolers, or children with 
     disabilities, except where a particular category of 
     personnel, such as related services personnel, is identified.
       ``(c) Competitive Grants.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (d), 
     for any fiscal year for which the amount appropriated under 
     section 655, that remains after the Secretary reserves funds 
     under subsection (e) for the fiscal year, is less than 
     $100,000,000, the Secretary shall award grants, on a 
     competitive basis, to State educational agencies to carry out 
     the activities described in the State plan submitted under 
     section 653.
       ``(2) Priority.--In awarding grants under paragraph (1), 
     the Secretary may give priority to State educational agencies 
     that--
       ``(A) are in States with the greatest personnel shortages; 
     or
       ``(B) demonstrate the greatest difficulty meeting the 
     requirements of section 612(a)(14).
       ``(3) Minimum.--The Secretary shall make a grant to each 
     State educational agency selected under paragraph (1) in an 
     amount for each fiscal year that is--
       ``(A) not less than $500,000, nor more than $4,000,000, in 
     the case of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 
     Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and
       ``(B) not less than $80,000 in the case of an outlying 
     area.
       ``(4) Increases.--The Secretary may increase the amounts 
     under in paragraph (3) to account for inflation.
       ``(5) Factors.--The Secretary shall set the amount of each 
     grant under paragraph (1) after considering--
       ``(A) the amount of funds available for making the grants;
       ``(B) the relative population of the State or outlying 
     area;
       ``(C) the types of activities proposed by the State or 
     outlying area;
       ``(D) the alignment of proposed activities with section 
     612(a)(14);
       ``(E) the alignment of proposed activities with the State 
     plans and applications submitted under sections 1111 and 
     2112, respectively, of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
     Act of 1965; and
       ``(F) the use, as appropriate, of scientifically based 
     activities.
       ``(d) Formula Grants.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and 
     (3), for the first fiscal year for which the amount 
     appropriated under section 655, that remains after the 
     Secretary reserves funds under subsection (e) for the fiscal 
     year, is equal to or greater than $100,000,000, and for each 
     fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary shall allot to each 
     State educational agency, whose application meets the 
     requirements of this subpart, an amount that bears the same 
     relation to the amount appropriated as the amount the State 
     received under section 611(d) for that fiscal year bears to 
     the amount of funds received by all States (whose 
     applications meet the requirements of this subpart) under 
     section 611(d) for that fiscal year.
       ``(2) Minimum allotments for states that received 
     competitive grants.--
       ``(A) In general.--The amount allotted under this 
     subsection to any State that received a competitive multi-
     year grant under subsection (c) for which the grant period 
     has not expired shall be at least the amount specified for 
     that fiscal year in the State's grant award document under 
     that subsection.
       ``(B) Special rule.--Each such State shall use the minimum 
     amount described in subparagraph (A) for the activities 
     described in its competitive grant award document for that 
     year, unless the Secretary approves a request from the State 
     to spend the funds on other activities.
       ``(3) Minimum allotment.--The amount of any State 
     educational agency's allotment under this subsection for any 
     fiscal year shall not be less than--
       ``(A) the greater of $500,000 or \1/2\ of 1 percent of the 
     total amount available under this subsection for that year, 
     in the case of each of the 50 States, the District of 
     Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and
       ``(B) $80,000, in the case of an outlying area.
       ``(e) Continuation Awards.--
       ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     this subpart, from funds appropriated under section 655 for 
     each fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve the amount that 
     is necessary to make a continuation award to any State (at 
     the request of the State) that received a multi-year award 
     under this part (as this part was in effect on the day before 
     the date of enactment of the Individuals with Disabilities 
     Education Improvement Act of 2003), to enable the State to 
     carry out activities in accordance with the terms of the 
     multi-year award.
       ``(2) Prohibition.--A State that receives a continuation 
     award under paragraph (1) for any fiscal year may not receive 
     any other award under this subpart for that fiscal year.

     ``SEC. 652. ELIGIBILITY AND COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.

       ``(a) Eligible Applicants.--A State educational agency may 
     apply for a grant under this subpart for a grant period of 
     not less than 1 year and not more than 5 years.
       ``(b) Partners.--
       ``(1) In general.--In order to be considered for a grant 
     under this subpart, a State educational agency shall 
     establish a partnership with local educational agencies and 
     other State agencies involved in, or concerned with, the 
     education of children with disabilities, including 
     institutions of higher education and the State agencies 
     responsible for administering part C, child care, and 
     vocational rehabilitation programs.
       ``(2) Other partners.--In order to be considered for a 
     grant under this subpart, a State educational agency shall 
     work in partnership with other persons and organizations 
     involved in, and concerned with, the education of children 
     with disabilities, which may include--
       ``(A) the Governor;
       ``(B) parents of children with disabilities ages birth 
     through 26;
       ``(C) parents of nondisabled children ages birth through 
     26;
       ``(D) individuals with disabilities;
       ``(E) parent training and information centers or community 
     parent resource centers funded under sections 671 and 672, 
     respectively;
       ``(F) community based and other nonprofit organizations 
     involved in the education and employment of individuals with 
     disabilities;
       ``(G) personnel as defined in section 651(b);
       ``(H) the State advisory panel established under part B;
       ``(I) the State interagency coordinating council 
     established under part C;
       ``(J) individuals knowledgeable about vocational education;
       ``(K) the State agency for higher education;
       ``(L) public agencies with jurisdiction in the areas of 
     health, mental health, social services, and juvenile justice;
       ``(M) other providers of professional development that work 
     with infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and children with 
     disabilities; and
       ``(N) other individuals.
       ``(3) Required partner.--If State law assigns 
     responsibility for teacher preparation and certification to 
     an individual, entity, or agency other than the State 
     educational agency, the State educational agency shall--
       ``(A) include that individual, entity, or agency as a 
     partner in the partnership under this subsection; and
       ``(B) ensure that any activities the State will carry out 
     under this subpart that are within that partner's 
     jurisdiction (which may include activities described in 
     section 654(b)) are carried out by that partner.

     ``SEC. 653. APPLICATIONS.

       ``(a) In General.--
       ``(1) Submission.--A State educational agency that desires 
     to receive a grant under this subpart shall submit to the 
     Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and 
     including such information as the Secretary may require.
       ``(2) State plan.--The application shall include a plan 
     that identifies and addresses the State and local needs for 
     the personnel preparation and professional development of 
     administrators, principals, and teachers, as well as 
     individuals who provide direct supplementary aids

[[Page S5315]]

     and services to children with disabilities, and that--
       ``(A) is designed to enable the State to meet the 
     requirements of section 612(a)(14) and section 635(a) (8) and 
     (9);
       ``(B) is based on an assessment of State and local needs 
     that identifies critical aspects and areas in need of 
     improvement related to the preparation, ongoing training, and 
     professional development of personnel that serve infants, 
     toddlers, preschoolers, and children with disabilities within 
     the State, including--
       ``(i) current and anticipated personnel vacancies and 
     shortages; and
       ``(ii) the number of preservice programs; and
       ``(C) is integrated and aligned, to the maximum extent 
     possible, with State plans and activities under the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the 
     Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Higher Education Act of 
     1965.
       ``(3) Requirement.--The State application shall contain an 
     assurance that the State educational agency will carry out 
     each of the strategies described in subsection (b)(4).
       ``(b) Elements of State Personnel Preparation and 
     Professional Development Plan.--Each professional development 
     plan under subsection (a)(2) shall--
       ``(1) describe a partnership agreement that is in effect 
     for the period of the grant, which agreement shall specify--
       ``(A) the nature and extent of the partnership described in 
     section 652(b) and the respective roles of each member of the 
     partnership, including the partner described in section 
     652(b)(3) if applicable; and
       ``(B) how the State will work with other persons and 
     organizations involved in, and concerned with, the education 
     of children with disabilities, including the respective roles 
     of each of the persons and organizations;
       ``(2) describe how the strategies and activities described 
     in paragraph (4) will be coordinated with other public 
     resources (including part B and part C funds retained for use 
     at the State level for personnel and professional development 
     purposes) and private resources;
       ``(3) describe how the State will align its professional 
     development plan under this subpart with the plan and 
     application submitted under sections 1111 and 2112, 
     respectively, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
     of 1965;
       ``(4) describe what strategies the State will use to 
     address the professional development and personnel needs 
     identified under subsection (a)(2) and how those strategies 
     will be implemented, including--
       ``(A) a description of the preservice and inservice 
     programs and activities to be supported under this subpart 
     that will provide personnel with the knowledge and skills to 
     meet the needs of, and improve the performance and 
     achievement of, infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and children 
     with disabilities; and
       ``(B) how such strategies shall be integrated, to the 
     maximum extent possible, with other activities supported by 
     grants funded under this part, including those under section 
     664;
       ``(5) provide an assurance that the State will provide 
     technical assistance to local educational agencies to improve 
     the quality of professional development available to meet the 
     needs of personnel who serve children with disabilities;
       ``(6) provide an assurance that the State will provide 
     technical assistance to entities that provide services to 
     infants and toddlers with disabilities to improve the quality 
     of professional development available to meet the needs of 
     personnel serving such children;
       ``(7) describe how the State will recruit and retain highly 
     qualified teachers and other qualified personnel in 
     geographic areas of greatest need;
       ``(8) describe the steps the State will take to ensure that 
     poor and minority children are not taught at higher rates by 
     teachers who are not highly qualified; and
       ``(9) describe how the State will assess, on a regular 
     basis, the extent to which the strategies implemented under 
     this subpart have been effective in meeting the performance 
     goals described in section 612(a)(15).
       ``(c) Peer Review.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall use a panel of 
     experts who are competent, by virtue of their training, 
     expertise, or experience, to evaluate applications for grants 
     under section 651(c)(1).
       ``(2) Composition of panel.--A majority of a panel 
     described in paragraph (1) shall be composed of individuals 
     who are not employees of the Federal Government.
       ``(3) Payment of fees and expenses of certain members.--The 
     Secretary may use available funds appropriated to carry out 
     this subpart to pay the expenses and fees of panel members 
     who are not employees of the Federal Government.
       ``(d) Reporting Procedures.--Each State educational agency 
     that receives a grant under this subpart shall submit annual 
     performance reports to the Secretary. The reports shall 
     describe the progress of the State in implementing its plan 
     and analyze the effectiveness of the State's activities under 
     this subpart.

     ``SEC. 654. USE OF FUNDS.

       ``(a) Professional Development Activities.--A State 
     educational agency that receives a grant under this subpart 
     shall use the grant funds to support activities in accordance 
     with the State's plan described in section 653, including 1 
     or more of the following:
       ``(1) Carrying out programs that provide support to both 
     special education and regular education teachers of children 
     with disabilities and principals, such as programs that--
       ``(A) provide teacher mentoring, team teaching, reduced 
     class schedules and case loads, and intensive professional 
     development; and
       ``(B) use standards or assessments for guiding beginning 
     teachers that are consistent with challenging State student 
     academic achievement and functional standards and with the 
     requirements for professional development as defined in 
     section 9101(34) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
     Act of 1965.
       ``(2) Encouraging and supporting the training of special 
     education and regular education teachers and administrators 
     to effectively use and integrate technology--
       ``(A) into curricula and instruction, including training to 
     improve the ability to collect, manage, and analyze data to 
     improve teaching, decisionmaking, school improvement efforts, 
     and accountability;
       ``(B) to enhance learning by children with disabilities; 
     and
       ``(C) to effectively communicate with parents.
       ``(3) Providing professional development activities that--
       ``(A) improve the knowledge of special education and 
     regular education teachers concerning--
       ``(i) the academic and developmental or functional needs of 
     students with disabilities; or
       ``(ii) effective instructional strategies, methods, and 
     skills, and the use of State academic content standards and 
     student academic achievement and functional standards, and 
     State assessments, to improve teaching practices and student 
     academic achievement;
       ``(B) improve the knowledge of special education and 
     regular education teachers and principals and, in appropriate 
     cases, paraprofessionals, concerning effective instructional 
     practices and that--
       ``(i) provide training in how to teach and address the 
     needs of children with different learning styles and children 
     with limited English proficiency;
       ``(ii) involve collaborative groups of teachers and 
     administrators;
       ``(iii) provide training in methods of--

       ``(I) positive behavioral interventions and supports to 
     improve student behavior in the classroom;
       ``(II) scientifically based reading instruction, including 
     early literacy instruction;
       ``(III) early and appropriate interventions to identify and 
     help children with disabilities;
       ``(IV) effective instruction for children with low 
     incidence disabilities;
       ``(V) successful transitioning to postsecondary 
     opportunities; and
       ``(VI) using classroom-based techniques to assist children 
     prior to referral for special education;

       ``(iv) provide training to enable personnel to work with 
     and involve parents in their child's education, including 
     parents of low income and limited English proficient children 
     with disabilities;
       ``(v) provide training for special education personnel and 
     regular education personnel in planning, developing, and 
     implementing effective and appropriate IEPs; and
       ``(vi) providing training to meet the needs of students 
     with significant health, mobility, or behavioral needs prior 
     to serving such students; and
       ``(C) train administrators, principals, and other relevant 
     school personnel in conducting effective IEP meetings.
       ``(4) Developing and implementing initiatives to promote 
     the recruitment and retention of highly qualified special 
     education teachers, particularly initiatives that have been 
     proven effective in recruitment and retaining highly 
     qualified teachers, including programs that provide--
       ``(A) teacher mentoring from exemplary special education 
     teachers, principals, or superintendents;
       ``(B) induction and support for special education teachers 
     during their first 3 years of employment as teachers; or
       ``(C) incentives, including financial incentives, to retain 
     special education teachers who have a record of success in 
     helping students with disabilities.
       ``(5) Carrying out programs and activities that are 
     designed to improve the quality of personnel who serve 
     children with disabilities, such as--
       ``(A) innovative professional development programs (which 
     may be provided through partnerships that include 
     institutions of higher education), including programs that 
     train teachers and principals to integrate technology into 
     curricula and instruction to improve teaching, learning, and 
     technology literacy, which professional development shall be 
     consistent with the definition of professional development in 
     section 9101(34) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
     Act of 1965; and
       ``(B) the development and use of proven, cost effective 
     strategies for the implementation of professional development 
     activities, such as through the use of technology and 
     distance learning.
       ``(6) Carrying out programs and activities that are 
     designed to improve the quality of early intervention 
     personnel, including paraprofessionals and primary referral 
     sources, such as--
       ``(A) professional development programs to improve the 
     delivery of early intervention services;
       ``(B) initiatives to promote the recruitment and retention 
     of early intervention personnel; and
       ``(C) interagency activities to ensure that personnel are 
     adequately prepared and trained.
       ``(b) Other Activities.--A State educational agency that 
     receives a grant under this subpart shall use the grant funds 
     to support activities in accordance with the State's plan 
     described in section 653, including 1 or more of the 
     following:
       ``(1) Reforming special education and regular education 
     teacher certification (including recertification) or 
     licensing requirements to ensure that--
       ``(A) special education and regular education teachers 
     have--
       ``(i) the training and information necessary to address the 
     full range of needs of children with disabilities across 
     disability categories; and
       ``(ii) the necessary subject matter knowledge and teaching 
     skills in the academic subjects that they teach;

[[Page S5316]]

       ``(B) special education and regular education teacher 
     certification (including recertification) or licensing 
     requirements are aligned with challenging State academic 
     content standards; and
       ``(C) special education and regular education teachers have 
     the subject matter knowledge and teaching skills, including 
     technology literacy, necessary to help students with 
     disabilities meet challenging State student academic 
     achievement and functional standards.
       ``(2) Programs that establish, expand, or improve 
     alternative routes for State certification of special 
     education teachers for highly qualified individuals with a 
     baccalaureate or master's degree, including mid-career 
     professionals from other occupations, paraprofessionals, and 
     recent college or university graduates with records of 
     academic distinction who demonstrate the potential to become 
     highly effective special education teachers.
       ``(3) Teacher advancement initiatives for special education 
     teachers that promote professional growth and emphasize 
     multiple career paths (such as paths to becoming a career 
     teacher, mentor teacher, or exemplary teacher) and pay 
     differentiation.
       ``(4) Developing and implementing mechanisms to assist 
     local educational agencies and schools in effectively 
     recruiting and retaining highly qualified special education 
     teachers.
       ``(5) Reforming tenure systems, implementing teacher 
     testing for subject matter knowledge, and implementing 
     teacher testing for State certification or licensing, 
     consistent with title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
       ``(6) Funding projects to promote reciprocity of teacher 
     certification or licensing between or among States for 
     special education teachers, except that no reciprocity 
     agreement developed under this paragraph or developed using 
     funds provided under this subpart may lead to the weakening 
     of any State teaching certification or licensing requirement.
       ``(7) Developing or assisting local educational agencies to 
     serve children with disabilities through the development and 
     use of proven, innovative strategies to deliver intensive 
     professional development programs that are both cost 
     effective and easily accessible, such as strategies that 
     involve delivery through the use of technology, peer 
     networks, and distance learning.
       ``(8) Developing, or assisting local educational agencies 
     in developing, merit based performance systems, and 
     strategies that provide differential and bonus pay for 
     special education teachers.
       ``(9) Supporting activities that ensure that teachers are 
     able to use challenging State academic content standards and 
     student academic and functional achievement standards, and 
     State assessments for all children with disabilities, to 
     improve instructional practices and improve the academic 
     achievement of children with disabilities.
       ``(10) When applicable, coordinating with, and expanding 
     centers established under, section 2113(c)(18) of the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to benefit 
     special education teachers.
       ``(c) Contracts and Subgrants.--Each such State educational 
     agency--
       ``(1) shall award contracts or subgrants to local 
     educational agencies, institutions of higher education, 
     parent training and information centers, or community parent 
     resource centers, as appropriate, to carry out its State plan 
     under this subpart; and
       ``(2) may award contracts and subgrants to other public and 
     private entities, including the lead agency under part C, to 
     carry out such plan.
       ``(d) Use of Funds for Professional Development.--A State 
     educational agency that receives a grant under this subpart 
     shall use--
       ``(1) not less than 75 percent of the funds the State 
     educational agency receives under the grant for any fiscal 
     year for activities under subsection (a); and
       ``(2) not more than 25 percent of the funds the State 
     educational agency receives under the grant for any fiscal 
     year for activities under subsection (b).
       ``(e) Grants to Outlying Areas.--Public Law 95-134, 
     permitting the consolidation of grants to the outlying areas, 
     shall not apply to funds received under this subpart.

     ``SEC. 655. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     subpart such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal 
     years 2004 through 2009.

``Subpart 2--Scientifically Based Research, Technical Assistance, Model 
        Demonstration Projects, and Dissemination of Information

     ``SEC. 660. PURPOSE.

       ``The purpose of this subpart is--
       ``(1) to provide Federal funding for scientifically based 
     research, technical assistance, model demonstration projects, 
     and information dissemination to improve early intervention, 
     educational, and transitional results for children with 
     disabilities; and
       ``(2) to assist State educational agencies and local 
     educational agencies in improving their education systems.

     ``SEC. 661. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

       ``(a) Comprehensive Plan.--
       ``(1) In general.--After receiving input from interested 
     individuals with relevant expertise, the Secretary shall 
     develop and implement a comprehensive plan for activities 
     carried out under this subpart (other than activities 
     assisted under section 665 and subpart 3) in order to enhance 
     the provision of early intervention, educational, related and 
     transitional services to children with disabilities under 
     parts B and C. The plan shall be coordinated with the plan 
     developed pursuant to section 177(c) of the Education 
     Sciences Reform Act of 2002 and shall include mechanisms to 
     address early intervention, educational, related service and 
     transitional needs identified by State educational agencies 
     in applications submitted for State Personnel and 
     Professional Development grants under subpart 1 and for 
     grants under this subpart.
       ``(2) Public comment.--The Secretary shall provide a public 
     comment period of at least 60 days on the plan.
       ``(3) Distribution of funds.--In implementing the plan, the 
     Secretary shall, to the extent appropriate, ensure that funds 
     are awarded to recipients under this subpart, subpart 3, and 
     subpart 4 to carry out activities that benefit, directly or 
     indirectly, children with the full range of disabilities and 
     of all ages.
       ``(4) Reports to congress.--The Secretary shall annually 
     report to Congress on the Secretary's activities under this 
     subpart, subpart 3, and subpart 4, including an initial 
     report not later than 12 months after the date of enactment 
     of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement 
     Act of 2003.
       ``(b) Eligible Applicants.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
     subpart, the following entities are eligible to apply for a 
     grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this subpart:
       ``(A) A State educational agency.
       ``(B) A local educational agency.
       ``(C) A public charter school that is a local educational 
     agency under State law.
       ``(D) An institution of higher education.
       ``(E) Any other public agency.
       ``(F) A private nonprofit organization.
       ``(G) An outlying area.
       ``(H) An Indian tribe or a tribal organization (as defined 
     under section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 
     Education Assistance Act).
       ``(I) A for-profit organization.
       ``(2) Special rule.--The Secretary may limit the entities 
     eligible for an award of a grant, contract, or cooperative 
     agreement to 1 or more categories of eligible entities 
     described in paragraph (1).
       ``(c) Special Populations.--
       ``(1) Application requirement.--In making an award of a 
     grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this subpart, 
     subpart 3, and subpart 4, the Secretary shall, as 
     appropriate, require an applicant to meet the criteria set 
     forth by the Secretary under this subpart and demonstrate how 
     the applicant will address the needs of children with 
     disabilities from minority backgrounds.
       ``(2) Outreach and technical assistance.--Notwithstanding 
     any other provision of this Act, the Secretary shall reserve 
     at least 1 percent of the total amount of funds made 
     available to carry out this subpart, subpart 3, or subpart 4 
     for 1 or both of the following activities:
       ``(A) To provide outreach and technical assistance to 
     Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and to 
     institutions of higher education with minority enrollments of 
     at least 25 percent, to promote the participation of such 
     colleges, universities, and institutions in activities under 
     this subpart.
       ``(B) To enable Historically Black Colleges and 
     Universities, and the institutions described in subparagraph 
     (A), to assist other colleges, universities, institutions, 
     and agencies in improving educational and transitional 
     results for children with disabilities.
       ``(d) Priorities.--The Secretary, in making an award of a 
     grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this subpart, 
     subpart 3, or subpart 4, may, without regard to the 
     rulemaking procedures under section 553(a) of title 5, United 
     States Code, limit competitions to, or otherwise give 
     priority to--
       ``(1) projects that address 1 or more--
       ``(A) age ranges;
       ``(B) disabilities;
       ``(C) school grades;
       ``(D) types of educational placements or early intervention 
     environments;
       ``(E) types of services;
       ``(F) content areas, such as reading; or
       ``(G) effective strategies for helping children with 
     disabilities learn appropriate behavior in the school and 
     other community based educational settings;
       ``(2) projects that address the needs of children based on 
     the severity or incidence of their disability;
       ``(3) projects that address the needs of--
       ``(A) low achieving students;
       ``(B) underserved populations;
       ``(C) children from low income families;
       ``(D) limited English proficient children;
       ``(E) unserved and underserved areas;
       ``(F) rural or urban areas;
       ``(G) children whose behavior interferes with their 
     learning and socialization;
       ``(H) children with reading difficulties;
       ``(I) children in charter schools; or
       ``(J) children who are gifted and talented;
       ``(4) projects to reduce inappropriate identification of 
     children as children with disabilities, particularly among 
     minority children;
       ``(5) projects that are carried out in particular areas of 
     the country, to ensure broad geographic coverage;
       ``(6) projects that promote the development and use of 
     universally designed technologies, assistive technology 
     devices, and assistive technology services to maximize 
     children with disabilities' access to and participation in 
     the general education curriculum; and
       ``(7) any activity that is authorized in this subpart or 
     subpart 3.
       ``(e) Applicant and Recipient Responsibilities.--
       ``(1) Development and assessment of projects.--The 
     Secretary shall require that an applicant for, and a 
     recipient of, a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement for 
     a project under this subpart, subpart 3, or subpart 4--
       ``(A) involve individuals with disabilities or parents of 
     individuals with disabilities ages birth through 26 in 
     planning, implementing, and evaluating the project; and
       ``(B) where appropriate, determine whether the project has 
     any potential for replication and adoption by other entities.

[[Page S5317]]

       ``(2) Additional responsibilities.--The Secretary may 
     require a recipient of a grant, contract, or cooperative 
     agreement under this subpart, subpart 3, or subpart 4 to--
       ``(A) share in the cost of the project;
       ``(B) prepare any findings and products from the project in 
     formats that are useful for specific audiences, including 
     parents, administrators, teachers, early intervention 
     personnel, related services personnel, and individuals with 
     disabilities;
       ``(C) disseminate such findings and products; and
       ``(D) collaborate with other such recipients in carrying 
     out subparagraphs (B) and (C).
       ``(f) Application Management.--
       ``(1) Standing panel.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall establish and use a 
     standing panel of experts who are competent, by virtue of 
     their training, expertise, or experience, to evaluate 
     applications under this subpart (other than applications for 
     assistance under section 665), subpart 3, and subpart 4 that, 
     individually, request more than $75,000 per year in Federal 
     financial assistance.
       ``(B) Membership.--The standing panel shall include, at a 
     minimum--
       ``(i) individuals who are representatives of institutions 
     of higher education that plan, develop, and carry out high 
     quality programs of personnel preparation;
       ``(ii) individuals who design and carry out scientifically 
     based research targeted to the improvement of special 
     education programs and services;
       ``(iii) individuals who have recognized experience and 
     knowledge necessary to integrate and apply scientifically 
     based research findings to improve educational and 
     transitional results for children with disabilities;
       ``(iv) individuals who administer programs at the State or 
     local level in which children with disabilities participate;
       ``(v) individuals who prepare parents of children with 
     disabilities to participate in making decisions about the 
     education of their children;
       ``(vi) individuals who establish policies that affect the 
     delivery of services to children with disabilities;
       ``(vii) parents of children with disabilities ages birth 
     through 26 who are benefiting, or have benefited, from 
     coordinated research, personnel preparation, and technical 
     assistance; and
       ``(viii) individuals with disabilities.
       ``(C) Term.--Unless approved by the Secretary due to 
     extenuating circumstances related to shortages of experts in 
     a particular area of expertise or for a specific competition, 
     no individual shall serve on the standing panel for more than 
     3 consecutive years.
       ``(2) Peer review panels for particular competitions.--
       ``(A) Composition.--The Secretary shall ensure that each 
     sub panel selected from the standing panel that reviews 
     applications under this subpart (other than section 665), 
     subpart 3, and subpart 4 includes--
       ``(i) individuals with knowledge and expertise on the 
     issues addressed by the activities authorized by the relevant 
     subpart; and
       ``(ii) to the extent practicable, parents of children with 
     disabilities ages birth through 26, individuals with 
     disabilities, and persons from diverse backgrounds.
       ``(B) Federal employment limitation.--A majority of the 
     individuals on each sub panel that reviews an application 
     under this subpart (other than an application under section 
     665), subpart 3, and subpart 4 shall be individuals who are 
     not employees of the Federal Government.
       ``(3) Use of discretionary funds for administrative 
     purposes.--
       ``(A) Expenses and fees of non-federal panel members.--The 
     Secretary may use funds made available under this subpart, 
     subpart 3, and subpart 4 to pay the expenses and fees of the 
     panel members who are not officers or employees of the 
     Federal Government.
       ``(B) Administrative support.--The Secretary may use not 
     more than 1 percent of the funds made available to carry out 
     this subpart, subpart 3, or subpart 4 to pay non-Federal 
     entities for administrative support related to management of 
     applications submitted under this subpart.
       ``(4) Availability of certain products.--The Secretary 
     shall ensure that recipients of grants, cooperative 
     agreements, or contracts under this subpart, subpart 3, and 
     subpart 4 make available in formats that are accessible to 
     individuals with disabilities any products developed under 
     such grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts that the 
     recipient is making available to the public.
       ``(g) Program Evaluation.--The Secretary may use funds made 
     available to carry out this subpart, subpart 3, and subpart 4 
     to evaluate activities carried out under this subpart.
       ``(h) Minimum Funding Required.--
       ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary 
     shall ensure that, for each fiscal year, at least the 
     following amounts are provided under this subpart and subpart 
     3 to address the following needs:
       ``(A) $12,832,000 to address the educational, related 
     services, transitional, and early intervention needs of 
     children with deaf-blindness.
       ``(B) $4,000,000 to address the postsecondary, vocational, 
     technical, continuing, and adult education needs of 
     individuals with deafness.
       ``(C) $4,000,000 to address the educational, related 
     services, and transitional needs of children with an 
     emotional disturbance and those who are at risk of developing 
     an emotional disturbance.
       ``(2) Ratable reduction.--If the total amount appropriated 
     to carry out this subpart, subpart 3, and part E of the 
     Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 for any fiscal year is 
     less than $130,000,000, the amounts listed in paragraph (1) 
     shall be ratably reduced.
       ``(i) Eligibility for Financial Assistance.--No State or 
     local educational agency, or other public institution or 
     agency, may receive a grant or enter into a contract or 
     cooperative agreement under this subpart that relates 
     exclusively to programs, projects, and activities pertaining 
     to children aged 3 through 5, inclusive, unless the State is 
     eligible to receive a grant under section 619(b).

     ``SEC. 662. RESEARCH COORDINATION TO IMPROVE RESULTS FOR 
                   CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES.

       ``The Secretary shall coordinate research carried out under 
     this subpart with research carried out under part E of the 
     Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002.

     ``SEC. 663. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS, 
                   DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION, AND 
                   IMPLEMENTATION OF SCIENTIFICALLY BASED 
                   RESEARCH.

       ``(a) In General.--From amounts made available under 
     section 675, the Secretary, on a competitive basis, shall 
     award grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative 
     agreements with, eligible entities to provide technical 
     assistance, carry out model demonstration projects, 
     disseminate useful information, and implement activities that 
     are supported by scientifically based research.
       ``(b) Required Activities.--The Secretary shall support 
     activities to improve services provided under this Act, 
     including the practices of professionals and others involved 
     in providing such services to children with disabilities, 
     that promote academic achievement and functional performance 
     to improve educational results and functional outcomes for 
     children with disabilities through--
       ``(1) implementing effective strategies that are conducive 
     to learning and for addressing inappropriate behavior of 
     students with disabilities in schools, including strategies 
     to prevent children with emotional and behavioral problems 
     from developing emotional disturbances that require the 
     provision of special education and related services;
       ``(2) improving the alignment, compatibility, and 
     development of valid and reliable assessment methods, 
     including alternate assessment methods and evaluation 
     methods, for assessing adequately yearly progress as 
     described in section 1111(b)(2) of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965;
       ``(3) providing information to both regular education 
     teachers and special education teachers to address the 
     different learning styles and disabilities of students;
       ``(4) disseminating information on innovative, effective, 
     and efficient curricula, materials (including those that are 
     universally designed), instructional approaches, and 
     strategies that--
       ``(A) support effective transitions between educational 
     settings or from school to post-school settings;
       ``(B) support effective inclusion of students with 
     disabilities in general education settings, especially 
     students with low-incidence disabilities; and
       ``(C) improve educational and transitional results at all 
     levels of the educational system in which the activities are 
     carried out and, in particular, that improve the progress of 
     children with disabilities, as measured by assessments within 
     the general education curriculum involved; and
       ``(5) demonstrating and applying scientifically-based 
     findings to facilitate systematic changes related to the 
     provision of services to children with disabilities.
       ``(c) Authorized Activities.--Activities that may be 
     carried out under this section include activities to improve 
     services provided under this Act, including the practices of 
     professionals and others involved in providing such services 
     to children with disabilities, that promote increased 
     academic achievement and enhanced functional outcomes for 
     children with disabilities through--
       ``(1) supporting and promoting the coordination of early 
     intervention, education, and transitional services for 
     children with disabilities with services provided by health, 
     rehabilitation, and social service agencies;
       ``(2) promoting improved alignment and compatibility of 
     general and special education reforms concerned with 
     curriculum and instructional reform, and evaluating of such 
     reforms;
       ``(3) enabling professionals, parents of children with 
     disabilities, and other persons, to learn about, and 
     implement, the findings of scientifically based research and 
     effective practices relating to the provision of services to 
     children with disabilities;
       ``(4) disseminating information relating to successful 
     approaches to overcoming systemic barriers to the effective 
     and efficient delivery of early intervention, educational, 
     and transitional services, to personnel who provide services 
     to children with disabilities;
       ``(5) assisting States and local educational agencies with 
     the process of planning systemic changes that will promote 
     improved early intervention, educational, and transitional 
     results for children with disabilities;
       ``(6) promoting change through a multi-State or regional 
     framework that benefits States, local educational agencies, 
     and other participants in partnerships that are in the 
     process of achieving systemic change;
       ``(7) focusing on the needs and issues that are specific to 
     a population of children with disabilities, such as providing 
     single-State and multi-State technical assistance and in-
     service training--
       ``(A) to schools and agencies serving deaf-blind children 
     and their families;
       ``(B) to programs and agencies serving other groups of 
     children with low-incidence disabilities and their families;
       ``(C) to address the postsecondary education needs of 
     individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing; and

[[Page S5318]]

       ``(D) to schools and personnel providing special education 
     and related services for children with autism spectrum 
     disorders;
       ``(8) demonstrating models of personnel preparation to 
     ensure appropriate placements and services for all students 
     with disabilities and to reduce disproportionality in 
     eligibility, placement, and disciplinary actions for minority 
     and limited English proficient children: and
       ``(9) disseminating information on how to reduce racial and 
     ethnic disproportionalities.
       ``(d) Balance Among Disabilities and Age Ranges.--In 
     carrying out this section, the Secretary shall ensure that 
     there is an appropriate balance across all age ranges and 
     disabilities.
       ``(e) Linking States to Information Sources.--In carrying 
     out this section, the Secretary may support projects that 
     link States to technical assistance resources, including 
     special education and general education resources, and may 
     make research and related products available through 
     libraries, electronic networks, parent training projects, and 
     other information sources.
       ``(f) Applications.--
       ``(1) In general.--An eligible entity that desires to 
     receive a grant, or to enter into a contract or cooperative 
     agreement, under this section shall submit an application to 
     the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 
     such information as the Secretary may require.
       ``(2) Contents.--The Secretary may, as appropriate, require 
     eligible entities to demonstrate that the projects described 
     in their applications are supported by scientifically based 
     research that has been carried out in conjunction with the 
     standards for the conduct and evaluation of all research and 
     development established by the National Center for Education 
     Research under sections 133 and 134 of the Education Sciences 
     Reform Act of 2002.
       ``(3) Priority.--As appropriate, the Secretary shall give 
     priority to applications that propose to serve teachers and 
     school personnel directly in the school environment or that 
     strengthen State and local agency capacity to improve 
     instructional practices of personnel to improve educational 
     results for children with disabilities in the school 
     environment.

     ``SEC. 664. PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT TO IMPROVE SERVICES AND 
                   RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, on a competitive basis, 
     shall award grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative 
     agreements with, eligible entities for 1 or more of the 
     following:
       ``(1) To help address the needs identified in the State 
     plan described in section 653(a)(2) for highly qualified 
     personnel, as defined in section 651(b), to work with 
     infants, toddlers, or children with disabilities, consistent 
     with the standards described in section 612(a)(14).
       ``(2) To ensure that those personnel have the necessary 
     skills and knowledge, derived from practices that have been 
     determined, through scientifically based research, to be 
     successful in serving those children.
       ``(3) To encourage increased focus on academics and core 
     content areas in special education personnel preparation 
     programs.
       ``(4) To ensure that regular education teachers have the 
     necessary skills and knowledge to provide instruction to 
     students with disabilities in the regular education 
     classroom.
       ``(5) To ensure that all special education teachers are 
     highly qualified.
       ``(6) To ensure that preservice and in-service personnel 
     preparation programs include training in--
       ``(A) the use of new technologies;
       ``(B) the area of early intervention, educational, and 
     transition services;
       ``(C) effectively involving parents; and
       ``(D) positive behavioral supports.
       ``(7) To provide high-quality professional development for 
     principals, superintendents, and other administrators, 
     including training in--
       ``(A) instructional leadership;
       ``(B) behavioral supports in the school and classroom;
       ``(C) paperwork reduction;
       ``(D) promoting improved collaboration between special 
     education and general education teachers;
       ``(E) assessment and accountability;
       ``(F) ensuring effective learning environments; and
       ``(G) fostering positive relationships with parents.
       ``(b) Personnel Development; Authorized Activities.--
       ``(1) In general.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Secretary shall support activities to prepare personnel, 
     including activities for the preparation of personnel who 
     will serve children with high-incidence and low-incidence 
     disabilities, consistent with the objectives described in 
     subsection (a).
       ``(2) Authorized activities.--Activities that may be 
     carried out under this subsection include the following:
       ``(A) Supporting collaborative personnel preparation 
     activities undertaken by institutions of higher education, 
     local educational agencies, and other local entities--
       ``(i) to improve and reform their existing programs, to 
     support effective existing programs, to support the 
     development of new programs, and to prepare teachers, 
     principals, administrators, and related services personnel--

       ``(I) to meet the diverse needs of children with 
     disabilities for early intervention, educational, and 
     transitional services; and
       ``(II) to work collaboratively in regular classroom 
     settings; and

       ``(ii) to incorporate best practices and scientifically 
     based research about preparing personnel--

       ``(I) so the personnel will have the knowledge and skills 
     to improve educational results for children with 
     disabilities; and
       ``(II) to implement effective teaching strategies and 
     interventions to prevent the misidentification, 
     overidentification, or underidentification of children as 
     having a disability, especially minority and limited English 
     proficient children.

       ``(B) Developing, evaluating, and disseminating innovative 
     models for the recruitment, induction, retention, and 
     assessment of highly qualified teachers to reduce teachers 
     shortages.
       ``(C) Providing continuous personnel preparation, training, 
     and professional development designed to provide support and 
     ensure retention of teachers and personnel who teach and 
     provide related services to children with disabilities.
       ``(D) Developing and improving programs for 
     paraprofessionals to become special education teachers, 
     related services personnel, and early intervention personnel, 
     including interdisciplinary training to enable the 
     paraprofessionals to improve early intervention, educational, 
     and transitional results for children with disabilities.
       ``(E) Demonstrating models for the preparation of, and 
     interdisciplinary training of, early intervention, special 
     education, and general education personnel, to enable the 
     personnel to acquire the collaboration skills necessary to 
     work within teams and to improve results for children with 
     disabilities, particularly within the general education 
     curriculum.
       ``(F) Promoting effective parental involvement practices to 
     enable the personnel to work with parents and involve parents 
     in the education of such parents' children.
       ``(G) Promoting the transferability, across State and local 
     jurisdictions, of licensure and certification of teachers, 
     principals, and administrators working with such children.
       ``(H) Developing and disseminating models that prepare 
     teachers with strategies, including positive behavioral 
     interventions, for addressing the conduct of children with 
     disabilities that impedes their learning and that of others 
     in the classroom.
       ``(I) Developing and improving programs to enhance the 
     ability of general education teachers, principals, school 
     administrators, and school board members to improve results 
     for children with disabilities.
       ``(J) Supporting institutions of higher education with 
     minority enrollments of at least 25 percent for the purpose 
     of preparing personnel to work with children with 
     disabilities.
       ``(K) Preparing personnel to work in high need elementary 
     schools and secondary schools, including urban schools, rural 
     schools, and schools operated by an entity described in 
     section 7113(d)(1)(A)(ii) of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965, and schools that serve high numbers or 
     percentages of limited English proficient children.
       ``(L) Developing, evaluating, and disseminating innovative 
     models for the recruitment, induction, retention, and 
     assessment of new, highly qualified teachers, especially from 
     groups that are underrepresented in the teaching profession, 
     including individuals with disabilities.
       ``(M) Developing and improving programs to train special 
     education teachers to develop an expertise in autism spectrum 
     disorders.
       ``(c) Low Incidence Disabilities; Authorized Activities.--
       ``(1) In general.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Secretary shall support activities, consistent with the 
     objectives described in subsection (a), that benefit children 
     with low incidence disabilities.
       ``(2) Authorized activities.--Activities that may be 
     carried out under this subsection include activities such as 
     the following:
       ``(A) Preparing persons who--
       ``(i) have prior training in educational and other related 
     service fields; and
       ``(ii) are studying to obtain degrees, certificates, or 
     licensure that will enable the persons to assist children 
     with low incidence disabilities to achieve the objectives set 
     out in their individualized education programs described in 
     section 614(d), or to assist infants and toddlers with low 
     incidence disabilities to achieve the outcomes described in 
     their individualized family service plans described in 
     section 636.
       ``(B) Providing personnel from various disciplines with 
     interdisciplinary training that will contribute to 
     improvement in early intervention, educational, and 
     transitional results for children with low incidence 
     disabilities.
       ``(C) Preparing personnel in the innovative uses and 
     application of technology, including universally designed 
     technologies, assistive technology devices, and assistive 
     technology services--
       ``(i) to enhance learning by children with low incidence 
     disabilities through early intervention, educational, and 
     transitional services; and
       ``(ii) to improve communication with parents.
       ``(D) Preparing personnel who provide services to visually 
     impaired or blind children to teach and use Braille in the 
     provision of services to such children.
       ``(E) Preparing personnel to be qualified educational 
     interpreters, to assist children with low incidence 
     disabilities, particularly deaf and hard of hearing children 
     in school and school related activities, and deaf and hard of 
     hearing infants and toddlers and preschool children in early 
     intervention and preschool programs.
       ``(F) Preparing personnel who provide services to children 
     with significant cognitive disabilities and children with 
     multiple disabilities.
       ``(3) Definition.--As used in this section, the term `low 
     incidence disability' means--
       ``(A) a visual or hearing impairment, or simultaneous 
     visual and hearing impairments;
       ``(B) a significant cognitive impairment; or
       ``(C) any impairment for which a small number of personnel 
     with highly specialized skills and knowledge are needed in 
     order for children with that impairment to receive early 
     intervention services or a free appropriate public education.
       ``(4) Selection of recipients.--In selecting recipients 
     under this subsection, the Secretary may give preference to 
     eligible entities submitting applications that include 1 or 
     more of the following:

[[Page S5319]]

       ``(A) A proposal to prepare personnel in more than 1 low 
     incidence disability, such as deafness and blindness.
       ``(B) A demonstration of an effective collaboration with an 
     eligible entity and a local educational agency that promotes 
     recruitment and subsequent retention of highly qualified 
     personnel to serve children with disabilities.
       ``(5) Preparation in use of braille.--The Secretary shall 
     ensure that all recipients of assistance under this 
     subsection who will use that assistance to prepare personnel 
     to provide services to visually impaired or blind children 
     that can appropriately be provided in Braille will prepare 
     those individuals to provide those services in Braille.
       ``(d) Leadership Preparation; Authorized Activities.--
       ``(1) In general.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Secretary shall support leadership preparation activities 
     that are consistent with the objectives described in 
     subsection (a).
       ``(2) Authorized activities.--Activities that may be 
     carried out under this subsection include activities such as 
     the following:
       ``(A) Preparing personnel at the graduate, doctoral, and 
     postdoctoral levels of training to administer, enhance, or 
     provide services to improve results for children with 
     disabilities.
       ``(B) Providing interdisciplinary training for various 
     types of leadership personnel, including teacher preparation 
     faculty, administrators, researchers, supervisors, 
     principals, related services personnel, and other persons 
     whose work affects early intervention, educational, and 
     transitional services for children with disabilities.
       ``(e) Enhanced Support and Training for Beginning Special 
     Educators; Authorized Activities.--
       ``(1) In general.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Secretary shall support personnel preparation activities that 
     are consistent with the objectives described in subsection 
     (a).
       ``(2) Authorized activities.--Activities that may be 
     carried out under this subsection include--
       ``(A) enhancing and restructuring an existing program or 
     developing a preservice teacher education program, to prepare 
     special education teachers, at colleges or departments of 
     education within the institution of higher education, by 
     incorporating an additional 5th year clinical learning 
     opportunity, field experience, or supervised practicum into a 
     program of preparation and coursework for special education 
     teachers; or
       ``(B) Creating or supporting professional development 
     schools that provide--
       ``(i) high quality mentoring and induction opportunities 
     with ongoing support for beginning special education 
     teachers; or
       ``(ii) inservice professional development to veteran 
     special education teachers through the ongoing exchange of 
     information and instructional strategies.
       ``(3) Eligible partnerships.--Eligible recipients of 
     assistance under this subsection are partnerships--
       ``(A) that shall consist of--
       ``(i) 1 or more institutions of higher education with 
     special education personnel preparation programs; and
       ``(ii) 1 or more local educational agencies; and
       ``(iii) in the case of activities assisted under paragraph 
     (2)(B), an elementary school or secondary school; and
       ``(B) that may include other entities eligible for 
     assistance under this part, such as a State educational 
     agency.
       ``(4) Priority.--In awarding grants or entering into 
     contracts or cooperative agreements under this subsection, 
     the Secretary shall give priority to partnerships that 
     include local educational agencies that serve--
       ``(A) high numbers or percentages of low-income students; 
     or
       ``(B) schools that have failed to make adequate yearly 
     progress toward enabling children with disabilities to meet 
     academic achievement standards.
       ``(f) Training To Support General Educators; Authorized 
     Activities.--
       ``(1) In general.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Secretary shall support personnel preparation activities that 
     are consistent with the objectives described in subsection 
     (a).
       ``(2) Authorized activities.--Activities that may be 
     carried out under this subsection include--
       ``(A) high quality professional development for general 
     educators that develops the knowledge and skills, and 
     enhances the ability, of general educators to--
       ``(i) use classroom-based techniques to identify students 
     who may be eligible for special education services, and 
     deliver instruction in a way that meets the individualized 
     needs of children with disabilities through appropriate 
     supports, accommodations, and curriculum modifications;
       ``(ii) use classroom-based techniques, such as 
     scientifically based reading instruction;
       ``(iii) work collaboratively with special education 
     teachers and related services personnel;
       ``(iv) implement strategies, such as positive behavioral 
     interventions--

       ``(I) to address the behavior of children with disabilities 
     that impedes the learning of such children and others; or
       ``(II) to prevent children from being misidentified as 
     children with disabilities;

       ``(v) prepare children with disabilities to participate in 
     statewide assessments (with or without accommodations) and 
     alternate assessments, as appropriate;
       ``(vi) develop effective practices for ensuring that all 
     children with disabilities are a part of all accountability 
     systems under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
     1965;
       ``(vii) work with and involve parents of children with 
     disabilities in their child's education;
       ``(viii) understand how to effectively construct IEPs, 
     participate in IEP meetings, and implement IEPs; and
       ``(ix) in the case of principals and superintendents, be 
     instructional leaders and promote improved collaboration 
     between general educators, special education teachers, and 
     related services personnel; and
       ``(B) release and planning time for the activities 
     described in this subsection.
       ``(3) Eligible partnerships.--Eligible recipients of 
     assistance under this subsection are partnerships--
       ``(A) that consist of--
       ``(i) 1 or more institutions of higher education with 
     special education personnel preparation programs; and
       ``(ii) 1 or more local educational agencies; and
       ``(B) that may include other entities eligible for 
     assistance under this part, such as a State educational 
     agency.
       ``(g) Applications.--
       ``(1) In general.--Any eligible entity that desires to 
     receive a grant, or enter into a contract or cooperative 
     agreement, under this section shall submit an application to 
     the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 
     such information as the Secretary may require.
       ``(2) Identified state needs.--
       ``(A) Requirement to address identified needs.--Any 
     application under subsection (b), (c), (d), (e), or (f) shall 
     include information demonstrating to the satisfaction of the 
     Secretary that the activities described in the application 
     will address needs identified by the State or States the 
     applicant proposes to serve, consistent with the needs 
     identified in the State plan described in section 653(a)(2).
       ``(B) Cooperation with state educational agencies.--Any 
     applicant that is not a local educational agency or a State 
     educational agency shall include in the application 
     information demonstrating to the satisfaction of the 
     Secretary that the applicant and 1 or more State educational 
     agencies or local educational agencies have engaged in a 
     cooperative effort to carry out and monitor the project to be 
     assisted.
       ``(3) Acceptance by states of personnel preparation 
     requirements.--The Secretary may require applicants to 
     provide assurances from 1 or more States that such States 
     intend to accept successful completion of the proposed 
     personnel preparation program as meeting State personnel 
     standards for serving children with disabilities or serving 
     infants and toddlers with disabilities.
       ``(h) Selection of Recipients.--
       ``(1) Impact of project.--In selecting award recipients 
     under this section, the Secretary shall consider the impact 
     of the proposed project described in the application in 
     meeting the need for personnel identified by the States.
       ``(2) Requirement for applicants to meet state and 
     professional standards.--The Secretary shall make grants and 
     enter into contracts and cooperative agreements under this 
     section only to eligible applicants that meet State and 
     professionally recognized standards for the preparation of 
     special education and related services personnel, if the 
     purpose of the project is to assist personnel in obtaining 
     degrees.
       ``(3) Preferences.--In selecting recipients under this 
     section, the Secretary may give preference to institutions of 
     higher education that are--
       ``(A) educating regular education personnel to meet the 
     needs of children with disabilities in integrated settings;
       ``(B) educating special education personnel to work in 
     collaboration with regular educators in integrated settings; 
     and
       ``(C) successfully recruiting and preparing individuals 
     with disabilities and individuals from groups that are 
     underrepresented in the profession for which the institution 
     of higher education is preparing individuals.
       ``(i) Service Obligation.--Each application for funds under 
     subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) shall include an assurance 
     that the applicant will ensure that individuals who receive 
     assistance under the proposed project will subsequently 
     provide special education and related services to children 
     with disabilities for a period of 1 year for every year for 
     which assistance was received, or repay all or part of the 
     cost of that assistance, in accordance with regulations 
     issued by the Secretary.
       ``(j) Scholarships.--The Secretary may include funds for 
     scholarships, with necessary stipends and allowances, in 
     awards under subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e).
       ``(k) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such 
     sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2004 
     through 2009.

     ``SEC. 665. STUDIES AND EVALUATIONS.

       ``(a) Studies and Evaluations.--
       ``(1) Delegation.--The Secretary shall delegate to the 
     Director of the Institute for Education Sciences 
     responsibility to carry out this section, other than 
     subsections (d) and (f).
       ``(2) Assessment.--The Secretary shall, directly or through 
     grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements awarded on a 
     competitive basis, assess the progress in the implementation 
     of this Act, including the effectiveness of State and local 
     efforts to provide--
       ``(A) a free appropriate public education to children with 
     disabilities; and
       ``(B) early intervention services to infants and toddlers 
     with disabilities, and infants and toddlers who would be at 
     risk of having substantial developmental delays if early 
     intervention services were not provided to them.
       ``(b) National Assessment.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out a national 
     assessment of activities carried out with Federal funds under 
     this Act in order--
       ``(A) to determine the effectiveness of this Act in 
     achieving its purposes;
       ``(B) to provide timely information to the President, 
     Congress, the States, local educational agencies, and the 
     public on how to implement this Act more effectively; and

[[Page S5320]]

       ``(C) to provide the President and Congress with 
     information that will be useful in developing legislation to 
     achieve the purposes of this Act more effectively.
       ``(2) Consultation.--The Secretary shall plan, review, and 
     conduct the national assessment under this subsection in 
     consultation with researchers, State practitioners, local 
     practitioners, parents of children with disabilities, and 
     other appropriate individuals.
       ``(3) Scope of assessment.--The national assessment shall 
     assess the--
       ``(A) implementation of programs assisted under this Act 
     and the impact of those programs on addressing the 
     developmental, educational, and transitional needs of, and 
     improving the academic achievement and functional outcomes 
     of, children with disabilities to enable the children to 
     reach challenging developmental goals and challenging State 
     academic content standards based on State academic 
     assessments, including alternate assessments;
       ``(B) types of programs and services that have demonstrated 
     the greatest likelihood of helping students reach the 
     challenging State academic content standards and 
     developmental goals;
       ``(C) implementation of the personnel preparation and 
     professional development activities assisted under this Act 
     and the impact on instruction, student academic achievement, 
     and teacher qualifications to enhance the ability of special 
     education teachers and regular education teachers to improve 
     results for children with disabilities; and
       ``(D) effectiveness of schools, local educational agencies, 
     States, and other recipients of assistance under this Act, in 
     achieving the purposes of this Act in--
       ``(i) improving the academic achievement of children with 
     disabilities and their performance on regular statewide 
     assessments, and the performance of children with 
     disabilities on alternate assessments;
       ``(ii) improving the participation rate of children with 
     disabilities in the general education curriculum;
       ``(iii) improving the transitions of children with 
     disabilities at natural transition points;
       ``(iv) placing and serving children with disabilities, 
     including minority children, in the least restrictive 
     environment appropriate;
       ``(v) preventing children with disabilities, especially 
     children with emotional disturbances and specific learning 
     disabilities, from dropping out of school;
       ``(vi) addressing the reading and literacy needs of 
     children with disabilities;
       ``(vii) coordinating services provided under this Act with 
     each other, with other educational and pupil services 
     (including preschool services), and with health and social 
     services funded from other sources;
       ``(viii) improving the participation of parents of children 
     with disabilities in the education of their children;
       ``(ix) resolving disagreements between education personnel 
     and parents through alternate dispute resolution activities 
     including mediation; and
       ``(x) reducing the misidentification of children, 
     especially minority and limited English proficient children.
       ``(4) Interim and final reports.--The Secretary shall 
     submit to the President and Congress--
       ``(A) an interim report that summarizes the preliminary 
     findings of the national assessment not later than 3 years 
     after the date of enactment of the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003; and
       ``(B) a final report of the findings of the assessment not 
     later than 5 years after the date of enactment of the 
     Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 
     2003.
       ``(c) Study on Ensuring Accountability for Students With 
     Significant Disabilities.--The Secretary shall carry out a 
     national study or studies to examine--
       ``(1) the criteria that States use to determine eligibility 
     for alternate assessments and the number and type of children 
     who take those assessments;
       ``(2) the validity and reliability of alternate assessment 
     instruments and procedures;
       ``(3) the alignment of alternate assessments with State 
     academic content and achievement standards or with alternate 
     academic achievement standards; and
       ``(4) the use and effectiveness of alternate assessments in 
     appropriately measuring student progress and outcomes 
     specific to individualized instructional need.
       ``(d) Annual Report.--The Secretary shall provide an annual 
     report to Congress that--
       ``(1) summarizes the research conducted under section 662;
       ``(2) analyzes and summarizes the data reported by the 
     States and the Secretary of the Interior under section 618;
       ``(3) summarizes the studies and evaluations conducted 
     under this section and the timeline for their completion;
       ``(4) describes the extent and progress of the national 
     assessment; and
       ``(5) describes the findings and determinations resulting 
     from reviews of State implementation of this Act.
       ``(e) Authorized Activities.--In carrying out this section, 
     the Secretary may support objective studies, evaluations, and 
     assessments, including studies that--
       ``(1) analyze measurable impact, outcomes, and results 
     achieved by State educational agencies and local educational 
     agencies through their activities to reform policies, 
     procedures, and practices designed to improve educational and 
     transitional services and results for children with 
     disabilities;
       ``(2) analyze State and local needs for professional 
     development, parent training, and other appropriate 
     activities that can reduce the need for disciplinary actions 
     involving children with disabilities;
       ``(3) assess educational and transitional services and 
     results for children with disabilities from minority 
     backgrounds, including--
       ``(A) data on--
       ``(i) the number of minority children who are referred for 
     special education evaluation;
       ``(ii) the number of minority children who are receiving 
     special education and related services and their educational 
     or other service placement;
       ``(iii) the number of minority children who graduated from 
     secondary programs with a regular diploma in the standard 
     number of years; and
       ``(iv) the number of minority children who drop out of the 
     educational system; and
       ``(B) the performance of children with disabilities from 
     minority backgrounds on State assessments and other 
     performance indicators established for all students;
       ``(4) measure educational and transitional services and 
     results of children with disabilities served under this Act, 
     including longitudinal studies that--
       ``(A) examine educational and transitional services and 
     results for children with disabilities who are 3 through 17 
     years of age and are receiving special education and related 
     services under this Act, using a national, representative 
     sample of distinct age cohorts and disability categories; and
       ``(B) examine educational results, transition services, 
     postsecondary placement, and employment status of individuals 
     with disabilities, 18 through 21 years of age, who are 
     receiving or have received special education and related 
     services under this Act; and
       ``(5) identify and report on the placement of children with 
     disabilities by disability category.
       ``(f) Study.--The Secretary shall study, and report to 
     Congress regarding, the extent to which States adopt policies 
     described in section 635(b)(1) and on the effects of those 
     policies.
       ``(g) Reservation for Studies and Evaluations.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2) and 
     notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the 
     Secretary may reserve not more than \1/2\ of 1 percent of the 
     amount appropriated under parts B and C for each fiscal year 
     to carry out this section, of which not more than $3,000,000 
     shall be available to carry out subsection (c).
       ``(2) Maximum amount.--The maximum amount the Secretary may 
     reserve under paragraph (1) for any fiscal year is 
     $40,000,000, increased by the cumulative rate of inflation 
     since fiscal year 2003.

``Subpart 3--Supports To Improve Results for Children With Disabilities

     ``SEC. 670. PURPOSES.

       ``The purposes of this subpart are to ensure that--
       ``(1) children with disabilities and their parents receive 
     training and information on their rights, responsibilities, 
     and protections under this Act, in order to develop the 
     skills necessary to cooperatively and effectively participate 
     in planning and decision making relating to early 
     intervention, educational, and transitional services;
       ``(2) parents, teachers, administrators, early intervention 
     personnel, related services personnel, and transition 
     personnel receive coordinated and accessible technical 
     assistance and information to assist them in improving early 
     intervention, educational, and transitional services and 
     results for children with disabilities and their families; 
     and
       ``(3) appropriate technology and media are researched, 
     developed, and demonstrated, to improve and implement early 
     intervention, educational, and transitional services and 
     results for children with disabilities and their families.

     ``SEC. 671. PARENT TRAINING AND INFORMATION CENTERS.

       ``(a) Program Authorized.--The Secretary may award grants 
     to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, 
     parent organizations to support parent training and 
     information centers to carry out activities under this 
     section.
       ``(b) Required Activities.--Each parent training and 
     information center that receives assistance under this 
     section shall--
       ``(1) provide training and information that meets the needs 
     of parents of children with disabilities living in the area 
     served by the center, particularly underserved parents and 
     parents of children who may be inappropriately identified, to 
     enable their children with disabilities to--
       ``(A) meet developmental and functional goals, and 
     challenging academic achievement goals that have been 
     established for all children; and
       ``(B) be prepared to lead productive independent adult 
     lives, to the maximum extent possible;
       ``(2) serve the parents of infants, toddlers, and children 
     with the full range of disabilities described in section 
     602(3);
       ``(3) assist parents to--
       ``(A) better understand the nature of their children's 
     disabilities and their educational, developmental, and 
     transitional needs;
       ``(B) communicate effectively and work collaboratively with 
     personnel responsible for providing special education, early 
     intervention services, transition services, and related 
     services;
       ``(C) participate in decisionmaking processes and the 
     development of individualized education programs under part B 
     and individualized family service plans under part C;
       ``(D) obtain appropriate information about the range, type, 
     and quality of options, programs, services, technologies, and 
     research based practices and interventions, and resources 
     available to assist children with disabilities and their 
     families in school and at home;

[[Page S5321]]

       ``(E) understand the provisions of this Act for the 
     education of, and the provision of early intervention 
     services to, children with disabilities; and
       ``(F) participate in school reform activities;
       ``(4) in States where the State elects to contract with the 
     parent training and information center, contract with State 
     educational agencies to provide, consistent with 
     subparagraphs (B) and (D) of section 615(e)(2), individuals 
     who meet with parents to explain the mediation process to the 
     parents;
       ``(5) assist parents in resolving disputes in the most 
     expeditious and effective way possible, including encouraging 
     the use, and explaining the benefits, of alternative methods 
     of dispute resolution, such as the mediation process 
     described in section 615(e);
       ``(6) assist parents and students with disabilities to 
     understand their rights and responsibilities under this Act, 
     including those under section 615(m) on the student's 
     reaching the age of majority;
       ``(7) assist parents to understand the availability of, and 
     how to effectively use, procedural safeguards under this Act;
       ``(8) assist parents in understanding, preparing for, and 
     participating in, the process described in section 
     615(f)(1)(B);
       ``(9) establish cooperative partnerships with community 
     parent resource centers funded under section 672;
       ``(10) network with appropriate clearinghouses, including 
     organizations conducting national dissemination activities 
     under section 663, and with other national, State, and local 
     organizations and agencies, such as protection and advocacy 
     agencies, that serve parents and families of children with 
     the full range of disabilities described in section 602(3); 
     and
       ``(11) annually report to the Secretary on--
       ``(A) the number and demographics of parents to whom the 
     center provided information and training in the most recently 
     concluded fiscal year;
       ``(B) the effectiveness of strategies used to reach and 
     serve parents, including underserved parents of children with 
     disabilities; and
       ``(C) the number of parents served who have resolved 
     disputes through alternative methods of dispute resolution.
       ``(c) Optional Activities.--A parent training and 
     information center that receives assistance under this 
     section may provide information to teachers and other 
     professionals to assist the teachers and professionals in 
     improving results for children with disabilities.
       ``(d) Application Requirements.--Each application for 
     assistance under this section shall identify with specificity 
     the special efforts that the parent organization will 
     undertake--
       ``(1) to ensure that the needs for training and information 
     of underserved parents of children with disabilities in the 
     area to be served are effectively met; and
       ``(2) to work with community based organizations.
       ``(e) Distribution of Funds.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall--
       ``(A) make at least 1 award to a parent organization in 
     each State for a parent training and information center which 
     is designated as the statewide parent training and 
     information center; or
       ``(B) in the case of a large State, make awards to multiple 
     parent training and information centers, but only if the 
     centers demonstrate that coordinated services and supports 
     will occur among the multiple centers.
       ``(2) Selection requirement.--The Secretary shall select 
     among applications submitted by parent organizations in a 
     State in a manner that ensures the most effective assistance 
     to parents, including parents in urban and rural areas, in 
     the State.
       ``(f) Quarterly Review.--
       ``(1) Meetings.--The board of directors of each parent 
     organization that receives an award under this section shall 
     meet at least once in each calendar quarter to review the 
     activities for which the award was made.
       ``(2) Continuation award.--When an organization requests a 
     continuation award under this section, the board of directors 
     shall submit to the Secretary a written review of the parent 
     training and information program conducted by the 
     organization during the preceding fiscal year.
       ``(g) Definition of Parent Organization.--As used in this 
     section, the term `parent organization' means a private 
     nonprofit organization (other than an institution of higher 
     education) that--
       ``(1) has a board of directors--
       ``(A) the majority of whom are parents of children with 
     disabilities ages birth through 26;
       ``(B) that includes--
       ``(i) individuals working in the fields of special 
     education, related services, and early intervention; and
       ``(ii) individuals with disabilities;
       ``(C) the parent and professional members of which are 
     broadly representative of the population to be served; and
       ``(2) has as its mission serving families of children and 
     youth with disabilities who--
       ``(A) are ages birth through 26; and
       ``(B) have the full range of disabilities described in 
     section 602(3).

     ``SEC. 672. COMMUNITY PARENT RESOURCE CENTERS.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary may award grants to, and 
     enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, local 
     parent organizations to support parent training and 
     information centers that will help ensure that underserved 
     parents of children with disabilities, including low income 
     parents, parents of children with limited English 
     proficiency, and parents with disabilities, have the training 
     and information the parents need to enable the parents to 
     participate effectively in helping their children with 
     disabilities--
       ``(1) to meet developmental and functional goals, and 
     challenging academic achievement goals that have been 
     established for all children; and
       ``(2) to be prepared to lead productive independent adult 
     lives, to the maximum extent possible.
       ``(b) Required Activities.--Each community parent resource 
     center assisted under this section shall--
       ``(1) provide training and information that meets the 
     training and information needs of parents of children with 
     disabilities proposed to be served by the grant, contract, or 
     cooperative agreement;
       ``(2) carry out the activities required of parent training 
     and information centers under paragraphs (2) through (9) of 
     section 671(b);
       ``(3) establish cooperative partnerships with the parent 
     training and information centers funded under section 671; 
     and
       ``(4) be designed to meet the specific needs of families 
     who experience significant isolation from available sources 
     of information and support.
       ``(c) Definition.--As used in this section, the term `local 
     parent organization' means a parent organization, as defined 
     in section 671(g), that--
       ``(1) has a board of directors the majority of whom are 
     parents of children with disabilities ages birth through 26 
     from the community to be served; and
       ``(2) has as its mission serving parents of children with 
     disabilities who--
       ``(A) are ages birth through 26; and
       ``(B) have the full range of disabilities described in 
     section 602(3).

     ``SEC. 673. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR PARENT TRAINING AND 
                   INFORMATION CENTERS.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary may make an award to 1 
     parent organization (as defined in section 671(g)) that 
     receives assistance under section 671 to enable the parent 
     organization to provide technical assistance for developing, 
     assisting, and coordinating parent training and information 
     programs carried out by parent training and information 
     centers receiving assistance under sections 671 and 672.
       ``(b) Authorized Activities.--The Secretary may provide 
     technical assistance to a parent training and information 
     center under this section in areas such as--
       ``(1) effective national coordination of parent training 
     efforts, which includes encouraging collaborative efforts 
     among award recipients under sections 671 and 672;
       ``(2) dissemination of information, scientifically based 
     research, and research based practices and interventions;
       ``(3) promotion of the use of technology, including 
     universally designed technologies, assistive technology 
     devices, and assistive technology services;
       ``(4) reaching underserved populations;
       ``(5) including children with disabilities in general 
     education programs;
       ``(6) facilitation of transitions from--
       ``(A) early intervention services to preschool;
       ``(B) preschool to elementary school;
       ``(C) elementary school to secondary school; and
       ``(D) secondary school to postsecondary environments; and
       ``(7) promotion of alternative methods of dispute 
     resolution, including mediation.
       ``(c) Regional Parent Centers.--The recipient of the award 
     described in section 673(a) shall establish no fewer than 4 
     regional centers from the parent training and information 
     centers and community parent resource centers receiving 
     assistance under sections 671 and 672 for the purpose of 
     carrying out the authorized activities described in 
     subsection (b). These regional centers shall be selected on 
     the basis of the center's--
       ``(1) willingness to be a regional parent center;
       ``(2) demonstrated expertise in the delivery of required 
     parent training and information center activities described 
     in section 671(b);
       ``(3) demonstrated capacity to deliver the authorized 
     activities described in subsection (b);
       ``(4) history of collaboration with other parent training 
     and information centers, community parent resource centers, 
     regional resource centers, clearinghouses, and other 
     projects; and
       ``(5) geographic location.
       ``(d) Collaboration With the Resource Centers.--The 
     recipient of the award described in subsection (a), in 
     conjunction with the regional parent centers described in 
     subsection (c), shall develop collaborative agreements with 
     the geographically appropriate Regional Resource Center to 
     further parent and professional collaboration.

     ``SEC. 674. TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRATION, AND 
                   UTILIZATION; AND MEDIA SERVICES.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, on a competitive basis, 
     shall award grants to, and enter into contracts and 
     cooperative agreements with, eligible entities to support 
     activities described in subsections (b) and (c).
       ``(b) Technology Development, Demonstration, and Use.--
       ``(1) In general.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Secretary shall support activities to promote the 
     development, demonstration, and use of technology.
       ``(2) Authorized activities.--The following activities may 
     be carried out under this subsection:
       ``(A) Conducting research on and promoting the 
     demonstration and use of innovative, emerging, and 
     universally designed technologies for children with 
     disabilities, by improving the transfer of technology from 
     research and development to practice.
       ``(B) Supporting research, development, and dissemination 
     of technology with universal design features, so that the 
     technology is accessible to the broadest range of individuals 
     with

[[Page S5322]]

     disabilities without further modification or adaptation.
       ``(C) Demonstrating the use of systems to provide parents 
     and teachers with information and training concerning early 
     diagnosis of, intervention for, and effective teaching 
     strategies for, young children with reading disabilities.
       ``(D) Supporting the use of Internet-based communications 
     for students with cognitive disabilities in order to maximize 
     their academic and functional skills.
       ``(c) Educational Media Services; Optional Activities.--
       ``(1) In general.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Secretary shall support--
       ``(A) educational media activities that are designed to be 
     of educational value in the classroom setting to children 
     with disabilities;
       ``(B) providing video description, open captioning, or 
     closed captioning, that is appropriate for use in the 
     classroom setting, of--
       ``(i) television programs;
       ``(ii) videos;
       ``(iii) other materials, including programs and materials 
     associated with new and emerging technologies, such as CDs, 
     DVDs, video streaming, and other forms of multimedia; or
       ``(iv) news (but only until September 30, 2006);
       ``(C) distributing materials described in subparagraphs (A) 
     and (B) through such mechanisms as a loan service; and
       ``(D) providing free educational materials, including 
     textbooks, in accessible media for visually impaired and 
     print disabled students in elementary schools and secondary 
     schools.
       ``(2) Limitation.--The video description, open captioning, 
     or closed captioning described in paragraph (1)(B) shall only 
     be provided when the description or captioning has not been 
     previously provided by the producer or distributor, or has 
     not been fully funded by other sources.
       ``(d) Applications.--Any eligible entity that wishes to 
     receive a grant, or enter into a contract or cooperative 
     agreement, under this section shall submit an application to 
     the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 
     such information as the Secretary may require.
       ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such 
     sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2004 
     through 2009.

     ``SEC. 675. ACCESSIBILITY OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS.

       ``(a) Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard.--
       ``(1) Accessibility standard.--Not later than 180 days 
     after the date of enactment of the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003, the Secretary 
     shall, by rulemaking, promulgate an Instructional Materials 
     Accessibility Standard which shall constitute the technical 
     standards to be used by publishers for the preparation of 
     electronic files for States under section 612(a)(22).
       ``(2) Relationship to other laws.--For purposes of this 
     section:
       ``(A) Authorized entity.--Notwithstanding the provisions of 
     section 106 of title 17, United States Code, it is not an 
     infringement of copyright for an authorized entity to 
     reproduce or to distribute copies of the electronic files 
     described in section 612(a)(22)(B), containing the contents 
     of the print instructional materials using the Instructional 
     Materials Accessibility Standard, if such copies are used 
     solely for reproduction or distribution of the contents of 
     such print instructional materials in specialized formats 
     designed exclusively for use by the blind or other persons 
     with print disabilities.
       ``(B) Publisher.--Notwithstanding the provisions of section 
     of 106 of title 17, United States Code, it is not an 
     infringement of copyright for a publisher to create and 
     distribute copies of the electronic files described in 
     section 612(a)(22)(B), containing the contents of the print 
     instructional materials using the Instructional Material 
     Accessibility Standard, if such copies are used solely for 
     reproduction or distribution of the contents of such print 
     instructional materials in specialized formats designed 
     exclusively for use by the blind or other persons with print 
     disabilities.
       ``(C) Copies.--Copies of the electronic files containing 
     the contents of the print instructional materials using the 
     Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard shall be made 
     in compliance with the provisions of section 121(b) of title 
     17, United States Code, regarding the reproduction and 
     distribution of copyrighted print instructional materials in 
     specialized formats.
       ``(3) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(A) Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard.--The 
     term `Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard' means 
     the technical standards described in paragraph (2), to be 
     used in the preparation of electronic files suitable and used 
     solely for efficient conversion into specialized formats.
       ``(B) Blind or other persons with print disabilities.--The 
     term `blind or other persons with print disabilities' means 
     children served under this Act and who may qualify in 
     accordance with the Act entitled ``An Act to provide books 
     for the adult blind'', approved March 3, 1931 (2 U.S.C. 135a; 
     46 Stat. 1487) to receive books and other publications 
     produced in specialized formats.
       ``(C) Specialized formats.--The term `specialized formats' 
     has the meaning given the term in section 121(c)(3) of title 
     17, United States Code, and for the purposes of this section, 
     includes synthesized speech, digital audio, and large print.
       ``(D) Print instructional materials.--The term `print 
     instructional materials' means printed textbooks and related 
     printed core materials that are written and published 
     primarily for use in elementary school and secondary school 
     instruction and are required by a State educational agency or 
     local educational agency for use by pupils in the classroom.
       ``(E) Authorized entity.--The term `authorized entity' has 
     the meaning given the term in section 121(c)(1) of title 17, 
     United States Code.
       ``(4) Applicability.--This section shall apply to print 
     instructional materials published and copyrighted after the 
     date on which the final rule establishing the Instructional 
     Materials Accessibility Standard is published in the Federal 
     Register.
       ``(b) National Instructional Materials Access Center.--
       ``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 2 years after the date 
     of enactment of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
     Improvement Act of 2003, the Secretary shall establish a 
     center, to be known as the National Instructional Materials 
     Access Center, which shall coordinate the acquisition and 
     distribution of print instructional materials prepared in the 
     Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard described in 
     subsection (a)(2).
       ``(2) Responsibilities.--The duties of the National 
     Instructional Materials Access Center are the following:
       ``(A) To receive and maintain a catalog of print 
     instructional materials made available under section 
     612(a)(22) and section 613(a)(6).
       ``(B) To provide authorized entities with access to such 
     print instructional materials, free of charge, in accordance 
     with such terms and procedures as the National Instructional 
     Materials Access Center may prescribe.
       ``(C) To develop, adopt, and publish procedures to protect 
     against copyright infringement and otherwise to 
     administratively assure compliance with title 17, United 
     States Code, with respect to the print instructional 
     materials provided under section 612(a)(22) and section 
     613(a)(6).
       ``(3) Contract authorized.--To assist in carrying out 
     paragraph (1), the Secretary shall award, on a competitive 
     basis, a contract renewable on a biennial basis with a 
     nonprofit organization, or with a consortium of such 
     organizations, determined by the Secretary to be best 
     qualified to carry out the responsibilities described in 
     paragraph (2). The contractor shall report directly to the 
     Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative 
     Services.
       ``(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection 
     such sums as may be necessary.

     ``SEC. 676. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
     sections 671, 672, 673, and 663 such sums as may be necessary 
     for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2009.

   ``Subpart 4--Interim Alternative Educational Settings, Behavioral 
                Supports, and Whole School Interventions

     ``SEC. 681. PURPOSE.

       ``The purpose of this subpart is to authorize resources to 
     foster a safe learning environment that supports academic 
     achievement for all students by improving the quality of 
     interim alternative educational settings, providing more 
     behavioral supports in schools, and supporting whole school 
     interventions.

     ``SEC. 682. DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.

       ``In this subpart, the term `eligible entity' means--
       ``(1) a local educational agency; or
       ``(2) a consortium consisting of a local educational agency 
     and 1 or more of the following entities:
       ``(A) another local educational agency;
       ``(B) a community-based organization with a demonstrated 
     record of effectiveness in helping children with disabilities 
     who have behavioral challenges succeed;
       ``(C) an institution of higher education;
       ``(D) a mental health provider; or
       ``(E) an educational service agency.

     ``SEC. 683. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

       ``The Secretary is authorized to award grants, on a 
     competitive basis, to eligible entities to enable the 
     eligible entities--
       ``(1) to establish or expand behavioral supports and whole 
     school behavioral interventions by providing for effective, 
     research-based practices, including--
       ``(A) comprehensive, early screening efforts for students 
     at risk for emotional and behavioral difficulties;
       ``(B) training for school staff on early identification, 
     prereferral, and referral procedures;
       ``(C) training for administrators, teachers, related 
     services personnel, behavioral specialists, and other school 
     staff in whole school positive behavioral interventions and 
     supports, behavioral intervention planning, and classroom and 
     student management techniques;
       ``(D) joint training for administrators, parents, teachers, 
     related services personnel, behavioral specialists, and other 
     school staff on effective strategies for positive behavioral 
     interventions and behavior management strategies that focus 
     on the prevention of behavior problems;
       ``(E) developing or implementing specific curricula, 
     programs, or interventions aimed at addressing behavioral 
     problems;
       ``(F) stronger linkages between school-based services and 
     community-based resources, such as community mental health 
     and primary care providers; or
       ``(G) using behavioral specialists, related services 
     personnel, and other staff necessary to implement behavioral 
     supports; or
       ``(2) to improve interim alternative educational settings 
     by--
       ``(A) improving the training of administrators, teachers, 
     related services personnel, behavioral specialists, and other 
     school staff (including ongoing mentoring of new teachers);
       ``(B) attracting and retaining a high quality, diverse 
     staff;
       ``(C) providing for on-site counseling services;
       ``(D) using research-based interventions, curriculum, and 
     practices;
       ``(E) allowing students to use instructional technology 
     that provides individualized instruction;

[[Page S5323]]

       ``(F) ensuring that the services are fully consistent with 
     the goals of the individual student's IEP;
       ``(G) promoting effective case management and collaboration 
     among parents, teachers, physicians, related services 
     personnel, behavioral specialists, principals, 
     administrators, and other school staff;
       ``(H) promoting interagency coordination and coordinated 
     service delivery among schools, juvenile courts, child 
     welfare agencies, community mental health providers, primary 
     care providers, public recreation agencies, and community-
     based organizations; or
       ``(I) providing for behavioral specialists to help students 
     transitioning from interim alternative educational settings 
     reintegrate into their regular classrooms.

     ``SEC. 684. PROGRAM EVALUATIONS.

       ``(a) Report and Evaluation.--Each eligible entity 
     receiving a grant under this subpart shall prepare and submit 
     annually to the Secretary a report on the outcomes of the 
     activities assisted under the grant.
       ``(b) Best Practices on Website.--The Secretary shall make 
     available on the Department's website information for 
     parents, teachers, and school administrators on best 
     practices for interim alternative educational settings, 
     behavior supports, and whole school intervention.

     ``SEC. 685. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     subpart $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and such sums as may 
     be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.''.

         TITLE II--AMENDMENTS TO THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973

     SEC. 201. FINDINGS.

       Section 2(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 
     701(a)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period and inserting 
     ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(7) there is a substantial need to improve and expand 
     services for students with disabilities under this Act.''.

     SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.

       Section 7 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 705) 
     is amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraphs (35) through (39) as 
     paragraphs (36), (37), (38), (40), and (41), respectively;
       (2) in subparagraph (A)(ii) of paragraph (36) (as 
     redesignated in paragraph (1)), by striking ``paragraph 
     (36)(C)'' and inserting ``paragraph (37)(C)'';
       (3) by inserting after paragraph (34) the following:
       ``(35)(A) The term `student with a disability' means an 
     individual with a disability who--
       ``(i) is not younger than 14 and not older than 21;
       ``(ii) has been determined to be eligible under section 
     102(a) for assistance under this title; and
       ``(iii)(I) is eligible for, and is receiving, special 
     education under part B of the Individuals with Disabilities 
     Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.); or
       ``(II) is an individual with a disability, for purposes of 
     section 504.
       ``(B) The term `students with disabilities' means more than 
     1 student with a disability.''; and
       (4) by inserting after paragraph (38) the following:
       ``(39) The term `transition services expansion year' 
     means--
       ``(A) the first fiscal year for which the amount 
     appropriated under section 100(b) exceeds the amount 
     appropriated under section 100(b) for fiscal year 2004 by not 
     less than $100,000,000; and
       ``(B) each fiscal year subsequent to that first fiscal 
     year.''.

     SEC. 203. STATE PLAN.

       (a) Assessment and Strategies.--Section 101(a)(15) of the 
     Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 721(a)(15)) is 
     amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A)(i)--
       (A) in subclause (II), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) in subclause (III), by adding ``and'' at the end; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:

       ``(IV) in a transition services expansion year, students 
     with disabilities, including their need for transition 
     services;''; and

       (2) in subparagraph (D)--
       (A) by redesignating clauses (iii), (iv), and (v) as 
     clauses (iv), (v), and (vi), respectively; and
       (B) by inserting after clause (ii) the following:
       ``(iii) in a transition services expansion year, the 
     methods to be used to improve and expand vocational 
     rehabilitation services for students with disabilities, 
     including the coordination of services designed to facilitate 
     the transition of such students from the receipt of 
     educational services in school to the receipt of vocational 
     rehabilitation services under this title or to postsecondary 
     education or employment;''.
       (b) Services for Students With Disabilities.--Section 
     101(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 721(a)) 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(25) Services for students with disabilities.--The State 
     plan for a transition services expansion year shall provide 
     an assurance satisfactory to the Secretary that the State--
       ``(A) has developed and implemented strategies to address 
     the needs identified in the assessment described in paragraph 
     (15), and achieve the goals and priorities identified by the 
     State, to improve and expand vocational rehabilitation 
     services for students with disabilities on a statewide basis 
     in accordance with paragraph (15); and
       ``(B) from funds reserved under section 110A, shall carry 
     out programs or activities designed to improve and expand 
     vocational rehabilitation services for students with 
     disabilities that--
       ``(i) facilitate the transition of the students with 
     disabilities from the receipt of educational services in 
     school, to the receipt of vocational rehabilitation services 
     under this title, including, at a minimum, those services 
     specified in the interagency agreement required in paragraph 
     (11)(D);
       ``(ii) improve the achievement of post-school goals of 
     students with disabilities, including improving the 
     achievement through participation in meetings regarding 
     individualized education programs developed under section 614 
     of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
     1414);
       ``(iii) provide vocational guidance, career exploration 
     services, and job search skills and strategies and technical 
     assistance to students with disabilities;
       ``(iv) support the provision of training and technical 
     assistance to State and local educational agency and 
     designated State agency personnel responsible for the 
     planning and provision of services to students with 
     disabilities; and
       ``(v) support outreach activities to students with 
     disabilities who are eligible for, and need, services under 
     this title.''.

     SEC. 204. SCOPE OF SERVICES.

       Section 103 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 
     723) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (15) and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(15) transition services for students with disabilities, 
     that facilitate the achievement of the employment outcome 
     identified in the individualized plan for employment, 
     including, in a transition services expansion year, services 
     described in clauses (i) through (iii) of section 
     101(a)(25)(B);''; and
       (2) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (6) and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(6)(A)(i) Consultation and technical assistance services 
     to assist State and local educational agencies in planning 
     for the transition of students with disabilities from school 
     to post-school activities, including employment.
       ``(ii) In a transition services expansion year, training 
     and technical assistance described in section 
     101(a)(25)(B)(iv).
       ``(B) In a transition services expansion year, services for 
     groups of individuals with disabilities who meet the 
     requirements of clauses (i) and (iii) of section 7(35)(A), 
     including services described in clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and 
     (v) of section 101(a)(25)(B), to assist in the transition 
     from school to post-school activities.''.

     SEC. 205. STANDARDS AND INDICATORS.

       Section 106(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 
     726(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (1)(C) and all that 
     follows through paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
       ``(2) Measures.--The standards and indicators shall include 
     outcome and related measures of program performance that--
       ``(A) facilitate the accomplishment of the purpose and 
     policy of this title;
       ``(B) to the maximum extent practicable, are consistent 
     with the core indicators of performance, and corresponding 
     State adjusted levels of performance, established under 
     section 136(b) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 
     U.S.C. 2871(b)); and
       ``(C) include measures of the program's performance with 
     respect to the transition to post-school activities, and 
     achievement of the post-school goals, of students with 
     disabilities served under the program.''.

     SEC. 206. RESERVATION FOR EXPANDED TRANSITION SERVICES.

       The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is amended by inserting 
     after section 110 (29 U.S.C. 730) the following:

     ``SEC. 110A. RESERVATION FOR EXPANDED TRANSITION SERVICES.

       ``(a) Reservation.--From the State allotment under section 
     110 in a transition services expansion year, each State shall 
     reserve an amount calculated by the Commissioner under 
     subsection (b) to carry out programs and activities under 
     sections 101(a)(25)(B) and 103(b)(6).
       ``(b) Calculation.--The Commissioner shall calculate the 
     amount to be reserved for such programs and activities for a 
     fiscal year by each State by multiplying $50,000,000 by the 
     percentage determined by dividing--
       ``(1) the amount allotted to that State under section 110 
     for the prior fiscal year; by
       ``(2) the total amount allotted to all States under section 
     110 for that prior fiscal year.''.

     SEC. 207. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

       Section 1(b) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is amended 
     by inserting after the item relating to section 110 the 
     following:

``Sec. 110A. Reservation for expanded transition services.''.

       TITLE III--NATIONAL CENTER FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH

     SEC. 301. NATIONAL CENTER FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH.

       (a) Amendment.--The Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 
     (20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating part E as part F; and
       (2) by inserting after part D the following:

        ``PART E--NATIONAL CENTER FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH

     ``SEC. 175. ESTABLISHMENT.

       ``(a) Establishment.--There is established in the Institute 
     a National Center for Special Education Research.
       ``(b) Mission.--The mission of the National Center for 
     Special Education Research (in this part referred to as the 
     `Special Education Research Center') is--
       ``(1) to sponsor research to expand knowledge and 
     understanding of the needs of infants, toddlers, and children 
     with disabilities in order to

[[Page S5324]]

     improve the developmental, educational, and transitional 
     results of such individuals;
       ``(2) to sponsor research to improve services provided 
     under, and support the implementation of, the Individuals 
     with Disabilities Education Act; and
       ``(3) to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of 
     the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 
     coordination with the National Center for Education 
     Evaluation and Regional Assistance.
       ``(c) Applicability of Education Sciences Reform Act of 
     2002.--Parts A and F, and the standards for peer review of 
     applications and for the conduct and evaluation of research 
     under sections 133(a) and 134, respectively, shall apply to 
     the Secretary, the Director, and the Commissioner in carrying 
     out this part.

     ``SEC. 176. COMMISSIONER FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH.

       ``The Special Education Research Center shall be headed by 
     a Commissioner for Special Education Research (in this part 
     referred to as `the Special Education Research Commissioner') 
     who shall have substantial knowledge of the Special Education 
     Research Center's activities, including a high level of 
     expertise in the fields of research, research management, and 
     the education of children with disabilities.

     ``SEC. 177. DUTIES.

       ``(a) General Duties.--The Special Education Research 
     Center shall carry out research activities under this part 
     consistent with the mission described in section 175(b), such 
     as activities that--
       ``(1) improve services provided under the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Act in order to improve--
       ``(A) academic achievement, functional outcomes, and 
     educational results for children with disabilities; and
       ``(B) developmental outcomes for infants and toddlers;
       ``(2) identify scientifically based educational practices 
     that support learning and improve academic achievement, 
     functional outcomes, and educational results for all students 
     with disabilities;
       ``(3) examine the special needs of preschool aged children, 
     infants, and toddlers with disabilities, including factors 
     that may result in developmental delays;
       ``(4) identify scientifically based related services and 
     interventions that promote participation and progress in the 
     general education curriculum and general education settings;
       ``(5) improve the alignment, compatibility, and development 
     of valid and reliable assessments, including alternate 
     assessments, as required by section 1111(b) of the Elementary 
     and Secondary Education Act of 1965;
       ``(6) examine State content standards and alternate 
     assessments for students with significant cognitive 
     impairment in terms of academic achievement, individualized 
     instructional need, appropriate education settings, and 
     improved post-school results;
       ``(7) examine the educational, developmental, and 
     transitional needs of children with high incidence and low 
     incidence disabilities;
       ``(8) examine the extent to which overidentification and 
     underidentification of children with disabilities occurs, and 
     the causes thereof;
       ``(9) improve reading and literacy skills of children with 
     disabilities;
       ``(10) examine and improve secondary and postsecondary 
     education and transitional outcomes and results for children 
     with disabilities;
       ``(11) examine methods of early intervention for children 
     with disabilities, including children with multiple or 
     complex developmental delays;
       ``(12) examine and incorporate universal design concepts in 
     the development of standards, assessments, curricula, and 
     instructional methods as a method to improve educational and 
     transitional results for children with disabilities;
       ``(13) improve the preparation of personnel, including 
     early intervention personnel, who provide educational and 
     related services to children with disabilities to increase 
     the academic achievement and functional performance of 
     students with disabilities;
       ``(14) examine the excess costs of educating a child with a 
     disability and expenses associated with high cost special 
     education and related services;
       ``(15) help parents improve educational results for their 
     children, particularly related to transition issues; and
       ``(16) address the unique needs of children with 
     significant cognitive disabilities.
       ``(b) Standards.--The Commissioner of Special Education 
     Research shall ensure that activities assisted under this 
     section--
       ``(1) conform to high standards of quality, integrity, 
     accuracy, validity, and reliability;
       ``(2) are carried out in conjunction with the standards for 
     the conduct and evaluation of all research and development 
     established by the National Center for Education Research; 
     and
       ``(3) are objective, secular, neutral, and nonideological, 
     and are free of partisan political influence, and racial, 
     cultural, gender, regional, or disability bias.
       ``(c) Plan.--The Commissioner of Special Education Research 
     shall propose to the Director a research plan, developed in 
     collaboration with the Assistant Secretary for Special 
     Education and Rehabilitative Services, that--
       ``(1) is consistent with the priorities and mission of the 
     Institute and the mission of the Special Education Research 
     Center;
       ``(2) is carried out, updated, and modified, as 
     appropriate;
       ``(3) is consistent with the purpose of the Individuals 
     with Disabilities Education Act;
       ``(4) contains an appropriate balance across all age ranges 
     and types of children with disabilities;
       ``(5) provides for research that is objective and uses 
     measurable indicators to assess its progress and results;
       ``(6) is coordinated with the comprehensive plan developed 
     under section 661 of the Individuals with Disabilities 
     Education Act; and
       ``(7) provides that the research conducted under part D of 
     the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is relevant 
     to special education practice and policy.
       ``(d) Grants, Contracts, and Cooperative Agreements.--In 
     carrying out the duties under this section, the Director may 
     award grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative 
     agreements with, eligible entities.
       ``(e) Applications.--An eligible entity that wishes to 
     receive a grant, or enter into a contract or cooperative 
     agreement, under this part shall submit an application to the 
     Director at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
     information as the Director may require.
       ``(f) Dissemination.--The Special Education Research Center 
     shall--
       ``(1) synthesize and disseminate, through the National 
     Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, the 
     findings and results of special education research conducted 
     or supported by the Special Education Research Center; and
       ``(2) assist the Director in the preparation of a biennial 
     report, as described in section 119.
       ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part such 
     sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2004 
     through 2009.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--
       (1) Education sciences reform act of 2002.--The Education 
     Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.) is 
     amended--
       (C) in section 111(b)(1)(A) (20 U.S.C. 9511(b)(1)(A)), by 
     inserting ``and special education'' after ``early childhood 
     education''.
       (B) in section 111(c)(3) (20 U.S.C. 9511(c)(3))--
       (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' after the 
     semicolon;
       (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (iii) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(D) the National Center for Special Education Research 
     (as described in part E).'';
       (C) in section 115(a) (20 U.S.C. 9515(a)), by striking 
     ``including those'' and all that follows through ``such as'' 
     and inserting ``including those associated with the goals and 
     requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
     1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), and the 
     Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), such 
     as''; and
       (D) in section 116(c)(4)(A)(ii) (20 U.S.C. 
     9516(c)(4)(A)(ii) is amended by inserting ``special education 
     experts,'' after ``early childhood experts,''.
       (2) Elementary and secondary education act of 1965.--
     Section 1117(a)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
     Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6317(a)(3)) is amended by striking 
     ``part E'' and inserting ``part D''.
       (c) Transition Provisions.--
       (1) Orderly transition.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, the Secretary of Education shall take such 
     steps as are necessary to provide for the orderly transition 
     to, and implementation of, part E of the Education Science 
     Reform Act of 2002, as enacted by subsection (a), from 
     research activities carried out under section 672 of the 
     Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (as such section 
     was in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this 
     Act).
       (2) Continuation of awards.--The Secretary of Education 
     shall continue research awards made under section 672 of the 
     Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (as such section 
     was in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this 
     Act) that are in effect on the day before the date of 
     enactment of this Act in accordance with the terms of those 
     awards.
       (d) Effective Dates.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
     of law--
       (1) the amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) of this 
     section shall take effect on October 1, 2004; and
       (2) section 672 of the Individuals with Disabilities 
     Education Act (as such section was in effect on the day 
     before the date of enactment of this Act) shall remain in 
     effect through September 30, 2004.

   TITLE IV--COMMISSION ON UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND THE ACCESSIBILITY OF 
                 CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

     SEC. 401. COMMISSION ON UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND THE 
                   ACCESSIBILITY OF CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTIONAL 
                   MATERIALS.

       (a) Establishment and Purpose.--
       (1) Establishment.--There is established a Commission 
     (hereafter in this section referred to as the ``Commission'') 
     to study, evaluate, and make appropriate recommendations to 
     the Congress and to the Secretary on universal design and 
     accessibility of curriculum and instructional materials for 
     use by all children, with a particular focus on children with 
     disabilities, in elementary schools and secondary schools.
       (2) Purpose.--The purpose of the Commission is--
       (A) to survey the issues related to improving access to 
     curriculum and instructional materials for children with 
     disabilities, with and without assistive technologies;
       (B) to study the benefits, current or potential costs, and 
     challenges of developing and implementing a standard 
     definition of the term universal design as a means to achieve 
     accessibility of curriculum and instructional materials, and 
     as the Commission determines necessary, to recommend a 
     definition for the term universal design, or other terms, 
     taking into consideration educational objectives, investment 
     of resources, state of technology, and effect on development 
     of curriculum and instructional materials;

[[Page S5325]]

       (C) to examine issues related to the need for and current 
     availability and accessibility of curriculum and 
     instructional materials for use in elementary schools and 
     secondary schools by children with disabilities, gaps in or 
     conflicts among relevant technical standards, educational 
     quality, availability of instructional materials, technical 
     standards, intellectual property rights, and the economic and 
     technical feasibility of implementing any recommended 
     definitions; and
       (D) to provide the Congress and the Secretary, not later 
     than 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
     report described in subsection (d).
       (b) Membership.--
       (1) Composition.--The Commission shall be composed of 21 
     members, of which--
       (A) 3 members shall be appointed by the Majority Leader of 
     the Senate;
       (B) 2 members shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of 
     the Senate;
       (C) 3 members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the 
     House of Representatives;
       (D) 2 members shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of 
     the House;
       (E) 8 members shall be appointed by the Secretary including 
     representatives of States, local educational agencies, 
     publishers of instructional material, individuals with 
     disabilities, technical standard setting bodies, and 
     authorized entities as defined in section 121(c)(1) of title 
     17, United States Code; and
       (F) 3 members shall be appointed by the Registrar of 
     Copyrights.
       (2) Expertise of commissioners.--All members of the 
     Commission shall be individuals who have been appointed on 
     the basis of technical qualifications, professional 
     expertise, and demonstrated knowledge and shall include at 
     least 4 representatives of each of the following:
       (A) publishers of instructional materials, including of 
     textbooks, software, and other print, electronic, or digital 
     curricular materials;
       (B) elementary and secondary education, including teachers, 
     special educators, and State and local education officials or 
     administrators;
       (C) researchers in the fields of disabilities, technology, 
     and accessible media;
       (D) experts in intellectual property rights; and
       (E) advocates of children with disabilities, including 
     parents of blind, visually impaired, deaf, hearing impaired, 
     physically challenged, cognitively impaired, or learning 
     disabled, or representatives of organizations that advocate 
     for such children.
       (3) Date.--The appointment of the members of the Commission 
     shall be made not later than 60 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.
       (4) Period of appointment and vacancies.--Members shall be 
     appointed for the life of the Commission. Any vacancy in the 
     Commission shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled 
     in the same manner as the original appointment.
       (5) Initial meeting.--Not later than 45 days after the date 
     on which all members of the Commission have been appointed, 
     the Commission shall hold the Commission's first meeting.
       (6) Meetings.--The Commission shall meet at the call of the 
     Chairperson.
       (7) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Commission 
     shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may 
     hold hearings.
       (8) Chairperson and vice chairperson.--The Commission shall 
     select a chairperson and vice chairperson from among the 
     members of the Commission.
       (c) Duties of the Commission.--The Commission shall study 
     and make recommendations to Congress and the Secretary 
     regarding--
       (1) the purposes of the Commission described in subsection 
     (a)(2);
       (2) priority topics for additional research;
       (3) the availability and accessibility of curricula and 
     instructional materials, including print, software, CD-ROM, 
     video, and Internet, for use in elementary schools and 
     secondary schools by children with disabilities, including--
       (A) the numbers of affected children with disabilities, by 
     grade, age, and type of disability;
       (B) the technical and other means by which such materials 
     are made accessible, such as assistive technologies, 
     electronic versions, large print, closed captioning, video 
     description, and Braille, and any conflicts between relevant 
     technical standards by which instructional materials are made 
     accessible;
       (C) the steps taken by State and local educational agencies 
     to support accessibility, including through State adoption 
     and procurement policies, the acquisition and integration of 
     assistive technology, and any State and local requirements or 
     standards;
       (D) timeliness of receipt of such materials by children 
     with disabilities; and
       (E) continued barriers to access to such materials; and
       (4) the potential and likely effects of providing 
     accessible or universally designed materials for all students 
     in elementary schools and secondary schools, with a 
     particular focus on children with disabilities, including--
       (A) an analysis of the current and potential costs to 
     develop and provide accessible instructional materials, with 
     and without specialized formats, to publishers, States, local 
     educational agencies, schools, and others, broken down by--
       (i) type of disability, including physical, sensory, and 
     cognitive disability;
       (ii) type of instructional materials, including by grade 
     and by basal and supplemental materials; and
       (iii) type of media, including print, electronic, software, 
     web-based, audio, and video; and
       (B) an analysis of the effects of any recommended 
     definitions regarding--
       (i) the availability and quality of instructional materials 
     for nondisabled students, and innovation in the development 
     and delivery of these materials;
       (ii) State learning content standards that are media-, 
     skill-, or pedagogically-based and may therefore be 
     compromised;
       (iii) prices of instructional materials and the impact of 
     the definitions on State and local budgets; and
       (iv) intellectual property rights in connection with the 
     development, distribution, and use of curriculum and 
     instructional materials.
       (d) Public Hearings.--As part of the study conducted under 
     this subsection, the Commission shall hold public hearings, 
     including through the use of the Internet or other 
     technologies, for the purposes referred to in subsection (a).
       (e) Report.--
       (1) Interim report.--Not later than 12 months after the 
     establishment of the Commission, the Commission shall provide 
     to the Secretary and Congress an interim report on the 
     Commission's activities during the Commission's first year 
     and any preliminary findings.
       (2) Final report.--Not later than 24 months after the 
     establishment of the Commission, the Commission shall submit 
     a report to the Secretary and Congress that shall contain--
       (A) recommendations determined necessary regarding 
     definitions of the terms described in subsection (a)(2)(B);
       (B) recommendations for additional research; and
       (C) a detailed statement of the findings and conclusions of 
     the Commission resulting from the study of the issues 
     identified in subsection (a)(2)(C).
       (f) Powers of the Commission.--
       (1) Authority of commission.--The Commission may hold such 
     hearings, convene and act at such times and places, take such 
     testimony, and receive such evidence, as the Commission 
     considers necessary to carry out the responsibilities of the 
     Commission.
       (2) Use of mail.--The Commission may use the United States 
     mails in the same manner and under the same conditions as 
     other departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
       (3) Gifts.--The Commission may accept, use, and dispose of 
     gifts or donations of services or property.
       (4) Compensation.--Except as provided in paragraph (5), 
     each member of the Commission who is not an officer or 
     employee of the Federal Government shall serve without 
     compensation. All members of the Commission who are officers 
     or employees of the United States shall serve without 
     compensation in addition to that received for their services 
     as officers or employees of the United States.
       (5) Per diem.--The members of the Commission shall be 
     allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
     subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies 
     under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 
     Code, while away from their homes or regular places of 
     business in the performance of services for the Commission.
       (6) Employment and compensation of employees.--Except as 
     otherwise provided in this section and consistent with 
     section 3161 of title 5, United States Code, the Chairperson 
     may appoint, fix the compensation of, and terminate an 
     executive director and such additional employees as may be 
     necessary to enable the Commission to perform the 
     Commission's duties.
       (7) Detailing of federal employees.--Any Federal Government 
     employee may be detailed to the Commission without 
     reimbursement, and such detail shall be without interruption 
     or loss of civil service status or privilege.
       (8) Temporary and intermittent services.--The Chairperson 
     of the Commission may procure temporary and intermittent 
     services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States 
     Code, at rates for individuals that do not exceed the daily 
     equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for 
     level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such 
     title.
       (g) Termination of the Commission.--The Commission shall 
     terminate on the date that is 90 days after the date on which 
     the Commission submits its final report under subsection 
     (e)(2).
       (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       (1) Authorization.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
     $750,000 for fiscal year 2004, and such sums as necessary for 
     fiscal year 2005 to carry out the provisions of this section.
       (2) Availability.--Any sums appropriated under the 
     authorization contained in this subsection shall remain 
     available, without fiscal year limitation, until expended.

  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that following the 
opening statements by the two managers, Senator Harkin be recognized to 
offer his amendment regarding funding. I further ask that immediately 
upon the reporting of that amendment, it be temporarily set aside and 
the I be recognized to offer a first-degree amendment regarding 
funding; provided further, that there be 2 hours of debate equally 
divided between the two managers, or their designees, to debate both 
first-degree amendments concurrently. I ask also that following that 
debate, the Senate proceed to a vote in relationship to my amendment, 
to be followed by a vote in relationship to

[[Page S5326]]

the Harkin amendment, with no second-degree amendments in order to 
either amendment.
  Finally, I ask unanimous consent that no further amendments relating 
to funding be in order to the bill, and that there be 2 minutes of 
debate equally divided between the votes, and that the votes begin at 
1:45 p.m.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask the Senator to modify the consent 
agreement to say that the time from now until 1:45 be equally divided 
between the two sides. It is more than 2 hours.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I see my friend and colleague from Iowa, 
who will be offering an extremely important amendment dealing with the 
funding issue for the special needs education program. As he is 
gathering his papers, I want to say to our colleagues in the Senate 
that this legislation represents the best effort of our committee, 
which is truly bipartisan.
  I pay tribute to Senator Gregg, our chairman, for his leadership in 
helping bring all of the members together on this legislation. We 
virtually have a unanimous committee recommendation. We have a few 
public policy issues, which appropriately the Senate will address, and 
then we will move ahead.
  Many times around this institution we wonder how it functions and 
works. I think recognizing the extraordinary challenges that so many of 
these children are facing has sort of brought out the best of our 
Members.
  I thank our chairman, and I thank all of my colleagues on my side who 
took great interest and great involvement in this issue. I will go into 
greater detail as we go through the process.
  I always pay tribute to my friend and colleague from Iowa, Senator 
Harkin, who has had a special leadership role in issues involving the 
disabled and handicapped since the time he has been in the Senate. I 
always thank him, as well as the rest of our colleagues.
  As we move through the course of the morning, we will have a more 
detailed description of what is in the legislation and the importance 
of the support of this institution.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I join the senior Senator from 
Massachusetts. I specifically thank the senior Senator from 
Massachusetts for his cooperation and the cooperation of the entire 
committee.
  This is a bill that is 90 percent agreed to. There are some public 
policy issues we are going to debate on the floor, specifically on the 
process of funding this bill. It is a very strong step forward in the 
area of addressing the needs of children who have special needs, 
basically focused on making sure there is less bureaucracy and more 
care, that teachers have more flexibility and parents have more 
involvement, and that there is less litigation and more results.
  Kids who have special needs, rather than just being put through a 
process of checking off boxes, are actually given the opportunity to 
learn, and we have accountability standards for that learning.
  It is a very good bill. We will get into more depth on its substance 
as we move forward. I appreciate the courtesy of the Senator from Iowa 
for moving expeditiously his amendment, along with one of the 
amendments I will be offering, one of the primary issues that needs to 
be addressed on the floor. I look forward to him offering his 
amendment. I will offer mine, and we will get into the substance of 
that debate.
   Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act is a landmark civil rights law that has had a powerfully 
positive impact on millions of Americans.
   Before moving to the substance of my remarks, I would like to thank 
the chairman of our committee, the Senator from New Hampshire, Mr. 
Gregg, and the ranking member, my friend from Massachusetts, Senator 
Kennedy, for their dedicated work on this bill. The reauthorization of 
a bill of this size is a considerable undertaking, and I want to 
recognize the excellent work of Annie White of Senator Gregg's staff, 
and Connie Garner of Senator Kennedy's staff, along with many other 
committee staff who have worked so hard on this reauthorization.
   Let me take a moment to put the Individuals with Disabilities Act in 
historical context. IDEA was passed almost three decades ago, in 1975, 
the year after I was first elected to the House of Representatives. So 
I have watched the progress of this law since its inception. I am proud 
of what IDEA has achieved. No question, we have further to go to 
achieve equal educational opportunity for children with disabilities. 
But we have made tremendous progress since 1975.
   We must not forget that, prior to the early 1970s, children with 
disabilities were routinely kept out of school. More than 1 million 
children were excluded entirely from their local public schools, and 
more than half of all children with disabilities in the United States 
did not receive appropriate educational services. If they did get an 
education, it was often in segregated schools or institutional 
settings.
   But in the early 1970s, that began to change. Two landmark cases, 
PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1971, and Mills v. Board of 
Education in 1972 established that children with disabilities had the 
right to an equal opportunity for education under the fourteenth 
amendment to the Constitution.
   In 1975, Congress wrote IDEA for two reasons. First, we fleshed out 
the substance and details of what was required to achieve equality for 
children with disabilities. Congress specified critical protections for 
parents and children to transform the constitutional requirement into a 
practical reality throughout the country. While we still have further 
to go, I believe that we have made major progress since the days when 1 
million children were entirely excluded from school. The latest figures 
available indicate that some 6.6 million children are receiving 
services under IDEA.
   A second important purpose of IDEA was to help States meet their 
constitutional obligations. And here we have fallen far short of our 
goals. When IDEA was passed, the Federal Government pledged to help 
with 40 percent of the excess costs of special education. At the 
present time, we are funding less than 20 percent of these costs. I 
will have more to say about this later when I offer an amendment along 
with my friend and colleague, the senior Senator from Nebraska.
   I think it is important to keep fixed in our minds these two 
historic purposes of IDEA, because these purposes must inform our 
discussion over the next few days here in the Senate. The protections 
that we wrote into the law to ensure opportunity for all continue to be 
critical today. And the need for Federal help to meet states' 
obligation also continues to be critical to realizing the full promise 
of this law.
   These matters are vitally important because the education that a 
child receives has a profound impact on his or her future. This is true 
for all children, whether or not they have disabilities.
   IDEA is a critical cornerstone of the Federal Government's 
commitment to ensuring equality for individuals with disabilities. When 
we passed the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, we said 
that this Nation's four great goals for individuals with disabilities 
are equal opportunity, full participation, independent living and 
economic self-sufficiency. These same goals are referenced in IDEA. 
Obviously, a quality education is essential to achieving all four of 
these goals.
   These may be broad goals, but they are not abstractions. To the 
contrary, they have enormous practical, nitty-gritty consequences for 
individuals with disabilities. They have the power to transform 
individual lives.
   On that score, I want to tell you about my good friend, Danny Piper 
from Ankeny, IA. Tragically, Danny died in a car accident more than a 
year ago, but he left behind a legacy of friends, family, and personal 
achievement.

[[Page S5327]]

   From an early age, Danny's parents insisted that he be educated with 
his peers. He was an integral part of his school community, performing 
in the school play and active in a variety of school activities. Once, 
after he testified before my subcommittee on the ADA, I asked him how 
testifying before Congress compared to being in the school play. He 
answered, ``Not so bad.''
  Danny went on to finish high school and get a job. I spent one day 
with him on the job at Osco drugstore, where he worked everyday. He 
showed me the ropes--how to correctly stock the shelves, how to load 
the cardboard box machine to avoid getting hurt, and so on. We had 
lunch together, too. It was a day I will always cherish.
  Danny had what we want for all of our children--a fulfilling life of 
independence and dignity. He lived with a friend in an apartment. He 
worked every day. This is what IDEA is all about. It is why I strongly 
support the protections this law provides--and why it is time for the 
Federal Government to fully fund the act.
  We have a long way to go to ensure that all children have access to a 
quality education, and the opportunities that come with it. This 
reauthorization correctly emphasizes enforcement of the act. I thank my 
friend from Massachusetts for his leadership on this issue. This bill 
contains provisions that require states to meet compliance benchmarks. 
It specifies that the Secretary and the States must take action if 
there is a consistent failure to provide an appropriate education to 
children with disabilities.
  The bill also ensures that a child's individualized education 
program, known as an IEP, provides services up front to ensure that a 
child succeeds. So each child will have access to the behavioral health 
services that will ensure a good experience for the child and his or 
her classmates. Getting that plan in place in the first place, rather 
than after any problems occur, is critical to making this law work for 
everyone.
  The bill has several important provisions to assist deaf children get 
the education that they need to succeed. It specifies that interpreters 
are a related service required under the act, and it preserves critical 
access to captioning for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. These 
provisions are very important to me because, as many of you know, my 
brother Frank was deaf. These are the kinds of services that would have 
made a huge difference for Frank. So I am especially proud to support 
these provisions in the reauthorization.
  This bill also maintains all of the early intervention and preschool 
education programs that get children off on the right foot so they can 
achieve in school.
  As we debate this reauthorization, let's be guided by the vision that 
IDEA is an investment in children's lives and futures. We are investing 
money at the front end--with early intervention, with interpreters, 
with behavioral health and other related services. And the return on 
that investment is productive, independent, taxpaying citizens. We get 
individuals who are prepared to go on to higher education, to gainful 
employment, and to independent living in our communities.
  But we have to make investments in order to get the results we want. 
We have to ensure that schools provide the appropriate education 
required by the law. And we have to meet our commitment to help local 
public schools by, at long last, providing them with full Federal 
funding IDEA. As I said, IDEA was passed in 1975. It has been almost 
three decades, and we are not even half way toward meeting our original 
commitment to pay 40 percent of the excess costs of special education.
  I will be offering an amendment later with my friend, the senior 
Senator from Nebraska, to remedy this longstanding failure of the 
Federal Government. Over the years, we have talked again and again 
about full funding. I say to my colleagues that its time for us not 
just to talk the talk, but to walk the walk. It is time to make good on 
the critical investment of federal funds that we pledged over 30 years 
ago.
  I will have more to say on this later. For now, I conclude by noting 
that IDEA is about the kind of country we want America to be. We must 
fully fund the act, and we must renew our commitment to its cornerstone 
protections. Only then will every child in America have the opportunity 
not only to dream, but to make his or her dreams a reality.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.


                           Amendment No. 3144

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf 
of myself and Senator Hagel and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Iowa [Mr. Harkin], for himself, Mr. Hagel, 
     Mr. Kennedy, Ms. Collins, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Coleman, Mrs. 
     Clinton, Mr. Roberts, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Reed, Ms. 
     Stabenow, Mr. Levin, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Corzine, Mr. 
     Schumer, Mr. Warner, and Ms. Murkowski, proposes an amendment 
     numbered 3144.

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

    (Purpose: To amend part B of the Individuals with Disabilities 
 Education Act to reach full Federal funding of such part in 6 years, 
                        and for other purposes)

       In section 611 of the Individuals with Disabilities 
     Education Act (as amended by section 101 of the bill) strike 
     subsection (i) and insert the following:
       ``(i) Funding.--
       ``(1) In general.--For the purpose of carrying out this 
     part, other than section 619, there are authorized to be 
     appropriated--
       ``(A) $12,268,000,000 or the maximum amount available for 
     awarding grants under subsection (a)(2), whichever is lower, 
     for fiscal year 2005, and, there are hereby appropriated 
     $2,200,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, which shall become 
     available for obligation on July 1, 2005 and shall remain 
     available through September 30, 2006, except that if the 
     maximum amount available for awarding grants under subsection 
     (a)(2) is less than $12,268,000,0000, then the amount 
     appropriated in this subparagraph shall be reduced by the 
     difference between $12,268,000,000 and the maximum amount 
     available for awarding grants under subsection (a)(2);
       ``(B) $14,468,000,000 or the maximum amount available for 
     awarding grants under subsection (a)(2), whichever is lower, 
     for fiscal year 2006, and, there are hereby appropriated 
     $4,400,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, which shall become 
     available for obligation on July 1, 2006 and shall remain 
     available through September 30, 2007, except that if the 
     maximum amount available for awarding grants under subsection 
     (a)(2) is less than $14,468,000,000, then the amount 
     appropriated in this subparagraph shall be reduced by the 
     difference between $14,468,000,000 and the maximum amount 
     available for awarding grants under subsection (a)(2);
       ``(C) $16,668,000,000 or the maximum amount available for 
     awarding grants under subsection (a)(2), whichever is lower, 
     for fiscal year 2007, and, there are hereby appropriated 
     $6,600,000,000 for fiscal year 2007, which shall become 
     available for obligation on July 1, 2007 and shall remain 
     available through September 30, 2008, except that if the 
     maximum amount available for awarding grants under subsection 
     (a)(2) is less than $16,668,000,000, then the amount 
     appropriated in this subparagraph shall be reduced by the 
     difference between $16,668,000,000 and the maximum amount 
     available for awarding grants under subsection (a)(2);
       ``(D) $18,868,000,000 or the maximum amount available for 
     awarding grants under subsection (a)(2), whichever is lower, 
     for fiscal year 2008, and, there are hereby appropriated 
     $8,800,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, which shall become 
     available for obligation on July 1, 2008 and shall remain 
     available through September 30, 2009, except that if the 
     maximum amount available for awarding grants under subsection 
     (a)(2) is less than $18,868,000,000, then the amount 
     appropriated in this subparagraph shall be reduced by the 
     difference between $18,868,000,000 and the maximum amount 
     available for awarding grants under subsection (a)(2);
       ``(E) $21,068,000,000 or the maximum amount available for 
     awarding grants under subsection (a)(2), whichever is lower, 
     for fiscal year 2009, and, there are hereby appropriated 
     $11,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, which shall become 
     available for obligation on July 1, 2009 and shall remain 
     available through September 30, 2010, except that if the 
     maximum amount available for awarding grants under subsection 
     (a)(2) is less than $21,068,000,000, then the amount 
     appropriated in this subparagraph shall be reduced by the 
     difference between $21,068,000,000 and the maximum amount 
     available for awarding grants under subsection (a)(2); and
       ``(F) the maximum amount available for awarding grants 
     under subsection (a)(2) for fiscal year 2010 and each 
     succeeding fiscal year, and, there are hereby appropriated 
     for each such year an amount equal to the maximum amount 
     available for awarding grants under subsection (a)(2) for the 
     fiscal year for which the determination is made minus 
     $10,068,000,000, which shall become available for obligation 
     on July 1 of the fiscal year for which the determination is 
     made and shall remain available through September 30 of the 
     succeeding fiscal year.

[[Page S5328]]

       ``(2) Reauthorization.--Nothing in this subsection shall be 
     construed to prevent or limit the authority of Congress to 
     reauthorize the provisions of this Act.


                           Amendment No. 3145

  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask that my amendment be called up.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The pending amendment will be set aside. The 
clerk will report the amendment.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from New Hampshire [Mr. Gregg] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 3145.

  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of 
the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

  (Purpose: To authorize appropriations for part B of the Individuals 
                    with Disabilities Education Act)

       On page 443, strike lines 3 and 4, and insert the 
     following:

     there are authorized to be appropriated--
       ``(1) $12,358,376,571 for fiscal year 2005;
       ``(2) $14,648,647,143 for fiscal year 2006;
       ``(3) $16,938,917,714 for fiscal year 2007;
       ``(4) $19,229,188,286 for fiscal year 2008;
       ``(5) $21,519,458,857 for fiscal year 2009;
       ``(6) $23,809,729,429 for fiscal year 2010;
       ``(7) $26,100,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; and
       ``(8) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2012 
     and each succeeding fiscal year.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I am joined by my colleague from Nebraska, 
Senator Hagel, and many others to offer an amendment that will ensure 
at long last the Congress meets its commitment it made almost 30 years 
ago. At that time, we told children with disabilities, their families, 
schools, and States that the Federal Government would pay 40 percent of 
the extra cost of special education. We have never lived up to that 
commitment. In fact, we are not even halfway there.
  This is really about the credibility of the Congress. It is about the 
credibility of each and every one of us. We tell our children all the 
time to keep your promises, do what you say you are going to do. We 
teach them if they do not follow through, other people will be hurt. 
Yet the Congress has not kept its word. We have not done what we have 
told children, parents, schools, and States we would do, and people 
have been hurt as a result.
  People are harmed every time parents of children with disabilities 
are pitted against parents with children without disabilities for a 
limited pot of funds. They are harmed every time a family opts not to 
ask for what their child truly needs because they have been told it 
costs too much and other children will suffer. They are harmed every 
time a school district struggles to provide educational opportunities 
for all its students.
  Congress had two purposes when it passed the predecessor to IDEA in 
1975. First, we wanted to codify the constitutional obligation to 
provide education to all children, including those with disabilities. 
There had been several Federal court cases, including the PARC case in 
Pennsylvania and the Mills case in DC, that challenged the exclusion of 
kids with disabilities from public schools. These cases held that if 
schools do provide for public education of their kids, then they must 
educate all children. So Congress passed a law, and we spelled out what 
schools have to do to meet these constitutional obligations.
  The other purpose of the law was to provide financial support for the 
education of children with disabilities. Congress recognized that 
serving additional students would cost substantially more money, and it 
committed to paying 40 percent of the excess costs of special 
education, which is known as the full funding amount.
  Almost 30 years later, we are reauthorizing this bill, and I say to 
my friends and colleagues that we need to think about what we 
originally wanted to do and promised to do. We wanted to show Federal 
support for the principle that all children deserve a quality 
education, and we wanted to help State and local governments meet the 
costs involved. The amendment of Senator Hagel and I will help us at 
long last to achieve these goals.
  Recent history leaves no doubt that discretionary increases will not 
get us to full funding. The charade is over. Educators, parents, 
children, and State and local government officials all know that we 
need mandatory increases. Promised increases on the discretionary side 
will not get us to full funding. They have not worked for 29 years; 
they will not work now.
  If Members of this body are still not convinced that we need 
mandatory full funding, they only have to look at the past 2 years. 
This chart shows that, in 2003, President Bush proposed a $1 billion 
increase for IDEA. The Senate increased it to $2.3 billion. And the 
final tally was $1.3 billion.

  Last year, it was the same story. President Bush wanted a $650 
million increase. The Senate went up to $2.2 billion, and we came down 
to $1.2 billion, actually less of an increase than we had the year 
before.
  Again this year President Bush asked for $1 billion, and we do not 
know how it will come out next year. We can look at the last 2 years 
and say probably the same thing will happen again.
  The reason is simple, there are a lot of other important education 
programs that also need money. The President has consistently 
shortchanged the No Child Left Behind Act, especially title I. There 
simply has not been enough discretionary money to meet our obligations 
on IDEA while also funding programs to help schools meet the mandate of 
the No Child Left Behind Act. So special education funding gets 
squeezed.
  Again, we are on track for a similar situation this year. The 
President, as I said, has proposed $1 billion for IDEA. The Senate 
budget resolution includes the same amount. So, according to the 
Congressional Research Service, we will never reach full funding if we 
increase IDEA at the rate of $1 billion a year under current law.
  Under the revised funding formula in S. 1248, we will not reach full 
funding until fiscal year 2028, nearly a quarter century from now, 53 
years after Congress first committed to that goal and made that 
promise. A child born today would not see full funding of IDEA during 
his or her entire education. That is unacceptable.
  Fully funding IDEA within 6 years, as we do in our amendment, takes 
$2.2 billion a year, not $1 billion as the President has proposed.
  Where is the additional money from IDEA going to come from this year 
if we do not use mandatory funding? Do my colleagues want to cut title 
1? Do we want to cut afterschool centers? Do we want to cut teacher 
training? The money simply is not there in the President's budget to 
find $2.2 billion a year for special education unless we use mandatory 
funding.
  My colleague from Nebraska, Senator Hagel, and I have been trying to 
meet this goal for a long time now. We came close once before.
  When the No Child Left Behind Act passed the Senate, this body agreed 
unanimously to mandate increases for IDEA until we reached full funding 
in 6 years. But strong opposition from the President and the House 
leadership thwarted the will of the Senate. At that time, we were told 
in conference to wait until reauthorization of IDEA took place. Well, 
here we are. We are reauthorizing IDEA.
  So again I want to make this point very clear. Two years ago, this 
Senate unanimously approved mandatory funding for IDEA. It was only 
taken out in conference. It was taken out saying we have to wait until 
the reauthorization of IDEA. Well, as I said, we are on the 
reauthorization of IDEA right now and that is why Senator Hagel and I 
and others are proposing this amendment.
  We have waited long enough; children with disabilities and their 
parents have waited long enough; schools have waited long enough and, 
quite frankly, our property taxpayers have waited long enough.
  Back home, I have heard from parents, school administrators, 
teachers, State legislators, chambers of commerce, taxpayers' 
associations, and others about the need to fully fund IDEA. I am sure 
every Senator in this body has heard the same thing from his or her own 
constituents. These voices are unanimous in support of mandatory full 
funding because they know that is the only way we are ever going to 
reach that.
  Mandatory funding is also widely supported by all of the national 
disability and education groups. During this reauthorization, the 
education and disability communities disagreed on a

[[Page S5329]]

lot of issues, but they are unanimous and united on mandatory funding.
  This chart shows a list of all of those who are in support. There are 
36 organizations that are members of the Consortium of Citizens with 
Disabilities Education Task Force, plus 38 organizations that are part 
of the IDEA Funding Coalition.
  The National Governors Association also has a clear position 
supporting mandatory full funding. To quote the joint policy of the NGA 
and the Council of Chief State School Officers:

       Mandatory full funding of the Federal share of IDEA is 
     essential.

  They further state:

       Congress should do the following: Provide mandatory full 
     funding at the federally committed level of 40 percent of the 
     average per pupil expenditure.

  The Governors support mandatory full funding because they know how 
much it will mean to each of their States. I have a chart that shows 
how much more each State will get under the amendment Senator Hagel and 
I are proposing as compared to what they would get if it is not 
supported. Again, I am not going to run through every State, but it is 
here for Senators to look at it if they would like. I urge each of my 
colleagues to look up their own State.
  My own State of Iowa stands to gain $2 billion over 10 years under 
this amendment, an increase of $460 million over what they would get 
with the annual $1 billion increases.
  I will talk for a minute about the investments IDEA funding pays for. 
It pays for the teachers who help children learn. It pays for 
occupational and physical therapy to help children grow stronger. It 
pays for interpreters and captioning for deaf and hard-of-
hearing students, and Braille materials that allow blind children to 
read their textbooks. It pays for the behavioral health services that 
allow children with mental health needs to succeed. It pays for 
assistive technology, for example, software that helps a blind child 
use the classroom materials, or augmentative communication devices that 
help kids with cerebral palsy communicate with their teachers and their 
peers.

  IDEA is an investment in children's lives and in their future. We are 
investing money at the front end with early intervention, with 
interpreters, with behavioral health and other related services. The 
return on that investment is productive, independent, taxpaying 
citizens. We get individuals who are prepared to go on to higher 
education, to gainful employment, and to independent living in their 
communities.
  The unemployment rate for people with disabilities right now is about 
70 percent. That is right, 70 percent. IDEA is critical to ensuring 
that we bring that rate down and increase the number of individuals 
with disabilities who are working.
  Our House colleague, former Congressman Tony Coelho, always liked to 
say people with disabilities are the one group that really wants to pay 
taxes. They want to work. They want to have the opportunity to 
contribute to our society and economy.
  IDEA has also cut down on the number of children who have to live in 
institutions. Dr. Charlie Lakin of the University of Minnesota 
estimates $6.5 billion a year is saved on institutional costs by making 
it possible for children with disabilities to live in their own homes 
and communities. The true value of this is impossible to measure in 
dollars. How does one measure the value of keeping a family together?
  In closing, when Congress first passed this law in 1975, we created a 
beacon of hope for children who previously had none. We said to 
children with disabilities and their parents that all children deserve 
educational opportunity, all children deserve to take part in the 
American dream, all children deserve to look forward to having a home 
and a job when they grow up. To that end, we made a pledge to these 
children and their parents. We promised the Federal Government would 
pay its fair share of the costs, up to 40 percent on average per-pupil 
expense, to ensure this dream becomes a reality.
  Today, nearly three decades later, it is time for Congress to make 
good on that commitment. So I urge my colleagues to vote yes on the 
amendment offered by Senator Hagel, this Senator from Iowa, and so many 
others.
  I see my colleague and cosponsor of the amendment, Senator Hagel. He 
is a great leader on this issue. I yield to him at this time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
  Mr. HAGEL. Mr. President, I thank my colleague, the distinguished 
Senator from Iowa, for his years of effort and leadership and focus on 
this issue.
  I rise this morning to join with Senator Harkin in introducing this 
amendment to S. 1248, the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 
IDEA, reauthorization. Our amendment will provide mandatory increases 
in funding of $2.2 billion per year to fully fund part B of the IDEA 
Program over the next 6 years.
  This amendment will allow us to reach our Federal funding commitment 
to IDEA by fiscal year 2010 and fulfill our nearly 30-year-old Federal 
commitment to the States, our schools, our children with disabilities.
  In 1975, Congress guaranteed children with disabilities the right to 
a free and appropriate public education. This means whatever the cost, 
States and local school districts are mandated by Federal law to 
provide necessary services to educate a child with a disability. 
Congress understood this Federal mandate would be costly. As a result, 
Congress agreed over 30 years ago to provide States with 40 percent of 
the cost of educating these children. Unfortunately, States have been 
bearing the bulk of the costs associated with IDEA for this time. 
States have upheld their part of the deal. Congress has not. This is 
why Senator Harkin and I and others believe mandatory funding is 
warranted for the IDEA Program.
  IDEA is one of the largest unfunded mandates imposed on the States. 
As a matter of fact, I recall in a speech on the Senate floor earlier 
this year the junior Senator from Tennessee, the former Governor of 
Tennessee, Mr. Alexander, talking about unfunded mandates that he dealt 
with in his 8 years as Governor of Tennessee. He pointed out 
specifically that IDEA was one of those unfunded mandates.
  Everyone in this body has heard from their Governors, school boards, 
administrators, teachers and parents about the importance of this 
issue. Unfortunately, instead of making IDEA funding a priority, 
Congress continues to pass new education programs that require more 
money, more resources, and more responsibility from the States. So we 
continue to force down upon the States, more unfunded mandates. Even 
though the purpose is noble, the cause is right, and we say on the 
floor of the Congress that we will help, we will provide those 
resources and those funds--in the case of IDEA, for 30 years we have 
not done that. We have not fulfilled the statutory commitments that we 
made to the States and the school districts--and ultimately to our 
children.

  For the past 7 years, I have worked on a bipartisan basis with 
Senators Harkin, Dodd, Kennedy, Jeffords, Warner, Collins, Chafee, 
Snowe, Coleman, Roberts, and others to accomplish this task. Three 
years ago, as was noted by my distinguished colleague from Iowa, the 
Senate agreed to an amendment that Senator Harkin and I offered to the 
No Child Left Behind Act. The amendment provided mandatory funding for 
the IDEA program. Unfortunately, this amendment was removed during a 
House-Senate conference in 2001.
  Today we have another opportunity to show the Senate's support for 
mandatory IDEA funding by passing the Harkin-Hagel amendment. Although 
we have had great success in increasing IDEA appropriations from $2.3 
billion in fiscal year 1996 to $10.1 billion in fiscal year 2004, we 
still have a long way to go before meeting our total Federal IDEA 
funding responsibilities. The cost of special education is high. We 
understand that. But it is the thing that is most important for the 
parents, the teachers, and the children. By underfunding the Federal 
Government's portion of IDEA, States and local school districts are 
forced to pick up the additional costs, adding to their already heavy 
tax burdens.
  Our amendment has nothing to do with expanding the Federal role. It 
has nothing to do with expanding the Federal role in education. It is 
about meeting the existing commitments of the Federal Government under 
the current law.
  While I share the same budgetary concerns as others in this body--we 
all

[[Page S5330]]

must share those concerns and act as prudent, wise stewards of the 
people's money--I remind my colleagues that despite our recent progress 
on IDEA, we are still only about halfway to meeting our Federal 
obligation that we made to the people of this country 30 years ago. We 
are not now meeting those statutory commitments. Although we made 
budget promises year after year, we continue to fail in meeting our 
annual discretionary funding goals for IDEA.
  Last year the Senate adopted a budget amendment that would have 
increased IDEA funds by $2.2 billion in fiscal year 2004. 
Unfortunately, we came up $1 billion short, even though we had passed 
it in the Senate, by the time we finished the appropriations process. 
This is just another example of why mandatory funding is absolutely 
necessary to fulfill the commitment of Congress to IDEA. Meeting our 
Federal commitment to IDEA would help school districts fund additional 
education priorities such as facility improvements, teacher salaries, 
and purchasing upgraded hardware and software for the classroom.
  On another point that needs some clarification, the Harkin-Hagel 
amendment, this amendment that we debate this morning, would not take 
away the authority of Congress to reauthorize this program. There seems 
to be some misunderstanding about that issue. In fact, our amendment 
includes language that states that nothing shall prevent future 
reauthorizations.
  I urge my colleagues to vote today to fulfill America's commitment to 
IDEA funding. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I yield at least 7 minutes to the Senator 
from Vermont, my friend and colleague who has spent a great part of his 
life and career in the Senate on educational issues, and especially on 
this particular issue. It is important that we hear his voice. I yield 
7 minutes--more time if he so desires.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont is recognized.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, it was many years ago the Senator from 
Massachusetts and I sat on the committee that designed this bill and 
passed it with all the expectations of it being fulfilled. But we still 
are a long ways from that.
  I support the bipartisan Harkin-Hagel amendment to S. 1248, the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003.
  This amendment would fully fund the Federal share of special 
education within 6 years, and finally meet the commitment that Congress 
made in 1975 when the original IDEA law was enacted.
  And although I am supporting this amendment, I must admit that my 
emotions are mixed.
  That is because we have been trying to accomplish this task for 29 
years, and for 29 years we have failed. Quite simply, this should have 
been done a long time ago, and it pains me that we are still debating 
this issue.
  In 1975 I was a member of the House-Senate conference committee that 
authored the Education for All Handicapped Children Act.
  This came after courts across this country ruled that State and 
Federal constitutions obliged schools to provide all children with a 
free and appropriate education.
  At that time, we in the Congress enacted a funding schedule for the 
Federal Government's share IDEA dollars.
  We calculated the cost of educating a disabled child to be about 
twice that of a non-disabled child. Based on that calculation, we 
committed the Federal Government to pay 40 percent of the national per-
pupil expenditure for each disabled child's education.
  The schedule was for the Federal Government to pay 5 percent by 1978; 
10 percent by 1979; 20 percent by 1980, 30 percent by 1981; and 40 
percent by 1982.
  Currently, we are not even meeting the 1980 allocation of 20 percent. 
In fact, we are only providing states with 18.6 percent of the costs. 
This is a disgrace.
  And according to the Congressional Research Service, if we continue 
increasing funding at a rate of one billion dollars each year, we will 
never reach our goal of 40 percent set in 1975.
  Every dollar that the Federal Government fails to provide must be 
supplied by the State and local governments, which usually translates 
to higher property taxes.
  For communities that often struggle to pass school budgets, our 
failure to meet our promise may fuel resentment against families that 
already have enough to deal with in raising a child with special needs.
  In many small towns, such as those in Vermont, Iowa, and Nebraska, a 
single child with severe disabilities can have a significant impact on 
a school's budget.
  Yet even though the Federal Government has broken its promise year 
after year, great progress has been made and the States and local 
school districts deserve a lot of the credit for providing quality 
education to so many children.
  It is long overdue that we here in the Congress stand up to our 
responsibility to support all of our children, schools and communities.
  If 29 years has shown us anything, it is that our children do not 
benefit from hollow promises.
  The underlying bill is a solid piece of bipartisan legislation. There 
are some compromises on difficult issues such as how children are 
disciplined. But none of these issues addressed in the bill is as 
important as the subject of the amendment--fully funding IDEA and 
treating the annual funding increases as mandatory spending.
  Although I am supporting this amendment, I am deeply troubled that 
some may consider the funding mechanism being proposed here is a 
gimmick since the current $10 billion Federal allocation will remain as 
discretionary spending in the language before us. If we are successful 
in passing this amendment--and I hope we will be--the integrity of the 
amendment will only be upheld if the current $10 billion continues to 
be used only for IDEA.
  Further, that $10 billion must remain $10 billion and not be reduced 
and used for non-IDEA programming. As important as it is to vote for 
this amendment before us, it is equally important to commit to 
protecting the level of funding.
  I urge my colleagues to support the amendment. The time is long 
overdue for fulfilling our promise.
  I have a question for the Senator from Iowa, the sponsor of the 
amendment.
  As we have discussed, the amendment before this body makes IDEA 
funding increases mandatory. The Senator from Iowa is a member of the 
Appropriations Committee and a ranking member of the subcommittee that 
overseas IDEA spending. Is it the understanding of the Senator from 
Iowa that the current discretionary allocation for IDEA, which is $10 
billion, will continue to be dedicated only to IDEA programming and not 
reduced if this amendment is agreed to?
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, if the Senator will yield, I respond by 
saying to my friend from Vermont that I appreciate his question. I want 
to assure him that, as he knows, I am committed to fully funding IDEA. 
This amendment--I know I can speak for my colleague from Nebraska 
also--presumes that the discretionary rates will remain dedicated to 
special education, and I am fully confident that will be the case.
  I have been on the Appropriations Committee now for 20 years and on 
the subcommittee that funds IDEA. My experience in 20 years is that it 
has never been cut. Maybe it has not been added to much, but I have 
never known anyone to try to cut it. Right now, Senator Specter is the 
chair of that subcommittee. I want to assure the Senator that no one 
has any intention of cutting IDEA. Those of us on committee would 
resist that. Again, Senator Gregg is also on the subcommittee, and I 
assume he doesn't want to cut IDEA either. There has not been a cut in 
IDEA funding in 25 years. There will not be any now on the 
discretionary account.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. I thank the Senator for that commitment and 
understanding.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I yield 3 minutes to the Senator from 
Washington.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington is recognized for 
3 minutes.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise in support of the amendment to 
fully

[[Page S5331]]

fund IDEA offered by Senator Harkin and Senator Hagel.
  Nearly 30 years ago the Federal Government made a commitment of equal 
opportunity to our Nation's children with disabilities. With that 
commitment, we promised that the Federal Government would uphold its 
end of the bargain and pay 40 percent of the average per-student cost 
for every special education student. Today, however, the Federal 
Government is paying less than 19 percent of that cost.
  Over the past couple of years, IDEA has received significant 
increases but, according to the Congressional Research Service, at 
increases of $1 billion each year, the Federal Government will never 
fulfill its promise of funding at 40 percent. Further, if annual 
increases were $1 billion plus inflation, we would not reach the 
promised level of 40 percent until 2035, more than 30 years from now.
  The Harkin-Hagel amendment increases IDEA funding over 8 years by $2 
billion per year through mandatory funding. Mandatory funding is what 
it is going to take because local schools today are already struggling 
with the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, the lack of 
promised Federal funding, and the dismal financial picture still facing 
many of our States and local governments. It is going to take real 
funding through mandatory spending to make up for all of those gaps.
  This gap in special education funding, by the way, doesn't just hurt 
disabled students; it hurts their classmates as well because we are 
forcing schools to make difficult decisions with regard to which kids 
get funding. In order to make up for the Federal funding shortfall, 
many school districts have been forced to take money from their general 
education budget, which affects every single student. I know we can do 
better for America's disabled students. Let us not make them wait 
another 30 years to fully fund this law.
  I urge my colleagues to fulfill the promise of IDEA and support the 
Hagel-Harkin amendment.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, we have a number of other speakers. I 
yield myself 6 minutes.
  First of all, I congratulate the Senator from Iowa for his 
perseverance in ensuring that this issue would be brought to the floor 
of the Senate so the Senate can have an opportunity to vote on this 
very important question that makes an enormous difference to hundreds 
of thousands--millions--of our fellow citizens, primarily the parents 
but certainly the children who will also be affected. I commend him for 
his doggedness and perseverance in pursuing what is basically a 
fundamental civil right.
  The holdings by the courts of this country have said under the equal 
protection laws that these children need to have the kind of necessary 
and reasonable accommodation they are entitled to under our Federal 
Constitution; therefore, we have the responsibility to make sure they 
are going to be protected and they are going to receive these kinds of 
educational opportunities.
  As my good friend from Vermont pointed out, he has made special 
education one of his real priorities in this institution. Over the 
course of his very distinguished career, he has added immeasurably to 
the scope and understanding of the realization of the education for 
needy children with special needs in this country. But he remembers, as 
I do, when we were trying to provide--going back to 1965 when we passed 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act--some funding for special 
needs children. Over a period of years, we enhanced that funding to try 
to provide some help for special needs children. But all of that 
changed dramatically after we had the court decisions that interpreted 
the Equal Protection Clause to ensure that we were going to have to 
make sure children with special needs were going to be able to have 
educational opportunities.
  We passed the IDEA bill. What was the rational here in the U.S. 
Congress? What was the rational with the President at that particular 
time? It was a general recognition that to educate a special needs 
child, it was going to cost effectively double what it costs to 
normally educate a child in this country. It is going to cost double 
that--double of that in my State of Massachusetts. It varies slightly 
from different States, but, nonetheless, we recognized that it was 
going to be effectively doubled. That was the best estimate. That was 
the testimony cited. It was the judgment and the decision that the 
Congress was going to help and assist the States and local communities. 
We ensure over 80 percent of the funds provided in this program go to 
the local community. There is some money that can be retained at the 
State level in terms of training programs and coordination of various 
services, but this program was driven to the local level to help offset 
the additional burdens that taxpayers would have in local communities.

  As we all know, one of the extraordinary demands we have seen in 
small and large communities is when a family has a special needs child 
who takes the extra services. They go to those town meetings and we 
find out who is going to end up paying for those needs. In my own 
State, even with the IDEA, it only offsets 8 percent of the education 
program. We will come back to that later. However, it is only 8 
percent. The greatest percent, 50 percent, is raised at the local level 
in local taxes. So we have services that will be necessary for special 
needs children, causing particular hardships on small communities 
because of these additional expenditures.
  When we fail in the Senate to provide that 40 percent, so often, 
particularly now when we have scarce resources, we see the kind of 
tension that is taking place between parents who have children who do 
not have disabilities and want to see the educational opportunities 
enhanced and those who have special needs and want to make sure their 
children are going to be covered. It brings enormous tension in local 
communities, neighbors struggling against neighbors.
  We made the judgment and decision in 1979 when we passed the first 
IDEA act. At that time, we were only covering 2 million of the disabled 
children. Generally, it was considered to be 4.5 million children. The 
States were covering 2 million children. There were 37 States that had 
IDEA-type legislation, but by and large, we were not providing help and 
assistance to these children, even though too often we saw the 
situation where these children were effectively being warehoused, 
pushed off into basements, pushed off into attics, pushed off into 
remote areas.
  The idea they were getting a benefit of any education defied the 
imagination.
  We decided we were going to encourage the States, and the way to 
encourage the States was to indicate that we at the national level were 
going to be in partnership with the States, and most importantly, in 
partnership with local communities. That is where this commitment lies, 
with the local communities, the local towns. They pay the greatest 
percent of this burden. We were going to work with those local 
communities to help offset the expenditures.
  We made a commitment that it was going to be 40 percent of that 
additional cost. That is the basis of the argument for the 40 percent--
why it is 40 percent and not 50 percent, why it was not 100 percent. We 
wanted to be a partner. This is what the decision was. That was a 
decision and a judgment relied on by States and by local communities 
all across this country. That is a commitment and pledge that has not 
been kept.
  As result of the fact we have not kept that commitment, local 
communities have been making up the difference and seeing their taxes 
rise to try to offset the challenges that local communities will face 
when they have special needs children. That is the issue we are trying 
to address today.
  Today, we know we are fulfilling 19 percent of the challenge. The 
Congressional Research Service says, under the President's program, the 
way the administration is going, it would never be reached with 
increases of $1 billion a year. It will never be reached.
  Senator Harkin and Senator Hagel have said we have committed 
ourselves to doing this. We ought to meet our responsibilities and 
provide these resources which are so necessary and can make such an 
important difference.

  With the legislation before the Senate, with all of the changes--and 
I will wait to go over those various changes

[[Page S5332]]

made in the legislation, that we now will support and the contrast from 
1997--we have brought this legislation up to where it can make an 
extraordinary difference, will make an extraordinary difference for 
those special needs children.
  Now, people can ask, Where are you going to get the resources and 
where are you going to get the money given the kinds of challenges we 
are facing?
  I just saw on the business page of the Washington Post, on Tuesday, 
May 4, ``The Federal Deficit Likely to Narrow by $100 Billion.'' That 
is this year alone. The Harkin amendment would take $2.2 billion out of 
that $100 billion that they expect this year over the other 
predictions. That is the responsible way.
  I will not take the time now to go through the favorable comments 
that those in the Treasury and the Budget Committee have made in terms 
of what they are expecting regarding the windfall. It is a matter of 
priority. It seems to me, if we will have a $100 billion windfall that 
will come over the course of the summer, we ought to be able to afford 
$2.2 billion to meet our responsibilities to local communities all 
across this country that are trying to meet their responsibilities to 
educate children who have special needs. That is the issue.
  I have great respect for my colleague and friend, the chairman of our 
committee. I am going to vote in favor of his amendment that will 
increase the authorization. If we increase the authorization, we are 
able to get the funding for that program, we would get to that 40 
percent over a 7-year period, but, unfortunately, in terms of the 
authorization with the No Child Left Behind Act, we have seen what is 
actually appropriated and what is authorized are going in different 
directions.
  It seems to me, if we are serious in trying to meet the needs of 
special needs children, we have the ability with this legislation, 
which will make the greatest difference in the world to special needs 
children in this country, that understands the importance of early 
intervention, understands the importance of transition, has brought 
into place changes in terms of the discipline, brings in other kinds of 
agencies so they will involve themselves. It involves the local school 
community to a greater extent, with greater flexibility, but still has 
strong accountability.
  We have a very important piece of legislation. This can make an 
extraordinary difference. I hope our colleagues and friends will pay 
heed to the opportunities we have with the Harkin-Hagel amendment. It 
can make a very important difference. This is an obligation we have. We 
ought to meet the obligations we have made to families across this 
country. They are being hard pressed and particularly hard pressed now 
when many of the States are cutting back their support in terms of 
education funds. The burden is falling increasingly on these families.
  We have an opportunity. With this positive news that is coming, we 
ought to make sure we support the Harkin-Hagel amendment and meet our 
responsibilities to special needs children.
  I withhold the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I yield myself such time as I may need.
  Mr. President, first of all, I, once again, thank the members of the 
committee for assisting in pulling together a bill which is a very 
positive piece of legislation in the area of special education. We all 
understand the historical development of special education. It has been 
outlined quite adequately and well by the Senator from Massachusetts, 
the fact that for many years these children were put in special rooms 
or put in the basement and left there to basically be warehoused, for 
all intents and purposes.
  Then, with the passage of the special education law back in 1976, 
that all changed, and these kids ended up having an opportunity, a shot 
at decent education, and, where mainstreaming came into play, we tried 
to get them into the classroom, and to the extent they could not be in 
the classroom, they would get high-quality care.
  I have had a personal involvement in this issue for a long time. I 
chaired, was the president of, and a member of the board of directors, 
of a very excellent center for special needs children, which is an 
educational facility, not a hospital, called the Crotched Mountain 
Rehabilitation Center, in New Hampshire. I was basically very active in 
that center for many years, until the mid to late 1980s. So it is an 
issue that concerns me a lot.
  I want to make sure these kids get adequate care and adequate 
education. This bill makes giant strides toward addressing some of the 
problems that have evolved over the years relative to special needs 
students, especially as we attempt to reduce the amount of bureaucracy 
and paperwork that teachers for special needs children specifically 
have to handle.
  It is estimated that some teachers for special needs children--
probably even a majority--spend almost a day and a half of every week 
essentially doing paperwork to maintain the lesson plans and the 
planning process and making sure all the different regulatory activity 
is addressed relative to their jobs, instead of actually being with the 
child and doing the classroom work that is so important. So this bill 
tries to address that.
  It also tries to address the excessive litigiousness that has 
occurred over the years relative to special needs children, trying to 
reduce that, and getting us out of the courtroom and back into the 
classroom with these kids. It is a very important factor.
  It also addresses the question of discipline. This has been a 
problem. It tries to give teachers and school officials a little more 
control, significantly more control, in how they manage their 
classrooms and dealing with children who are, unfortunately, 
disruptive, but does it without uniquely penalizing a child whose 
disruption is a function of their problem which they may have which 
gives them special needs. So I think we reach a balance that is very 
constructive.
  The bill is a positive step forward in trying to make the special 
education laws more responsive to the outpouring of concerns we heard 
from school teachers, administrators, and parents across the country, 
but especially, in my case, from New Hampshire. So we are trying to 
address and improve the law to make it more efficient and effective.
  We focus it now more on accountability. We want to make sure these 
children learn to the extent they are capable of learning. Rather than 
just going through a series of checking off boxes because this has been 
done and that has been done, what we want to know is, are there 
results? We try to adjust the process to focus on results versus 
bureaucracy and input. So that is the goal of this bill.

  It is a good piece of legislation. It is bipartisan, as has been 
mentioned. The issues which remain are significant, but they are not 
the core of the bill. The core of the bill is how it addresses the 
needs of that child.
  One of the major issues, obviously, that remains is how we fund this 
legislation. This has been a primary concern of mine since I was 
elected. When I had the good fortune to serve as Governor of New 
Hampshire, I believed that the single largest unfunded requirement the 
Federal Government was putting on us, outside of some of the 
environmental requirements, was this issue of how we paid for special 
education. I did come here with the intention, and have, I believe, had 
reasonable impact on getting those dollars up, getting the Federal 
dollars up, the commitment up. It has been a long and very difficult 
road, but it has been a road where significant success has been 
accomplished also.
  I do not think we should ignore the fact that we have dramatically 
increased funding in the special education accounts. In fact, if you 
look at the special education funding accounts, I believe you will find 
they are, as a percentage--obviously, not in gross dollars, but as a 
percentage--the fastest growing funding area in the Federal Government, 
and have been in that arena for the last 4 years during this 
President's time, and even prior to that since the Republicans took 
over the Senate.
  I think it is important we refer to some of the history of what was 
happening, and how we have increased funding in these accounts. First 
off, in 1996, when we Republicans retook control of the Senate, myself 
and other Members of the Senate, including Senator Lott and Senator 
Specter, decided to make it an absolute priority.

[[Page S5333]]

In fact, it became S. 1 at that time, the first bill we introduced, 
that we would increase the funding for special education programs.
  We started a process of increasing the commitment to funding to those 
programs, which was significant. This chart reflects that increase. We 
have gone from $2.3 billion--and each one of these increases represents 
very substantive and dramatic increases. By the way, almost $1 billion 
a year, since 1996, on a compounded basis, has been going into the 
special education accounts. So we went from $2.3 billion, when we 
started this aggressiveness--and I would like to think I was one of the 
initiators of this, as was Senator Jeffords at the time--and have now 
moved it up to $11.3 billion.
  As a percentage, in 1996, when we started, the Federal Government was 
paying maybe 6 percent of the cost of special needs children. Now we 
are paying about 20 percent of the cost of special needs children.
  I think it is very important in the context of the debate to put this 
in perspective relative to what the commitments made by the Clinton 
administration were during this time because what happened during this 
period was that, actually, President Clinton did not send up any 
budgets which increased special education funding until the last 2 
years of his administration. In fact, he was flat-funding special 
education throughout his administration, for all intents and purposes. 
It was not until the Republican Senate insisted that dollars be put 
into special education, and we increased the funding by $1 billion a 
year, as I mentioned, starting in 1996, that President Clinton actually 
responded to that, and in the last 2 years of his administration 
started to put funds into this account.

  If you look at it by year, you will notice essentially the Clinton 
administration's funding levels were basically flat. If you look at our 
funding, you will see that it increased dramatically during this 
period. In fact, in gross terms, over the 8 years of the Clinton 
administration, his commitment to special education was $29 billion. In 
the first 4 years of the Bush administration, the increase is $38 
billion. So just in a period of 4 years, President Bush has 
dramatically increased--almost by 50 percent--the total increases which 
were made to special education funding during the 8 years of President 
Clinton's administration.
  This reflects the fact that once the Presidency changed, and 
President Bush came into office, there was actually even an 
acceleration of funding into the special education accounts beyond what 
was occurring when we had a Republican Senate and a Democratic 
President and the Republican Senate was pushing the issue. Now we had 
an actual President who was in agreement with accelerating special 
education funding, and we accelerated that funding rather dramatically.
  President Bush, in every budget he has brought forward since becoming 
President, has proposed an increase of at least $1 billion--and that is 
a compounded number--so that we have seen this rather dramatic increase 
in funding from the administration over this period of time which has 
led to this huge increase--significant increase--which, as I said, is 
one of the fastest growing percentages in the Federal budget, if not 
the fastest growing percentage in the Federal budget of funding for any 
account. And that has occurred in the special education accounts.
  In fact, when I looked at Senator Harkin's chart, I found it 
interesting that at least he gave credit to the fact that the President 
was increasing funding $1 billion a year--$1 billion a year; $1 billion 
on top of $1 billion. That was not enough to reach the goals that we 
had hoped to reach. But it was those big increases that he was 
reflecting there. And it is ironic that that would be attacked, that 
the President would be attacked for only increasing funding $1 billion 
a year--``only,'' using the term from the other side--only increasing 
funding $1 billion a year and $1 billion the next year which is $2 
billion, and a billion dollars the next year which is $3 billion, that 
he would be attacked for that. When the Democrats controlled the Senate 
and the Democrats controlled the Presidency, they flat-funded this 
account. When President Clinton was President and we controlled the 
Senate, we had to really pull teeth to get the funding up. Now we have 
a President who has been actively promoting the expansion of funding in 
these accounts, aggressively and rather dramatically expanding it, and 
what do we hear from the other side: You are only doing $3 billion, $1 
billion 1 year, $1 billion on top of that, $1 billion the next year. It 
is a little inconsistent, to say the least, if not a touch hypocritical 
to make that statement in the context of the last time the budget was 
actually under their control.

  In fact, if you go back to the last time Senator Harkin was the 
appropriating chairman--there was a period here where the Democratic 
Party did control the Senate, while President Bush was President, has 
been President. During that period Senator Harkin brought forward an 
appropriation, when he had control over the appropriations accounts 
that deal with special education, which did not come anywhere near the 
number which he now claims should have been funded. He is claiming the 
funding increase should have been $2.2 billion a year under his own 
chart. That is what he is saying.
  Under his budget, as he brought it out--actually he never brought it 
at the floor of the Senate. It was passed through committee. They never 
actually brought a budget to the floor and they never brought an 
appropriations bill to the floor. Under his appropriations bill as it 
passed out of his committee, I believe his number was $875 million that 
he had for an increase in the account. It might have been $1 billion. 
Whatever it was, it was less than the full funding he now says has to 
be given or should have been given, even during that time under his own 
charge, to special education.
  So there is a disconnect. When they are in charge, when they control 
the Presidency, when they control the Senate, they flat-fund special 
education. When they control the Presidency and we control the Senate, 
we have to pull teeth to get their President to send up a budget that 
increases special education. When they control the Senate and we 
control the Presidency, they send out an appropriations bill which is 
at least $1 billion less than what they claim we should be doing. There 
is, to say the least, a disconnect.
  The fact is under this President we have seen the fastest growth in 
special education funding that has occurred in the history of the 
accounts. We have seen growth in special education funding in 4 years 
of $38 billion by President Bush as compared with $29 billion over 8 
years of the Clinton administration.
  I believe when we make the case on this side of the aisle that we are 
committed to special education funding, that we are doing what we think 
is reasonable and capable within the context of this budget process--
remember, we are running a deficit--to fund special education, where 
we are giving it the single biggest increases of any account in the 
Federal Government year after year after year on a percentage basis, 
that we come to this argument with significant credibility on our 
commitment to fund special education and fund it aggressively.

  That brings us to the substance of the debate on the amendment today. 
What Senator Harkin has proposed is we take prospective payments to 
special education accounts and make them mandatory. Remember, this 
creates a whole new concept of how we fund things around here. This is 
a brand new idea--and not a very good one--which suggests we create a 
new highway where you are going to have discretionary accounts funding 
the vast majority of the spending, and then you are going to put on top 
of the discretionary accounts, like a layer cake, a mandatory account. 
This creates some pretty significant problems.
  The first problem it creates is it creates a new mandatory account. 
Mandatory accounts are not a good idea when you are running a deficit 
because they basically mean you do not set priorities. We as a 
government, when you are running a $300 billion deficit, maybe more, 
$400 billion--according to Senator Kennedy, we are going to save $100 
billion this year, so maybe we are down to $300 billion or we may be at 
$400 billion--but when you are running this type of deficit, we as a 
government have some responsibility to our constituents to be 
responsible and to make choices, to prioritize needs.

[[Page S5334]]

  We, as the Senate, have historically prioritized special education 
very highly, at least whenever the Republicans have controlled the 
Senate. And we have asked for what would amount to a pathway to full 
funding by 2010. We have put in Senate proposals that have represented 
that approximately $2.2 billion in annual increases. We have done it 
the right way. We have, when we have done that, cut other accounts. 
When we have passed these increases in our budget proposals that have 
been at $2.2 billion, we have reduced other accounts to offset those 
increases. That is the priority we should set as a government.
  But when you set up a mandatory account, you basically ignore 
priorities and you essentially say, let's add the money to the deficit, 
which is exactly what the Senator from Massachusetts is suggesting. 
That is a different approach. It doesn't happen to be our approach on 
this side of the aisle.
  We think fiscal responsibility requires, especially in a time when we 
are running a deficit, that you set priorities. We believe we have 
shown, beyond any question on the facts, with these dramatic increases 
in special education funding, which we have done under Republican 
Presidents, under a Republican Senate, that in a competition for funds, 
special education wins and has won and will continue to win.
  So to set up a mandatory account is a mistake, especially when you 
are running a deficit. It also creates a couple of other problems. One 
is that under the rules of the Senate, when you set up a mandatory 
account, you must reduce discretionary accounts dollar for dollar for 
that mandatory account. That is our budget rule. So as a practical 
matter, it is very possible that unless we decide to waive that budget 
item, we will actually end up reducing the discretionary spending that 
is committed toward special education, the $11 billion, in order to 
fund the mandatory spending. And we will probably end up or we 
potentially could end up, because this bill calls for $2 billion of 
mandatory spending, with a $2 billion reduction in discretionary 
spending so you would level-fund the mandatory. You would level-fund 
special education if the budget rules kick in the way they are written.

  The practical effect would be there would be no net gain for special 
education funding, or it would be very limited. So this becomes a bit 
of an illusory term, when you are using mandatory and you merge it with 
discretionary accounts. If it were pure mandatory, I guess you could 
argue the funding would occur. But under our rules, it is not going to 
be pure mandatory. It is going to be this new hybrid, this layer cake, 
half mandatory, half discretionary.
  The practical implication under our rules is you have to reduce 
dollar for dollar the discretionary accounts by the mandatory increase. 
What does that mean? Zero increase for special education, if these 
rules are applied in their present form.
  There is another problem this creates, this new hybrid animal. For 
example, if we accept the fact the mandatory money is coming through 
and that the discretionary accounts are not reduced--in other words, 
say we waive this budget rule--we will create a scenario where the 
appropriators--of which I happen to be one and am very proud, and we do 
a wonderful job, but as an appropriator, I will tell you what I am 
thinking. I am thinking I just got $2 billion I don't have to spend on 
this discretionary account. I can put it somewhere else. Basically you 
are not guaranteeing this money at all. What you are doing is you are 
creating more dollar availability for the appropriator who has that 
discretionary account to use in some other area.
  That is the distinct potential here because there is no--let us call 
it ``maintenance of effort'' language in this amendment for the 
Appropriations Committee. So as a practical matter, you don't resolve 
the problem this way. The only way you resolve the problem is to do it 
straight up, which is to say we should fund this account on a glidepath 
toward full funding, which is what the Senate has said.
  We should use our appropriations authority and keep that discretion 
within the appropriations authority to accomplish that. We should set 
the priorities so that special education gets fully funded. That is 
what my amendment does. It sets up the authorization levels to allow 
the Appropriations Committee to proceed down that path.
  Why do I think it will occur? Well, primarily because of the history 
here, which is that when we as Republicans control the Senate--and now 
we have a Republican President--we are making these huge increases in 
the special education accounts. So the alternative that we presented 
here is the more fiscally responsible way to do this. I think it is the 
more practical way to get to the ends at which we are aimed.
  You can throw out this term ``mandatory.'' When you go home to your 
town meetings, it resonates well. I don't deny that for a second. But 
it is illusory when it is used in conjunction with the discretionary 
funding accounts and when used in conjunction with the budget rules as 
presently structured in the Senate. It literally means nothing. The 
only thing that is going to accomplish full funding for special 
education is the willingness of the Senate and the House, hopefully, 
which has not joined us in the past, to assert the $2.2 billion 
increase and move down that road and protect ourselves in conference 
with the House.
  To pass the Harkin amendment may make us feel good politically, but 
it creates bad policy and doesn't accomplish our goals, which is to get 
full funding of special education. That is why I have put forward this 
alternative, which I think is a much more constructive approach.
  I reserve our time and yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. MURKOWSKI). The Senator from Delaware is 
recognized.
  Mr. CARPER. Madam President, I ask to be recognized for 3 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is recognized for 3 minutes.
  Mr. CARPER. Madam President, as a former Governor for Delaware and 
chairman of the National Governors Association, for a long time I have 
supported full funding for IDEA. In fact, when Senator Gregg was 
Congressman Gregg, we served together in the House, and we talked about 
full funding for IDEA. We talked about the Government's commitment to 
40 percent of the funding for special education and that we weren't 
coming close to it. Today, we are actually making progress in getting 
closer to that number. We are about halfway there. We have a good way 
to go. Senator Harkin's and Senator Hagel's amendment will take us 
where we need to go.
  I rise to say I would like to be able to offer an amendment to the 
Harkin-Hagel amendment, but I cannot do it. Under the unanimous consent 
agreement, this pay-go amendment is precluded. Since I cannot offer it, 
I ask unanimous consent that this amendment be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

     (Purpose: To pay for mandatory full funding of part B of the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act by restoring the top income 
                    tax rate to its pre-2001 level)

       At the end add the following:

     SEC. __. RESTORATION OF HIGHEST INCOME TAX RATE TO PRE-2001 
                   LEVEL.

       (a) In General.--The last column in the table contained in 
     section 1(i)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
     (relating to reductions in rates after June 30, 2001) is 
     amended by striking ``35.0%'' and inserting ``39.6%''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section 
     shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 
     2004.

  Mr. CARPER. Madam President, I printed this amendment for Senator 
Chafee, myself, and Senator Feingold, who have been among the champions 
for the pay-go principle. I think if things are worth doing, we ought 
to pay for them. If it is worth investing more money in our efforts in 
Iraq, we ought to pay for it. If it is worth funding special education, 
we ought to pay for that. I think that argument goes for both 
meritorious causes.
  The thing about pay-go is that it calls for a 60-vote margin in order 
to bust the budget and the caps. We used to operate under these 
guidelines throughout the 1990s, when we went from huge deficits to 
balancing the budget.
  Pay-go lapsed in 2001. We need to restore it. One of the issues being 
discussed and debated now in the conference on the budget resolution is 
whether to reestablish the pay-go principle. It ought to be restored 
and reestablished.
  Today, rather than being denied the opportunity to offer this 
amendment

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because of the procedures we are operating under, we would be able to 
cite the Budget Act pay-go principles and automatically have a 60-vote 
procedure before us. Having said that, we are operating under a rule 
that will--in this instance at least--require 60 votes, so that 
threshold of a 60-vote supermajority will apply even without pay-go.
  I will vote for this amendment. I just wish we had the pay-as-you-go 
principle in place so we would not be denied the opportunity to offer 
this amendment and we could offer it routinely. That is what I wanted 
to say today. I especially thank Senator Baucus who was in line ahead 
of me.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana is recognized.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Madam President, I ask to speak for 5 minutes in favor of 
the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Madam President, I thank my friend from Delaware. I agree 
with him. I believe we should have pay-go principles in the Senate. I 
hope the Budget Committee adopts pay-go. I think it would be a 
dereliction of duty not to. I also support his view on this amendment.
  For the last 10, 15 minutes I have heard a lot of complaints against 
the Clinton administration, against Democrats, how they have not really 
helped special education. One can use that argument and point the 
finger, playing one party against the other. I have all kinds of data 
that resoundingly refute the allegations made by the chairman of the 
committee. It is just not accurate. But I will not get into that. That 
is not why we are here.
  We are not here to blame and say who is doing a better job, 
Republicans or Democrats. People back home don't care two hoots about 
that. They care about whether we are doing our job as a body. I submit 
that we are not doing our job with respect to providing the dollars for 
special education. I don't know about you, Madam President, but when I 
am in my State, I hear constantly from school districts, school 
administrators, about how pressed they are and their inability to meet 
costs and the cost increases.
  As you well know, we have in America a system where elementary and 
secondary education is paid for basically by taxpayer dollars, property 
taxes. That is what it comes down to. People are stressed, with the 
economy not doing too well in our States. School levies are not going 
through. People cannot pay more property taxes to support anything. 
They would love to support their schools, but they cannot afford it.
  Costs for school districts in Montana have gone up over 1,000 percent 
in the last 20 years; that is for special education and elementary 
education in general. That is the cost increase. School districts in 
Montana--and I daresay most school districts across the country--are 
facing this. What do we do about it?
  As you know, Madam President, back in 1975, Congress passed a law--
IDEA--regarding special education. What did that law provide? It 
provided for ramping up 40 percent payment of IDEA, of special 
education costs. That was the law in 1975. Beginning in 1978, there 
would be a 5-percent increase; in 1979, 10 percent of the funding; in 
1980, 20 percent would be paid; up to 1982 when 40 percent--the full 
amount--of special education costs would be provided for by Uncle Sam. 
That was back in 1975 when that statute was passed.
  Here we are in 2004, and I think we are only at 18 percent. We have 
not made good on our promise. We are way off base. So a lot of the data 
we have heard about a 365-percent increase is misleading. You can do 
anything with statistics. Those statistics start from a very low base, 
and I am just telling you what the law is. The law was that back in 
1975 we would ramp it up to 40 percent by 1982. That is why it is our 
failure to do so. We are only at 18 percent; that is all we come up 
with. With costs going up so much at home, that is why I believe the 
Harkin approach makes sense. We need mandatory increases up to 2014--
not discretionary, because it has been discretionary. And when the 
President is given discretion what has happened? Virtually nothing.
  Sure, we are getting some increases, just a little bit, but it is 
virtually nothing. Congress always finds a way, Presidents always find 
a way, not to spend money on education. Other things seemingly are more 
important.
  If we do not pass the Harkin amendment, mark my words, there is no 
way we are ever going to get up even close to 40 percent. We are not 
going to get up to 25 percent by the year 2014. It is not going to 
happen. It is only going to happen if we keep our feet to the fire and 
force the President and the Congress to come up with the promise that 
we should fulfill. We should fulfill it because we made that promise.
  I ask for an additional 2 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BAUCUS. That is a promise we made. We should live up to our 
promise. No. 2, we are coming nowhere near living up to our promise. 
No. 3, costs are going up dramatically in all our States for special 
education, and we are not helping address that. And No. 4 is the 
tremendous importance of education in this country. We are competing 
worldwide with elementary and high school students in Pusan, Korea, in 
Czechoslovakia, high schools and elementary schools all around the 
world. Education is going to be the key to America's economic success 
in the future. It is going to have to be education. It cannot be 
anything else.
  We need to educate our kids. We ought to set priorities for educating 
our kids rather than spending money elsewhere.
  We have a lot of programs on which I do not think money should be 
spent. I think most Americans think our priorities are a little askew 
and that we should spend more on education, helping our kids, than we 
are thus far.
  I heard the argument, well, gee, if it is mandatory, first, that is 
not necessary. That is the main argument to be made. I have shown how 
necessary it is.
  The second argument I hear is, well, it is illusory, that perhaps the 
discretionary portion will not be provided. That is a false statement. 
First, we are talking about the very worst case scenario. The mandatory 
portion will be provided for. It is possible that the discretionary 
portion may not be provided for by Congress. That is possible. The very 
worst possible situation is that we only get the mandatory increase 
under this amendment, but sure as I am standing here, my colleagues 
know doggoned well that Congress is not going to provide the 
discretionary money, too.
  We are talking about education, and with the mandatory increase 
provided for we are certainly going to provide for the discretionary 
portion, too. This amendment is a no-brainer. It is clear to this 
Senator this amendment must and should pass, for the sake of our kids. 
We have a duty on the face of this Earth, I believe a moral obligation, 
to leave this place in as good a shape or better shape than we found 
it. Clearly, that includes making sure our kids, special education 
students, are in as good a shape or better shape than we had when we 
were being educated, particularly given the competitive forces in the 
world.
  I strongly urge the passage of this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Madam President, I thank Senator Judd Gregg for his 
leadership on this issue. When I came to the Senate some years ago, 
there was no greater champion for IDEA funding by the Federal 
Government or improving IDEA than Senator Gregg. He has maintained that 
and he continues to be an expert, as my colleagues can tell when they 
hear him speak about it.
  We have made tremendous progress since I came to the Senate in 
funding special education. We have seen the numbers, how much they have 
increased since 1996, and we will continue to make progress. We have 
gone from 7 percent of the funding for this education program for our 
schools around the country to almost 20 percent. We are going to keep 
on increasing that.
  The legislation we have before us today, however, unanimously came 
out of our HELP Committee, of which I am a member. It was a product of 
a lot of hard work and hours and hours of discussion. There are a 
number of provisions in the bill that I would like to see improved and 
strengthened. Maybe some on the other side think it could

[[Page S5336]]

be improved more, but we hammered out this agreement because we need to 
move this bill forward. We need to increase funding, once again 
significantly, for IDEA. We need to give more control and make a better 
commitment to the practical application of the law.
  The special education bill was enacted in 1975 with the goal of 
encouraging schools to mainstream students with disabilities, keep them 
in the normal classroom where possible and give special treatment where 
necessary.
  States that follow Federal rules receive federal financial 
assistance, and in 2002, 6.5 million students were served through IDEA. 
Schools have responded to this challenge positively, and they are 
expending very large sums of money to meet the goals of this law. In 
fact, I remember distinctly several years ago the school board 
superintendent of a county in Vermont testifying that 40 percent of his 
county's budget for that school system went to the IDEA program.
  In recent years, the President and Congress have increased the 
federal investment in this program. If the President's proposed budget 
is enacted, IDEA funding will have increased 376 percent since 1996, 8 
years ago.
  I have been repeatedly told, however, when I travel in my State, and 
I made this a special project of mine, that this funding is not the 
only problem. Repeatedly I have been told there are things bigger and 
more important than funding. One teacher who had been working in 
special education for many years, who is very bright and has a master's 
degree, told me: Jeff, we are not looking out for our children. We have 
lost sight of what is good for the students. What we are doing is 
filling out paperwork and keeping our sight on the lawyers. It is 
threatening the integrity of the system, and we are not focusing on how 
to help each individual child achieve their highest and best skills.
  The paperwork procedures are burdensome to a significant degree. I 
have asked them about it. Too often teachers and principals are faced 
with a literal maze of regulations and laws that must be met before a 
disruptive child can be removed from a classroom. Too often school 
districts are forced to spend thousands of dollars on attorneys and 
litigation costs that could be avoided if the parties simply sat down 
and discussed the issues rather than forcing the disputes to court. 
These problems not only distract our dedicated educators from the core 
mission of teaching our children, they cause stress and confrontation 
that can be avoided if common sense were applied.
  I have received letters from hundreds of teachers in my State, from 
parents and educators, who are concerned about the current management 
of this system. The frustration, the anger, and the compassion in these 
letters are powerful.
  I have also visited schools across the State of Alabama and heard 
firsthand from educators about the problems the current law creates for 
students, parents, and teachers. I go into schools and I ask them to 
tell me what the problems are, what frustrates them the most. Almost 
universally special education, IDEA, comes up as one of the top 
examples of a program they believe is micromanaged from Washington, 
does not allow teachers who love children to be able to have the 
freedom to help those children in the best way possible. They have told 
me that problems with the current law are going to drive them out of 
the profession. They are going to leave the profession over these 
frustrations. They have dedicated their lives to improving the welfare 
of disabled children.
  A veteran special education teacher wrote me this:

       I consider myself on the front lines of the ongoing battles 
     that take place on a daily basis in our Nation's schools. I 
     strongly believe that the current IDEA law fuels these 
     struggles. The law, though well intended, has become one of 
     the single greatest obstacles that educators face in our 
     fight to provide all of our children with a quality education 
     delivered in a safe environment. I have dedicated my life to 
     helping children with special needs. However, at times my 
     frustration has been so high that I have literally gotten in 
     my car to leave--

  Leave the profession, she means--

     but my moral responsibilities to the children I have in my 
     class have kept me there. The law must be reformed now. As my 
     grandmother said, ``right is right and wrong is wrong'' and 
     to enable the current system to continue is just wrong.

  Another 32-year special education veteran wrote:

       If IDEA is not revised to be less restrictive and 
     burdensome, we might as well as kiss public education good-
     bye. If changes are not made, we will have one of the largest 
     teaching shortages on record. In the past I have had 5 to 10 
     college students coming to me in the spring to apply for 
     positions. This year I have none. Most are fearful of 
     entering the special education field because of the threat 
     of litigation brought about by IDEA.

  They are afraid of being sued. The regulations are complex and there 
are a group of lawyers and specialists in this who descend on the 
system on a regular basis. So it is time for a change and Congress 
should be leading the charge for positive change, to make it better.
  I have a number of other letters from teachers and students who fear 
for their safety every day. They feel handcuffed by the current rules 
and feel overwhelmed with the requirements of the current law. I 
believe it will be a tragedy if we lose proven, dedicated teachers 
because of the shortcomings of a Federal law that is not adequately 
fulfilling its purposes.
  I saw a poll recently, I think in the State of Washington, of special 
education teachers. An astounding number said they did not expect to be 
in the profession in 5 years. This is the reason that is occurring.
  President Bush has recognized the importance of the IDEA law, and the 
need to bring real reform to the system. In order to get an accurate 
picture, the President appointed a commission to review the law and 
provide recommendations. The commission held 13 hearings and meetings 
throughout the Nation and listened to the concerns and comments of 
parents and teachers, principals, and so forth. Over 100 expert 
witnesses and more than 175 parents, teachers, students with 
disabilities, and others addressed the commission. Hundreds have 
provided letters and written statements.
  The commission distilled this information into a set of principles 
that were used during the reauthorization process. First, decrease the 
emphasis on compliance with procedure and increase the emphasis on 
results. That means decrease paperwork and that kind of thing, and ask 
whether children are benefitting to the maximum extent by the special 
efforts we are expending.
  Second, simplify the law's burdensome due process requirements, which 
create inordinate amounts of paperwork, limit the ability of schools to 
properly discipline children with disabilities for inappropriate 
behavior, and intensify adversity between parents and schools. This is 
a big problem. Put two children in a classroom, one a disabled child, 
that child has substantially greater expectation of not receiving the 
same discipline as another child for the same offense. Sometimes the 
disability is totally unconnected to the discipline problem that shows 
up in a classroom.
  A child who sells drugs, for instance. That behavior is very unlikely 
to be a part or product of the disability and that child should be 
disciplined as other children where that makes sense, and under the 
appropriate rules of the school.
  Third, reduce misidentification of students, which has fueled growing 
IDEA costs. Too many students are being placed in IDEA programs who do 
not need to be there, and that is not good for the children and it is 
not good for the school system.
  Finally, increase the role of parents in determining the most 
appropriate setting for their child's education.
  This legislation does much to achieve those principles. It reflects a 
balanced approach that, as I said, was voted out of our committee 
unanimously.
  On the question of discipline, that is something I have talked a lot 
about and our committee has worked on it. We didn't make big changes in 
the bill that came out of committee. We made some changes. We made some 
improvements in the law that I think certainly will put us on a more 
rational basis and will help reduce excessive litigation.
  One of the things, for example, is this: Before a lawsuit is filed 
and a school board has to go to court, they have to be notified 
specifically of what it is the school is alleged to have done 
improperly with regard to their child, and the school board has a 
chance to

[[Page S5337]]

correct it. What we are finding is lawsuits have been filed all over 
the country, schools have been taken to court at great expense, and by 
the time they finish the litigation not only do they have to pay their 
own attorneys, not only are their own principals and teachers called 
out of classrooms to testify and prepare for trial, but they have to 
pay the costs of the plaintiffs' attorney if one thing they did was 
wrong. They may make eight allegations, but if they are wrong in any 
way and are found liable, then they have to pay the child's attorney.
  We need to figure out how we can avoid some of this litigation. It is 
money out of the pocket of the school system. It is money not being 
spent to educate children but to litigate in court, and sometimes these 
cases cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses for school 
systems. Nearly 8 in 10 teachers say there are persistent troublemakers 
in the school who need to be removed and we have created a system that 
is so complex and so litigious it is not working and it is driving up 
costs in an unwise way.
  I will offer some more comments for the Record, but I will conclude 
by saying this: Special education is a big program in America today. 
This Congress, this Senate is increasing funding steadily for this 
program. We need to continue to do that and need to continue to reach 
toward that commitment Congress made before I came here to pay 40 
percent of that cost. I think we should do that and we should be on the 
road to that.
  However, as Senator Gregg knows--who is the senior member of the 
Budget Committee also and knows how things work here in reality--this 
is a weird deal, to mix and match discretionary and mandatory spending. 
In fact, we are criticized substantially in this body for going toward 
mandatory spending for too many programs. In fact, most objective 
observers in Congress believe that has diminished the ability of 
Congress to set priorities and accomplish good things for our children. 
We do not need to put this in mandatory spending. We need to continue 
the steady goals and progress we have made to reach the highest level 
of funding, reach the full funding we are committed to do.
  I believe we can do that. I believe this bill is a tremendous step in 
the right direction toward that goal. I will continue to work for it.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. BAUCUS. On behalf of Senator Kennedy, I yield 4 minutes to the 
Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. CORZINE. Madam President, like many of my colleagues I rise in 
strong support of the Harkin-Hagel amendment to require full funding of 
IDEA, providing these increases over 6 years on a mandatory basis. It 
is straightforward. I think it is absolutely necessary. As a number of 
my colleagues have said, there is nothing that strikes more at the 
heart of my dialog with my constituents and those who are involved in 
the educational system than getting to full funding on IDEA. It is 
absolutely essential.
  Before I go into some of the reasons, I also want to say how pleased 
I am with the work of the committee, for taking up this legislation, 
structuring it, and moving it forward, and with reform, but also for 
including some things I think were essential. There are provisions that 
were added at our request with regard to making funds available to 
improve programs for autism spectrum disorder, which is a very 
significantly growing, recognized disability many children are facing. 
We need to have funding in addressing it, particularly the early 
childhood elements.
  I am also pleased the committee was willing to work with us to 
clarify parents' rights to represent their children in due process 
hearings.
  I think it makes a huge difference as we go forward in making sure 
all of our children are represented. But my main point is it is not 
enough to say we all embrace dealing with special education. This 
program is drastically underfunded, and it is posing a significant 
burden on the citizens of my State and across our Nation.
  It gets at the heart of the tax question. We put down what I think is 
a terrific legislative initiative in 1975 to deal with disabilities 
among children and to improve their educational opportunity. But we 
also put down an objective that we were going to move to 40 percent of 
the average funding for each child with disabilities. We are nowhere 
close. I think it is 18.5 percent or so. We are way behind. That is why 
it is mandatory to step it up over the next 6 years. It is so 
important. It is real common sense.
  I have to tell you in my home State of New Jersey, school budgets are 
capped at only 3 percent annual growth per year. When the spending on 
special education goes up more, we end by accommodating mandates which 
are required by cutting other costs in our educational system. We set 
up a horrific dynamic in our local communities. The only other out on 
that is local property taxes, which at least in my State are the 
highest in the Nation, and we are already extraordinarily burdened by 
them. That is true across the country.
  It is absolutely essential that we get to full funding. The 
difference in 2004 versus where we are today and where we would be if 
we had fully funded 40 percent is almost $300 million--$320 million, 
$319 million is what we are going to receive, and $641 million is what 
we would have received if we had full funding. It is a huge difference 
on the tax base in our community.
  I cannot tell you that there is any other issue which generates more 
heat because it sets neighbor against neighbor in the school districts 
about how they have to make tough choices, or it forces us to go to the 
taxpayer and raise local property tax burdens which are already 
extraordinarily high in my State. But it is also true in other places.
  I have an example of a situation in New Jersey where an individual 
talks about her son whose needs are being addressed in special 
education but also reflecting what it has translated into not only for 
her son but to the special education programs and the rising burden on 
individual property taxes. It is setting up a system of failure and 
conflict in our communities. That is unacceptable.
  We need to accept our responsibility here in Washington to fulfill 
our pledge and our promise to move to that 40 percent so we don't have 
these dynamics. It is time it happened.
  I fully support and compliment the distinguished Senator from Iowa. I 
hope my colleagues will support this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Madam President, we are going to hear a lot of rhetoric 
today. I want people to know exactly what it is about.
  I will be opposing Senator Harkin's amendment. I will be supporting 
Senator Gregg's amendment. Senator Gregg's amendment will actually work 
us toward achieving the goal of full funding for IDEA. It is not a 
political statement. We have been having this debate for some time. 
There hasn't been the kind of progress any of us would like to have on 
it, but there has been steady progress. There has been more steady 
progress since this President and Senator Gregg have been working on 
this issue.
  During the 8 years President Clinton was in office, the increase in 
part B funds was $1.4 billion. Under this President--a much shorter 
time--it has been $3.7 billion. That is reality versus rhetoric.
  I want to make a few comments about the bill as a whole because we 
haven't had a chance to actually debate that. I want to point out how 
bipartisan the reauthorization was that came out of committee, how well 
people worked on it, worked on it together, resolved differences and 
made it possible for it to come to the floor and now to pass the floor 
in a relatively short time, I hope, so we hopefully can have a 
conference committee and work out any differences with the House and 
get this legislation into place.
  This reauthorization is past due. I am pleased the Senate has begun 
consideration of S. 1248, the Individuals With Disabilities Education 
Improvement Act of 2003. There are few issues as important as the 
education of our Nation's youth. Making sure all children receive a 
good education has been a longstanding goal of this body. I am pleased 
the committee was able to reach unanimous support of the underlying 
bill, and I hope this body will act

[[Page S5338]]

quickly to agree to this important legislation and send it to 
conference.
  Since Congress first began providing State grant funding for the 
education of disabled students in 1966, the process for ensuring every 
disabled student receives a free, appropriate public education has been 
refined and improved from one reauthorization to the next. I believe 
this legislation is another important step in that process.
  While there are many improvements to the law in this legislation, I 
want to highlight four changes which I feel are most important to my 
home State of Wyoming.
  First, there is an increased emphasis on early identification and 
intervention. Wyoming currently uses the model that identifies students 
as disabled once they fall more than two grade levels behind. Many 
States use the same method, or a method called the IQ discrepancy test. 
Both of these models tend to limit the positive effects that timely 
services will have on a student's growth. Unfortunately, States are 
compelled to use these models because of the requirements that exist in 
Federal law.
  This bill provides for a set-aside of part B funds that can be used 
for services such as tutoring or other special assistance to students 
who are at risk of being identified as needing special education. That 
will help these students meet their potential.
  Research by the President's Commission on Special Education and the 
National Research Council has identified important benefits to 
providing early educational intervention. They suggest early 
educational intervention can reduce the number of children referred to 
special education.
  That research also shows students receiving early educational 
intervention and who are referred to special education frequently 
require less intensive services.
  I believe this is an important step toward ensuring that other 
disabled students receive the services they need without placing 
children in the special education programs unnecessarily. By using 
funds for early intervention services, schools will be able to provide 
services in a very seamless fashion to students with disabilities or 
students who may be unnecessarily referred to special education 
programs.

  Second, this legislation addresses the needs of rural States by 
clearly defining what is a highly qualified teacher. Under the No Child 
Left Behind Act, which received large bipartisan support in Congress, 
all teachers in public elementary and secondary schools must meet the 
highly qualified teacher standard.
  In rural States such as Wyoming, many teachers, including special 
education teachers, are responsible for multiple subjects. In my home 
State, they are sometimes responsible for multiple grades as well. The 
legislation we are considering would work hand in hand with the No 
Child Left Behind Act to help address the concerns of teachers in this 
challenging position.
  This bill requires every disabled child to be taught by a highly 
qualified teacher, but it also maintains State flexibility to determine 
what constitutes highly qualified. The only requirement is that special 
education teachers have an undergraduate degree and be fully certified 
as special education instructors, and that the students have a chance 
to be taught by an instructor who is highly qualified in the subject 
area. The bill does not even require that be the same person.
  In many schools, disabled students are placed in classrooms with 
their non-disabled peers, and they receive instructions from more than 
one teacher. Students with disabilities would be instructed in the 
appropriate subject area by a highly qualified teacher who has 
demonstrated mastery of the subject, but they would also receive 
support from a teacher who meets the highly qualified standard for 
special education. It is a very important distinction.

  For teachers who are responsible for both the special education and 
the content area, this legislation preserves the flexibility of the 
State that was created under No Child Left Behind to define what 
constitutes a highly qualified teacher.
  I continue to be impressed that more than 95 percent of Wyoming 
teachers meet the highly qualified teacher standard, including its 
special educators.
  This legislation will support the commitment of States such as 
Wyoming with a 95-percent rate to place a highly qualified teacher in 
every classroom, whether it is a special education classroom or not.
  The third point of the bill, that I want to address is that this 
legislation makes improvements to the disciplinary system that operates 
under current law. A concern I have heard from parents and educators is 
that the discipline of students with disabilities has led to the 
creation of a two-tier disciplinary system. Students with disabilities 
are treated differently from their peers because it is required by law.
  I don't believe that is in the best interest of these students when 
we are asking, for academic purposes, that we place them in the least 
restrictive environment. It is inconsistent to say we would treat 
disabled students as we treat their peers until they are in need of 
discipline. Disabled students are able to learn responsibility just 
like their peers. We should give them a chance to learn the same kind 
of responsibility we expect of other students.
  Many parents I talk with about discipline are concerned that we not 
allow teachers to discipline disabled students too harshly. I agree. I 
think everyone agrees. I support the bill we are considering because it 
preserves protections for disabled students, like the protection that 
schools must abide by the manifest determination standard, which 
requires schools to determine if the student's disability led to the 
behavior--that is a key--if the student's disability led to the 
behavior.
  This bill also preserves the rights of parents to question the 
school's decision. I also believe this legislation makes significant 
improvements in permitting teachers and school administrators to 
properly discipline students with disabilities when a need is 
identified.
  Schools are given a margin of flexibility to remove disabled students 
from their classroom when a dangerous situation presents itself. The 
school is still accountable to the parent, however, and must make every 
effort to return the student to the classroom as soon as possible.
  Finally, I wish to highlight the issue of State flexibility. For 
years, local educational agencies have been permitted to use 
flexibility with their funding. As the Federal Government increases its 
commitment to funding special education programs, local districts in 
most States are able to shift funding into other priorities. 
Traditionally, their funding has not even been limited in its use to 
educational purposes.
  This flexibility has never benefitted Wyoming. That is because 
Wyoming has decided to use an alternative financing method for its 
special education programs.
  Instead of the State passing Federal funding on to the local 
districts, Wyoming retains the bulk of the funding at the State level 
and reimburses districts for their special education expenses. Part of 
the reason for this approach is we do not pay for our education with 
property taxes as most States do. We use mineral taxes, which come from 
a few spots in the State. This system has worked in Wyoming for several 
reasons, including the help it provides to shield local districts from 
the cost of services for severely disabled students.
  Some of the districts in Wyoming are so small that a single student 
with a severe disability would require all of the funding available to 
that district to be spent on a single student. That would threaten the 
services to other children with disabilities and subject the district 
to due process hearings under the law.

  Instead, Wyoming has elected to use its allocations under part B of 
the special education program as reimbursements. Even very small 
districts can confidently provide services to students with 
disabilities with the understanding that the State will reimburse them 
for those services.
  Even though the system is much more effective at providing services 
to students with disabilities, the lack of flexibility in the use of 
Federal funding has tied the hands of the State's administrators who 
would like to use the funding for early identification and other 
educational programs. The irony

[[Page S5339]]

is, if Wyoming were to operate their special education programs 
differently, and less effectively, they would enjoy much more 
flexibility with their funding. Right now in Wyoming, families of 
students with disabilities are moving from other States to enroll their 
children in Wyoming schools because we have done so well at meeting 
their needs. Even though our programs are among the best in the 
region--and, I argue, among the best in the country--Wyoming is 
penalized for doing a good job just because we do it differently than 
Federal law suggests we do it.
  The phrase ``one size fits all'' has been used a lot in the Senate 
lately on the subject of education. But at the risk of abusing the 
term, this is a perfect example of a one-size-fits-all program that 
does not fit Wyoming. If Wyoming were to pursue a less effective model 
of providing services to students with disabilities, the State could 
use more flexibility. Instead, because the State decided to use a 
system that places the needs of the students first, we are denied the 
same flexibility provided every other State.
  The legislation we are considering now would address this concern. It 
would allow States that are responsible for the largest share of non-
Federal special education funding to enjoy more flexibility at the 
State level. It is important to note that this flexibility is only 
applied to educational programs so no State can drain funding away from 
its educational programs for other purposes. The funding has to be used 
in conjunction with State educational efforts.
  This is a critical piece of legislation, and one I feel strongly 
about retaining both in this legislation and the bill that is produced 
by the conference process.
  Those are the four main points of the actual legislation. That is 
legislation, again, that we unanimously supported out of the Health, 
Education, Labor and Pensions Committee--that is no small achievement. 
It is important we move forward in the process. That is what we are 
doing now.
  Of course, we are debating two amendments, the Harkin amendment and 
the Gregg amendment, which will each be voted on this afternoon. I will 
make a few comments in support of the Gregg amendment to fully fund the 
IDEA program.
  According to assumptions in the Senate budget resolution this body 
passed earlier this year, we will have increased spending by 75 percent 
from 2001 levels. The Gregg amendment builds on those increases and 
sets us on a path to reach full funding by 2011. That is a very 
realistic path, one that we can do, one that we can slightly 
accelerate. It is not just a statement but something that can happen.
  I have heard colleagues comment that we can do anything with 
statistics. That is a common perception. But if my colleagues would 
rather look at the real dollars, we spend more now on education than we 
ever have in this country at the Federal level. Right now, under the 
assumptions of the fiscal year 2005 budget, we will be at 20 percent of 
the share of Federal special education. The Gregg amendment would take 
us to the 40-percent mark in 7 years. That is the mark we have in the 
original legislation.
  I have mentioned, again, that happened in 1966. We are at a higher 
level now than we have ever been. It is pretty remarkable since it took 
over 30 years to get to 20 percent, but most of the progress that has 
occurred has occurred under this President in the past 4 years.
  I want to make it clear, we are closer to full funding now than we 
ever have been in the history of this IDEA program. To get there within 
7 years is within reach, but we should not be confused that mandatory 
spending is the right solution. I can hear the Members who made 
previous speeches saying: No, no, this is not mandatory. The way I read 
it, it is mandatory. But even if it were not mandatory, I am not aware 
of a program, particularly not this program, where we reduced spending. 
Whatever level we take it to at this moment is where it will stay. Then 
we will fight to show we are more concerned than anyone else in raising 
the revenues in the future.
  So we need to have a rational, realistic, and regular approach to 
raising the level of IDEA funding until we can come in compliance with 
the 40 percent that we promised.
  We have made significant progress in the past 4 years toward full 
funding under the current administration and congressional leadership. 
There is no reason to assume we will not continue to make significant 
progress in the near future.
  I want to mention again that under the previous President, during his 
8 years, we increased part B funding $1.4 billion. Under this 
President, in 3 years we have increased it $3.7 billion.
  I have to point out, under the previous administration we were 
funding during a surplus. We were funding in period of growth, not a 
recession. We were not funding during a time of terrorism. We were not 
funding during a time of war in Afghanistan. We were not funding during 
a time of war in Iraq. We were funding during a surplus, and we did not 
meet that 40-percent goal.
  Now, when we have severe budget constraints, there is a political 
statement that says: Give it all to them. And then there is a balanced 
approach that Senator Gregg has that says: Let's grow it and really get 
it done and quit making the political statements on it.
  We have an opportunity to advance IDEA and to advance the funding on 
it. I know we will take advantage of both.
  I yield the floor and reserve the remainder of the time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hagel). Who yields time?
  The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, how much time remains on each side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts has 17 minutes 
40 seconds remaining.
  Mr. KENNEDY. How much time is on the other side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The other side has 25 minutes 15 seconds.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I yield 7 minutes to the Senator from 
Iowa.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I did not hear that. The Senator from 
Massachusetts yielded me?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa is yielded 7 minutes.
  Mr. HARKIN. I thank the Presiding Officer. I did not hear that.
  Mr. President, first, I would like to respond to my friend from New 
Hampshire who was in the Chamber earlier, and maybe some others, who 
talked about the GOP record. He had a chart that said Republicans have 
done more any way you slice it, and then went on to say that President 
Bush is attacked for increasing spending by $1 billion a year.
  I want to address that with my friend from New Hampshire in the 
Chamber. I never attacked President Bush for this. I have not heard 
anyone on this side attack Republicans or President Bush for this. In 
the 30 years we have been discussing, amending, and fashioning 
disability policy in the Senate and the Congress, it has never been a 
partisan issue. It was not when we first did IDEA. It was not when we 
did the Americans with Disabilities Act. We may disagree on funding and 
stuff and how we do it, but I have never known it to be a partisan 
issue. I have purposely not attacked the President, the Republicans, or 
anyone else for this. No one on our side has on this point, and we are 
not attacking anyone.
  So I refuse to look upon this as any kind of partisan issue. You can 
go back and look at who did what when, and all that, but what I want to 
focus on is the here and now. Where are we now? What did Congress 
promise? What kind of situation are we in? Let's look at the future.
  I am sorry somebody is trying to put this in a partisan framework. It 
has never been that way. It has always been a bipartisan issue. We 
ought to continue on that approach. Yes, we can disagree on whether or 
not it would be discretionary or mandatory, but not on a partisan 
basis.
  I want to talk also about the mix of mandatory and discretionary. 
There has been some talk that this is some kind of--I heard it said--
``weird mix'' of mandatory and discretionary money. We have done that 
before. We have the childcare block grant. We have safe and stable 
families. We have some NIH funding. I have come up with this right now. 
There are probably a lot more programs for which we have both mandatory 
and discretionary funding.

[[Page S5340]]

  Also, my friend from New Hampshire said there is some kind of budget 
rule--I did not get this clear--that means our amendment would result 
in a reduction in discretionary spending. That is absolutely not so. It 
is only so if you move money from discretionary to mandatory.
  That is not what we are doing. We are adding money over and above 
discretionary. So there is no cut in any discretionary funding. So what 
the Senator from New Hampshire says is just not so.
  I responded earlier to a question from Senator Jeffords that on the 
discretionary side we have never cut funding for IDEA, and we are not 
going to do so in the future.
  Now, the Gregg amendment before us simply authorizes more money. But 
we have been doing that for 30 years--30 years--and we are still only 
at 19 percent of the 40 percent we had promised. The Gregg amendment 
does not change one thing. It does not change a thing--nothing. Kids, 
families, and schools will still be sold short.
  Now, if anyone wants to know what authorizations mean around here, I 
would just use a statement from the Senator from New Hampshire that he 
made last September on a Byrd amendment. The Senator from New Hampshire 
himself said:

       Now, let's go to another issue, this concept that the 
     authorized level has to be funded. This is a very unusual 
     concept for Congress because for all intents and purposes 
     Congress does not fund anything to the authorized level.

  The Senator then went on to say: Authorizations simply are statements 
of intent, purpose, and good will.
  Well, that is exactly what the Gregg amendment is. It is a statement 
of intent and good will, but it does not do anything. The Senator from 
New Hampshire himself said we do not fund to authorized levels. And 
that is all he has done, just raised the authorized level. It does not 
do one thing. If we want to meet our obligations and fulfill our 
promise, we have to adopt the Hagel and Harkin amendment to provide for 
mandatory funding.
  Mr. President, let's get off all this talking about money and stuff 
and shifting it around. Listen to what Julie Reynolds said. She runs 
the Parent Training and Information Center in Iowa. She said to me that 
families and kids with disabilities are unfairly blamed for the 
shortfalls in schools. Parents are told not to ask for what the child 
needs because it costs too much. Parents are told their children with 
disabilities take away resources from other kids.
  Families with kids with disabilities are not to blame. If there is 
anyone to blame, it is us in Congress for shirking our responsibilities 
for 30 years and not meeting that 40-percent level.
  I am hopeful the Senate will step to the plate. I repeat, 2 years 
ago, this Senate unanimously--unanimously--adopted the same amendment 
that the Senator from Nebraska and I are offering today to provide for 
full mandatory funding up to that 40-percent level. Unanimously we 
adopted it. It was cut out in conference, and we were told we should 
come back when IDEA is reauthorized. Well, reauthorization is here. I 
hope the Senate will speak again with that same forceful voice.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and reserve the time I may have.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who seeks recognition?
  Mr. SUNUNU. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed 
to yield myself time from the majority side.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mr. SUNUNU. Mr. President, I rise in support of the Gregg amendment 
and in opposition to the Hagel-Harkin amendment.
  I begin by commending the leadership of my State's senior Senator, 
Mr. Judd Gregg, on this issue. IDEA and special education funding is an 
issue that has been a hallmark of the leadership provided by Senator 
Gregg in New Hampshire and across the country.
  In New Hampshire we still fund education locally. That is one of the 
reasons we have had historically such a strong school system. That 
means people really understand the shortfalls, the problems associated 
with education funding.
  In New Hampshire people have recognized we have not done our job as a 
Congress and as a nation in funding the original commitment made well 
over 20 years ago to support IDEA and special education.
  Since 1996, we have made enormous steps forward, again, under the 
leadership of Senator Gregg, Senator Jeffords, and others in this body, 
Congressman Charles Bass in the House, working on the Budget Committee, 
where I was privileged to serve as well. We have increased funding $8.7 
billion for IDEA since 1996, increased funding $4.7 billion since 2001. 
That is the kind of leadership on meeting a funding obligation that had 
not been seen in this Congress in 20 years under Democratic support. I 
think that, to use a phrase, is putting our collective money where our 
mouth is, recognizing that IDEA funding needs to be a priority for 
American education.
  The President's leadership on this issue has been outstanding. Those 
on the other side of the aisle might not like to admit this, but it is 
hard to argue with the budgets that President Bush has sent up where 
IDEA funding is concerned. There have been historic increases year 
after year since President Bush took office, increases in commitments 
in funding for special education that put the prior administration's 
budget requests to shame. That needs to be recognized as well as part 
of the debate.
  We have a lot more work to do. Senator Gregg has outlined the need to 
continue these funding increases and, in the 2005 budget, that 
commitment is there, continuing the fight to meet our funding 
obligations. But putting the spending on autopilot, creating a new area 
of mandatory funding is not the solution.
  Even more to the point, to the Harkin amendment, this new idea where 
only the increases are mandatory is effectively a shell game, where 
current funding is left as discretionary, only the increases are 
mandatory. Under our current budget resolution and the 2005 budget 
resolution, these mandatory funding increases would require a dollar-
for-dollar cut in other discretionary programs, of course, that are not 
specified in this legislation. That is simply wrong.
  Placing funding on autopilot rarely, if ever, is the answer to the 
problems that we wrestle with in Congress. Even more problematic, this 
amendment falls short on oversight. Throwing the funding on autopilot 
removes Congress from its oversight responsibility. Most everyone who 
has followed the debate on this program recognizes that more needs to 
be done to make sure the program works better for those parents and 
children who are truly in need of the program's benefits.
  Second, the Harkin amendment enables Congress to avoid setting 
priorities. That is simply wrong. It enables Congress to put the 
funding on autopilot, this mandatory spending idea, and then not have 
to make sometimes very tough but important choices around funding 
priorities. I ask my colleagues on the other side whether they have 
ever voted for amendments that actually reallocate appropriations from 
other programs in the Department of Education or anywhere else in the 
Labor-Education bill and put it into additional discretionary special 
education funding, much less offered such an amendment? It is not 
always an easy vote to take, but it is a vote that I have taken in the 
House to actually stand up and say: Given a current level of spending, 
whatever our budget is, I am willing to vote to take funding from one 
program and put it into special education because we recognize that it 
is the most important funding priority we could have at the Federal 
level where education is concerned. I am willing to stand up and take 
that vote.
  I am anxious to see whether the authors of this amendment bring other 
amendments to the Senate floor in the appropriations process that 
reallocate those funds. It is always easy to come to the Senate floor 
with an amendment that adds $2 billion or $3 billion or $4 billion or 
$5 billion, increasing the deficit without regard. It is a lot tougher 
to come to the floor with an amendment that moves funding from one area 
to another and show that we are willing to set priorities and make 
sometimes difficult choices we are elected to make when we come to 
serve in the Senate.

[[Page S5341]]

  I believe putting this spending on autopilot takes us away from that 
commitment to make tough choices and set priorities. That is why I will 
not support the Hagel-Harkin amendment and will stand with Senator 
Gregg and the important work he is trying to do as chairman of our 
Education and Health Committee.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I understand we have 10 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts has 10 minutes 
30 seconds remaining.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I yield myself 4 \1/2\ minutes.
  I join with my friend and colleague, Senator Harkin, in making sure 
that this body understands, and our friends all across the country, 
that this really isn't a partisan issue. I, quite frankly, commend the 
fact that we had an increase in IDEA funding, and I give tribute to the 
Senator from New Hampshire for that increase in funding. It is true 
that under President Clinton we had the expansion, moving toward 
smaller class size, afterschool programs. We had enhancement of teacher 
training and other kinds of factors in terms of the previous 
administration. But there is no question that there has been an 
increase in IDEA funding. We grant that.
  As Senator Harkin has pointed out, the issue is what are we going to 
do in the future. This discussion is really at a rather significant 
time in our American history because next Monday we celebrate the 50th 
anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, one of the most important 
judgments in terms of knocking down walls of discrimination in our 
country, recognizing that we were going to knock down the walls of 
discrimination on the basis of race.
  Now for 29 years we knock down the walls of discrimination on special 
needs children, but we still have not fulfilled the requirement and the 
opportunity that presents. That is what the Harkin amendment is all 
about.
  Pass the Harkin amendment and we meet that responsibility, and we 
meet that obligation in 6 years. That is what we do.
  I am going to vote for the Gregg amendment that says he will increase 
the authorization. I am for it. If that is what passes, I will be there 
with Senator Harkin and with Senator Hagel battling to get the 
increased appropriations, but let's do it right. Why have we held these 
families up?
  I have four books here, a foot and a half tall, with individual life 
stories that represent families and special needs children who are 
trying to make it in the United States. The question is, are we going 
to meet our responsibility? We have from newspaper reports now that we 
are going to have a bonus of $100 billion this June, $100 billion more. 
The Harkin amendment says, let's take $2.2 billion of that and commit 
it to these families right here who are struggling and trying to make 
it every single day.
  Let me read from a typical letter, and it is replicated by the 
thousands. This is from Carla Leone of Arlington, MS:

       I have a 15-year-old son with Tourette Syndrome and 
     associated disorders who is on an IEP,

--an individual education program--

     as well as a daughter in ``regular'' education. I had to quit 
     my job in order to obtain special education services from the 
     school district for my son--it was a full-time, complex job. 
     First, the school didn't want to identify him as needing an 
     IEP, then there was a several-year battle over what services 
     he needed, and then once they agreed to services, there were 
     a lot of problems with the school failing to provide the 
     services (a common problem with implementation of IEPs).
       The basis for the problem is lack of funding, which pits 
     regular education against special education, and gives the 
     school major impetus from keeping the kids from being 
     identified as needing special education . . . and most 
     importantly fund this heretofore unfunded mandate.

  That could not be any more clear or compelling. We ought to not only 
think of the children but of their mothers and fathers. That is what 
this is about. Certainly, this is a question of priority. We in this 
country cannot afford to not meet what we committed. This body 
committed to this. The House of Representatives committed to it. A 
previous administration committed to help those families all over the 
country. We are only reaching half of that commitment now.
  The Harkin amendment will make sure we meet our responsibilities to 
all of them. What could be a better opportunity, a better priority? 
Money isn't everything, Mr. President, but it is an indication of a 
nation's priorities. That is what we have the opportunity to have in 
the Senate. That is why I believe the Harkin amendment should be 
approved.
  I withhold the remainder of our time.
  Mr. SUNUNU. Mr. President, I yield the Senator from Virginia 6 
minutes.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I may speak 
as in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                 Pictures of the Prisoner Abuse in Iraq

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I wish to address my colleagues with 
regard to the pictures of prisoner abuse in Iraq which will be sent up 
by the Department of Defense and will be available for all Members to 
review in room S-407 in 45 minutes.
  Bottom line, I urge all Senators to avail themselves of the 
opportunity to examine this body of evidence. While I have not seen it 
specifically, it has been described to me. It is, in my judgment, 
another distasteful, nevertheless factual, part of this tragic incident 
regarding the allegations and the facts that document abuse by 
uniformed people of the U.S. Armed Forces against Iraqi prisoners. At 2 
p.m., I urge your attendance.
  I thank the leadership for their assistance in this matter. 
Yesterday, I contacted Senator Frist and suggested that he and I and 
Senator Daschle and Senator Levin sit down and make the arrangements 
regarding these photos, and those arrangements were concluded late 
yesterday. The pictures will be brought up. They will remain in the 
custody at all times of the Department of Defense, and then they will 
be returned to the Department at the conclusion of our meeting.
  Speaking just for myself, my guidelines as I look at these pictures 
are how I am obligated to address my constituents and indeed share my 
views with colleagues. These are the guideposts I will follow. First, 
at the hearing of the Armed Services--the first hearing on May 7--with 
Secretary Rumsfeld and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, as chairman, I 
was privileged to ask the first question. This is my question to 
General Myers:

       I would anticipate that you have consulted with your 
     colleagues, not only the Joint Chiefs, but particularly in 
     Central Command, and you are making, or have made, or will 
     continue to make an assessment of the possible increase in 
     risk to the men and women of the Armed Forces, the personal 
     increase in risk to them, and indeed their colleagues in the 
     coalition forces, regarding the release of these photos, and 
     this story continues to reflect very deeply on the thinking 
     and actions of other people.

  We learned yesterday of the tragic event of the Berg family having 
lost that individual. You not only have to consider men and women in 
uniform, but that brave bunch of contractors who are taking a certain 
amount of risk to help rebuild the infrastructure in Iraq and to assist 
the men and women in the Armed Forces in carrying out their missions.
  General Myers replied very clearly:

       Absolutely, we will. And we should not underestimate that 
     impact.

  Further, he said:

       I think we have a lot of troops in Iraq right now, after 
     talking to General Smith and others, that are probably 
     walking with--I mean, they're involved in combat, but they're 
     walking with their head just a bit lower right now because 
     they have to bear the brunt of what their colleagues up in 
     Abu Ghraib did.

  That is straight talk. We have had good, straight talk from the 
Secretary of Defense and all the witnesses in the course of our 
hearings. I commend the Department of Defense, from the President on 
down, for the manner in which they are dealing with this situation. 
That is my principal statement.
  Second, we are a nation which operates on the rule of law. The 
Department of the Army and the Department of Defense are bringing 
accountability to those who allegedly have perpetrated these 
situations. That trial process must go forward in such a way that the 
release of these photos does not adversely impact or jeopardize their 
rights. It is for that reason that I

[[Page S5342]]

simply say to my colleagues that I think we have to be extremely 
cautious as we finish our work this afternoon, and then fulfill our 
obligation, in verbalizing--the pictures cannot be copied--our own 
interpretations and meaning of these photos, so as not to incite anger, 
in any way further, against our forces or others working in the cause 
of freedom. That is my view.
  Further, I think caution should be used so as not to jeopardize under 
the Uniform Code of Military Justice and such other laws--and others 
may be brought to bear in accountability--in any way to jeopardize 
those trials. This Nation is a nation of laws. We are a strong 
democracy.
  Secretary Rumsfeld, in his opening remarks, said:

       Mr. Chairman, I know you join me today in saying to the 
     world, judge us by our actions, watch how Americans, watch 
     how a democracy deals with wrongdoing and with scandal and 
     the pain of acknowledging and correcting our mistakes and our 
     own weaknesses. And then, after they have seen America in 
     action, then ask those who teach resentment and hatred of 
     America if our behavior doesn't give lie to the falsehood and 
     the slander they speak about our people and about our way of 
     life . . . Ask them if the willingness of Americans to 
     acknowledge their own failures before humanity doesn't light 
     the world as surely as the great ideas and beliefs that made 
     this nation a beacon of hope and liberty for all who strive 
     to be free.

  The strength of America will be brought to bear as we address these 
problems in our military and go about handling this situation under the 
rule of law and holding those accountable. That shows the strength of a 
democracy. I think that is very important.
  There is a Privacy Act which, in the minds of some lawyers, protects 
these pictures in a certain way from public disclosure.
  So I simply counsel Senators--to the extent the executive branch has 
a responsibility to deal with future distribution of these pictures--to 
err on the side of caution. I think it would not be wise at this time 
to publish them. I believe the time to publish such photos should be 
during the course of the trials when the prosecution has a right to 
bring out certain photographs, the defense has a right to go and bring 
out other photographs, so you will have a balance of interests as to 
the photographs that are made public. Those trials will be public. At 
that time, no one could accuse the United States, for whatever reason, 
having released these photos earlier, of either jeopardizing the trial 
or trying to influence public opinion. Those procedures would be in 
accordance with the procedures of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

  Sadness, I know, fills the heart of all Americans regarding this 
episode in the otherwise very proud history of our military. Going back 
more than 200 years in our Republic, and looking forward, today 99.99 
percent of the men and women in uniform are carrying out their missions 
in accordance with our finest traditions. They are going into harm's 
way, taking risks, and performing their missions. We must think of 
them. That is very much on my mind, and I hope it is in the minds of 
others as we look at this.
  The Berg case has a specific reference to that heinous crime being 
committed to avenge the treatment of the prisoners in that prison. That 
is why I think further release at this time of these photographs, 
indeed, would put on another layer, but basically I don't think it will 
contribute materially to a further understanding of this tragic 
problem, to the extent that it overrides the other concerns of the 
safety of our forces, the safety of the civilian backup infrastructure, 
and the need for these trials to go forward in such a manner that no 
one can contest the integrity of the Department of Defense and the Army 
as they proceed to address this and hold those responsible accountable.
  Mr. President, I suggest that the release of this material, which is 
not before the Senate--I repeat, we do not have custody of the photos--
be considered by the executive branch--and perhaps wiser minds than I 
have a different perspective, but in the end, I counsel all caution as 
we verbalize our own views and understanding of these pictures, and as 
the executive branch moves forward with a decision regarding release.
  I yield the floor.
   Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the Harkin-
Hagel Amendment which will meet the funding promises in the Individuals 
with Disabilities in Education Act, IDEA.
   Almost three decades ago when Congress passed IDEA, this legislative 
body understood the additional costs that would be associated with 
providing an appropriate education to children with disabilities. 
Congress agreed back then that this fiscal responsibility should not 
fall entirely on the States and local communities. It decided the 
Federal Government would pick up at least 40 percent of the total cost 
of educating these children.
   This promise was made nearly 30 years ago. Yet Congress has never 
fulfilled it. The Harkin-Hagel amendment, which has strong bipartisan 
support, will right this wrong by ensuring the Federal Government 
provides its fair share of the cost to educate all children with 
disabilities. That is why I am proud to cosponsor it.
   The funds provided by this amendment will ensure that every child 
with special needs receives a free, appropriate public education. 
Today, all over New York and the Nation, children with special needs 
are being shortchanged because schools are wrestling to fulfill the 
competing demands on their budgets. Deficits are rising and State 
budgets are shrinking. And the funds provided by these amendments are 
crucial to ensuring all children receive a world-class education.
   The Republican substitute for this amendment keeps funding for IDEA 
discretionary, which does not guarantee full funding. As we have seen 
with funding for No Child Left Behind, authorizations are an empty 
promise with this administration and the Republicans in Congress in 
control.
   According to a report issued by the National Education Association 
last month, States and schools received only $18.6 billion of the $26.8 
billion in Federal money authorized under the law during the last 
fiscal year. This amount falls significantly short of the total cost to 
implement No Child Left Behind, which, according to the NEA, will reach 
$41.8 billion this year. As one example of the high cost of NCLB, the 
Ohio Department of Education released a study last month estimating 
that the State will spend about $1.5 billion a year--more than twice as 
much as it now gets from the Federal Government to fund NCLB. And a 
recent Phi Delta Kappan article reported that public K-12 spending 
needs to rise by at least 20 to 35 percent to meet the goals of NCLB--
an increase of $85 to $150 billion a year.
   We cannot allow IDEA to continue on the same path as NCLB. Mandatory 
spending is the only way to ensure that Congress will actually fund the 
real costs associated with meeting these requirements so that our 
children and their families do not shoulder this burden.

  Now more than ever, our school districts desperately need this 
support as they grapple with deep budget cuts and rising student 
enrollments. It is unconscionable for Congress to stand by and continue 
to fail to meet its funding commitments while schools in New York and 
across the Nation are laying off teachers, cutting critical classes and 
eliminating academic services.
  Let me paint the picture of what is happening in school districts in 
some school districts in New York.
  The Buffalo School district, where 80 percent of students come from 
families that are at or below the poverty index, is facing a $9.7 
million cut in its education budget. To balance its budget, the Buffalo 
School District has had to lay off approximately 700 school personnel, 
cut vital services to students, and close down 5 schools this year. 
These choices will ultimately lower the quality of education for all of 
the 44,000 students enrolled in Buffalo schools, including the 9,266 
students with disabilities.
  However, this issue is not about budget cuts. It is about broken 
promises.
  The Harkin-Hagel amendment says simply--the Federal Government's 
going to keep its word. It ensures that children with disabilities 
receive the programs and services they need to learn by providing the 
40 percent of the cost that was promised back in 1973.
  These funds mean children with special needs will achieve at higher 
levels and transition into the workforce as productive citizens. It 
guarantees the resources to recruit qualified personnel, provide 
teacher training and

[[Page S5343]]

ongoing professional development and provide supplementary services to 
effectively educate these children. Schools need actual resources to 
provide these services, not empty promises.
  Before the passage of IDEA, children with disabilities received 
woefully inadequate schooling or no schooling at all. Each year 
Congress fails to live up to its commitment to adequately invest in 
IDEA our schools fall further behind in meeting their special education 
costs and our parents of children with disabilities have to fight 
harder to ensure their children receive appropriate educational 
services.
  Children with special needs and their families should not have to 
shoulder this burden. We must do better by our children and their 
parents. I therefore urge my colleagues to vote yes on the Harkin-Hagel 
amendment.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I am pleased to be a cosponsor of the 
Harkin-Hagel amendment to fully fund the Federal share of the 
individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This proposal is long 
overdue and will help every school district in Maine.
  IDEA is based on two fundamental principles: First, that all disabled 
children are entitled to a free and appropriate public education; and, 
second, to the maximum extent possible, these children should be 
educated alongside their nondisabled peers.
  To help States achieve these principles, in 1975 Congress authorized 
funding at 40 percent of the average per pupil expenditure. 
Unfortunately, this funding level has never been realized, leaving 
States with insufficient resources and jeopardizing the achievement of 
IDEA's worthy goals.
  In 1996, the year I was first elected to the Senate, the Federal 
Government provided only $2.3 billion for IDEA funding, about 7 percent 
of the promised level. Through our efforts in the Senate, IDEA funding 
has steadily climbed, reaching nearly $10.1 billion in fiscal year 
2004, an increase of more than 300 percent. Despite this considerable 
progress, current IDEA funding still represents only half of the 
original 40 percent promised by Congress. This is an unfunded mandate 
that affects every State in the Nation.
  Over the years, this shortfall in IDEA funding has placed a 
tremendous financial strain on communities in providing these services, 
and in particular, on small rural towns, such as those in Maine. 
According to recent CRS estimates, if IDEA were fully funded, Maine 
would receive approximately $104 million in part B funding, an increase 
of approximately $56 million over current levels.
  While the shortfalls affecting Maine and other States are startling, 
they fail to convey the crushing financial blow which can result to a 
small community when a medically fragile, high-cost child with special 
needs locates there.
  In these cases, school systems are often forced to cut back in 
services to all children in an attempt to meet their legal obligations. 
Unfortunately, this can result in resentment of these special needs 
children by members of their own community.
  During my time in the Senate, I have consistently supported efforts 
to fully fund IDEA. In 2001, during Senate consideration of No Child 
Left Behind, I was pleased to join Senators Hagel and Harkin in 
sponsoring another amendment to fully fund IDEA. Although the amendment 
passed the Senate, unfortunately, it was removed during conference with 
the House.
  After over 2 years of work, we now have before us a bill to 
reauthorize IDEA. S. 1248 has strong bipartisan support and reflects a 
bipartisan commitment to make the improvements necessary to ensure 
better educational services for disabled students.
  For example, it contains modifications designed to improve parental 
involvement, to resolve conflicts more effectively and without 
litigation, and to reduce unnecessary paperwork. With these reforms in 
place, it is time for Congress to step up and meet its funding 
obligations under IDEA.
  Our amendment would provide crucial resources necessary to support 
communities and special education students throughout the country. 
Specifically, it would provide mandatory funding increases of $2.2 
billion each year for the next 6 years to reach full funding by 2010, 
and then maintain full funding in subsequent years.
  I urge my colleagues to join us in support of this amendment. Let's 
make this the year where we finally make good on the promise to fully 
fund IDEA.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. KENNEDY. How much time do I have remaining?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts has 5\1/2\ 
minutes remaining, and the other side has 9\1/2\ minutes remaining.
  The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I presume the Senator from Iowa wants to 
close.
  Mr. HARKIN. Yes.
  Mr. GREGG. I have no problem with that.
  We have talked a lot about, and I think debated rather extensively, 
the issue of what the proper way to fund this bill is. Again, I think 
our track record on funding is strong and reflects a very deep and 
aggressive commitment to getting the money that is necessary to address 
special needs children.
  While we are discussing this bill and there is some attention on the 
bill, I did want to, however, mention--and I know we are going to 
discuss it later on--this commitment in this bill. There are a couple 
of items which are very important. The first is the commitment to go to 
basically an accountability system which looks at what a student learns 
versus what the procedure may have been to teach them. Rather than 
checking inputs, we are interested in outputs. We are interested in 
whether a special needs child is actually improving their academic 
ability.
  This bill changes the focus of how we view the plans that are 
developed for children. It eliminates the very burdensome and 
unreasonable 813 procedural checklist that States have to follow in 
order to be deemed in compliance with IDEA. This type of checklist, in 
our opinion, was excessive bureaucracy and counterproductive to the 
basic goal, which is to get a child in the classroom and teach them to 
the fullness of their capabilities. So I think it makes significant 
progress in that area.
  It also addresses a number of other issues, but specifically the 
overidentification of children into special needs. This is a real 
problem, excessive coding of children. It is especially a problem in 
minority communities where quite often children simply get coded 
because they do not have the skills when they get to school to be 
competitive with their peers and make a presentation on an IQ test 
which is adequate. This bill takes the IQ test and deemphasizes it as a 
way for coding these children and rather allows a variety of different 
proposals which came out of an extensive study in this area, the 
Commission on Excellence in Special Education, to be used for the 
purposes of deciding whether a child should be moved into the special 
education classification.
  It is critical that we get control over this coding area because in 
some school systems upwards of 30 percent of the kids are being coded, 
and this is clearly inappropriate. It means the resources which should 
be focused on the children who really need assistance are being spread 
to a lot of kids who maybe are being coded because it is the easiest 
way to handle them and to move them through the system, not necessarily 
for their benefit but for the benefit of the administration of the 
school system. So we have tried to address that issue.
  I happen to see that specific issue of overcoding as probably being 
the biggest problem we have in the whole structure of special education 
because not only does it mean that resources are spread too thin, but 
equally important, it means kids end up being stigmatized unfortunately 
early on with a special education status which affects their 
educational experience for the rest of their schooling, and that is not 
good for them if they did not need that sort of assistance.

  Thirdly, it basically continues to move the goalpost. It is virtually 
impossible for us to get the full funding if every time we start to 
move toward full funding the goalposts of what full funding means get 
moved down the field further. That is what happens when there is this 
excessive coding.
  So it has a debilitating effect not only relative to the child's 
experience

[[Page S5344]]

but also on the ability of the school system to get the funds where 
they need to be and also on the basis of how we are going to get enough 
funds into the school systems to meet our commitments. So this is a big 
issue. I think it is one that we have tried to address. We obviously 
have not solved the problem, but we have at least moved down the road 
toward addressing the issue in a constructive and bipartisan way in 
this bill.
  So with those two points being made, I will reserve the remainder of 
my time and turn to the Senator from Iowa to close. If the Senator from 
Iowa is the last speaker, we will simply run the clock until we get to 
the time for the vote.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I yield the remaining time to the Senator from Iowa.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. HARKIN. I thank Senator Gregg for his generosity in letting me 
close the debate. I also thank the Senator from New Hampshire and the 
Senator from Massachusetts for putting together a good bill. This is a 
good bill, except for the funding. There is a lot of good in this bill, 
and the Senator from New Hampshire and the Senator from Massachusetts 
have worked together, as we all have, to come together with a 
nonpartisan approach.
  As I have said, this is the way we ought to deal with disability 
issues. We have in our long history, and we have continued that again 
in this bill, too.
  When this Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act 14 
years ago, we stated four goals. For people with disabilities we wanted 
equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic 
self-sufficiency. Those were basically the same goals of the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. We now see people working 
more in our society, people with disabilities being employed on jobs, 
but the basis of it all is education. That is where it starts.
  If families with kids with disabilities are not getting the 
supportive services and the kind of teacher training that is needed to 
be able to teach kids with disabilities, if they do not have the 
materials, say, in Braille for kids who are blind, or interpreters for 
kids who are deaf, or if they do not have some mental health providers 
who can help kids who have perhaps mental problems in school, then all 
of the promises of the Americans with Disabilities Act is for naught 
because these kids will not get the education they need that will give 
them equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and 
economic self-sufficiency.

  The occupant of the Chair, my colleague and cosponsor of this 
amendment, Senator Hagel, stated in his comments earlier about this 
being an unfunded mandate. This is one of the largest unfunded mandates 
that we have in our country. We hear about it all the time from the 
schools, from the parents, from the school boards. We have mandated 
that they must provide these services and then we said we are going to 
provide up to 40 percent. That was 30 years ago, and we are only at 19 
percent.
  So we have to ask ourselves about our priorities. This is an unfunded 
mandate. We made a promise; we have not kept the promise. Some say but 
the Harkin-Hagel amendment will add to the deficit. Well, it will add 
$2 billion on a budget next year of $2.3 trillion--less than one-tenth 
of 1 percent. When one looks at the whole national debt of $8 trillion, 
we are talking about a minuscule amount. For that minuscule amount, it 
means kids will get the services they need.
  It means we will have more Danny Pfiffers, the young man I knew in 
Iowa who went to school, who was mainstreamed, the manager of his 
football team, acted in a school play. Danny suffered from Downs 
Syndrome. He got out of school. He got a job. He lived by himself. He 
was a taxpayer. This is what we want. It saves our society countless 
dollars in the long run, but even more important than that it enriches 
Danny Pfiffer's life, and it will enrich more kids' lives.
  We have waited too long to make good on our promise. Now is the time 
to do it. It has to do with priorities. It has to do with integration. 
It has to do with all of us living together, sharing and caring about 
one another. We are all better off as a society when kids with 
disabilities are educated and mainstreamed in our public schools.
  Lastly, the Gregg amendment will be the first vote. I do not see 
anything wrong with the Gregg amendment. It is authorization as a 
statement of intent, purpose, and goodwill. To quote my friend from New 
Hampshire who used the words to describe authorization last year, there 
is nothing wrong with it.
  The Senator from New Hampshire is authorizing more money. That is 
fine, but it does not add one nickel to this unfunded mandate.
  So the Gregg amendment is fine as a statement of purpose and good 
will and intention, but statements of purpose and intention and good 
will do not get the funds out to meet our obligation.
  We said 30 years ago we would provide up to 40 percent. We are at 19 
percent. This is the vote that will say to the families of kids with 
disabilities, we are going to meet our commitments and fund this 
unfunded mandate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mr. GREGG. I ask unanimous consent that we now proceed to a vote. I 
ask for the yeas and nays, and we will yield back the remainder of our 
time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to add Senator 
Pryor as a cosponsor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Is there a sufficient second? There is a sufficient second.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Could we ask consent that be for both of the amendments?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection pertaining to the yeas and 
nays on both?
  Mr. GREGG. I intend to make a point of order on the second amendment. 
That will not be of prejudice to us?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. It will not be prejudicial. Without objection, 
it is so ordered.
  The question is on agreeing to the amendment No. 3145. The yeas and 
nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Santorum) is necessarily absent.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. 
Hollings) and the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) are 
necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sununu). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 96, nays 1, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 92 Leg.]

                                YEAS--96

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Chafee
     Chambliss
     Clinton
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Cornyn
     Corzine
     Craig
     Crapo
     Daschle
     Dayton
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham (FL)
     Graham (SC)
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     McCain
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Miller
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wyden

                                NAYS--1

       
     Nickles
       

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Hollings
     Kerry
     Santorum
  The amendment (No. 3145) was agreed to.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. GREGG. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 3144

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be 2 
minutes equally divided prior to a vote on the Harkin amendment, on 
which the yeas and nays have been ordered.
  The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, we just voted--I did, and so many of us--
to say

[[Page S5345]]

we want to get more money into special education. That is what the 
Gregg amendment says, that we want to increase authorizations.
  Right now, under present law, we can do whatever we want because it 
authorizes such sums as necessary. The Senator from New Hampshire put 
in there specific amounts, but it does not add one nickel to special 
education.
  The next amendment, the Hagel and Harkin amendment, does that. It 
adds real money in mandatory spending, $2.2 billion a year for 6 years 
to get to that 40-percent level we promised 30 years ago.
  This is one of the biggest unfunded mandates we have in our country. 
It is time that Congress lives up to the promise we made 30 years ago 
to help fund special education.
  I ask for an aye vote on the Harkin-Hagel amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, this Congress and this President have an 
exceptional track record on increasing funding for special education--
over $1 billion a year, on a cumulative basis.
  The issue of how you fund special education is a priority, and we 
have shown a commitment to that priority. It should be done within the 
context of setting priorities. Putting it into a mandatory account 
would take it out of the ability of this Congress to have the priority-
setting process which is appropriate.
  Furthermore, the way this amendment is structured, it might actually 
end up leading to a cut in discretionary funding in the special 
education accounts because of the uniqueness of our budget rules.
  But, in any event, I make a point of order against the amendment. The 
pending amendment No. 3144, offered by the Senator from Iowa, increases 
direct spending in excess of the allocation to the HELP Committee under 
the most recently adopted budget resolution, H. Con. Res. 91, the 
concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2004. Therefore, I 
raise a point of order against the amendment pursuant to section 302(f) 
of the Budget Act.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. A point of order is made.
  The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I move to waive the relevant portions of 
the Budget Act to permit the consideration of my amendment, and I ask 
for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The yeas and nays have been requested.
  Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to the motion.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Santorum) is necessarily absent.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. 
Hollings) and the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) are 
necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 56, nays 41, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 93 Leg.]

                                YEAS--56

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Breaux
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Chafee
     Clinton
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corzine
     Daschle
     Dayton
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Graham (FL)
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     McCain
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Warner
     Wyden

                                NAYS--41

     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Bennett
     Bond
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Campbell
     Chambliss
     Cochran
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeWine
     Dole
     Domenici
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham (SC)
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Kyl
     Lott
     Lugar
     McConnell
     Miller
     Nickles
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Voinovich

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Hollings
     Kerry
     Santorum
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 56, the nays are 
41. Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted 
in the affirmative, the motion is rejected.
  The point of order is sustained and the amendment falls.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 3146

  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I have an amendment at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from New York [Mrs. Clinton] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 3146.

  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that further 
reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To require the Department of Education to participate in the 
   long-term child development study authorized under the Children's 
                          Health Act of 2000)

       At the end of the bill, add the following:

                         TITLE V--MISCELLANEOUS

     SEC. 501. AMENDMENT TO CHILDREN'S HEALTH ACT OF 2000.

       Section 1004 of the Children's Health Act of 2000 (42 
     U.S.C. 285g note) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (b), by striking ``Agency'' and inserting 
     ``Agency, and the Department of Education''; and
       (2) in subsection (c)--
       (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' after the 
     semicolon;
       (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(4) be conducted in compliance with section 444 of the 
     General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g), including 
     the requirement of prior parental consent for the disclosure 
     of any education records, except without the use of authority 
     or exceptions granted to authorized representatives of the 
     Secretary of Education for the evaluation of Federally-
     supported education programs or in connection with the 
     enforcement of the Federal legal requirements that relate to 
     such programs.''.

  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I rise in support of my amendment to the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that is being considered 
today. Before I get into the amendment, I thank the chairman and the 
ranking member of the committee, Senators Gregg and Kennedy, for all 
their hard work in bringing this bill to the floor. It has been a long 
and, at times, I know a tedious process.
  The issues inherent in this bill are complicated, and I respect the 
strong effort of both Senators Gregg and Kennedy to work together in a 
bipartisan fashion to move the process forward. I also thank their two 
key staff members, Connie Garner for Senator Kennedy and Annie White 
for Senator Gregg, because they have worked extraordinarily hard and 
diligently to ensure that this legislation, which affects millions of 
children with disabilities, will be reauthorized and will improve the 
lives of so many of these children and their families.
  I also thank Senators Gregg and Kennedy for being supportive of this 
amendment.
  My amendment is very simple and straightforward but I think very 
important. It proposes to make the Department of Education a key 
partner in the development and execution of the National Children's 
Study.
  The National Children's Study will be the most important study of 
children with disabilities ever undertaken. It will provide a 
comprehensive examination of the effects of environmental influences, 
as well as many other factors affecting growth and development, from 
birth until age 21. The overarching goal of this study is to give us 
information to enable us to improve the health and well-being of our 
children and, in particular, what more can be done to prevent, treat, 
ameliorate, and cure disabilities.
  The National Children's Study was authorized by the Children's Health 
Act of 2000. All of the key Federal departments with jurisdiction over 
children's health and welfare, including

[[Page S5346]]

the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the 
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, and the Environmental Protection 
Agency, are sponsors and partners in the completion of this critical 
study.
  It is absolutely essential that these agencies work together, but 
missing from the list is the Department of Education. Despite the fact 
that children in our country spend 6 to 8 hours or more in school, the 
Department of Education is not one of the agencies explicitly included 
as a participant in the national children's study.
  I believe this study has the potential to provide significant value, 
but it will be missing a critical source of information if the 
Department of Education is not a full partner.
  Two studies that I would remind my colleagues of, that are similar to 
what we are attempting to do with this national children's study, is 
the Framingham study that followed a number of people in Framingham, 
MA, for a very long period of time. From that, we learned all kinds of 
information about heart attacks, cancers, and other factors that affect 
our health. Similarly the nurses study which followed several thousand 
nurses gave us other useful information.
  So now we are trying to provide this information, based on very well 
run studies, to not only parents but practitioners, public officials, 
and others.
  The participation of the Department of Education will ensure that 
school records can be, with appropriate permission, incorporated into 
the findings. Why is that important? Because only schools have 
information about children's educational outcomes, about special 
education classifications and the special services that children are 
receiving. Without this critical piece of information, the study would 
be incomplete.
  The Department also needs to be a key player in order to get in on 
the ground floor of the planning for this study. We need to make sure 
that the educational component is considered from the very beginning.
  It is also possible, through this amendment and the inclusion of the 
Department of Education, to compare how different States and schools 
classify children with disabilities. Currently, every State has a 
different standard for how they classify children with disabilities. 
That makes it very difficult, if not impossible, for researchers and 
advocates to compare data on children with disabilities across State 
lines. It is also very frustrating for parents who may live in one 
State where their child is classified as special education and eligible 
for services but because of a job change or other reason for a move, 
they move to another State where that is no longer the case.
  If the national children's study were to collect data directly from 
schools on children's disabilities and how they are classified, we 
would have valuable information that I think would be very informative 
for our States and local school districts, as well as parents and 
others.
  In addition to all of these reasons, the participation of the 
Department of Education will help us better understand how 
environmental factors are associated with the development of 
disabilities in childhood.
  Every single day children are exposed to environmental hazards. They 
are exposed in their homes, neighborhoods, communities, and even in 
their schools. It is important that we begin to understand how to 
figure out what it is that we need to prevent in order to deal with the 
increasing numbers of children classified as in need of special 
education.
  I want to thank a number of groups that have supported this 
amendment, including the Council for Exceptional Children, and Easter 
Seals, the National Education Association, the Parents Support Network 
of New York, the Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/
Hyperactivity Disorder, National Arc, the Council for Occupational 
Therapists, the Learning Disabilities Association of America, and the 
Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, which is a national 
disability organization that is a coalition of 100 groups.
  I ask unanimous consent that the letters of support on behalf of this 
amendment be printed in the Record.
   There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                         The American Occupational


                                    Therapy Association, Inc.,

                                     Bethesda, MD, April 22, 2004.
      Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton,
      U.S. Senate, Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
        Dear Senator Clinton: the American Occupational Therapy 
     Association (AOTA) is writing in support of your amendment to 
     S. 1248 that would expand the federal agency participants in 
     the National Children's Study. Authorized by the Children's 
     Health Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-310), this longitudinal study 
     will investigate the effects of environmental influences on 
     the health and development of children. Your amendment would 
     add the U.S. Department of Education as a participating 
     agency in the study.
        AOTA agrees that there is a need for a long term 
     comprehensive examination of children's health, development 
     and well-being. Occupational therapists have long recognized 
     the influence of the environmental context on children's 
     ability to participate in everyday activities, or 
     occupations, at school, at home and in the community. In 
     fact, this is one of the hallmarks of occupational therapy.
        AOTA believes with you that the study should include 
     relevant data about children's learning and educational 
     experiences and how that learning is affected by 
     environmental factors. Without including education and 
     educational outcomes in the comprehensive study, children's 
     ``development'' cannot be fully and completely assessed. The 
     addition of the Department of Education and its various areas 
     of expertise will enable the study to develop a more accurate 
     view of the child and provide for the inclusion of valuable 
     school-based data that is already available from our Nation's 
     schools.
       Thank you for introducing this important modification to 
     the National Children's Study. Please do not hesitate to let 
     us know if we can provide any additional assistance.
            Sincerely,
                                                Christina Metzler,
      Director, Federal Affairs Department.
                                  ____



                             Council for Exceptional Children,

                                      Arlington, VA, May 11, 2004.
     Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton,
     U.S. Senate, Russell Senate Office Building, Room 476, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Clinton: The Council for Exceptional Children 
     (CEC) is the largest professional organization of teachers, 
     administrators, parents, and others concerned with the 
     education of children with disabilities, giftedness, or both. 
     CEC supports your amendment to S. 1248, the Individuals with 
     Disabilities Education Act to include the Department of 
     Education as one of the participants in the National 
     Children's Study. As you know, the Children's Health Act of 
     2000 (Pub. L. 106-310) authorized the study of environmental 
     influences on the health and development of children.
       The National Children's Study will provide the most 
     comprehensive examination to date of the effects of 
     environmental influences on the health and development of 
     children, from birth until age 21, across the United States. 
     The overarching goal of the study is to improve the health 
     and well-being of all children, although children with 
     disabilities will be a special focus of the investigation. 
     The National Children's Study will be one of, if not the, 
     richest resources for answering questions related to children 
     with disabilities' health and development and will form the 
     basis of child health guidance, interventions, and policy for 
     generations to come. Yet schools, where children spend more 
     time than any place other than their homes, are not 
     integrated into this investigation. It is important that the 
     Department of Education participate in this study. CEC 
     recommends that assurances be in place that provide for 
     sufficient resources for the Department of Education to 
     participate in the study.
       Thank you for championing this important addition to the 
     National Children's Study. For more information, please 
     contact me at [email protected]; 703-264-9406 or Dan Blair, 
     Senior Director for Public Policy at [email protected]; 703-
     264-9403.
           Sincerely,

                                           Deborah A. Ziegler,

                                     Associate Executive Director,
     Policy and Communication Services.
                                  ____

                                              Coalition for Equity


                                         in Special Education,

                                     Washington, DC, May 10, 2004.
     Members of the U.S. Senate:
       Dear Senator: We write to you on behalf of our coalition of 
     private and religious school-affiliated organizations to urge 
     members of the Senate to support S. 1248--the reauthorization 
     of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as 
     it is considered on the floor this week. Because IDEA impacts 
     elementary and secondary schools, completing work on it is 
     essential to ensure implementation in the next school year.
       All schools that serve learning disabled and other children 
     with disabilities have a strong stake in the reauthorization 
     of IDEA and we are very pleased that we have worked with 
     Senators of both political parties to strengthen IDEA to 
     better meet the special education needs of children enrolled 
     by their parents in our schools. While issues of importance 
     to our communities still exist, we are most eager to have 
     Congress complete action

[[Page S5347]]

     on this legislation so that it may be signed by the President 
     and its benefit to our communities implemented in the next 
     school year. Thus, we urge you to support S. 1248's final 
     passage as well as the appointment of conferees and the 
     immediate convening of a conference committee.
       As you are aware, a unanimous consent agreement limiting 
     the number of amendments to be offered on S. 1248 has already 
     been entered into. We hope you will take this major step 
     toward better serving America's special needs children this 
     year. Many thanks for all of your work on behalf of America's 
     children, including children attending private and religious 
     schools.
     Rev. William F. Davis, OSFS,
       Deputy Secretary for Schools, U.S. Conference of Catholic 
     Bishops.
     Nathan Diament,
       Director, Institute for Public Affairs, Union of Orthodox 
     Jewish Congregations.
                                  ____

                                                    April 7, 2004.
     Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton,
     U.S. Senate, Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Clinton: Children & Adults with Attention-
     Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) is writing to support 
     your efforts to provide an amendment to the Individuals with 
     Diabetes Education Act (IDEA) that will expand the 
     participants in the National Children's Study. The Children's 
     Health Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-310) authorized the study of 
     environmental influences on the health and development of 
     children. The Amendment would add the U.S. Department of 
     Education as one of the participating organizations in the 
     study. CHADD supports this amendment.
       CHADD is intimately involved in the area of the 
     relationship of children's health and their educational 
     outcomes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
     (CDC) funded CHADD's National Resource Center on AD/HD that 
     was established to both be the national clearinghouse for 
     science-based information on AD/HD and encourage and 
     disseminate research on AD/HD's prevalence and treatment. The 
     linkage between health and learning is of paramount 
     importance to both this aspect of our mission and most other 
     aspects as well. A May 2002 CDC Study (CDC Vital and Health 
     Statistics) documented that over 50 percent of the children 
     with AD/HD had a co-occurring learning disability. Without 
     including education and educational outcomes in the 
     comprehensive study, children's ``development'' cannot be 
     fully assessed.
       The outline of the National Children's Study represents a 
     very expansive view of ``environmental influences'' and these 
     must include these found within the school and related areas. 
     The inclusion of the Department of Education and its various 
     areas of expertise will enable the study to take a much more 
     complete view of the child and provide for the inclusion of 
     valuable school-based data that is already provided from the 
     Nations schools.
       Thank you for introducing this import modification to the 
     National Children's Study.
       Further information on this issue is available from Stephen 
     Spector, CHADD's Director of Public Policy who can be reached 
     at 301-306-7070, extension 109.
           Respectfully submitted,
                                           E. Clarke Ross, D.P.A.,
                                          Chief Executive Officer.

  Mrs. CLINTON. Over the last several years, I have become even more 
concerned about how the environment affects a child's health and 
cognitive development. I think we have a lot of work to do to 
understand this and then to act on it. We know that 25 years of 
research and experience with developmental disabilities has 
demonstrated the increasing threat that these disabilities pose to our 
children's learning and also to the costs and expenses borne by 
families, school districts, and other public agencies around our 
country.
  Since 1977, enrollment in special education programs for children 
with learning disabilities has doubled, and 12 million children under 
the age of 18 are now diagnosed with a developmental learning or 
behavioral disability. Now, obviously some of that is due to our 
greater understanding and our willingness to admit that these kinds of 
disabilities exist, but there are other reasons as well.
  A National Academy of Sciences study suggests that 28 percent of 
developmental disabilities are caused by environmental hazards. A 
recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that even 
low levels of lead exposure can reduce a child's IQ by as much as 7.4 
points. For many children, this literally could mean the difference 
between being developmentally disabled or not.
  According to a General Accounting Office study, almost half of all 
children in our country attend schools with at least one unsatisfactory 
environmental condition. I have seen a lot of those in my own travels. 
I have seen horrible mold conditions. I have seen exposed dust and 
building materials. I have seen schools that were built over toxic 
waste dumps. It goes on and on.
  We also know that one of the most prevalent environmental health 
problems is poor indoor air quality. According to recent studies, that 
is present in nearly half of our 115,000 schools. Almost a quarter of 
these schools have inadequate heating, ventilation, and air-
conditioning systems, and about 21,000 have faulty roofs.
  Now, poor indoor air quality severely aggravates allergies, asthma, 
and other infections and respiratory diseases. It is something we know 
more and more about but actually still have a lot of work to do.
  I have worked to address these problems through legislation that 
crosses different jurisdictional lines. I introduced the act to prevent 
developmental disabilities in education, which has evolved into the 
amendment we have before us today. I have strongly supported the 12 
centers for children's environmental health and disease prevention 
research funded by our Government because they are focusing on issues 
that are so critically important, such as studying the potential 
environmental causes of autism, a condition that we know is increasing.
  We are looking at new ways of researching, identifying, treating, and 
ultimately preventing autism and other diseases that may or may not 
have an environmental link. We just do not know enough yet.
  Similarly, I have proposed a general health tracking bill that would 
coordinate pollution and contamination data with disease data so we can 
learn more about the possible links between the two. I am not one who 
thinks there are as many different problems as one can imagine 
depending upon the environmental condition, but I think common sense 
tells us that there are a good number of them. Right now we do not know 
which. We cannot give good information to parents about how best to 
protect their children.
  In the No Child Left Behind Act, a provision that I championed called 
the Healthy, High-Performance Schools Program was adopted. That would 
assist States in creating and disseminating information and technical 
assistance to our neediest schools to help them improve indoor air 
quality and energy efficiency, and we know it can make a difference.
  In Greenwich, NY, a school renovation project left cement and 
construction dust all over the buildings, fiberglass exposed in the 
library, paint fumes in the elementary classrooms, heavy equipment and 
jackhammers outside, and electric wires and pipes exposed. In another 
New York school, a parent of an asthmatic child was so upset by the 
child's repeated absences because of being exposed to the toxic 
chemicals that were used in the installation of a gym floor.

  These are just two of the multitude of examples that argue for us 
learning more about what we are doing inside our schools to perhaps 
better control these problems so that, if we cannot eliminate them, 
certainly the information will help us to decrease the health problems 
from which these children suffer.
  I hope this amendment will be a real encouragement for the National 
Children's Study because it is one of the most important research 
studies we can undertake in our country.
  As I said, the Framingham Heart Study, which has been going on now 
for 50 years, has yielded remarkable advances in the prevention of 
heart disease. The Nurses Health Study that began in 1976 has given 
women invaluable information about how to protect our health. The 
National Children's Study is the same. It will give us so much help, 
trying to figure out what we should do in the public health arena in 
our schools and in our homes.
  I am hopeful we will fully fund this National Children's Study 
because it is important that we begin the hard work of getting answers 
to many of the questions my constituents ask me.
  We need an additional $15 million for this study to be carried out. 
These are critical funds. I hope we will be able to appropriate them. 
This amendment will enable the study to take advantage of the expertise 
in the Department

[[Page S5348]]

of Education and particularly zero in on the needs of children with 
disabilities.
  I thank my colleagues for their support. I appreciate their strong 
advocacy on behalf of this reauthorization of the bill and in 
particular this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, the amendment would call for the inclusion 
of the United States Department of Education in a consortium of Federal 
agencies that are working on a study regarding environmental influences 
on children's health and development, which may result in developmental 
disorders in these children.
  This consortium, which is to be headed by the Director of the 
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, also includes 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental 
Protection Agency.
  This amendment ensures that, should any collection of information 
from the study involve student education records, parents must provide 
prior consent before the information is released. This ensures 
compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974) 
(20 U.S.C. 1232g) (FERPA) and comports with the federal policy of 
preserving parental consent.
  Quite simply, information in records maintained by schools about 
individual children should not be accessible by the CDC, or Federal 
agencies, or their contractors without the knowledge and prior consent 
of those children's parents.
  We appreciate the amendment of the Senator from New York. It is 
constructive and positive and we are willing to accept it.
  I ask unanimous consent that the amendment of the Senator from New 
York be agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the amendment is agreed to.
  The amendment (No. 3146) was agreed to.
  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I will take a moment to thank the Senator 
from New York for offering this amendment. She is quite right. This 
longitudinal study that will be done with regard to children's health 
will be the most important work outside the Academy of Sciences' work 
that will be done on the development of children's brains and what 
early intervention means, in terms of their educational capabilities.
  There are a lot of different factors such as bus fumes, asbestos in 
the schools, lead paint in the playgrounds, let alone lead paint in the 
walls. There are a series of different issues regarding mental health 
and a wide range of different areas affecting children and children's 
health.
  The fact the Department of Education was not included was a major 
oversight. The amendment of the Senator from New York addresses that. 
It is very welcome. It will make that study a much more comprehensive 
and accurate reflection of where children are in our society. I thank 
her for offering it.
  We all know that what happens during a child's early years can mean 
the difference between lifelong success and lifelong struggle. Good 
nutrition, a nurturing home, a healthy and safe neighborhood, and 
countless other factors provide children with the foundation from which 
they grow into a productive adulthood.
  But for too many children, the basic elements of a healthy start are 
missing. Children whose environments are lacking or even dangerous are 
at much higher risk of developing disabilities--disabilities that can 
be prevented if we understand more about the factors at play. That is 
why the Children's Health Act of 2000, and its study on child 
development, is so important.
  But, as the Senator from New York has pointed out, the study has a 
major flaw. It is incomplete because the Department of Education is not 
included as a partner and school experiences are not examined. This 
study cannot put together the puzzle of child development when this 
crucial piece of every child's life is missing. The Senator from New 
York's amendment puts the final piece into place.
  Including the Department of Education in this study is just common 
sense. School is a child's primary environment outside the home. From 
early childhood through adolescence, children spend a majority of their 
day in a classroom.
  In fact, the school environment may be even more important for 
children with disabilities. Most disabilities are diagnosed in school, 
and most special education services are provided there. What happens 
for disabled children in schools has a tremendous lasting effect.

  The Department of Education has data to share with the study's other 
partners that is critical to capturing every aspect of disabled 
children's development. When this data is being shared, the amendment 
is careful to protect children's educational privacy rights.
  The more we know about how a child's environment impacts 
developmental disorders, the more we can do to prevent them and ensure 
that all children grow to be healthy adults. This study, and the 
Department of Education's participation in it, will provide us with 
important information for years to come.
  I applaud the Senator from New York for her advocacy on this issue 
and on so many other issues concerning the health of our Nation's 
children. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.


                           Amendment No. 3147

  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for 
its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from New Hampshire [Mr. Gregg], for himself, 
     Mr. Enzi and Mr. Grassley, proposes an amendment numbered 
     3147.

  Mr. GREGG. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment 
be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

               (Purpose: To provide for attorneys' fees)

       On page 558, strike lines 7 through 12, and insert the 
     following:
       ``(B) Award of attorneys' fees.--
       ``(i) In general.--In any action or proceeding brought 
     under this section, the court, in its discretion, may award 
     reasonable attorneys' fees as part of the costs--

       ``(I) to a prevailing party who is the parent of a child 
     with a disability;
       ``(II) to a prevailing party who is a State educational 
     agency or local educational agency against the attorney of a 
     parent who files a complaint or subsequent cause of action 
     that is frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation, or 
     against the attorney of a parent who continued to litigate 
     after the litigation clearly became frivolous, unreasonable, 
     or without foundation; or
       ``(III) to a State educational agency or local educational 
     agency against the attorney of a parent, or against the 
     parent, if the parent's complaint or subsequent cause of 
     action was presented for any improper purpose, such as to 
     harass or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in 
     the cost of litigation.

       ``(ii) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subparagraph 
     shall be construed to affect section 432 of the District of 
     Columbia Appropriations Act, 2004.

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I rise in support of the Gregg amendment 
to provide a little more equity to school districts in the often overly 
litigious world of special education.
  Currently, IDEA only allows parents who are prevailing parties to 
collect attorney's fees. Even if the school district prevails in court, 
it must pay its attorneys out of its own budget. Under the Gregg 
amendment, this would still be the case in vast majority of cases.
  The Gregg amendment does not cap attorney's fees allowed under IDEA 
and it is not even a straight ``loser pays'' provision.
  The Gregg amendment simply provides that State or local education 
agencies may be awarded attorney's fees, at the judges discretion, only 
in those very limited cases where the parent's case is--``frivolous, 
unreasonable, or without foundation, or the parent continued to 
litigate even after it became clear that the case was frivolous'' or--
if the parent's complaint was ``presented for any improper purpose.''
  This is a very strict standard and is based on existing laws and 
precedents.
  This strikes me as a very limited, reasonable amendment.

[[Page S5349]]

  I should mention that in Iowa, we do not have a great many due 
process hearings and they rarely go to court. In fact, Iowa is a model 
of dispute resolution in the area of special education. It also helps 
that Iowa schools generally provide an excellent education to all 
students.
  However, I have heard from many Iowa educators that the Federal IDEA 
law is too litigious. School districts often find themselves at a 
disadvantage when trying to prove that they have done right by a child. 
School districts find that it is usually easier and cheaper to give in 
to parents' demands rather than to go to court, even if school 
officials are convinced they have acted properly.
  I am not suggesting we tip the scales the other way so that parents 
of disabled children are less able to advocate for the education they 
feel their children need.
  The standard in the Gregg amendment is strict enough that it would 
still be to the advantage of school districts to settle all but the 
most egregious, frivolous complaints.
  This amendment would not discourage any parent from pursuing any 
legitimate complaint, even if the parent might ultimately lose the 
case.
  Parents must be able to defend the right of their child to a free, 
appropriate public education, even in court if necessary. However, 
frivolous due process complaints under IDEA abuse the rights of parents 
and hurt children.
  When a school district must spend money to defend against frivolous 
cases, it drains funds away from needed services for other disabled 
children.
  This amendment also protects parents from unscrupulous attorneys who 
would prey on parents when they are most vulnerable by encouraging them 
to litigate or prolong litigation in order to collect fees.
  The law should protect children, not the pockets of trial lawyers.
  Again, this amendment would in no way limit or discourage parents 
from pursuing legitimate complaints against a school district if they 
feel their child's school has not provided a free, appropriate public 
education. It would simply give school districts a little relief from 
abuses of the due process rights found in IDEA and ensure that our 
taxpayer dollars go toward educating children, not lining the pockets 
of unscrupulous trial lawyers.
   Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, IDEA currently allows only parents who are 
``prevailing parties'' in disputes to collect attorney's fees, in the 
court's discretion. The law does not permit school districts that 
prevail in a case to recover their attorney's fees. In most cases, this 
is the right policy, as we do no want to discourage parents from 
seeking redress when they believe their child is not getting what is 
promised under IDEA.
  However, there are sometimes cases where the parent's case was 
frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation, or the parent continued 
to litigate the case even after it became clear that the case was 
frivolous. Or, there are sometimes situations where a parent or their 
attorney files a number of complaints and requests for due process 
hearings, triggering the school district to spring into action to 
prepare for the hearing. The parent subsequently drops the complaint, 
but the school has spent considerable time and money preparing for the 
hearing; a closer look at the facts reveals that the complaints were 
not filed for any proper purpose, but instead were done to harass or 
retaliate against the school district.
  In these limited instances, school districts should be able to 
recover their attorney's fees.
  This amendment makes such a change to the law. The amendment provides 
that a court, in its discretion, may award reasonable attorney's fees 
to a school district if the parent's complaint or subsequent cause of 
action is frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation, or the parent 
continued to litigate after it clearly became so, or was presented for 
any improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay 
or needless increase in the cost of litigation.
  The legal standards in this amendment are not new concepts, but are 
based upon well-established laws.
  The first part of the amendment comes from the U.S. Supreme Court 
case of Christiansburg Garment Co. v. EEOC 1978, which involved an 
employment discrimination claim under title vii of the civil rights act 
of 1964. Christiansburg held that a plaintiff which brings an action 
that is frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation may be held 
liable for the prevailing defendant's attorney's fees. It is fair to 
apply this same standard in IDEA. In fact, a 1985 senate labor and 
human resources committee report on the predecessor of idea stated the 
committee's intent

      to adopt the policy of christiansburg garment company v. 
     eeoc, which is that a party which brings an action that is 
     `frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation' may be held 
     liable for the prevailing defendant's attorney fees.

  It is important to note that this is a very high standard and 
prevailing defendants are rarely able to meet it and obtain a 
reimbursement of their attorney's fees. The Supreme Court has said: to 
award attorney fees to defendants in a civil rights suit, the 
plaintiff's action must be meritless in the sense that it is groundless 
or without foundation; the fact that plaintiff may ultimately lose his 
case is not in itself sufficient justification for fee award.
  Finally, case law directs courts to consider the financial resources 
of the plaintiff in awarding attorney's fees to a prevailing defendant.
  The second provision in the amendment--that relates to bringing 
lawsuits for an improper purpose, such as to harass or cause 
unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation--comes 
from another well-established Federal law: Federal Rule of Civil 
Procedure 11.
  In interpreting this language from Rule 11, courts must apply an 
objective standard of reasonableness to the facts of the case.
  Let me give you some examples of frivolous or improper lawsuits, 
where the school districts had no recourse.
  In DeLeon Indepen. Sch. Dist. v. Seth B., 4:CV-00-1770-Y (N.D. Tex. 
2001), a school district asked for injunctive relief against a parent 
who had filed seven requests for due process hearings over the course 
of 2 years. The school district asserted that the parent required the 
school district to convene at least 20 IEP meetings during that time, 
and claimed that the parent had abused her entitlements under IDEA by 
filing repeated requests for hearings and later canceling or refusing 
to attend. The school district further alleged that it had spent over 
$154,000 in attorney's fees and costs to defend the parents' filings. 
The court held that the IDEA law did not give the court subject matter 
jurisdiction to provide the school's requested relief.
  We heard from a small district with an annual budget of $10,000,000. 
At the end of the 2001 school year an IEP student graduated and failed 
to pass an exam for entrance into a postsecondary trade school. The 
parents sued the district demanding among other things $1 million in 
lost future wages because the school had allegedly failed to address 
his learning needs sufficiently for him to get into the trade school. 
The district believed that it followed all legal requirements properly 
for full parent cooperation and agreement during the child's years in 
school. A decision was made to settle for $140,000 spread over four 
years partially in fear of consequences if a court battle ended in 
favor of the parents. A demand of one million dollars would have the 
effect putting the district into a negative fund balances and the risk 
of no longer being able to function.
  A director of pupil personnel with special education responsibility 
reports:

       Next month I will go to Federal court with an attorney who 
     is seeking fees for a recent Due Process Hearing. The 
     District prevailed on 100 percent of the issues, not even a 
     hand slap was given to the District. Why are we going to 
     Federal Court? Because the attorney wants fees and the only 
     way he can get them is threaten Federal court and hope we 
     settle the fees versus the cost of Federal court.

   She described the situation as blackmail.
  One principal says:

       Attorneys that drag out a hearing for weeks, do so because 
     once the attorney fees equal the post of the placement, the 
     case gets resolved. I was involved in a case 9 years ago in 
     which an aggressive attorney insisted on a 10 day evidentiary 
     hearing. When it was clear the hearing officer had no control 
     over the hearing, the district caved to the parents' position 
     and wrote a settlement agreement.

  But the worst example of egregious conduct comes from a suburban 
school

[[Page S5350]]

district with over 33,000 students and 1,600 teachers. I will come to 
that in a minute.
  Mr. President, we need to have a mechanism to protect schools in the 
rare instances in which the complaint filed against them is frivolous, 
or when litigation is being used to harass or retaliate against the 
school district.
  This amendment is fair and reasonable. It would apply established 
legal principles and standards to protect defendants from burdensome 
litigation having no legal or factual basis.
  The intent of this amendment is not to discourage parents from using 
the procedural safeguards under IDEA to bring complaints against school 
districts. And I don't believe this amendment will do that.
  However, other Federal attorney fee statutes--(e.g., title vii of the 
civil rights act and section 1983 claims)--allow prevailing defendants 
to ask for attorneys' fees in egregious instances. Why can't we allow 
for the same mechanism under IDEA?
  We want Government dollars targeted for IDEA to go to special 
education services for children with disabilities--not for school 
districts to pay attorney's fees to defend themselves in frivolous law 
suits.
  This amendment will not chill representation--it does not put a new 
dollar limit on attorney's fees. Rather, this amendment is intended to 
give school districts some relief in those rare situations where a 
parent has abused their due process rights.
  Let me tell you about the most egregious example of frivolous, 
groundless behavior against a school.
  I know of a suburban school district with over 33,000 students and 
1,600 teachers. Noted for excellence, student performance, and 
distinguished programs, this district has received local, State, and 
national recognition.
  Within this district, ``Mrs. X,'' as I will call her for privacy 
reasons, has two children attending the schools in the district: a high 
school-age son, identified as a special education student, and a middle 
school regular education daughter.
  In May of 1998, the district settled a playground injury claim 
brought by Mrs. X resulting from her daughter's fall from monkey bars. 
That incident has been followed by the most egregious and long-standing 
abuse of every form of complaint, fair hearing, and litigation 
processes.
  In summary, Mrs. X has filed complaints with the office of civil 
rights, tort liability suits, and multiple district internal personnel 
complaints--ranging from senior district personnel ``dishonesty'' to a 
substitute teacher leaving the door open in her son's room. Mrs. X 
currently has six suits filed in Federal Court against the district--
the Board of Education Trustees, the Assistant Superintendent, the 
Executive Director of Special Education, the Program Specialist, the 
Director of Special Education, the Deputy Superintendent, the 
Superintendent, the Attorney retained by the district; nine hearing 
officers; the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, 
Region IX; and the California Department of Education Superintendent of 
Schools.
  As difficult and vexatious as these proceedings may be, by far the 
most expensive and draining of all of Mrs. X's actions are those 
resulting from her rights under the IDEA. Since June 1998, she has 
filed 15 complaints and fair hearing requests. These demands are 
accompanied by a daily barrage of letters, faxes, and telephone voice 
messages left for various District employees. Because of IDEA 
requirements, these need a timely response.
  The District has spent $195,000 on attorney's fees to defend against 
these cases.
  In November 2001, the District office began a log these 
communications so that the level of harassment and disruptions to the 
organization could be documented. Since that time, 828 communications 
have been sent to District personnel, representing well over 2,440 
pages.

  Currently, one of the District's program specialists devotes the 
majority of her time handling the issues generated by this one parent. 
This detracts from the District's ability to deal with the urgent and 
legitimate special education needs of students and parents.
  Here is the list of the due process filings by Mrs. X. I ask 
unanimous consent it be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:
       Case No. 1 filed: June 30, 1998. Issue(s): Denial of FAPE 
     1997-98. Resolution: Settled by agreement at mediation.
       Case No. 2 filed: December 26, 1998. Issue(s): Untimely 
     IEP. Resolution: Settled by mediated agreement at the hearing 
     by hearing officer.
       Case No. 3 filed: March 28, 1999. Issue(s): Denial of FAPE 
     1997-98 and 1998-99. Resolution: District prevailed on all 
     issues on hearing officer determination.
       Case No. 4 filed: February 10, 2000. Issue(s): Denial of 
     FAPE by placement at certain school. Resolution: District 
     Prevailed on all issues on hearing officer determination.
       Case No. 5 filed: August 23, 2000. Issue(s): Denial of FAPE 
     by placement at certain school. Resolution: Settled by 
     mediated agreement at hearing, by hearing officer.
       Case No. 6 filed: April 2, 2001. Issue(s): Denial of FAPE 
     2000-2001. Resolution: District prevailed on all issues 
     except occupational therapy assessment, on hearing officer 
     determination.
       Case No. 7 filed: November 5, 2001. Issues(s): Placement, 
     services, goals for 2001-2002. Resolution: Settled by 
     mediated agreement at hearing.
       Case No. 8 filed: May 7, 2002. Issue(s): Denial of FAPE for 
     8th grade year (2001-2002). Resolution: Withdrawn by parent.
       Case No. 9 filed: May 29, 2002. Issue(s): Eight issues 
     concerning FAPE in 2001-2002. Resolution: Dismissed in its 
     entirety by hearing officer.
       Case No. 10 filed: July 24, 2002. Issue(s): FAPE for 2002-
     2003 and assessment in occupational therapy and physical 
     therapy. Resolution: District prevailed on all issues but 
     occupational therapy goal inclusion, on hearing officer 
     determination.
       Case No. 11 filed: February 24, 2003. Issue(s): Denial of 
     FAPE at January 17, 2003 IEP meeting. Resolution: District 
     prevailed on all issues on hearing officer determination.
       Case No. 12 filed: March 3, 2003. Issue(s): Timeliness of 
     District's functional analysis assessment. Resolution: 
     Dismissed in its entirety by hearing officer.
       Case No. 13 filed: August 27, 2003. Issue(s): Denial of 
     FAPE by failing to allow communication with WHS. Resolution: 
     District prevailed on hearing officer determination.
       Case No. 14 filed: September 5, 2003. Issue(s): District 
     denied special ed. eligibility. Resolution: Withdrawn by 
     parent before hearing.
       Case No. 15 filed: January 16, 2004. Issue(s): Author of 
     vision therapy goals on 9/18/02 IEP. Resolution: Dismissed in 
     its entirety by hearing officer.

  Mr. GREGG. Through all this IDEA litigation, the school district has 
never been able to collect its attorney's fees in defending any of 
these cases.
  And because there is no disincentive or negative consequences of 
filing complaint after complaint, making call after call, flooding the 
district with thousands of pages of documents, Mrs. X has continued her 
actions against the district.
  Now, we know that this example is the rare exception--however, we 
need to do something to help protect schools against frivolous, 
egregious behavior, which drains resources away from providing special 
education and related services to children with disabilities.
  The District writes:

       The purpose of IDEA is to protect the interests of special 
     education students. It would be in this interest to guard 
     against the egregious and vexatious behavior of a very small 
     minority of parents whose actions negatively impact the 
     ability of a school district to provide service to all 
     special education students.

  Mr. President, that is exactly what this amendment is designed to do.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
   Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I rise today in support of this 
amendment because no one wants to see our courts abused by frivolous 
cases and everyone wants to see less IDEA litigation.
   While I can support preventing abuses of our legal system, I cannot 
stand by and listen to a debate that unfairly characterizes the 
majority of parents and the majority of attorneys as eager to sue 
schools. This could not be further from the truth--and the record needs 
to be set straight.
   No parent wants to have confrontation with their child's school. 
Despite what has been said on the Senate floor today, every parent 
would rather be a partner in their children's education instead of an 
adversary. However, there are times that a parent has no choice but to 
right for their disabled child's educational rights. There are times 
when a school's violation of the law is so extreme, or when a school 
refuses over and over to do the right thing, that a parent's only 
recourse is to seek help from the legal system.

[[Page S5351]]

   Parents facing this challenge need the help of attorneys who can 
represent the best interests of their child. But for too many low- and 
middle-income families the cost of an attorney is simply out of reach. 
That is why the IDEA requires schools that violate the law to pay the 
legal fees of parents. Without these provisions, the cost of an 
attorney to advocate for a disabled child's educational rights can mean 
a family must sacrifice another child's college education or even their 
home.
   For example, the Hannagan family from Florida has been seeking an 
appropriate education for their disabled daughter for 5 years. They owe 
$90,000 in legal fees and have had to get a second mortgage on their 
home, mortgage their parent's home, and use up all of their credit 
cards.
   Or take the Bonney family from Missouri who also had to fight to 
guarantee their disabled son's right to an appropriate education. Even 
though they asked to go to mediation instead of court, the school 
refused. As a result, they have had to mortgage three properties--two 
of which had already been paid off--in order to cover $100,000 in legal 
fees.
   The IDEA give parents a fighting chance to get the education their 
children need without bankrupting the family.
   Schools claim that, because IDEA helps families in this way, they 
are being overrun by IDEA lawsuits and costs. But the reality is 
different from the rhetoric.
   The vast majority of IDEA parents do not file cases, and the vast 
majority of schools are not being sued. National data showing that IDEA 
litigation is extremely rare. A 2003 GAO study shows that nationally 
there were only 5 due process hearings per 10,000 special education 
students. A 2003 Department of Education national study shows that 94 
percent of districts had no dispute cases go to due process hearings. 
But some will argue that a single lawsuit is one too many because IDEA 
cases are extraordinarily expensive. Again--this is not true.
   The national data on the cost of solving IDEA problems paints a very 
different picture. According to a Department of Education study, only a 
fraction of IDEA funds are spent on solving problems. In 2000, $50 
billion of State, Federal, and local funds were spent on special 
education. Only .3 percent of that total went to school expenses for 
mediation, due process hearings, and court cases. With over 6 million 
students served by IDEA, the cost of dispute resolution was only $24 
per student nationally.
   Mr. President, I have listened to the debate today. I have listened 
while supporters of this amendment describe rapid attorneys waiting to 
pounce on schools. You would think that high-priced attorneys are lined 
up around the block to take schools to court. This simply is not true.
  Most parents don't have access to any attorney, or must rely on low-
cost legal aid. And data from surveys shows that even this help is in 
short supply.
  Mr. President, 55 percent of the States lack sufficient low-cost or 
free attorney services in their State. Only 686 low-cost or free 
attorneys regularly take IDEA cases. This is about 1 attorney for every 
10,000 special education students. Eight States have 5 or fewer 
attorneys in the entire State. One State had no free or low-cost 
attorneys in the entire State who take IDEA cases with so few attorneys 
available to help parents, families face two grave and unpleasant 
choices: represent their child in due process alone or allow the school 
to continue violating their child's rights.
  Those parents who have the courage to go it alone face schools that 
are well represented. State data shows that in 2003 schools were much 
more likely to bring an attorney to a hearing than parents were. In 
California, parents had attorneys only 21 percent of the time while 
schools had attorneys 42 percent of the time. In Missouri, parents had 
attorneys only 60 percent of the time while schools had attorneys 87 
percent of the time. In Connecticut, parents had attorneys only 65 
percent of the time while schools had attorneys 95 percent of the time. 
In Illinois, parents had attorneys only 35 percent of the time while 
schools had attorneys 91 percent of the time. In New York, parents had 
attorneys only 31 percent of the time while schools had attorneys 100 
percent of the time.
  How can anyone look at this data and say that schools are at a 
disadvantage in the legal system? How can anyone look at this data and 
say that parents and their attorneys are the problem? It is parents who 
continue to be at a disadvantage when it comes to the IDEA.
  For example, Sheila, the mother of a disabled child from Oklahoma, 
wrote me about her fight for her son's right to an appropriate 
education. Her case took 3\1/2\ years because the school district hired 
not one but four attorneys to fight her. The district subpoenaed dozens 
of witnesses in order to question her integrity, instead of focusing on 
the real issue: how to help this severely autistic child as he grew 
older and his needs became more serious.
  I want nothing more than to reduce IDEA due process and spare 
families and schools the toll it takes on them. I agree that the ideal 
number of IDEA cases would be zero, and the ideal cost of IDEA 
litigation would be zero dollars because every dollar that goes to a 
parent's or school's attorney is a dollar that does not go to a 
classroom. So I can support this amendment to deter bad cases that 
waste time and money.
  But I cannot agree with anyone who says that litigation is the result 
of demanding parents or greedy lawyers. It is not a result of IDEA 
attorney's fee provisions. Litigation is a direct result of a school's 
failure to comply with the law. So long as schools continue to fail 
disabled students, parents will continue to be the enforcers of the 
law. This amendment cannot change that.
  The real solution to the so-called IDEA litigation problem is to hold 
schools accountable for providing every disabled child with an 
appropriate education. This bill delivers meaningful enforcement for 
the first time in the history of the IDEA and this will go further to 
reduce litigation than any change to attorney's fees. Anyone who 
supports this amendment--anyone who supports reducing IDEA litigation--
should also support stronger enforcement.
  Instead of focusing the debate on parents and their attorneys, I urge 
my colleagues to focus on fulfilling the promise of an appropriate 
education made by the Congress nearly 30 years ago.
  I thank the Senator for working with us on this issue. It is 
enormously important. I think we have worked out a very satisfactory 
solution. I thank the Senator and hope the Senate will accept the 
amendment.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I commend the Senator from New 
Hampshire for his work on the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
Act, IDEA, reauthorization bill. In particular, I appreciate his 
amendment to address the issue of attorneys' fees. I agree 
wholeheartedly that every child should be adequately represented, but 
we must ensure people do not take advantage of the system. As a member, 
and former chairman, of the DC Appropriations Subcommittee, I became 
aware of how the District of Columbia Public Schools has experienced 
large numbers of lawsuits filed against it under IDEA and had to pay 
millions in attorneys' fees.
  In an effort to keep these expenditures under control, the District 
of Columbia Appropriations Acts for fiscal years 1999, 2000 and 2001 
limited the amount of appropriated funds that could be paid to 
prevailing parties for attorneys' fees. However, in fiscal year 2002 
these caps were lifted. It quickly became clear this was a mistake.
  After lifting the cap, the number of special education related 
administrative hearings increased in one year by 20 percent. In 2002, 
the city received 2,750 hearing requests, up from 1,500 3 years 
earlier. The backlog of assessments increased significantly and the 
backlog of hearings tripled. Attorneys' fees as a percentage of total 
special education spending tripled to almost 6 percent, increasing by 
$10 million in 1 year.
  The problem in DC was uniquely egregious. There are numerous 
instances in which DC had to pay outrageous sums. In one case a lawyer 
charged $43,500 for a case that was settled and never actually went to 
a hearing. On other occasions when the case was settled prior to a 
hearing ever being held, lawyers charged as much as $22,000. Some firms 
apparently have split one case into multiple hearings, rather than 
addressing them in a single complaint, in order to generate excess 
fees. In addition, the DC Auditor issued a report in May 2003, on legal 
fees paid

[[Page S5352]]

in relation to special education and concluded that certain law firms 
had relationships with advocacy groups that appear to have been 
unethical or illegal.
  Clearly, some people have been using a system intended to help 
children in need of special education assistance for their personal 
gain. The rule that allows parents to receive payment to cover 
attorneys' fees when they win is intended to ensure parents who may not 
have the means can get representation. It is not intended to be a cash 
cow for attorneys, soaking up money that would otherwise be spent on 
educating children.
  Mr. GREGG. Will the Senator yield?
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. I am happy to yield.
  Mr. GREGG. It is clear something was wrong, because DC has accounted 
for 40 percent of all IDEA administrative due process hearing requests 
in the country but has less than one-quarter of a percent of the U.S. 
population. During 2000-2002, DC public schools received 7,883 due 
process hearing requests, more than the entire State of California, and 
the vast majority of hearings have been for procedural and 
implementation issues, which often could be handled outside of the 
hearing process.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. I thank the Senator. The Federal Government has a 
particular interest in this issue for DC because of its constitutional 
responsibility to oversee the Nation's Capital and because it provides 
approximately twice as much in education funding, in percentage terms, 
for DC as for the country overall.
  In FY2003, we reinstated attorney fee caps, and they have been 
successful in curbing the problem. In FY03, DCPS saved $4.4 million, or 
30 percent, due to the attorneys' fees cap. Based on those savings, 
DCPS was able to create 550 new classroom seats at 50 schools during 
the 2003-2004 school year to serve children with special needs, 
including children with autism, students who are hearing or vision 
impaired, mentally retarded, learning disabled or emotionally disabled, 
and early childhood special education students. The conflicts of 
interests between attorneys and companies providing special education 
services also appear to have ended as a result of this law.
  FY04 savings from the cap can again be reinvested into capacity 
building. In the 2004-2005 school year, DCPS expects to create 450 
additional classroom seats with the savings.
  While the changes made by Senator Gregg's amendment make good sense 
for most of the country, I believe in extreme circumstances, such as in 
DC caps may be necessary. That is why I supported clarifying in the 
amendment that the measures for which I have fought so hard with the 
support of the school board president to protect DC are not intended to 
be replaced by this provision.
  Mr. GREGG. I thank the Senator from Texas for her work on this issue. 
I agree that the District of Columbia is a unique situation and 
understand it has required unusual actions to ensure the rights under 
the IDEA law are not abused.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I rise in support of the amendment offered 
by Senator Gregg on attorney's fees. I am concerned about the effect 
frivolous lawsuits are having on the ability of our schools to provide 
services to special education students. Schools with limited resources, 
particularly small or rural schools, are especially vulnerable to the 
financial impact a frivolous complaint can have on scarce resources and 
limited funds.
  I believe an important part of the debate on this amendment should 
focus on the practical impact that frivolous complaints have on the 
provision of services to students with disabilities.
  When Federal funding was originally established for services to 
students with disabilities it was meant to be used for services, not 
for legal fees. I believe that is still the case. Unfortunately, some 
frivolous lawsuits against schools are having the effect of diverting 
funds from necessary services.
  There are documented cases where schools have spent hundreds of 
thousands of dollars battling frivolous complaints that were filed 
under IDEA. As my colleague from New Hampshire has pointed out, there 
is one instance of a school spending $154,000 over a 2-year period to 
address seven complaints from the same parent. Another school spent 
$195,000 on complaints from one parent.
  In Wyoming, $154,000 is more than some school district's entire 
special education administrative budget. It is very difficult to 
imagine successfully providing services to children with disabilities 
when faced with this kind of legal obligation to defend frivolous 
lawsuits.
  The piece of the puzzle that get overlooked is that school districts 
do not have unlimited funds. If a school district spends $154,000 on 
legal fees defending a frivolous lawsuit, that is $154,000 that does 
not get spent on educational purposes.
  I do not want to leave anyone with the impression that I think all 
complaints filed under IDEA are frivolous. We are talking about a very 
small minority of complaints, probably less than 1 percent.
  Still, even though the number of frivolous complaints may not be 
significant to the big picture, but the cost to schools can be very 
significant.
  A second major point I would like to make is that frivolous 
complaints undermine the effort of Congress to ``fully fund'' IDEA.
  The issue of ``full funding'' for IDEA has received a lot of 
attention and we have been discussing it on the floor in this body as 
it relates to the underlying bill. I have never understood ``full 
funding'' to mean that the Federal Government should fully fund the 
legal fees for schools to resolve complaints under IDEA.
  The ``full funding'' of IDEA that I am familiar with is the Federal 
goal of providing 40 percent of the cost of special education services 
to students. No one that I hear speaking of full funding talks about 
lawsuits, they talk about services to children.
  Unfortunately, schools do not have the luxury of ignoring complaints, 
however frivolous they may be. They must assume that every complaint 
filed with be upheld and prepare accordingly. That diverts funds from 
other educational services.
  Once the complaint is filed, the school must find a way to pay for 
the legal services it will require, and local education funding is the 
only pool of resources available to school districts.
  This means local education will suffer when a frivolous lawsuit is 
filed, because the school will have to divert funds away from other 
priorities, even special education services, to pay for the cost of 
resolving the complaint.
  This body should not overlook the fact that frivolous lawsuits are 
diverting limited resources away from services, eroding the effect of 
increased Federal appropriations.
  This amendment would create a simple protection to defend schools 
from frivolous lawsuits and help retain Federal funds in proper streams 
to provide services for disabled students.
  Parents filing legitimate complaints would not be liable for 
attorney's fees. The standard set by this amendment is higher than the 
standard currently followed by the courts in civil rights cases.
  Some will argue that this amendment infringes on the rights of 
parents to pursue a complaint against a school district. That is not 
the case at all. This amendment simply provides a means for school 
districts to avoid the unnecessary costs of defending themselves from a 
frivolous lawsuit.
  Legitimate complaints under IDEA would not be affected. Even 
complaints that could be considered marginally frivolous would not be 
affected. Only those complaints that meet a high standard of frivolity 
would be met with approved sanctions by the courts.
  I believe this is a reasonable approach to an important issue and one 
that the Senate should be able to accept without objection.
  Mr. GREGG. I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the amendment is agreed to.
  The amendment (No. 3147) was agreed to.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

[[Page S5353]]

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Washington.


                           Amendment No. 3148

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Washington [Mrs. Murray], for herself, Mr. 
     DeWine, and Mr. Feingold, proposes an amendment numbered 
     3148.

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of 
the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise this afternoon to offer a 
bipartisan amendment with Senators DeWine and Feingold to ensure that 
our country's most vulnerable disabled students can reach their full 
potential.
  Today the Senate is discussing the IDEA, the Individuals With 
Disabilities Education Act. It is a bill that is based on the American 
principle of equal opportunity. IDEA recognizes that students have a 
civil right to a free, appropriate public education even if they have 
special needs that require additional resources. We still have a long 
way to go to meet the Federal Government's promise to fund 40 percent 
of special education, and we are working on that challenge.
  In the meantime, we need to address the unique needs facing three 
groups of disabled students, and I am honored to join with Senators 
DeWine and Feingold in offering this bipartisan amendment.
  Our amendment makes small but very important changes to IDEA to 
ensure that disabled students who are homeless or who live in foster 
homes or who have their education disrupted because of their family's 
military service get the help they need. I thank the following 
organizations for their help and support of this amendment: The 
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, 
the Military Family Education Coalition, STOMP, the Specialized 
Training of Military Parents, the National Association of Federally 
Impacted Schools, Children's Defense Fund, the National Education 
Association, the National PTA, the National Court Appointed Special 
Advocates Association, the Council for Exceptional Children, and the 
Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Education Task Force.

  The consortium represents more than 70 national disability 
organizations, including the American Occupational Authority 
Association, the ARC, United Cerebral Palsy Association, Easter Seals, 
the Higher Education Consortium for Special Education and Teacher 
Education Division, and the Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/
Hyperactivity Disorder Association.
  All of those organizations understand the challenges facing our most 
vulnerable children, and all of them support this bipartisan amendment.
  Congress has a long and proud tradition of supporting and protecting 
educational opportunities for our most vulnerable young people. It is 
what we did when we passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
in 1965. It is what we did when we created Head Start. And it is what 
we did when we started giving out Pell grants. It is time for us to 
step up once again and make the changes needed to make IDEA work for 
homeless and foster children with disabilities and children with 
disabilities in military families.
  I take just a minute to describe the special challenges facing these 
children and how our amendment will help them. Let me start with foster 
children. Today in America there are nearly 500,000 children in foster 
care. Thirty percent of them are in special education. We know foster 
children often do not function as well in school because of their 
experiences. Foster children have usually been separated from their 
biological families because of child abuse or neglect. That can leave 
both emotional and physical marks for life. Given the shortage of 
foster parents in our country, children in foster care are often 
shuttled between many different homes and schools.
  One young man shared with me his story of living in more than 100 
homes throughout his childhood. Often, every new home means enrolling 
in a new school. And every new school means starting over again and 
getting the support and services they need.
  In addition to frequent absences and transfers, foster children often 
do not have parents to advocate for their educational needs. Almost 
every parent whose child has a disability will tell you that their role 
as advocate for their child directly impacts the quality of the 
education their child receives. Without a parent to advocate for them, 
foster children can languish for years with unrecognized disabilities 
or insufficient services to help them succeed in school. These 
experiences can leave children in foster care without the education and 
support to lead functional, productive lives.
  I will share the true story of two foster children in New York City 
who need the help this amendment provides. Eric and his sister Joanna 
have been in foster care for 6 years. They have been in four different 
foster homes and each home was in a different borough. Each time they 
moved to a new home they were taken out of school in the middle of the 
school year. Frequently, they were not reenrolled in their new schools 
for weeks or months, and their records were not transferred from school 
to school.

  Both Eric and Joanna have learning disabilities. Each time they 
arrived in a new school, the teachers did not know they needed special 
education services. So over the years, Eric and Joanna missed months of 
school and have only occasionally received needed services.
  Upon their last move to a foster home in Queens, Eric's new high 
school refused to enroll him because he was 16 and he had no credits. 
The Advocates for Children assisted Eric and Joanna's case worker in 
enrolling both students in school after they had been out of school for 
3 months. Their advocates also secured records from 2 years ago that 
show that Eric had obtained 10 credits and passed a regent's exam. 
Because their records were never transferred, Eric had been placed in 
the ninth grade for the third time. Eric's current guidance counselor 
was informed at school and Eric's records are being transferred.
  Our amendment helps disabled foster children such as Eric and Joanna 
by ensuring that their records follow them from school to school 
quickly and that they have an advocate who is on their side in 
developing an education plan.
  Let me turn to another group of students our amendment will help. 
Homeless children in our country also face significant hurdles to 
succeed in school, and these hurdles are higher for homeless children 
who have disabilities. The Urban Institute estimates that 1.35 million 
children experience homelessness each year. A high proportion of 
homeless children with disabilities also need special education 
services. Yet many have trouble getting the help they need. Children 
experiencing homelessness are diagnosed with learning disabilities at 
twice the rate of other children. They suffer from emotional or 
behavioral problems that interfere with learning at almost three times 
the rate of other children. These mental and emotional difficulties 
often begin at birth as infants who are homeless have higher rates of 
low birthweight and need special care immediately after birth, four 
times as often as other children.
  Like other children and youth surviving in extreme poverty, homeless 
children and youth face appalling living conditions. Many of these 
horrific conditions directly contribute to physical, mental, and 
emotional disabilities.
  For example, students experiencing homelessness often suffer from 
poor nutrition, inadequate health care, higher rates of other health 
problems, and severe emotional stress related to conditions of extreme 
poverty and instability.
  Unfortunately, even though homeless children suffer from disabilities 
at a disproportionate rate, children who are homeless are underserved 
by special education programs. A recent study of children in homeless 
shelters in Los Angeles found that while 45 percent of the children met 
the criteria for special education evaluation, only 22 percent had ever 
received special education testing or placement.

[[Page S5354]]

  In 2000, 50 percent of States reporting data to the U.S. Department 
of Education reported that students in homeless situations had 
difficulties accessing special education programs.
  Children who experience homelessness desperately need stability in 
their lives. But they cannot stay in the same school or even the same 
district long enough for the individualized education plan to be 
developed and implemented.

  In addition, like foster children, some homeless youth have no legal 
guardian to watch out for their educational needs and to advocate for 
their special interests or their best interests. I share the story of a 
young girl in Virginia our amendment would help. She is a 13-year-old 
girl. Her mother fled domestic violence. Over the course of 2 years 
they moved to temporary living situations in several school districts. 
The girl suffered extreme trauma and was hospitalized on two occasions. 
The hospital evaluations clearly show that she qualified for special 
education, and her mother had requested special education services from 
several school districts. However, because they moved around, no school 
ever completed the evaluation process. Each successive school started 
the process from the very beginning. Even when the girl attended a 
single school for several months, the school did not complete the 
evaluation process. Instead, it chose to wait it out until the family 
moved again.
  Finally, the girl's mother found a special education attorney to take 
on her case.
  Our amendment would help students like her by ensuring that homeless 
students have continuous educational services no matter how many times 
they are forced to move.
  Finally, I turn to a third group of disabled students whose special 
circumstances are often overlooked. Children in military families often 
experience disruptions in their education because they move frequently. 
According to the Military Child Education Coalition, 13 percent of 
children in military families receive special education services or 
other special support. Further, children in military families move an 
average of every 2 to 3 years. That translates into attending six to 
nine schools from kindergarten until high school graduation. Children 
with disabilities in these highly mobile families need consistent 
services so they do not fall further behind each time they move.

  Especially in times of war, and when parents are serving our country 
on extended tours of duty, children in military families need support 
and stability in their lives and in their education.
  I would like to share some of the words I received from military 
families across the country who support my amendment. I received a 
letter from Natalie Cyphers of McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey. 
Natalie writes:

       Thank you for your consideration of military families with 
     special needs children. My husband is active duty Air Force 
     and we have a 14-year-old with mild cognitive deficiency. I 
     find one of the hardest parts of our son's education occurs 
     every time we move.
       It is difficult to implement the current IEP and often the 
     educators do not realize the importance of continuity for our 
     children.
       Any assistance in these situations would be helpful to all 
     of us.

  That is from Natalie Cyphers at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey.
  I also received a letter from Kristina Rice of Boise, ID. Kristina is 
a parent of a disabled child and a case manager for children with 
disabilities. She wrote:

       The members of highly-mobile military families who suffer 
     most educationally are children with disabilities as 
     transitions are more difficult, and levels of service vary 
     greatly from state to state.
       Evaluation processes are cumbersome, expensive and time-
     consuming, and the children being served do not have the time 
     to wait while new teachers and service providers try to re-
     create a picture of their needs and re-determine eligibility.
       Once several months have gone by without adequate services, 
     a child may regress so far that he or she can lose a whole 
     school year. [The] suggestions in this amendment are 
     practical, fair, and necessary.
       Military families already sacrifice enough to serve our 
     country. They do not need the added burden of delayed 
     services for their children.

  That is from Kristina Rice, of Boise, ID.
  These stories reflect just a few of the many disabled students who 
this amendment will help.
  So, again, specifically, our amendment will help students who change 
schools or school districts by ensuring that all students receive 
continued special education services when they transfer schools.
  Our amendment ensures that records are transferred quickly so 
students do not waste critical time.
  Our amendment increases opportunities for early evaluation and 
intervention for homeless and foster infants and toddlers with 
disabilities, and for children with disabilities in military families.
  Our amendment also ensures that these vulnerable children are 
represented on the State policy committees that decide their future.
  In addition, our amendment expands the definition of ``parent'' to 
include relatives or other caregivers who are equipped to make sound 
decisions in a child's best interest when there is no biological parent 
available to do so. Finally, our amendment improves the coordination of 
services and information so educational and social services agencies 
can work together more efficiently to help these students.
  As we reauthorize IDEA, we have an obligation to pay extra attention 
to these children and to provide the resources and support they need. 
The real test of how we treat children in America is measured in how we 
treat the most vulnerable among us. This amendment gives us a chance to 
do the right thing.
  I urge the Senate to join with more than 70 national disability, 
military family, foster, homeless, and education organizations in 
supporting the bipartisan Murray-DeWine amendment.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I thank my friend and colleague from 
Washington for her attention to this issue that can make a major 
difference to many families with special needs children, recognizing 
the increased mobility of our population, and, most particularly, the 
needs of those in the military who are moving through the school 
systems in different parts of our Nation in increasing numbers, and 
also giving special focus and attention to the too many Americans and 
American families who are homeless and have some special needs.
  So I rise in support of this amendment because it will ensure that 
the disabled children who change schools will continue to get the 
services they need.
  America is increasingly a mobile society. The demands of our economy 
and shifts in our culture mean Americans will move to new communities 
during their lives. Today, it is unlikely that a child will stay in the 
same school district or even the State, for that matter, throughout 
their school years.
  Families and schools do all they can to make the transition easier 
for children when they move from place to place, but many children 
still have a difficult adjustment to make in their new home and school. 
This is especially true for students with disabilities.
  Disabled children are extremely likely to have problems when they 
leave one school for another. Sometimes they have difficulty with 
change because of their disability, but more often it is because their 
new school does not provide them with the services they need. Because 
each State and school district does things differently, disabled 
students who move often wait months for their new school to provide 
them with special education.
  In the life of a disabled child--in the life of any child--missing a 
few days, let alone a few months, of instruction is a huge loss. Many 
disabled children actually lose skills they have already gained when 
they go without the services they need for any length of time. These 
children are already struggling in school and fall further and further 
behind.
  Imagine what it is like, then, for a disabled child with a parent 
serving in the military. Imagine what it is like for a disabled child 
who is homeless or in foster care. It is one step forward and two steps 
back every time they change schools.
  The amendment offered by the Senator from Washington will help solve 
this problem by guaranteeing that disabled students who move do not 
have to wait. It guarantees that disabled students do not go without 
special education during the time it takes for the

[[Page S5355]]

school and the parents to decide how best to meet the child's needs.
  Will this be difficult for some schools to do? Certainly. Every 
school does it differently, and the flexibility in this amendment 
recognizes this fact. There will be times that a student moves to a 
district that is not ready to provide all of the services he or she 
needs. But a disabled child's education--a disabled child's future--
should not suffer because the school needs time to get prepared.
  As the Senator from Washington has explained, this amendment also 
makes numerous changes to the IDEA that will improve special education 
for disabled children who are homeless or in foster care. Although 
children who are homeless are four times more likely to have delayed 
development than other children, they have a more difficult time 
accessing special education. These children are truly more vulnerable. 
They are the vulnerable of the vulnerable. I applaud the Senator for 
her tireless efforts on their behalf.
  This amendment will make it easier for schools to provide disabled 
homeless and foster children with the services they need, and will 
smooth the transition for all disabled children who move to new 
schools.
  Mr. President, this recognizes the reality; that is, we are in a 
mobile society. Children are moving. Families are moving. In a bill 
that is dealing with special needs children, not to recognize that 
issue would be an omission. I think the Senator has made some excellent 
recommendations.
  We still have some work to do in terms of working through this issue, 
but it does seem to me that she has identified an extremely important 
area of need, and one to which we should attend. So I thank her for 
bringing it to the attention of the Senate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, we have agreed to accept this amendment. I 
ask unanimous consent that the amendment be agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The 
amendment is agreed to.
  The amendment (No. 3148) was agreed to.
  Mr. GREGG. I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. GREGG. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                     Photos of Iraqi Prisoner Abuse

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, at 2 o'clock today, the Department of 
Defense delivered to S-407 material relating to the issue of 
mistreatment by Americans in uniform and perhaps others under contract 
against the prisoners in a prison in Iraq. Several hundred of these 
photos have been shown to a large group of Senators.
  The Department of Defense prepared a document as guidance for 
Senators as to how hopefully they will handle their knowledge of these 
photos as they relate their responsibilities to their constituents and 
others in giving their views.
  I ask unanimous consent to print in the Record a letter Senator Levin 
and I, in our capacity as chairman and ranking member of the Armed 
Services Committee, wrote to the Department of Defense with regard to 
the transmission of these documents.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                      U.S. Senate,


                                  Committee on Armed Services,

                                     Washington, DC, May 11, 2004.
     Hon. Donald H. Rumsfeld,
     Secretary of Defense,
     Pentagon, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Secretary: We request the Department of Defense 
     provide the Committee on Armed Services an opportunity to 
     review the photos and videos regarding the abuse of prisoners 
     at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Further, it is our intent to 
     extend this opportunity to all Members of the United States 
     Senate.
       These materials should be brought to the Senate for review, 
     but will remain under the control of the Defense Department. 
     At no time will the Committee, the Senate, or any Member or 
     employee thereof, take custody of, or assume responsibility 
     for, these materials. A Defense Department official will 
     return these materials to the Pentagon after the materials 
     have been reviewed by Members, subject to our subsequent 
     recall if necessary.
       Committee staff will coordinate the details of this request 
     directly with your office.
           Sincerely,
     Carl Levin,
       Ranking Member.
     John W. Warner,
       Chairman.

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I would like to read the material that was 
provided to Senators. It is entitled ``White Paper For Persons Who Have 
Viewed The Detainee Abuse Photos.''

       The Privacy Act prohibits the disclosure of ``any record 
     which is contained in a system of records'' to ``any person 
     or to another agency,'' except with ``prior written consent 
     of the individual to whom the record pertains.'' 5 U.S.C. 
     Section 552a(b). The statute applies only to records about 
     U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens (``U.S. 
     nationals'').
       The Iraqi detainee abuse photos and videos . . .

--we saw some video--

     were collected by and are maintained in the files of the 
     military criminal investigative organization in the 
     [Department of Defense]. The photos are subject to the 
     Privacy Act to the extent they disclose the identities of 
     U.S. nationals.
       Any release of the photos to persons outside the 
     [Department of Defense] (with very limited exceptions 
     concerning releases to Congress and certain Executive Branch 
     officials) would risk liability under the Privacy Act.

  That liability in this sentence is to the Department of Defense. I 
ask unanimous consent to print in the Record the pertinent sections of 
the Privacy Act.
       (b) Conditions of Disclosure.--No agency shall disclose any 
     record which is contained in a system of records by any means 
     of communication to any person, or to another agency, except 
     pursuant to a written request by, or with the prior written 
     consent of, the individual to whom the record pertains, 
     unless disclosure of the record would be--
       (9) to either House of Congress, or, to the extent of 
     matter within its jurisdiction, any committee or subcommittee 
     thereof, any joint committee of Congress or subcommittee of 
     any such joint committee;

  Mr. WARNER. There are certain exceptions as it relates to the 
Congress of the United States. Senators should read this and draw their 
own conclusions from it.

       Any description of the photos (or any particular photo) 
     that would reveal the identity of a U.S. national depicted in 
     the photos would also risk liability under the Privacy Act.
       To the extent that any description of the photos is offered 
     at all, it should be limited to generic statements about the 
     conduct depicted in the photos without any reference that 
     would tend to reveal the identity of any U.S. national 
     involved in the conduct photographed.
       The disclosure of photographs or detainees could constitute 
     a violation of the Geneva Conventions, which provide that 
     such persons shall be protected ``against insults and public 
     curiosity.''

  As I stated earlier today, speaking for myself, I believe very 
strongly these photographs should not be made public. That is not a 
decision that is up to the Senate or the Congress but to other 
authorities in the executive branch. I believe it could possibly 
endanger the men and women of the Armed Forces as they are serving 
valiantly and at great risk, not only in Iraq and Afghanistan but other 
areas of the world.
  Secondly, this Nation is founded on the rule of law. We are 
proceeding--I say we, the Department of Defense, and they are to be 
commended--carefully within the rule of law as it relates to this 
evidence and the trials which will be forthcoming of those who will be 
brought to justice by virtue of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. 
At those trials, they will be public. At those trials, such portions of 
these photos as a prosecutor deems necessary can be released and put 
into the public domain. As well, the defense counsel, likewise, through 
discovery can determine such photos that might in some way enhance the 
defense in that case. It is not as if there will be no public 
disclosure. It is the time and the circumstances under which that 
disclosure is made.
  Again, the credibility of the country is being examined in connection 
with these tragic incidents that have taken place, tragic incidents 
against a background of 99.99 percent of the men and women of the U.S. 
military performing

[[Page S5356]]

all over the world at this very minute at personal risk but in the 
cause of freedom, to protect this Nation and our allies. I firmly 
believe the guidelines are out there certainly for colleagues. I have 
given you my best counsel on this. Here are the rules prescribed by the 
Department. I think it is in the best interest that we all, in a very 
calm, collected manner, continue to address this issue.
  The Committee on Armed Services has concluded two hearings. At this 
moment the Committee on Intelligence, of which I am also a member, is 
conducting a hearing. Speaking for the Senate, and I believe the House, 
the proper oversight is being administered. The Appropriations 
Committee likewise addressed this issue in some context today. The 
Government of our Nation, the executive and the legislative branch 
together--I find total cooperation with the Department of Defense--is 
doing the best we know how to protect the interests of our Nation and 
protect the men and women of the Armed Forces and protect all others in 
this set of very tragic circumstances.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Virginia for his 
extraordinary leadership in the Senate, especially with the extremely 
difficult issues in our country today. We are very fortunate to have 
him as chairman of the Armed Services Committee.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I thank my good friend and colleague. I am 
privileged also to serve on his committee.
  Mr. GREGG. We are fortunate to have him on our committee also. That 
is an extra plus. But his leadership on issues protecting our Nation is 
second to none.


                           Amendment No. 3149

  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I send to the desk an amendment on behalf 
of Senator Santorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from New Hampshire [Mr. Gregg], for Mr. 
     Santorum, proposes an amendment numbered 3149.

  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that further 
reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

     (Purpose: To provide for a paperwork reduction demonstration)

       Amend section 609 of the Individuals with Disabilities 
     Education Act, as amended by section 101 of the bill, to read 
     as follows:

     ``SEC. 609. PAPERWORK REDUCTION.

       ``(a) Report to Congress.--The Comptroller General shall 
     conduct a review of Federal, State, and local requirements 
     relating to the education of children with disabilities to 
     determine which requirements result in excessive paperwork 
     completion burdens for teachers, related services providers, 
     and school administrators, and shall report to Congress not 
     later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the 
     Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 
     2003 regarding such review along with strategic proposals for 
     reducing the paperwork burdens on teachers.
       ``(b) Paperwork Reduction Demonstration.--
       ``(1) Pilot program.--
       ``(A) Purpose.--The purpose of this subsection is to 
     provide an opportunity for States to identify ways to reduce 
     paperwork burdens and other administrative duties that are 
     directly associated with the requirements of this Act, in 
     order to increase the time and resources available for 
     instruction and other activities aimed at improving 
     educational and functional results for children with 
     disabilities.
       ``(B) Authorization.--
       ``(i) In general.--In order to carry out the purpose of 
     this subsection, the Secretary is authorized to grant waivers 
     of statutory requirements of, or regulatory requirements 
     relating to, this part for a period of time not to exceed 4 
     years with respect to not more than 20 States based on 
     proposals submitted by States to reduce excessive paperwork 
     and noninstructional time burdens that do not assist in 
     improving educational and functional results for children 
     with disabilities.
       ``(ii) Exception.--The Secretary shall not waive any 
     statutory requirements of, or regulatory requirements 
     relating to, applicable civil rights requirements.
       ``(iii) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
     shall be construed to--

       ``(I) affect the right of a child with a disability to 
     receive a free appropriate public education under this part; 
     and
       ``(II) permit a State or local educational agency to waive 
     procedural safeguards under section 615.

       ``(C) Proposal.--
       ``(i) In general.--A State desiring to participate in the 
     program under this subsection shall submit a proposal to the 
     Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary 
     may reasonably require.
       ``(ii) Content.--The proposal shall include--

       ``(I) a list of any statutory requirements of, or 
     regulatory requirements relating to, this part that the State 
     desires the Secretary to waive or change, in whole or in 
     part; and
       ``(II) a list of any State requirements that the State 
     proposes to waive or change, in whole or in part, to carry 
     out a waiver granted to the State by the Secretary.

       ``(D) Termination of waiver.--The Secretary shall terminate 
     a State's waiver under this subsection if the Secretary 
     determines that the State--
       ``(i) has failed to make satisfactory progress in meeting 
     the indicators described in section 616; or
       ``(ii) has failed to appropriately implement its waiver.
       ``(2) Report.--Beginning 2 years after the date of 
     enactment of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
     Improvement Act of 2003, the Secretary shall include in the 
     annual report to Congress submitted pursuant to section 426 
     of the Department of Education Organization Act information 
     related to the effectiveness of waivers granted under 
     paragraph (1), including any specific recommendations for 
     broader implementation of such waivers, in--
       ``(A) reducing--
       ``(i) the paperwork burden on teachers, principals, 
     administrators, and related service providers; and
       ``(ii) noninstructional time spent by teachers in complying 
     with this part;
       ``(B) enhancing longer-term educational planning;
       ``(C) improving positive outcomes for children with 
     disabilities;
       ``(D) promoting collaboration between IEP Team members; and
       ``(E) ensuring satisfaction of family members.

  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that immediately 
following morning business on Thursday, May 13, the Senate resume 
consideration of the pending IDEA bill and there then be 30 minutes 
equally divided with respect to the pending Santorum amendment No. 
3149; provided further that there be one relevant second-degree 
amendment in order to the amendment and it be offered by Senator 
Bingaman; further, that the amendment be limited to the same time 
limitation of the first degree. I further ask unanimous consent that 
the only other amendment in order be a Gregg-Kennedy managers' 
amendment to be agreed upon by both managers.
  I further ask consent that following disposition of the above 
amendments there be an additional 20 minutes of debate equally divided 
between the two managers for closing remarks, and following that time 
the provisions of the previous order remain in effect.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cornyn). Is there objection? Without 
objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. While the distinguished Senator from New Hampshire is on 
the floor, we could finish this bill before noon if things worked out 
right. I say, through the Chair to my friend, I spoke yesterday to the 
senior Senator from New Mexico, Mr. Domenici. He is interested, as are 
a number of other Senators, in moving forward on the mental health 
parity legislation. This may be the window that we can do that, and I 
say that because what we have been waiting on is a proposed amendment 
dealing with the scope of that matter from the distinguished chairman 
of the HELP Committee. I ask my friend if he has an idea when that 
might be ready because that is all that is holding up going to our 
legislation, as I understand it.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I have tried to be very cooperative with 
the Senator from New Mexico and certainly he has tried to be 
cooperative with me. This has been an issue that has involved not only 
our body but the House and the White House. I have actually agreed that 
this language not go through our committee, which I think is a very 
generous act on our part, not

[[Page S5357]]

having it to mark up in committee and allowing it to move directly to 
the floor. Of course, before we can draft our amendment we actually 
have to see the language of the Senator from New Mexico. We have not 
seen it.
  As soon as we get his language, we will be able to probably put 
together our amendment. The understanding is we are going to move 
promptly at that time because I understand Senator Domenici wants this 
moved, and I respect him. He certainly has made a huge commitment in 
this area and I want to try to expedite it and be constructive in this 
initiative.
  Mr. REID. As with all things in life, communication is everything, 
and I think this communication has been most helpful. I will do 
everything I can to get the distinguished chairman a copy of the 
proposed amendment as soon as possible. As I said, this would be an 
opportunity to do that. As I said last night in closing, this will have 
been a good week for us. We have been able to finish the FSC bill. We 
are going to be able to finish this IDEA legislation tomorrow, and if 
we can do the mental health parity, that would be three very important 
pieces of legislation in 1 week. For us in the Senate, that says a lot.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, if we could add the confirmation of some of 
the judges who have been waiting for months, that would make this a 
good week.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I say in response to my friend, we have 
confirmed 173. I think we are in a position to do more. Although there 
are some negotiations going on dealing with recess appointments, as 
soon as that matter is resolved--and I think it can be with a matter of 
a phone call from the White House--we could move forward and set up 
votes on maybe not all the judges but a lot of them.
  Mr. GREGG. Unless there is further business, I suggest the absence of 
a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Collins). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I will speak on the underlying bill for 
15 minutes.
  I wanted to take this opportunity to come to the floor and speak for 
a minute about the important subject of education and, in particular, 
special education, which we refer to around here as IDEA. We authorize 
this very important piece of legislation every 5 or 6 years. In the 
midst of all that is going on with Iraq and with our debate over tax 
policy regarding the economy, some would not consider this the most 
important issue before us. But for our students, our families, and for 
our educators, in particular, it is a very important issue.
  I say on the eve of our commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 
Brown v. Board of Education decision, it is appropriate that we would 
spend a couple of days in the Senate and in Congress speaking about an 
issue that really does affect millions of our families. I know people 
in Louisiana are very concerned about special education.
  I commend the chairman and the ranking member for bringing us a bill 
that, in the midst of all of this rancorous debate and gridlock--some 
of it, from my perspective, deserved because there are some things that 
our side doesn't want to move forward, so we appropriately stop those 
actions. Nonetheless, in the midst of all of this, we should take some 
time to work in a bipartisan way to move the agenda of special 
education and make some very needed improvements. I also commend the 
administration and the commission that worked very hard to try to 
outline for us a focus regarding special education. Some of the 
findings of the recent study that was concluded are worth repeating. 
They were mentioned earlier on the floor.
  I want to say again how important I think the work of this commission 
was when they noted that we as a Congress, as the educational leaders, 
should focus more on student outcomes. We have been, since we created 
this provision of the law in 1975, in my mind--and I think the Chair 
shares this opinion--too much focused on the process of making sure 
that each of our special needs students and their families and schools 
were following things step by step, paper trail by paper trail, and 
taking our eyes off the outcomes. What do we want these students, who 
are called special needs students--but they are just students who need 
special attention. Every student needs special attention, and some 
students because of where they start, with challenges or disabilities, 
need extra attention. I know that is true in Louisiana.
  We have been, for these 30 years or so, too wrapped up in the process 
and not focused on the outcome. Are we, in fact, teaching children to 
read at grade level? Are we, in fact, intervening in the case of gross 
neglect or abuse to make sure that the proper outcome is that the abuse 
and neglect is stopped and children are placed in an environment that 
is more suitable to their needs, or are we focused on process, such as 
if the pink slip was turned in on time to match the yellow slip, or if 
the money was appropriately recorded. I am proud that study is moving 
up toward outcome and results.

  I also want to say that the study has been good about suggesting to 
us--and this bill outlines some of the new thoughts--that we should be 
focused on prevention. Yes, we want to identify our students who need 
special attention, but if we could put in place better teaching 
techniques, early intervention strategies that would prevent young 
children from being labeled as special education, not only would that 
be better for the student, it would be better for the parents, the 
school districts, and it would also save the taxpayers some money. 
Today, taxpayers would like to save money where and when they can.
  The third finding I thought worth noting was that we should begin to 
embrace more fully the concept that we only have one educational system 
for all of our children. We don't have, and should not have, a two-
tiered system or separate system--one for ``regular'' children and one 
for ``special needs'' children. They are all our children. They all 
need special attention. But special education, or IDEA, is to give 
added resources--we, in Louisiana, call that ``lagniappe,'' a little 
extra--to a certain group of students who might need it because of 
their physical or emotional or mental circumstance.
  Those are the three very important findings of the commission. I 
commend our leadership for helping us to focus on that. Let us not 
focus so much on the process, let us focus on the outcomes. Are we 
succeeding with these children? Let us not just continue to label 
children as the need arises, but let's focus on preventing the labeling 
at the earliest stage. Let us stop talking about two separate systems 
and realize that we are talking about one system and embrace that 
notion.
  There are four other short points I want to make regarding the 
underlying bill and, in general, they are positive comments.
  There has been great concern in Louisiana about the issue of 
discipline in our schools, and I think rightfully so. We want to 
support our teachers and our administrators. We want to empower them to 
make good choices about maintaining an atmosphere of discipline in a 
school so all children can learn.
  If 1, 2, or 3 children are disruptive--it only takes 1--but if 1 
child is disruptive in a classroom, it wrecks the opportunity for those 
other 25, 20, 18, 15--whatever the number is--children to learn, and it 
robs them of an opportunity to have a full and productive day.
  Because our laws have been perhaps not as carefully written as 
possible, maybe our regulations have been too onerous, and perhaps some 
court decisions have led us to a place where in America today--and I 
know in Louisiana because my teachers and superintendents tell me: 
Senator, we are afraid to discipline a child. We are afraid of a 
lawsuit. Or we don't know where to stand on this issue.
  As an example, as hard to believe as this is--and I am going to 
submit for the Record information to document it--we actually had an 
incident a couple years ago where two students--I know those listening 
will find this hard to believe--actually burned down a school, and 
because they were labeled

[[Page S5358]]

special education children, the actions taken against them were not 
what you and I would think would be appropriate in that they were 
basically allowed to go to a temporary school because they burned down 
the original school. People of that community did not think they could 
take appropriate action because they were prevented by some Federal law 
or regulation.
  I am happy to say, in large measure that discipline issue is 
addressed in this bill. That is why I am happy to support it. We can 
now, under this new bill, suspend or expel a child with no questions 
asked and no hearings necessary for bombs, guns, drugs, or bodily 
injury to another student or a teacher. Then for issues that are not as 
clear as bombs, guns, drugs, and bodily injury to a student or teacher, 
there is a more streamlined process that does not get everybody tied up 
in legal knots and provides discipline in the classroom, in the 
hallways, in the gym, and in other places in the school environment so 
that learning can take place. I commend this leadership.
  Perhaps we do not go as far as I would have liked on this issue. I 
know the Senator from Alabama, Mr. Sessions, and I have talked about 
even going further than this bill. But at least this is a step in the 
right direction to return discipline and empower our teachers to take 
appropriate actions.
  Let me be quick to say, we do not want any child who is suffering 
from a physical injury or disability, particularly if a child is deaf 
or visually impaired, to suffer in any inappropriate way by disciplines 
that might come. But it has gotten out of hand in the sense that our 
regulations have tied the hands of our principals, superintendents, and 
teachers. We have addressed that situation.
  On the labeling issue, we have made some progress. I am going to put 
up a chart in a few moments to show that we have a long way to go.
  One of the other issues is funding. This bill gives us a new 
authorization level. It does not give us a funding level. This is where 
I want to express some disappointment.
  We just had a vote to authorize this bill at $13.5 billion for 2002, 
$16 billion for 2003, $18.5 billion for 2004, and $20.5 billion for 
2005. But the numbers appropriated are $20 million for 2002, 11.69 for 
2003, 12.34 for 2004, and 13.3 for 2005.
  There is a difference between authorized levels and appropriated 
levels. For No Child Left Behind and IDEA, authorized levels are 
promised levels. Authorized levels are what we promise to fund; 
appropriated levels are actually what we do.
  For today, this is a serious issue, and there is a serious 
differential. If we were truly funding IDEA the way we promised when we 
initially created it and the way we continue to promise each time we 
authorize it, Louisiana, just our State, would be getting an additional 
$240 million a year.
  With 15 percent of our total population labeled as ``special 
education,'' and with one out of every four children in poverty and 
with two out of three African-American children in poverty in our 
State, this $240 million would go a long way to helping us correct the 
inequities, to close the achievement gap, and to provide a quality 
education for all of our children.
  When we add the shortfall in IDEA with the shortfall in No Child Left 
Behind, it comes to an astonishing $440 million shortfall for Louisiana 
alone. I have not calculated the shortfall for Maine. I am sure the 
Presiding Officer, because she is a leader in this issue, is familiar 
with what that number would be. For the large States, such as 
California, Florida, and Texas, it would have to be millions of dollars 
short because Louisiana, with only 4 percent of the Nation's 
population, is short $450 million.
  With $440 million, we could do a lot better job helping every child 
in Louisiana learn to read at an early age and live up to the call of 
the special education report that says an ounce of prevention is worth 
a pound of cure. If we could prevent the labeling and teach children to 
read at age 6, 7, or 8, it would go a long way to preventing the 
labeling of ``special education.''
  Let me go to this chart that will show my point. There are almost 3 
million children who are identified around the country as special 
education children. I am almost getting uncomfortable using that term 
because the more we use it, the more people get the idea that these 
children are damaged goods, that there is something wrong with these 
children. They have special needs. I think it was the Senator from 
Maryland, Ms. Mikulski, who said it so beautifully: That might be true, 
but what these children really need is special attention.
  I give my daughter special attention every night. I read to her for 
almost 30 minutes, and I try to do it every night. She needs special 
attention, and I try to provide that because she is at a critical stage 
of learning to read.
  Most of these children who are in special education, as you can see, 
the vast majority of them, have speech or language disabilities. That 
is not to say there is something wrong with their God-given, innate 
intelligence. There is nothing wrong with the way God made their brain 
or fashioned it. He actually did a magnificent job. But we have not 
done our job as they grow to be little humans teaching them speech or 
language. So they come to school underprepared. Not mentally retarded, 
not visually impaired, not deaf, not autistic, but they just have 
difficulty speaking and with language.

  Madam President, as you know, we are learning so much about the early 
brain development of children from 0 to 3. We understand how critical 
it is as parents raising our own children to look directly in the eyes 
of a child, to speak with clear diction, to actually show them how to 
speak and to talk to children, and to have a conversation with them, 
even if they are unable to speak but just hearing the language.
  So many of our children from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds and 
some children from actually wealthier backgrounds who are neglected, 
but in large measure from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds, come to 
school not hearing the language properly, not having been spoken to in 
a direct way. So they start out at a tremendous disadvantage.
  In criticism of this administration and our actions here, if we would 
put our money where our mouth is and start funding early childhood 
education, which could be done through either funding No Child Left 
Behind fully so States have choices about where to spend their money--
in large measure, they could spend it on early childhood education--or 
fully funding IDEA, we could eliminate 80 percent of the children 
because we could catch their speech or language earlier with effective 
programs.
  How do I know this? Because we are doing it in Louisiana. Our 
superintendent, even being short of Federal dollars, even after the 
years we promised to give the money and we have not, has taken the bull 
by the horns with our Governor and our board of elementary and 
secondary education and with State dollars are creating what we call 
Louisiana Four, LA Four.
  We are trying to identify every 4-year-old in our State who needs 
help, who wants help. It is voluntary. Children are not forced to go to 
school at 4 years old, but for the parents who do want to enroll their 
child in a quality education, with parental involvement, we are 
providing our own State money. Just think what we could do with $440 
million. The results are astonishing.
  Children who are taught to read at the earliest ages and given the 
basics of phonics and language avoid being labeled as special 
education. So then we could focus our attention on those children who 
really are challenged by things that, in large measure, are out of our 
control.
  The jury is still out on autism. We are not sure what causes autism. 
We do not believe, with all the studies I have read, that it is 
anything that is caused by human activity or inactivity. It seems to be 
a brain malfunctioning or a nerve malfunctioning. As I said, we are not 
clear yet on the research. Such a small percentage of the children who 
are in special education are autistic and that is an appropriate place 
for them to be, because autistic children have real special needs. It 
takes skill to educate and deal with them.
  Deafness and blindness, obviously, bring their own challenges.
  Traumatic brain injury, our children are sometimes in accidents, 
sometimes it is a birth defect, but we can hardly even see this graph 
because it is such a small percentage of children.
  If we could take care of children coming to school unprepared, which 
is

[[Page S5359]]

in our power to do, if we could take care of speech and language 
impairment, and if we would properly diagnosis mental retardation--and 
I am convinced, because I have seen studies that indicate we are not 
accurately identifying or overidentifying children who are mentally 
retarded, in other words saying they are mentally retarded but they are 
not really; we are just testing them in that way or making that 
judgment when really they have been grossly neglected and abused and 
their IQ is perfectly fine. Our testing measures are just not what they 
need to be. If we could take care of speech or language ability, which 
is in our control, we would dramatically reduce the number of children 
who would need this special intervention and therefore do a better job 
of educating them, reducing labeling, reducing the cost to the 
taxpayer, and making our children and their families much more 
satisfied. We would not be labeling them and putting that moniker on 
their back for their life.
  When children are labeled and told they are special education, most 
children receive that as there is something wrong with them. They lower 
their own expectations for themselves.
  I will conclude on a couple of points. I guess having low 
expectations from your parents is very difficult to deal with. If one 
has a notion about themselves and their parents did not go to college 
or they did not finish high school, they set low expectations. Also, 
having low expectations from one's teachers is difficult, but the most 
difficult expectation to overcome is if someone has low expectations of 
themselves. That is almost impossible to overcome.
  When we put labels on our children unnecessarily at an early age, 
thinking we are helping them but we are actually hurting them, those 
children lower their own expectations for themselves. That is very 
damaging to them and to our society.

  So let us do a better job of intervening early. The best way to do 
that is to better use the funding we have and to demand of ourselves 
full funding for special education and No Child Left Behind.
  The final point I wish to mention is this bill again focuses on 
outcomes. Leave No Child Behind also attempts to focus on outcomes. 
That is where we have to stay the course.
  There are some who are suggesting that testing is too high stakes. 
Well, I say to them that life is a pretty high stakes game and nothing 
we do is worth doing if it cannot be measured.
  All action that we undertake, in almost every aspect of our life, is 
measurable. So schools, in their outcomes, in their processes, can be 
measured. We are on the road and let us stay the course. Of course, it 
would be helpful, and I think imperative, that we fund these efforts.
  In conclusion, we have made great progress with this bill. We have 
taken some good steps in the area of stronger discipline. We are trying 
to address the discrepancy in funding, although we are still short in 
this effort. We still are overlabeling our children when early 
prevention would do so much.
  I thank the Members for allowing me to speak on behalf of the 
thousands of teachers in Louisiana and our families that are greatly 
concerned. We see some hope in this underlying legislation that we are 
moving in the right direction.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The assistant Democratic leader.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, whenever I hear the distinguished Senator 
from Louisiana speak, I think of the wonderful weekend I had in New 
Orleans. We were working with her on some projects. She wanted me to 
look at some projects that were funded in the Energy and Water 
Subcommittee that I have had the pleasure of chairing and being the 
ranking member on over the years. I have been in New Orleans on other 
occasions to be a tourist, but this was the first time I had ever gone 
there to work.
  I had wanted to see New Orleans for years. One of the things I told 
the Senator I wanted to see was these great pumps. New Orleans is below 
sea level, and to keep it dry their pumps go 24 hours a day. They are 
big pumps. I had read an article in the Smithsonian Magazine about 
these old, old pumps that had not been changed since before the turn of 
the century that still keep New Orleans dry.
  So I had the pleasure of going there and seeing something that I 
wanted to see. The place where these big old pumps were was as clean as 
a restaurant.
  We then went to a big lake where I was----
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Lake Pontchartrain.
  Mr. REID. Yes, Lake Pontchartrain, and I was so educated. For 
decades, they had been taking the shells from crustaceans out of the 
bottom of that lake and using them to pave roads around the city of New 
Orleans. They finally stopped as a matter of law, but in my mind I 
could not imagine there could be that many shells. Anyway, it was a 
wonderful trip.
  It was highlighted by my trip to Senator Landrieu's childhood home. 
We took a vehicle there. They were doing a lot of construction in the 
area. Her mother and father live in the same home that she and I think 
9 of her 10 siblings were raised. She was raised in quite a small home, 
and the famous Moon Landrieu, who had served as mayor of New Orleans 
and cabinet secretary, was there making and cooking candy.
  My payoff for going to New Orleans was I got candy from the great 
Moon Landrieu that I took home to my wife. Of course, one could see in 
the Landrieus the pride for their famous daughter. Last year she gave a 
speech that is one of the finest speeches I have ever heard. It was not 
long after that that I sent a copy of her speech on the Senate floor to 
her mom and dad. The next time I saw them, you could just see the pride 
they have telling me about the speech Senator Landrieu had given. They 
were so proud of her.
  So any time I hear her speak, I cannot take out of my mind from where 
she came and what a great contribution she makes to the Senate.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. If the Senator will yield for a moment, I thank the 
Senator for those kind remarks. The Senator is invited to come back any 
time for that famous Moon Landrieu peanut brittle. I am motivated to 
speak on the floor about this particular subject because in our 
household our parents helped to educate nine of us on a shoestring 
budget. It became such a passion of mine, as I could see how that has 
helped each of us to go forward in our lives and to see what it had 
done for my father and mother. They both came from families where only 
one grandparent had gone to college. In my father's case, neither of 
his parents even went to high school. So when I come to the floor--I 
know you graduated from that large school of yours, with eight in the 
graduating class--you can appreciate the importance of the work 
regarding education, fighting hard to make sure every family is like 
the Landrieu family or Reid family--at least having a chance for a good 
education.

  If we write good laws and policies, it happens. If we don't, it 
doesn't.
  I thank the Senator for those comments and I am happy to share my few 
thoughts about the underlying bill.
  Mr. CORZINE. Mr. President, I will take a few minutes to talk about 
an epidemic that affects not only children in my home state of New 
Jersey, but 1 in 250 children across the Nation--autism spectrum 
disorder (ASD). I have been working closely with groups such as Parents 
of Autistic Children and the New Jersey Center for Outreach and 
Community Services for the Autism Community (NJCOSAC) to address the 
staggering number of children who have been diagnosed with ASD. In 
fact, I introduced legislation, the TEACH Act, S. 1422, which 
highlights the needs of autistic children by bringing more qualified 
teachers into the classroom, helping families receive the support and 
services they need for their children, and helping ensure vocational 
programs to assist people with autism transition from school to work 
are functioning as intended.
  With autism diagnoses skyrocketing, we must continue to make every 
effort to expand the quality and accessibility of treatments for 
children with ASD. That is why I am happy to report that some 
provisions of the TEACH Act have been included in the Senate 
reauthorization of IDEA, S. 1248. S. 1248 contains provisions making 
funds available to develop and improve programs using cutting-edge 
research in order to provide in-service training to

[[Page S5360]]

schools and personnel who teach children with ASD. These funds will 
ensure quality professional development for special education teachers 
through the use of scientifically based research on the treatment of 
autism.
  With the demand for services grossly outpacing the supply of 
specially trained teachers and therapists, these provisions are 
critical to increasing the number of special education teachers 
qualified to teach children diagnosed with ASD. Expanding access to 
treatment, especially at an early age, is essential to improving the 
outcomes for children affected by ASD.
  I thank Connie Garner and the entire HELP Committee for their 
assistance in getting this important language in the bill. I look 
forward to continuing to work with my colleagues and the autism 
community to ensure that all children with ASD have access to early 
intervention by quality teachers trained in providing the most 
effective treatments.
  Mr. President, I also wish to mention a small but important part of 
this IDEA reauthorization that is crucial to parents of children with 
disabilities. I have had the privilege of working closely with Maura 
Collinsgru and the Parent Information Center of New Jersey to ensure 
the rights of parents to represent their children in due process 
hearings without an attorney. I am happy to report that S. 1248 
includes language clarifying this right so that parents can be 
effective advocates for their children.
  I would like to mention one New Jersey case in particular that 
highlights the issue of parental rights in due process hearings. In 
Collinsgru V. Palmra Board of Education, Robert and Maura Collinsgru 
were denied the right to represent their son, Francis Robert and Maura 
Collinsgru were denied the right to represent their son, Francis 
Collinsgru, during due process hearings. Far from an isolated case, the 
decision could have broad implications that could be detrimental to 
families of children with disabilities.
  As we know, parents' access to attorneys is already very limited. Not 
only are there very few attorneys willing to take IDEA cases, but there 
are even fewer who actually specialize in IDEA. Moreover, of those 
attorneys who do specialize in IDEA, most are already overloaded with 
cases. Finally, the cost of many of these attorneys is prohibitively 
expensive, especially for parents who are caring for a disabled child. 
Attorney's fees are an extra cost that they often cannot afford. With 
so few available attorneys, therefore, it is essential that parents 
have the right to stand up for their children in court when faced with 
an injustice in the system.
  I would like to take this time to thank Connie Garner for the HELP 
Committee for her help in getting this language included in the bill. 
Her efforts have made it possible for parents to retain their right to 
due process and help their children receive the services they deserve.

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