05/18/04 -- The Senate passed a bill to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) May 13 by a vote of 95-3, but failed to pass an amendment on mandatory funding.
"The bill will substantially strengthen services for students with disabilities, while at the same time, protect their rights," says NSBA Executive Director Anne L. Bryant. "NSBA is particularly pleased with the improvements to due process and conflict resolution, increased program flexibility regarding the development and implementation of individualized education programs (IEPs), and the elimination of unnecessary administrative requirements," she says.
But, Bryant adds, "We are very disappointed in the failure to include the Hagel-Harkin amendment that would have ensured funding for these critical programs through a mandatory provision."
The Senate did approve an amendment sponsored by Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), which calls for Congress to increase funding for special education by $2.3 billion each year. In six years, the federal share of special education funding would reach the congressionally mandated amount of 40 percent -- but Congress still would have to appropriate the money each year.
The Senate, however, rejected by a vote of 56-41 an amendment by Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) to make IDEA funding mandatory. The measure needed a supermajority of 60 votes to pass. If that measure had passed, IDEA funding would not be subject to the annual appropriations process.
"For too long, schools have been forced to reduce services or increase local taxes to fund the unmet portion of IDEA funding promised but not provided by Congress," NSBA Associate Executive Director Michael A. Resnick wrote to members of the Senate May 7. "This means that, in addition to providing the local share of IDEA funding, local taxpayers essentially pay a federal tax on education in their local tax bills to cover the unmet federal share of IDEA."
The Senate bill (S.1248) was approved by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions last June.
The House passed an IDEA bill (H.R.1350) in April 2003.
In general, both the House and Senate bills would emphasize the goal of tying a child's IEP to academic achievement, reduce paperwork, provide more flexibility to school districts, and improve due process.
During the Senate floor debate, the Senate passed an amendment on attorneys' fees that was supported by NSBA.
The amendment, offered by Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), allows school districts to recover attorneys' fees when they are sued for frivolous or harassing purposes.
The House bill does not have a similar provision, but it would allow governors to set caps on attorneys' fees. NSBA also supports that provision.
The Senate bill retains the use of manifestation hearings to determine whether a child's behavior is the result or his or her disability. NSBA supports a provision in the House bill to eliminate manifestation hearings.
The Senate bill does allow school districts to place students in alternative settings pending appeals and manifestation determinations, but NSBA believes it does not go far enough and does not eliminate the operational problems associated with a dual discipline system.
"We believe that granting authority to local school districts regarding discipline on a case-by-case basis would enable school officials to effectively address the safety concerns for all students without taking away the rights of individual students," Resnick says.
The Senate approved an amendment by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) to cut the paperwork burden by allowing the education secretary to waive paperwork requirements for up to 20 states. The House bill has a similar provision but only covers 10 states.
The Senate also passed an amendment by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) to ensure that children with disabilities who are homeless, are wards of the state, are in military families, or who move from one district to another have immediate access to special education services.
And it passed an amendment by Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) to require the U.S. Education Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to coordinate the collection of data on the prevalence of developmental disabilities.
Following are other key provisions in the bill approved by the Senate:
• The bill would put more emphasis on student achievement results rather than procedures.
• It would require alternative assessment results to count in No Child Left Behind accountability systems and would clarify the IEP team's role in determining when a student should take an alternative assessment or a regular assessment with or without accommodations.
• The Education Department and state education departments would be given new tools to use performance data to implement, monitor, and enforce IDEA.
• States would be required to meet compliance benchmarks in the delivery of a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment; the delivery of transition services; and the overrepresentation of racial and ethnic groups.
• The bill allows alternative dispute resolution for parents and school officials to address concerns before a due process hearing and clarifies that mediation is available at any time.
• Neither party in a conflict would be allowed to raise new issues at a due process hearing.
• The bill would require that hearing officers make decisions based on whether or not the child received a free and appropriate public education and not on procedural issues alone.
• The bill encourages prompt resolution of complaints by establishing a two-year statute of limitations for filing a complaint. NSBA had urged Congress to adopt a one-year statute of limitations.
• Parents and schools would be allowed to make minor changes to a child's IEP during the school year without reconvening the IEP team.
• NSBA had led efforts to get Congress to include provisions on related services, and the bill includes provisions to require state law or a written agreement to define who should pay and for what services.
These provisions would ensure that related services are provided to students with disabilities in a timely manner and that the costs for such services would be apportioned among the school district and other public agencies.
NSBA had urged Congress to require state and local interagency agreements to identify the agencies that are financially obligated and the time frame for payment.