TITLE I--AMENDMENTS TO PART A OF THE IDEA

Section 101, short title; statement of findings and purpose. Section 101 of the bill would restate, in its entirety, section 601 of the IDEA, as follows:

Section 601(a) would continue to provide that the Act's name is the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act".

A new subsection (b) would declare it to be the policy of the United States that all children with disabilities should have the opportunity to: (1) meet developmental goals and, to the maximum extent possible, those challenging standards that have been established for all children; and (2) be prepared to lead productive, independent, adult lives, to the maximum extent possible. Similar language would appear throughout the Act, as amended by other provisions of the bill.

Section 601(c) would replace current section 601(b) with a revised set of congressional findings to reflect changes that have taken place since the current findings were adopted in 1975.

Section 601(d) would restate the current purposes of the Act in a more readable manner, add language to state that one of the purposes of the Act is to prepare children with disabilities for employment and independent living, and delete a cross-reference to obsolete deadlines for States to implement the requirement to make a free appropriate public education (FAPE) available to all children with disabilities.

Section 102, definitions. Section 102 of the bill would amend section 602 of the IDEA, which defines the key terms used in the Act. In addition to amending some of the current definitions, section 102 would delete certain definitions, add new definitions, and, to make the individual definitions easier to find, rearrange them in alphabetical order and provide headings for each defined term, as follows:

Paragraph (1) of section 102 would delete the definition of "youth with a disability" in section 602(b) of the Act. The term would no longer be used in the Act, as revised by other provisions of the bill, except in the competitive grant authorities (and then only for fiscal year 1996), for which no statutory definition is needed.

Paragraph (4) would amend the definition of "children with disabilities" in section 602(a)(1) in a manner that, in conjunction with other provisions in the bill, is intended to: (1) reduce the extent to which children are evaluated, labeled, placed, and served according to which of 13 disability categories they fit into; (2) help ensure that the education of each child with a disability is based on the particular needs and skills of that child; and (3) encourage States to move toward less categorical approaches to serving children, while allowing States to keep their current eligibility criteria if they want to.

Accordingly, subparagraph (A) of the revised definition would provide that a child with a disability is a child who has a physical or mental impairment and who, by reason of that impairment, needs special education and related services. Subparagraph (B) would define "physical or mental impairment" as any of the specific impairments listed in the current definition. A new subparagraph (C) would make clear that nothing in the statutory definition of a "child with a disability" requires that children be classified by their impairment, provided that each child with an impairment listed in subparagraph (B) who, by reason of that impairment, needs special education and related services, is regarded as a child with a disability under subparagraph (A). Finally, subparagraph (D) would retain the current component of the definition that permits a State to include children aged three, four, or five who are experiencing a developmental delay in certain identified areas if, as a result, they need special education and related services.

Paragraph (5) would amend the definition of "State" in current section 602(a)(6) of the Act to omit the obsolete reference to Palau. Under the current statute, Palau has not been eligible for funds since October 1, 1994, when its Compact of Free Association took effect. The definition of "State" would also be revised to refer collectively to the outlying areas rather than to each of them by name. A definition of "outlying area" that would include each of the remaining areas would be added to section 602.

Paragraph (6) would make editorial and clarifying amendments to the definition of "local educational agency" (LEA) in current section 602(a)(8), and would add language, as subparagraph (C), to state that the term also includes an intermediate educational unit (IEU; a term also defined in section 602). This addition will make it possible to delete most of the numerous references to IEUs that accompany references to LEAs throughout the statute and clarify that, except where specifically treated differently, IEUs are to be treated as LEAs.

Paragraph (7) would replace most of the lengthy and unwieldy definition of "institution of higher education" in current section 602(a)(11) with a simple cross-reference to the definition of that term in section 1201(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) and retain the current language that includes within that term community colleges that receive funds from the Secretary of the Interior under the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of 1978. The revised definition would not exclude institutions that are covered by the current definition.

Paragraph (8) would delete the definition of "research and related purposes" in current section 602(a)(13). That term would not be used in the Act, as revised by the bill. Proposed Part E of the Act (Research to Practice) would describe in sufficient detail the types of research activities that could be carried out under that revised authority.

Paragraph (9) would revise the definition of "children with specific learning disabilities" in current section 602(a)(15) so that the defined term is "specific learning disability". A specific learning disability is one of the impairments that would be listed in the revised definition of a "child with a disability". The Secretary plans to review the definition of "specific learning disability", and may propose substantive revisions based on that review.

Paragraph (10) would delete a reference to guardians in the definition of "special education" to conform to section 602(18), as added by paragraph (21) (discussed below), which would provide that, throughout the Act, the term "parent" includes a legal guardian.

Paragraph (11) would explicitly add orientation and mobility services to the list of the developmental, corrective, and supportive services included in the definition of "related services" in current section 602(a)(17). That list is not exhaustive, and adding orientation and mobility services would simply clarify that those services are included within the definition of related services.

Paragraph (12) would conform a cross-reference in the definition of "free appropriate public education" in current section 602(a)(18) to a change made elsewhere in the bill.

Paragraph (13) would revise the definition of "individualized education program" (IEP) in current section 602(a)(20). First, the requirements relating to the process by which an IEP is developed would be moved, by section 204 of the bill, to a new section 614(d), where they would be combined with other related provisions.

Second, the requirements relating to the content of an IEP would be revised to make that document more useful and to promote a greater focus on educational results and greater inclusion of children with disabilities in the general curriculum. Among other things, an IEP would have to: (1) describe how the child's impairment affects the child's participation and progress in the general curriculum or, for preschool children, how the impairment affects the child's access to developmentally appropriate activities; (2) include a statement of measurable annual objectives related to meeting the child's unique needs (but not include the short-term instructional objectives that are now required and that are often of little value); (3) more closely link the description of services to be provided to the annual objectives; (4) include various material intended to ensure that children with disabilities are included, to the maximum extent appropriate, in State and district-wide assessments of all children, and that their parents are regularly informed of their progress toward meeting their annual objectives; and (5) starting when the child is 14, include a plan for the child's transition from secondary school that is intended to make the statement of transition services that must be included when the child is 16 more focused and useful than is currently the case.

The revised definition would continue to require that an IEP describe the child's present levels of educational performance, the services to be provided, and the frequency and duration of those services.

Paragraph (14) would update cross-references in the definition of "excess costs" (current section 602(a)(21)) to reflect amendments to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) made by Public Law 103-382, the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 (IASA).

Paragraph (15) would update a cross-reference in the definition of "native language" (current section 602(a)(22)) to reflect amendments to the Bilingual Education Act, Title VII of the ESEA, made by P.L. 103-382.

Paragraph (16) would make a technical amendment to the definition of "intermediate educational unit" (current section 602(a)(23)) to conform to the amendments to the definition of "local educational agency" made by paragraph (6).

Paragraph (17)(A) would delete current section 602(a)(24)(A), the effect of which is to make Indian tribes, certain tribally controlled schools, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the Department of the Interior eligible for some of the competitive grant programs authorized by the Act. Section 106 of the bill would achieve the same result through the more straightforward approach of including these entities in the list of those eligible to apply for the competitive programs in revised section 610(b) of the Act.

Paragraph (17)(B) would amend current section 602(a)(24)(B) of the IDEA so that it would define only the term "Indian" and not also define the terms "American Indian" and "Indian American". These other terms would not be used in the IDEA, as amended by the bill.

Paragraph (18) would delete the definition of "underrepresented" in current section 602(a)(27). As amended by other provisions of the bill, the IDEA would clearly identify the situations in which individuals included in this definition are intended beneficiaries.

Paragraph (19) would rearrange the definitions in section 602 so that they are in alphabetical order. There is no logical order in the current statute.

Paragraph (20) would provide headings for the definitions in section 602 so that particular definitions are easier to find.

Paragraph (21) would add two definitions to section 602. Section 602(17) would define the term "outlying area" to mean the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. This definition will make it easier to refer to these jurisdictions throughout the Act. Section 602(18) would provide that the term "parent" includes a legal guardian. This provision, combined with the deletion of references to guardians throughout the statute provided for elsewhere in the bill, will provide a uniform rule for the entire Act, in place of the inconsistent treatment of guardians that characterizes the current statute.

Section 103, Office of Special Education Programs. Section 103 of the bill would add a subsection (d), to authorize the Secretary to accept the work of volunteers in carrying out the Act, to section 603 of the Act, which establishes the Office of Special Education (OSEP). This authority would allow OSEP to benefit from the experience and knowledge of individuals, such as parents and researchers, who are willing to work for the Office on a short-term project without compensation.

Section 104, requirements for prescribing regulations. Section 104 of the bill would update section 608(a) of the IDEA, which requires a 90-day period for public comment on proposed regulations under Part B of the Act, to reflect the revisions to the rulemaking requirements of the General Education Provisions Act made by P.L. 103-382.

Section 105, eligibility for financial assistance. Section 105 of the bill would revise section 609 of the IDEA to conform to other amendments made to the Act by the bill. Section 609 prohibits the award of funds under the discretionary programs in Parts C through G of the Act to any public agency in a State that relates exclusively to programs, projects, and activities pertaining to children aged three through five unless the State makes available a free appropriate public education to children with disabilities in that age range.

Section 106, administrative provisions applicable to Parts C through G. Section 106 of the bill would provide a complete revision of section 610 of the IDEA, which prescribes various ground rules for carrying out Parts C through G of the Act, starting with fiscal year 1997, the same year in which the complete revisions of those parts would take effect, as follows:

Section 610(a) would state congressional findings in support of activities under section 610 and Parts D through G of the Act that provide assistance to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and institutions of higher education with a minority enrollment of at least 25 percent, and on activities that address the needs of minority children with disabilities. Those findings would set out: (1) the need for the Federal Government to be more responsive to an increasingly diverse society and to ensure an equal educational opportunity for all individuals, in light of the changing demographics of our society and schools; (2) the need for greater efforts to improve educational results for minority children with disabilities; and (3) the compelling national interest in providing assistance to HBCUs and institutions with a substantial minority enrollment to enhance equality of access and the quality of postsecondary education for all students.

Section 610(b), which is similar to current section 610(a), would require the Secretary to develop and implement a comprehensive plan for activities under Parts D through G of the Act in order to assist States and LEAs in providing educational, related, and early intervention services to children with disabilities under Parts B and H of the Act. In developing that plan, the Secretary would be required to involve individuals with disabilities; parents of children with disabilities; appropriate professionals; and representatives of State educational agencies (SEAs), LEAs, private schools, institutions of higher education, other Federal agencies, the National Council on Disabilities, and national organizations with an interest in, and expertise in, providing services to children with disabilities and their families.

Section 610(c)(1) would replace the individual statements of eligibility that are now scattered throughout the discretionary program authorities with a single comprehensive statement that, except as otherwise provided, those eligible to apply for awards under Parts D through G are: (1) institutions of higher education; (2) SEAs; (3) LEAs; (4) other public agencies; (5) private nonprofit organizations; (6) Indian tribes, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (when acting on behalf of schools operated by the Bureau for children and students on Indian reservations), and tribally controlled schools funded by the Bureau; and (7) when the Secretary finds it appropriate in light of the purposes of the particular competition, for-profit organizations.

Section 610(c)(2) would permit the Secretary to limit individual competitions to one or more categories of eligible entities listed above.

Section 610(d), relating to special populations, is based on current section 610(b) and (j). Paragraph (1) would direct the Secretary, as appropriate, in making awards under Parts D through G, to require applicants to demonstrate how they will address the needs of children with disabilities from minority backgrounds.

Section 610(d)(2)(A) would further direct the Secretary, notwithstanding any other provision of the Act and beginning with fiscal year 1996, to ensure that at least one percent of the total amount of funds appropriated for Parts D through G (and, for fiscal year 1996, for Parts C through G) is used to provide outreach and technical assistance to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and to institutions of higher education with minority enrollments of at least 25 percent, to promote their participation in activities under those parts; and to enable those HBCUs and institutions to assist others in improving educational results for children with disabilities. Paragraph (3)(B) would allow the Secretary to reserve funds appropriated under Parts D through G (and, for fiscal year 1996, under Parts C through G) to meet that requirement. These provisions are analogous to current section 610(j)(2)(C)(iii).

Section 610(e) would enable the Secretary to exercise leadership and to respond to emerging needs quickly, flexibly, and precisely by authorizing the use of various priorities in the award of discretionary funds, without requiring public comment. In particular, the Secretary could limit competitions to, or otherwise give priority to: (1) projects that address one or more age ranges, disabilities, grades in school, types of educational placements or early intervention environments, types of services, or content areas such as reading; (2) projects that address the needs of children with disabilities who are of a single gender; (3) projects that address the needs of children based on the severity of their disability; (4) projects that address the needs of low-achieving students, underserved populations, children from low-income families, children with limited English proficiency, unserved and underserved areas, or particular types of geographic areas, such as inner-city and rural areas; (5) projects in particular areas of the country, to ensure broad geographic coverage; and (6) any activity that is expressly authorized in the applicable part.

Section 610(f)(1) would direct the Secretary to require that applicants for, and recipients of, awards under Parts D through G involve individuals with disabilities and parents of individuals with disabilities in planning, implementing, and evaluating projects, and, where appropriate, determine their projects' potential for replication and widespread adoption. Paragraph (2) would permit the Secretary to require that those applicants and recipients share in the cost of projects; prepare their findings and products in formats useful for specific audiences; disseminate their findings and products; and collaborate with other recipients. These two paragraphs would replace current section 610(g).

Section 610(g), which is similar to current section 610(h), would provide for peer review of applications under Parts D through G for more than $75,000. (The current threshold is $60,000.) Separate peer-review provisions for State Improvement Plans under the new Part C would apply to that part.

Section 610(h) would allow the Secretary to use funds appropriated to carry out Parts C through G to evaluate activities carried out under those parts.

Section 610(i) would establish a maximum indirect cost rate of 25 percent for projects under Parts C through G and would permit the Secretary to set even lower maximums. This provision will help ensure that Federal funds are spent on the specific purposes for which they were appropriated and not used for general overhead.

Section 610(j)(1) would ensure that the needs of children with low-incidence disabilities continue to be met during the implementation of the new, more flexible authorities by guaranteeing that, however the Secretary implements those authorities, certain absolute dollar amounts continue to be spent in the following specified areas: (1) $12,832,000 to address the educational, related services, transitional, and early intervention needs of children with deaf-blindness; (2) $4,147,000 to address the educational, related services, transitional, and early intervention needs of children with an emotional disturbance, and to prevent children with behavioral problems from developing an emotional disturbance; (3) $10,030,000 to address the educational, related services, transitional, and early intervention needs of children with severe disabilities; and (4) $4,000,000 to address the postsecondary, vocational, technical, continuing, and adult education needs of individuals with deafness. These are the amounts appropriated for those activities for fiscal year 1995. Paragraph (2) would proportionately reduce these amounts if the total amount appropriated for any fiscal year for Parts C through G falls below $254,034,000 (the total amount appropriated for fiscal year 1995 for Parts C through G and section 618).

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