To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to develop and implement strategies to reduce the number of children who have, or who are at risk of developing, emotional disturbances that require the provision of special education and related services under that Act.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Reducing Special 
Education Through Prevention Act''.

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

    (a) In General.--Part D of the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:

``Subpart 3--Grants To Improve School-Based Early Intervention Services 
                for Children With Emotional Disturbances

``SEC. 691. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    ``(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            ``(1) During 2002-2001 approximately 472,932 children 
        between the ages of 6 and 21 who were receiving special 
        education and related services were identified as having 
        emotional disturbances--a 21.8 percent increase from the number 
        of such children so identified during 1990-1991. These children 
        with emotional disturbances represent 7.7 percent of the total 
        number of children with disabilities and approximately 1 
        percent of the general population of the United States.
            ``(2) It is estimated that up to 19 percent of the total 
        number of students in elementary and secondary schools in the 
        United States exhibit symptoms of emotional disturbance or 
        symptoms of other mental health conditions, but only 1 percent 
        of such students are properly identified as such and receive 
        necessary services. These students fail more classes, miss more 
        days of school, have lower grades, are more frequently retained 
        at the same grade level for more than 1 school year, drop out 
        from school more frequently, and have lower graduation rates 
        than do other students with disabilities.
            ``(3) At the Conference on Children's Mental Health in 
        September 2000, the Surgeon General stated that `[c]hildren and 
        families are suffering because of missed opportunities for 
        prevention and early identification [of children with emotional 
        disturbances], fragmented services, and low priorities for 
        resources'.
            ``(4) Goal Number 3 of the Conference on Children's Mental 
        Health Report is to improve the assessment and recognition of 
        the mental health needs of children, including through the 
        following actions:
                    ``(A) Encourage early identification of mental 
                health needs in existing preschool, childcare, 
                education, health, welfare, juvenile justice, and 
                substance abuse treatment systems.
                    ``(B) Promote cost-effective, proactive systems of 
                behavior support at the school level. These systems of 
                behavior support should emphasize universal, primary 
                prevention methods that recognize the unique 
differences of all children and youth, but should include selective 
individual student support for those students with more intense and 
long-term needs.
            ``(5) Improving outcomes for children with emotional 
        disturbances depends not only on improving the learning 
        opportunities of such children, but also on promoting effective 
        coordination among schools, families, and systems that provide 
        services for such children, such as the social services, 
        health, mental health, child welfare, and juvenile justice 
        systems. Positive results of such coordination include 
        increased retention in school, improved educational outcomes, 
        and the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development of 
        such children.
            ``(6) Increased academic performance, improved attendance, 
        increased engagement in academic activities, and fewer 
        disruptions to the learning environment are a few of the many 
        positive outcomes documented when systems that provide services 
        for children with emotional disturbances include a continuum of 
        services such as prevention, early intervention at the first 
        indication of a mental health problem or behavioral difficulty 
        of a child, and treatment of severe and chronic mental health 
        problems.
            ``(7) Surveys of school administrators indicate that 
        behavioral problems, lack of discipline, safety of students, 
        and violence in schools are among top concerns with respect to 
        public education today. Teachers spend inordinate amounts of 
        time and energy during the school day managing student 
        misbehavior and conflict--time and energy that could be spent 
        on teaching and learning.
            ``(8) Effective early intervention strategies to reduce the 
        number of children who have, or who are at risk of developing, 
        emotional disturbances currently exist. As the National Academy 
        of Sciences concluded in its 2002 report ``Minority Students in 
        Special and Gifted Education'', early intervention for children 
        at risk of behavorial problems ``has been demonstrated to be 
        considerably greater than the effectiveness of later, 
        postfailure intervention''.
    ``(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this subpart is to develop and 
implement strategies to reduce the number of children who have, or who 
are at risk of developing, emotional disturbances that require the 
provision of special education and related services under this Act.

``SEC. 692. AUTHORIZATION.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized to make grants for a 
three-year period to State educational agencies and local educational 
agencies to develop and implement effective strategies to reduce the 
number of children who have, or who are at risk of developing, 
emotional disturbances that require the provision of special education 
and related services under this Act.
    ``(b) Priority.--In making grants under subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall give priority to State educational agencies and local 
educational agencies that agree to provide additional annual reports to 
the Secretary in accordance with section 697 after completion of the 
term of the grant.

``SEC. 693. APPLICATION.

    ``(a) In General.--A State educational agency or local 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.
    ``(b) Contents.--The application shall include the following:
            ``(1) A description of a plan, developed in consultation 
        with families of children who will be eligible to participate 
        in activities carried out under this subpart, teachers, and 
        mental health and related service providers, to carry out 
        activities under the grant.
            ``(2) A description of prevention and early intervention 
        services provided to date in schools with respect to which 
        activities under a grant under this subpart are proposed to be 
        carried out.
            ``(3) A description of the outcome measures that will be 
        used to demonstrate the effectiveness of activities carried out 
        to achieve the purpose of this subpart and to comply with the 
        requirements of paragraphs (4) and (5) of section 694(b).
            ``(4) A description of the funding structure of amounts 
        received under a grant under this subpart, including a detailed 
        description for compliance with the matching requirement under 
        section 695.
            ``(5) Assurances that activities carried out under this 
        subpart will be culturally competent.
            ``(6) Assurances that amounts received under a grant under 
        this subpart will be used to supplement and not supplant 
        amounts from other sources to carry out activities consistent 
        with the purpose of this subpart.

``SEC. 694. USE OF AMOUNTS.

    ``(a) In General.--A State educational agency or local educational 
agency, as the case may be, that receives a grant under this subpart 
may use amounts received under the grant to carry out activities that 
are consistent with the purpose of this subpart, including the 
following activities:
            ``(1) Universal, primary prevention strategies at the 
        school level to reduce the number of children who have, or who 
        are at risk of developing, emotional disturbances that require 
        the provision of special education and related services under 
        this Act.
            ``(2) Early intervention services and individual support 
        for children who have, or who are at risk of developing, 
        emotional disturbances and who are not currently provided 
        services pursuant to part B of this Act.
            ``(3) Effective coordination among schools, families, and 
        systems that provide services for such children, such as the 
        social services, health, mental health, child welfare, and 
        juvenile justice systems.
            ``(4) Training of staff and professional development with 
        respect to prevention and early intervention strategies.
    ``(b) Additional Requirements.--In carrying out the activities 
described in subsection (a), the agency shall--
            ``(1) coordinate such activities with appropriate social 
        services providers, health (including mental health) providers, 
        child welfare organizations, and juvenile justice 
        organizations;
            ``(2) ensure that a sufficient number of children are 
        provided services in order to produce results that are 
        measurable and reliable under evaluations of such activities 
        conducted pursuant to section 698;
            ``(3) ensure that not more than 5 percent of the amount of 
        a grant is used for administrative expenses, including expenses 
        related to the collection of data;
            ``(4) ensure that such activities do not adversely affect 
        school attendance, dropout rates, classroom behavior, academic 
        achievement, or the general welfare of students who receive 
        special education and related services;
            ``(5) ensure that such activities do not result in 
        increased segregation of students receiving special education 
        classes from students in the general education program or 
        curriculum of the school; and
            ``(6) ensure that such activities are culturally competent 
        and are evidenced-based.

``SEC. 695. MATCHING REQUIREMENT.

    ``The Secretary may not make a grant to a State educational agency 
or local educational agency under this subpart unless the agency agrees 
that, with respect to the costs to be incurred in carrying out the 
activities for which the grant was awarded, the agency will make 
available non-Federal contributions in an amount equal to not less than 
35 percent of such costs for the first year of the grant, 50 percent of 
such costs for the second year of the grant, and 65 percent of such 
costs for the third year of the grant.

``SEC. 696. ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.

    The Secretary may reserve not more than 10 percent of the amount 
made available to carry out this subpart for a fiscal year for 
administrative expenses in carrying out this subpart, including 
expenses relating to the evaluation conducted under section 698.

``SEC. 697. REPORTS TO SECRETARY.

    ``A State educational agency or local educational agency that 
receives a grant under this subpart shall submit annually to the 
Secretary a report that contains such information as the Secretary may 
reasonably require, including a description of the collection of data 
by the agency to ensure compliance with the requirements of this 
subpart (particularly the requirements contained in paragraphs (4) and 
(5) of section 694(b)).

``SEC. 698. EVALUATIONS.

    ``The Secretary shall, directly or through grants, contracts, or 
cooperative agreements, conduct evaluations of activities established 
and carried out under grants made under this subpart.

``SEC. 699. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

    ``The Secretary shall submit annually to Congress a report that 
contains the following:
            ``(1) A summary and analysis of the data in the reports 
        submitted to the Secretary under section 697.
            ``(2) A summary of the evaluations conducted under section 
        698.

``SEC. 699A. 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 2003 through 
2007.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents of the Individuals 
with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400(b)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:

``subpart 3--grants to improve school-based early intervention services 
                for children with emotional disturbances
``Sec. 691. Findings; purpose.
``Sec. 692. Authorization.
``Sec. 693. Application.
``Sec. 694. Use of amounts.
``Sec. 695. Matching requirement.
``Sec. 696. Administrative expenses.
``Sec. 697. Reports to Secretary.
``Sec. 698. Evaluations.
``Sec. 699. Reports to Congress.
``Sec. 699A. Authorization of appropriations.

Summary: Reducing Special Education Through Prevention Act - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to establish a program of grants to improve school-based early intervention services for children with emotional disturbances. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make program grants to State or local educational agencies to develop and implement strategies to reduce the number of children who have, or who are at risk of developing, emotional disturbances that require special education and related services under IDEA. Includes among authorized activities: (1) universal, primary prevention strategies at the school level. (2) early intervention services and individual support for such children who are not currently served under IDEA, (3) coordination among schools, families, and other service provider systems, and (4) staff training and professional development.