School Security Improvement Act of 1997

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``School Security Improvement Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) independent studies have shown that the safety and 
        discipline of students in public school systems are ranked as 
        the top 2 concerns of the public with respect to matters 
        relating to the administration of public school systems;
            (2) administrators of public school systems must be given 
        the resources necessary to ensure that the students and the 
        personnel of such systems are provided educational and working 
        environments that are safe and orderly; and
            (3) if the misconduct of a student who is a child with a 
        disability is not a manifestation of a disability of the 
        student, the student should be subject to the same disciplinary 
        measures that are provided in the rules or code of conduct of 
        an educational entity for a student who is a child without a 
        disability, including a disciplinary measure such as a 
        cessation of educational services.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to permit educational entities to use fair disciplinary 
        measures against all students, including children with 
        disabilities; and
            (2) to require educational entities--
                    (A) to include in the educational record of a 
                student who is a child with a disability or a student 
                who is a child without a disability a statement of 
                disciplinary measures taken against the student; and
                    (B) to transmit the statement with the educational 
                record of the student to other educational entities if 
                the student transfers from an elementary school or 
                secondary school (as the terms are defined in section 
                602(c)) to another such school.

SEC. 4. DISCIPLINE OF STUDENTS WHO ARE CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES.

    (a) Maintenance of Disciplinary Records.--Section 612 of the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1412) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:
            ``(8) The State has in effect a State law that requires 
        State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and 
        intermediate educational units--
                    ``(A) to include in the educational record of a 
                child with a disability or a child without a disability 
                a statement of any disciplinary measure taken against 
                the child that results in an out-of-school suspension 
                of more than 10 days or an expulsion from school; and
                    ``(B) in a case in which the child with a 
                disability or the child without a disability is 
                transferred from an elementary school or secondary 
                school (as the terms are defined in section 602(c), or 
                section 14101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
                Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801), whichever are applicable) 
                to another such school (in the State or in another 
                State), to transmit the statement with the educational 
                record to other educational entities involved with such 
                a transfer.
        The statement described in subparagraph (A) for a child with a 
        disability or a child without a disability may include a 
        description of any behavior engaged in by the child that 
        required a disciplinary measure, a description of the 
        disciplinary measure taken against the child, and any other 
        information that is relevant to the safety of the child and the 
        individuals involved with the child.''.
    (b) Disciplinary Measures.--
            (1) Use of disciplinary measures when the behavior of a 
        child is not a manifestation of the disability of the child.--
        Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 
        U.S.C. 1411 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 615 
        the following:

``SEC. 615A. USE OF DISCIPLINARY MEASURES WHEN THE BEHAVIOR OF A CHILD 
              IS NOT A MANIFESTATION OF THE DISABILITY OF THE CHILD.

    ``(a) In General.--A State educational agency, a local educational 
agency, or an intermediate educational unit may use a long-term 
disciplinary measure to address the behavior of a child with a 
disability that is a violation of the rules or code of conduct of such 
an educational entity, if--
            ``(1) the behavior was not a manifestation of the 
        disability of the child; and
            ``(2) the long-term disciplinary measure applies to the 
        child with a disability to the same extent the long-term 
        disciplinary measure applies to a child without a disability 
        who engages in the same behavior.
    ``(b) Provision of Educational Services.--In the case of a child 
with a disability who engages in behavior that violates the rules or 
code of conduct of an educational entity described in subsection (a), 
the child shall continue to receive educational services in accordance 
with this Act, unless--
            ``(1) the behavior of the child was not a manifestation of 
        the disability of the child; and
            ``(2) the policy of the educational entity is to cease 
        educational services to any child determined to be engaged in 
        such behavior.
    ``(c) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to 
limit the rights provided for children with disabilities under section 
615.
    ``(d) Definition.--In this section, the term `long-term 
disciplinary measure' means a disciplinary action that is carried out 
by an educational entity described in subsection (a) for a period of 
more than 10 school days.''.
            (2) Alternative Educational Placement for Threatening 
        Behavior.--Section 615(e)(3)(B)(i) of the Individuals with 
        Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1415(e)(3)(B)(i)) is 
        amended by striking ``jurisdiction of such agency,'' and 
        inserting ``jurisdiction of such agency or is determined by a 
        hearing officer to have been engaged in behavior in such school 
        that posed a threat to the safety of individuals involved with 
        the child,''.
    (c) Definitions.--Section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(c) In sections 612(8) and 615A, the term `child without a 
disability' means an individual--
            ``(1) who is enrolled in an elementary school or secondary 
        school (as the terms are defined in section 14101 of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        8801); and
            ``(2) who is not a child with a disability.''.

SEC. 5. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) when Congress enacted the Individuals with Disabilities 
        Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), Congress made a 
        commitment to provide funding for the State grant program under 
        the Act at a level of 40 percent of the national average per-
        pupil expenditure; and
            (2) since the enactment of such Act, Congress has only 
        funded the State grant program at 7 percent of the national 
        average per-pupil expenditure.
    (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that 
Congress should follow through on its original funding commitment and 
provide funding for the State grant program under the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act at the level of 40 percent of the national 
average per-pupil expenditure.

Summary: School Security Improvement Act of 1997 - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to require educational entities to include, in the educational records of students who are children with disabilities and students who are children without disabilities, documentation with regard to disciplinary measures taken against them. Permits the use of long-term disciplinary measures against students who are children with disabilities. Requires continuing provision of educational services to children with disabilities who engage in behavior that violates an educational entity's rules or code of conduct, unless such behavior is not a manifestation of their disabilities, and it is the entity's policy to cease educational services to any child engaged in such behavior. Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Congress should follow through on its original commitment and provide funding for the IDEA State grant program at the level of 40 percent of the national average per-pupil expenditure.