I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1700

To provide assistance to train teachers of children with autism spectrum 

disorders, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 9, 2003

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. WELDON of Florida, 

Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. PICKERING, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. LATOURETTE, 

Mr. WYNN, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. FROST, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. 

ROTHMAN, Mr. ISRAEL, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin, Mr. CANTOR, and Ms. 

CARSON of Indiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL

To provide assistance to train teachers of children with 

autism spectrum disorders, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Teacher Education for 

5 Autistic Children Act of 2003’’ or the ‘‘TEACH Act of 

6 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. TRAINING OF SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS 

2 WITH EXPERTISE IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DIS3 ORDERS. 

4 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi5 tion to such sums as are otherwise authorized to be appro6 priated for ‘‘Special Education–Personnel Preparation to 

7 Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabil8 ities’’, there are authorized to be appropriated for ‘‘Special 

9 Education–Personnel Preparation to Improve Services and 

10 Results for Children with Disabilities’’, for each of the fis11 cal year 2004 through 2008, $15,000,000—

12 (1) to provide technical assistance grants to de13 velop standards for training teachers with respect to 

14 the provision of education for children with autism 

15 spectrum disorders (ASD) and to integrate such 

16 standards into the existing training infrastructure; 

17 (2) to train special education teachers with an 

18 expertise in autism spectrum disorders; and 

19 (3) to provide preservice or professional devel20 opment training of personnel to be special education 

21 teachers, aides of such teachers or other paraprofes22 sionals providing teaching assistance, special edu23 cation administrators, or staff specialists (such as 

24 speech-language pathologists and school psycholo25 gists) with an expertise in autism spectrum dis26 orders. 
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1 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pursuant 

2 to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (a) 

3 are authorized to remain available until expended. 

4 SEC. 3. IMPROVING RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM 

5 SPECTRUM DISORDERS. 

6 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi7 tion to such sums as are otherwise authorized to be appro8 priated to carry out subpart 1 of part D of the Individuals 

9 with Disabilities Education Act, there are authorized to 

10 be appropriated for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 

11 2008 $5,000,000 for competitive grants under subpart 1 

12 of part D of such Act to assist State educational agencies, 

13 in cooperation with other appropriate entities, to improve 

14 results for children with autism spectrum disorders 

15 (ASD). 

16 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pursuant 

17 to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (a) 

18 are authorized to remain available until expended. 

19 SEC. 4. EXPANDED LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM FOR 

20 TEACHERS OF AUTISTIC CHILDREN. 

21 (a) PROGRAM.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education 

23 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 

24 carry out a program of assuming the obligation to 

25 repay, pursuant to subsection (c), a loan made, in-
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1 sured, or guaranteed under part B of title IV of the 

2 Higher Education Act of 1965 or part D of such 

3 title (excluding loans made under sections 428B and 

4 428C of such Act or comparable loans made under 

5 part D of such title) for any borrower who—

6 (A) is employed, for 3 consecutive complete 

7 school years, as a full-time special education 

8 teacher of autistic children; 

9 (C) satisfies the requirements of subsection 

10 (d); and 

11 (D) is not in default on a loan for which 

12 the borrower seeks forgiveness. 

13 (2) AWARD BASIS; PRIORITY.—

14 (A) AWARD BASIS.—Subject to subpara15 graph (B), loan repayment under this section 

16 shall be on a first-come, first-serve basis and 

17 subject to the availability of appropriations. 

18 (B) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give 

19 priority in providing loan repayment under this 

20 section for a fiscal year to student borrowers 

21 who received loan repayment under this section 

22 for the preceding fiscal year. 

23 (3) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary is author24 ized to prescribe such regulations as may be nec25 essary to carry out the provisions of this section.
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1 (b) LOAN REPAYMENT.—

2 (1) ELIGIBLE AMOUNT.—The amount the Sec3 retary may repay on behalf of any individual under 

4 this section shall not exceed—

5 (A) the sum of the principal amounts out6 standing (not to exceed $5,000) of the individ7 ual’s qualifying loans at the end of 3 consecu8 tive complete school years of service described 

9 in subsection (a)(1)(B); 

10 (B) an additional portion of such sum (not 

11 to exceed $5,000) at the end of each of the next

12 2 consecutive complete school years of such 

13 service; and 

14 (C) a total of not more than $20,000. 

15 (2) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section 

16 shall be construed to authorize the refunding of any 

17 repayment of a loan made under part B or D of title 

18 IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. 

19 (3) INTEREST.—If a portion of a loan is repaid 

20 by the Secretary under this section for any year, the 

21 proportionate amount of interest on such loan which 

22 accrues for such year shall be repaid by the Sec23 retary. 

24 (c) REPAYMENT TO ELIGIBLE LENDERS.—The Sec25 retary shall pay to each eligible lender or holder for each 
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1 fiscal year an amount equal to the aggregate amount of 

2 loans which are subject to repayment pursuant to this sec3 tion for such year. 

4 (d) APPLICATION FOR REPAYMENT.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible individual de6 siring loan repayment under this section shall sub7 mit a complete and accurate application to the Sec8 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

9 such information as the Secretary may require. 

10 (2) YEARS OF SERVICE.—An eligible individual 

11 may apply for loan repayment under this section 

12 after completing the required number of years of 

13 qualifying employment. 

14 (3) FULLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS IN PUBLIC

15 ELEMENTARY OR SECONDARY SCHOOLS.—An appli16 cation for loan repayment under this section shall 

17 include such information as is necessary to dem18 onstrate that the applicant—

19 (A) if teaching in a public pre-kinder20 garten, kindergarten, elementary, middle, or 

21 secondary school (other than as a teacher in a 

22 public charter school), has obtained State cer23 tification as a teacher (including certification 

24 obtained through alternative routes to certifi25 cation) or passed the State teacher licensing 
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1 exam and holds a license to teach in such State; 

2 and 

3 (B) if teaching in—

4 (i) a public pre-kindergarten, kinder5 garten, or elementary school, holds a bach6 elor’s degree and demonstrates knowledge 

7 and skills for teaching children with autism 

8 spectrum disorders; or 

9 (ii) a public middle or secondary 

10 school, holds a bachelor’s degree and dem11 onstrates a high level of competency for 

12 teaching children with autism spectrum 

13 disorders, through—

14 (I) a high level of performance on 

15 a rigorous State or local academic 

16 subject areas test; or 

17 (II) completion of an academic 

18 major specializing in autism or severe 

19 disabilities with a concentration in au20 tism spectrum disorders. 

21 (4) TEACHERS IN NONPROFIT PRIVATE ELE22 MENTARY OR SECONDARY SCHOOLS OR CHARTER

23 SCHOOLS.—In the case of an applicant who is teach24 ing in a nonprofit private pre-kindergarten, kinder25 garten, elementary, or secondary school, or in a pub-
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1 lic charter school, an application for loan repayment 

2 under this section shall include such information as 

3 is necessary to demonstrate that the applicant has 

4 knowledge and skills for teaching children with au5 tism spectrum disorders, as certified by the chief ad6 ministrative officer of the school. 

7 (e) TREATMENT OF CONSOLIDATION LOANS.—A loan 

8 amount for a consolidation loan made under section 428C 

9 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, or a Federal Direct 

10 Consolidation Loan made under part D of title IV of such 

11 Act, may be a qualified loan amount for the purpose of 

12 this section only to the extent that such loan amount was 

13 used by a borrower who otherwise meets the requirements 

14 of this section to repay—

15 (1) a loan made under section 428 or 428H of 

16 such Act; or 

17 (2) a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, or a Fed18 eral Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, made under 

19 part D of title IV of such Act. 

20 (f) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS.—

21 (1) PREVENTION OF DOUBLE BENEFITS.—No 

22 borrower may, for the same service, receive a benefit 

23 under both this section and subtitle D of title I of 

24 the National and Community Service Act of 1990 

25 (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.). 
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1 (2) DEFINITION OF TEACHER OF AUTISTIC

2 CHILDREN.—The term ‘‘teacher of autistic children’’ 

3 means an individual who provides instruction to chil4 dren who have been diagnosed by a physician or a 

5 psychologist as having an autism spectrum disorder. 

6 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

8 such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 

9 2004 through 2008. 

10 SEC. 5. REPORT ON AUTISM EARLY INTERVENTION ACTIVI11 TIES. 

12 (a) REPORT.—Section 613 of the Individuals with 

13 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1413) is amended 

14 by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(k) REPORT ON AUTISM EARLY INTERVENTION AC16 TIVITIES.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency 

18 that receives assistance under this part for a fiscal 

19 year shall prepare and submit to the Secretary a re20 port that contains a description of the activities re21 ferred to in paragraph (2) carried out in the pre22 ceding fiscal year. 

23 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION.—The activities referred to 

24 in this paragraph are the following:
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1 ‘‘(A) Activities carried out by the agency to 

2 ensure that students who exhibit symptoms of 

3 autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are referred 

4 to appropriate experts for diagnosis. 

5 ‘‘(B) Appropriate training provided by the 

6 agency, or on behalf of the agency, of personnel 

7 of the agency and schools of the agency to carry 

8 out the activities described in subparagraph 

9 (A). 

10 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

11 ‘autism spectrum disorders’ has the meaning given 

12 the term in section 9 of the Teacher Education for 

13 Autistic Children Act of 2003.’’. 

14 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of 

15 Education shall provide technical assistance to local edu16 cational agencies that receive assistance under part B of 

17 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to assist 

18 such agencies comply with the reporting requirement 

19 under section 613(k) of such Act (as added by subsection 

20 (a)). 

21 SEC. 6. TASK FORCE ON AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Education, 

23 acting through the Assistant Secretary for Special Edu24 cation and Rehabilitative Services, shall establish and pro25 vide administrative support for a Task Force on Autism 
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1 Spectrum Disorders (ASD) (in this section referred to as 

2 the ‘‘Task Force’’). 

3 (b) DUTIES.—The Task Force shall—

4 (1) conduct a review of minimum standards re5 lating to the provision of special education for chil6 dren with autism spectrum disorders and provide 

7 recommendations to improve or otherwise strengthen 

8 such standards; 

9 (2) conduct a review of the effectiveness of ex10 isting educational models used with respect to the 

11 provision of special education for children with au12 tism spectrum disorders; and 

13 (3) conduct an evaluation of programs carried 

14 out by State and local educational agencies to train 

15 teachers with respect to the provision of special edu16 cation for children with autism spectrum disorders 

17 and provide recommendations to improve and ex18 pand such programs. 

19 (c) COMPOSITION.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education, 

21 acting through the Assistant Secretary for Special 

22 Education and Rehabilitative Services and in con23 sultation with the Director of the National Research 

24 Council (or the Director’s designee), shall appoint 

25 members of the Task Force as follows: 
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1 (A) Not less than two members shall be 

2 representatives from national autism organiza3 tions. 

4 (B) Not less than one member shall be an 

5 individual with an autism spectrum disorder or 

6 a parent (or legal guardian) of such an indi7 vidual. 

8 (C) Not less than two members shall be 

9 teachers with experience in working with chil10 dren with autism. 

11 (D) Not less than two members shall be 

12 appropriate officers or employees of the Depart13 ment of Education. 

14 (E) Not less than two members shall be 

15 appropriate officers or employees of the Depart16 ment of Health and Human Services (to be ap17 pointed in consultation with the Secretary of 

18 Health and Human Services). 

19 (2) COMPENSATION.—

20 (A) RATES OF PAY.—Except as provided 

21 in subparagraph (B), members of the Task 

22 Force shall be paid at the maximum rate of 

23 basic pay for GS–14 of the General Schedule 

24 for each day during which they are engaged in
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1 the actual performance of duties of the Task 

2 Force. 

3 (B) PROHIBITION OF COMPENSATION OF

4 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Members of the Task 

5 Force who are full-time officers or employees of 

6 the United States may not receive additional 

7 pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of their 

8 service on the Task Force. 

9 (C) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of 

10 the Task Force shall receive travel expenses, in11 cluding per diem in lieu of subsistence, in ac12 cordance with applicable provisions under sub13 chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 

14 Code. 

15 (d) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

16 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 

17 each of the subsequent four calendar years, the Task 

18 Force shall prepare and submit to the Secretary of Edu19 cation a report that contains the results of the reviews 

20 and evaluations conducted pursuant to subsection (b) and 

21 a description of the recommendations proposed pursuant 

22 to such subsection. 

23 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

2 appropriated to carry out this section $500,000 for 

3 fiscal years 2004 through 2008. 

4 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pur5 suant to the authorization of appropriations under 

6 paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available 

7 until expended. 

8 SEC. 7. STUDY AND REPORT ON FEDERAL VOCATIONAL 

9 TRAINING PROGRAMS. 

10 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Education, in conjunc11 tion with the Secretary of Labor (hereinafter in this sec12 tion referred to as the ‘‘Secretaries’’), shall conduct a 

13 study on the effectiveness of Federal vocational training 

14 programs in providing appropriate assistance to individ15 uals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) 

16 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall 

18 submit to Congress a report that contains the following: 

19 (1) The results of the study conducted under 

20 subsection (a). 

21 (2) Administrative and legislative recommenda22 tions to improve the effectiveness of Federal voca23 tional training programs in providing appropriate as24 sistance to individuals with autism spectrum dis25 orders. 
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1 (3) Recommendations on appropriate data that 

2 should be collected, maintained, and disseminated in 

3 order to better monitor the effectiveness of each vo4 cational training program that serves individuals 

5 with autism spectrum disorders. 

6 SEC. 8. STATE AUTISM OMBUDSMAN OFFICES. 

7 (a) GRANTS TO STATES.—Of the amount appro8 priated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations 

9 under subsection (d) for a fiscal year, the Secretary of 

10 Education shall provide grants to each State that meets 

11 the requirements of subsection (b) for the purpose of car12 rying out this section. 

13 (b) STATE REQUIREMENTS.—A State meets the re14 quirements of this subsection if it establishes and operates 

15 (including through the use of funds provided under a 

16 grant under subsection (a)) at least one State autism om17 budsman office in accordance with this section. The office 

18 shall be headed by an individual who shall be selected from 

19 among individuals who are members of, or approved by, 

20 national, non-profit organizations, including their State 

21 and local affiliate organizations, dedicated to addressing, 

22 by whatever means, the needs of individuals with autism 

23 spectrum disorders or their families or legal guardians. 

24 (c) DUTIES OF OFFICE.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State autism ombudsman 

2 office established in accordance with subsection (b) 

3 shall serve individuals with autism spectrum dis4 orders and their families or guardians as a resource 

5 to assist with legal, educational, and family support 

6 systems issues, including by advising families or 

7 guardians on the process of the individualized edu8 cation program, interpreting school communications 

9 regarding a child who exhibits autistic behavior, pro10 posing alternatives to those proposed by the IEP 

11 team, and otherwise mediating between families or 

12 guardians of a child with an autism spectrum dis13 order and officials of local or State public school sys14 tems, agencies, or boards. 

15 (2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

16 ‘‘individualized education program’’ or ‘‘IEP’’ means 

17 a written statement for a child with a disability that 

18 is developed, reviewed, and revised in accordance 

19 with section 614(d) of the Individuals with Disabil20 ities Education Act. 

21 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—A State autism ombudsman 

22 office established in accordance with subsection (b) shall—

23 (1) coordinate with the State developmental dis24 abilities council, university-affiliated programs, re-
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1 gional resource centers, and other appropriate State 

2 entities; and 

3 (2) operate independently of the State edu4 cational agency and local educational agencies within 

5 the State. 

6 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

8 $8,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 

9 2008. 

10 SEC. 9. DEFINITION. 

11 In this Act, the term ‘‘autism spectrum disorder’’ has 

12 the meaning given the term by the Diagnostic and Statis13 tical Manual of Mental Disorders–Fourth Edition (DSM–

14 IV).

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