I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2609 

To require the establishment of a task force to identify and disseminate 

evidence-based educational strategies and promising best practices to 

improve the quality of learning for individuals with autism in grades 

K–12. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 7, 2007 

Mr. YARMUTH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To require the establishment of a task force to identify 

and disseminate evidence-based educational strategies 

and promising best practices to improve the quality of 

learning for individuals with autism in grades K–12. 

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 ‘‘Empowering Children 

5 with Autism through Education Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Autism is widely recognized as an urgent 

2 national healthcare crisis. According to the Centers 

3 for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence 

4 rate of autism is 0.75 percent, or one in every 150 

5 children born today. 

6 (2) Based on statistics from the Department of 

7 Education and other governmental agencies, autism 

8 is growing at the rate of ten to 17 percent per year. 

9 At this rate, the estimates of the prevalence of au10 tism could reach 4,000,000 Americans in the next 

11 decade. 

12 (3) While no known cure for autism exists, the 

13 general agreement is that early diagnosis followed by 

14 appropriate intervention can improve outcomes for 

15 later years for most children with autism. 

16 (4) The National Council on Disability reported 

17 that students with autism should be provided with 

18 the opportunities and encouragement necessary to 

19 achieve the same general outcomes that are viewed 

20 as essential for all students. However, the special 

21 characteristics of students with autism indicate cer22 tain outcomes that require increased emphasis. In 

23 particular, educational programs for these individ24 uals should include as objectives the development of 


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1 social competence and independence in the perform2 ance of life skills. 

3 (5) The limited access to successful evidence4 based services for children with autism is a major 

5 impediment to the implementation of quality services 

6 in public schools. Without these programs, successful 

7 interventions are not provided as part of a child’s 

8 Individualized Education Program (IEP). As a re9 sult, individuals and families who wish to access 

10 services are often only able to do so through incur11 ring significant non-reimbursable costs. 

12 (6) The Individuals with Disabilities Education 

13 Act (IDEA) guarantees a continuum of education 

14 and service options in the least restrictive environ15 ment for students with disabilities. However, meet16 ing these requirements is challenging because many 

17 regular educators do not have education or practical 

18 experience with instruction of children with autism, 

19 and even experienced special education teachers may 

20 need additional preparation to work effectively with 

21 students who have autism. 

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this Act: 

24 (1) AUTISM.—The term ‘‘autism’’ means an au25 tism spectrum disorder or a related developmental 


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1 disability that is the result of a neurological disorder 

2 affecting the normal functioning of the brain and 

3 impacting development in the areas of social inter4 action and communication skills. 

5 (2) COST-EFFECTIVENESS.—The term ‘‘cost-ef6 fectiveness’’ describes an alternative that effectively 

7 balances costs and benefits delivering maximum ben8 efits for the investment costs. 

9 (3) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘‘evidence10 based’’ means research that applies rigorous, sys11 tematic, and objective procedures to obtain valid 

12 knowledge relevant to autism instruction, and in13 cludes research that employs experimental, quasi-ex14 perimental, and qualitative research methods involv15 ing rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test 

16 the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclu17 sions drawn. 

18 (4) INTERVENTION.—The term ‘‘intervention’’ 

19 means the application of a structured, individualized 

20 approach to skill-development for children with au21 tism. 

22 (5) LEARNING MODELS.—The term ‘‘learning 

23 models’’ means any complimentary learning tech24 niques designed to improve classroom learning for 


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1 students with autism, incorporating curricula, 

2 courses, lessons, books, and workbooks. 

3 (6) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS.— 

4 The term ‘‘professional development needs’’ means 

5 job-embedded, ongoing professional development that 

6 helps teachers, administrators, and school leaders 

7 identify the potential indicators of autism, and im8 plement proven strategies to improve the quality of 

9 learning for individuals with autism. 

10 (7) PROMISING BEST PRACTICES.—The term 

11 ‘‘promising best practices’’ means any technique, 

12 method, process, activity, incentive, or reward with 

13 demonstrated success in the learning environment. 

14 (8) SERVICES.—The term ‘‘services’’ means any 

15 complementary interventions or therapies done on an 

16 individual basis or integrated into an educational 

17 program, in an effort to help increase communica18 tion skills, develop social interaction, promote pro-so19 cial behavior, increase academic achievement, and 

20 provide a sense of accomplishment. 

21 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 

22 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto 

23 Rico. 

24 (10) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘‘Task Force’’ 

25 means the Empowering Children with Autism 


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1 through Education Task Force established by the 

2 Secretary of Education under section 4(a). 

3 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 

5 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

6 Education shall establish a task force to be known as the 

7 Empowering Children with Autism through Education 

8 Task Force. 

9 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Task Force is to 

10 identify and disseminate evidence-based educational strat11 egies and promising best practices to improve the quality 

12 of learning for individuals with autism in grades K–12, 

13 including the following: 

14 (1) Learning models, interventions, and services 

15 that demonstrate improvements in reading, writing, 

16 and math proficiency for individuals with autism. 

17 (2) The cost-effectiveness of these learning 

18 models, interventions, and services, and their appli19 cability for local education agencies. 

20 (3) Professional development needs of educators 

21 who serve individuals with autism. 

22 (4) Methods for incorporating State-, local- and 

23 community-based programs and services into the 

24 classroom to provide comprehensive support for indi25 viduals with autism. 


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1 (5) Identification of barriers to successful im2 plementation of programs and services related to the 

3 education of and provision of services to children 

4 with autism and recommendations to address those 

5 barriers. 

6 (6) Dissemination of findings to Congress, all 

7 relevant agencies, and States and United States ter8 ritories to improve the quality of learning for indi9 viduals with autism. 

10 SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP OF TASK FORCE. 

11 (a) COMPOSITION.—The Task Force shall be com12 posed of not fewer than 20 members who meet quarterly, 

13 of whom— 

14 (1) four shall be appointed by the Secretary of 

15 Education; 

16 (2) four shall be appointed by the Secretary of 

17 Education from among persons recommended by the 

18 National Institutes of Health; 

19 (3) four shall be appointed by the Secretary of 

20 Education from among persons recommended by the 

21 National Council on Disability; 

22 (4) four shall be appointed by the Secretary of 

23 Education from among persons recommended by or24 ganizations that advocate for individuals with autism 

25 and their families; and 


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1 (5) four shall be appointed by the Secretary of 

2 Education from among persons recommended by 

3 State education agencies to represent school dis4 tricts. 

5 (b) EXPERTISE.—The Secretary shall ensure that the 

6 Task Force includes at minimum— 

7 (1) special education professionals with exper8 tise in autism, general education teachers, and 

9 teachers with experience developing and imple10 menting classroom learning models for students with 

11 autism; 

12 (2) healthcare providers with expertise in treat13 ing children with autism, including at least one 

14 speech language pathologist; 

15 (3) individuals with autism, families affected by 

16 autism, and members of organizations that advocate 

17 for individuals with autism and their families, whose 

18 representation on the Task Force shall not be less 

19 than one-fourth of all members; and 

20 (4) health or education economists or other in21 dividuals with expertise in cost-benefit analysis and 

22 health or education policy. 

23 SEC. 6. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

24 (a) SUBMISSION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 27 months 

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Task 

3 Force shall submit to Congress, the Secretary of 

4 Education, and the National Institutes of Health a 

5 report detailing its findings under section 4(b). 

6 (2) GUIDANCE TO STATES.—Not later than 27 

7 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

8 the Secretary of Education, in conjunction with the 

9 heads of relevant agencies, shall disseminate to the 

10 relevant departments of each State and of United 

11 States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and 

12 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 

13 the report of the Task Force under paragraph (1) 

14 with the purpose of providing practical guidance to 

15 improve the quality of learning for individuals with 

16 autism in grades K–12. 

17 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report submitted 

18 by the Task Force under subsection (a)(1) shall include— 

19 (1) measures taken to identify evidence-based 

20 learning models, interventions and services, and 

21 promising best practices, for improving the quality 

22 of learning for individuals with autism in grades K– 

23 12, including steps taken to ensure the participation 

24 of individuals with autism, their families, and their 

25 advocates; 


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1 (2) recommendations of learning models, inter2 ventions, services, and promising best practices most 

3 applicable, cost-effective, and likely to raise pro4 ficiency in reading, writing, and math for individuals 

5 with autism in grades K–12; 

6 (3) assessment of existing professional develop7 ment programs for educators who work with stu8 dents with autism, and recommendations for expand9 ing professional development programs to meet the 

10 growing need for qualified educators specializing in 

11 classroom instruction for individuals with autism in 

12 grades K–12, including— 

13 (A) institutional limitations; 

14 (B) considerations of existing continuing 

15 education or professional development require16 ments; 

17 (C) considerations of costs to educators as18 sociated with professional development; and 

19 (D) quantitative analysis of resources 

20 needed for the establishment of State autism 

21 plans, provisions for professional development, 

22 and the integration of community services; and 

23 (4) overview of the States’ and local school dis24 tricts’ capacity to overcome barriers to successful de25 velopment, enhancement and implementation of proVerDate Aug 31 2005 19:46 Jun 09, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2609.IH H2609

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1 grams and services for improving the quality of edu2 cation for individuals with autism in grades K–12, 

3 including— 

4 (A) school-, district-, and State-wide insti5 tutional limitations; 

6 (B) categorical comparisons between re7 gions, urban and rural areas, socio-economic 

8 groups, and ethnic groups; and 

9 (C) quantitative analysis of resources need10 ed for the establishment of district-wide autism 

11 plans, the purchase of new learning materials, 

12 increased performance on State assessments, 

13 improved graduation rates, and the implementa14 tion of learning models, interventions, services, 

15 and promising best practices most likely to 

16 raise proficiency in reading, writing, and math 

17 for individuals with autism in grades K–12. 

Æ 


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