I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4928

To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to improve the

individualized education program, to increase parental participation in

the development of and improving information about the special education

program, to provide for the establishment of mediation procedures relating to services provided to children under that Act, and for other

purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 10, 1994

Mr. BALLENGER (for himself, Mr. GOODLING, Mr. FAWELL, and Mr.

BARRETT of Nebraska) introduced the following bill; which was referred

to the Committee on Education and Labor

A BILL

To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

to improve the individualized education program, to increase parental participation in the development of and

improving information about the special education program, to provide for the establishment of mediation procedures relating to services provided to children under

that Act, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘IDEA Improvement

3 Act of 1994’’.

4 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION

5 PROGRAM TO INCREASE ACHIEVEMENT OF

6 ANNUAL GOALS UNDER THE PROGRAM.

7 (a) AMENDMENTS TO DEFINITION OF INDIVIDUAL8 IZED EDUCATION PROGRAM.—Section 602(a)(20) of the

9 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C.

10 1401(a)(20)) is amended—

11 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting before the

12 comma at the end the following: ‘‘, or, where appro13 priate, a statement of the present levels of edu14 cational performance of such child in the general

15 educational program established for nondisabled

16 children’’;

17 (2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting before

18 the comma at the end the following: ‘‘, and, where

19 appropriate, a statement of the annual goals de20 signed to help the child succeed in the general edu21 cational program established for nondisabled chil22 dren’’;

23 (3) in subparagraph (E), by striking the ‘‘and’’

24 at the end;

25 (4) in subparagraph (F)—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘instructional objectives’’

2 and inserting ‘‘the annual goals described in

3 subparagraph (B)’’; and

4 (B) by striking the period at the end and

5 inserting a comma; and

6 (5) by adding at the end the following new sub7 paragraph:

8 ‘‘(G) a description of how the services des9 ignated under the previous individualized edu10 cation program of the child have been modified

11 if, according to the criteria and procedures des12 ignated in subparagraph (F), the previous an13 nual goals described in subparagraph (B) were

14 not substantially achieved.’’.

15 (b) REVISION OF INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PRO16 GRAM FOR FAILURE TO SUBSTANTIALLY ACHIEVE AN17 NUAL GOALS.—Section 614(a)(5) of such Act (20 U.S.C.

18 1414(a)(5)) is amended by adding at the end before the

19 semicolon the following: ‘‘, except that the local edu20 cational agency or intermediate educational unit shall,

21 with respect to each child with a disability who has failed

22 to substantially achieve the annual goals of the individual23 ized education program for the prior school year, revise

24 the provisions of such program for such child accordingly

25 at the beginning of the next school year’’.
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1 SEC. 3. INCREASING PARENTAL PARTICIPATION IN THE DE2 VELOPMENT OF AND IMPROVING INFORMA3 TION ABOUT THE SPECIAL EDUCATION PRO4 GRAM.

5 (a) INCREASING PARTICIPATION BY PARENTS.—Sec6 tion 615(b)(1)(A) of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu7 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1415(b)(1)(A)) is amended by in8 serting ‘‘and to participate in meetings’’ after ‘‘to examine

9 all relevant records’’.

10 (b) IMPROVING COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS.—

11 Section 615(b)(1)(C) of such Act (20 U.S.C.

12 1415(b)(1)(C)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, with clearly

13 written explanations of relevant terminology,’’ after ‘‘writ14 ten prior notice’’.

15 (c) PUBLICATION OF PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS

16 UNDER ACT.—Section 617 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1417)

17 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub18 section:

19 ‘‘(e) In carrying out the Secretary’s duties under this

20 part, the Secretary shall—

21 ‘‘(1) not later than 6 months after the date of

22 the enactment of this subsection, produce a publica23 tion that—

24 ‘‘(A) clearly describes the procedural safe25 guards available to children with disabilities
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1 and the parents or guardians of such children

2 under this part;

3 ‘‘(B) includes the steps such children and

4 parents or guardians should take to avail them5 selves of such safeguards; and

6 ‘‘(C) includes a description of the proce7 dures relating to eligibility, initial evaluation,

8 development of the individualized education pro9 gram or the individualized family services pro10 gram, and educational placement, and the re11 sponsibilities of States and local educational

12 agencies in carrying out the requirements of the

13 Act; and

14 (2) make such publication available in various

15 forms, including electronic form, to appropriate Fed16 eral and State agencies and the general public.’’.

17 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF MEDIATION PROCEDURES

18 UNDER THE SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM

19 AND THE EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES

20 PROGRAM FOR INFANTS AND TODDLERS

21 WITH DISABILITIES.

22 (a) MEDIATION UNDER PART B.—

23 (1) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section

24 613(a) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education

25 Act (20 U.S.C. 1413(a)) is amended—
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1 (A) in paragraph (14), by striking at the

2 end ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a semicolon;

3 (B) in paragraph (15), by striking the pe4 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

5 (C) by adding at the end the following new

6 paragraph:

7 ‘‘(16) provide for procedures that will allow

8 parties to disputes involving the provision of free ap9 propriate public education to children with disabil10 ities by any State educational agency, local edu11 cational agency, or intermediate educational unit

12 which receives assistance under this part to resolve

13 such disputes through mediation in accordance with

14 section 615(f).’’.

15 (2) PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARD REQUIRE16 MENT.—Section 615 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1415)

17 is amended—

18 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘sub19 section (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (f);

20 (B) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub21 section (g); and

22 (C) by inserting after subsection (e) the

23 following new subsection:

24 ‘‘(f)(1) The procedures required by this subsection

25 shall allow parties to disputes involving the provision of
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1 free appropriate public education to children with disabil2 ities by any State educational agency, local educational

3 agency, or intermediate educational unit which receives as4 sistance under this part to resolve such disputes through

5 mediation.

6 ‘‘(2) Such procedures shall meet the following re7 quirements:

8 ‘‘(A) The procedures shall ensure that the me9 diation process—

10 ‘‘(i) is voluntary and may be waived by any

11 party to the dispute at any time during such

12 process; and

13 ‘‘(ii) is not used to deny or delay access by

14 a parent or guardian to due process hearings

15 under this section.

16 ‘‘(B) The State shall maintain a list of individ17 uals experienced in mediation and knowledgeable in

18 laws and regulations relating to the provision of spe19 cial education and related services.

20 ‘‘(C) The State shall bear the cost of the medi21 ator in the mediation process.

22 ‘‘(D) Each session in the mediation process

23 shall be scheduled in a timely manner and shall be

24 held in a location that is convenient to the parties

25 to the dispute.
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1 ‘‘(E) An agreement reached by the parties to

2 the dispute in the mediation process shall be set

3 forth in a written mediation agreement.

4 ‘‘(F) Discussions that occur during the medi5 ation process shall be confidential and may not be

6 used as evidence in any subsequent due process

7 hearings, and the parties to the mediation process

8 may be required to sign a confidentiality pledge

9 prior to the commencement of such process.’’.

10 (b) REGIONAL RESOURCE CENTER REQUIREMENT.—

11 Section 621(a) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1421(a)) is amend12 ed—

13 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking at the end ‘‘,

14 and’’ and inserting a comma;

15 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at

16 the end and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and

17 (3) by adding at the end the following new

18 paragraph:

19 ‘‘(6) provide information to and training for

20 agencies, institutions, organizations, and parents re21 lating to techniques and approaches for informal dis22 pute resolution, including mediation.’’.

23 (c) PARENT TRAINING AND INFORMATION PRO24 GRAMS.—Section 631(e)(5) of such Act (20 U.S.C.

25 1431(e)(5)) is amended—
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1 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking at the end

2 ‘‘, and’’ and inserting a comma;

3 (2) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period

4 at the end and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and

5 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub6 paragraph:

7 ‘‘(G) understand the use of mediation as a

8 means of resolving disputes relating to the provision

9 of special education and related services.’’.

10 (d) MEDIATION UNDER PART H.—

11 (1) STATE APPLICATION REQUIREMENT.—Sec12 tion 678(a) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1478(a)) is

13 amended—

14 (A) in paragraph (8), by striking at the

15 end ‘‘, and’’ and inserting a comma;

16 (B) by redesignating paragraph (9) as

17 paragraph (10); and

18 (C) by inserting after paragraph (8) the

19 following new paragraph:

20 ‘‘(9) a description of the procedures that will

21 allow parties to disputes involving the provision of

22 early intervention services for infants and toddlers

23 with disabilities under this part to resolve such dis24 putes through mediation in accordance with the pro25 cedural safeguards contained in section 615(f).’’.
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1 (2) PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARD REQUIRE2 MENT.—Section 680 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1480)

3 is amended by adding at the end the following new

4 paragraph:

5 ‘‘(9) Procedures that will allow parties to dis6 putes involving the provision of early intervention

7 services for infants and toddlers with disabilities

8 under this part to resolve such disputes through me9 diation in accordance with the procedural safeguards

10 contained in section 615(f).’’.

11 SEC. 5. COORDINATION OF SERVICES UNDER THE SPECIAL

12 EDUCATION PROGRAM.

13 (a) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 612 of the Individ15 uals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C.

16 1412) is amended by adding at the end the follow17 ing:

18 ‘‘(8) The State education agency and other ap19 propriate State and local agencies have entered into

20 interagency agreements in accordance with section

21 613(a)(13).’’.

22 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made

23 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on October 1,

24 1996.
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1 (b) COORDINATION WITH EVEN START, HEAD

2 START, AND RELATED PROGRAMS.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 614(a)(1) of such

4 Act (20 U.S.C. 1414(a)(1)) is amended—

5 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘;

6 and’’ and inserting a semicolon;

7 (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the

8 semicolon and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

9 (C) by adding at the end the following new

10 subparagraph:

11 ‘‘(F) provide for coordination of such pro12 grams, where appropriate to strengthen the

13 ability of parents or guardians of children with

14 disabilities to address the needs related to such

15 disabilities, with the Even Start program au16 thorized under part B of chapter 1 of title I of

17 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

18 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 2741 et seq.), the Head

19 Start program authorized under the Head Start

20 Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), and other pro21 grams that provide family literacy services or

22 other services in which parents or guardians of

23 children with disabilities are eligible to partici24 pate;’’.
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1 (2) DEFINITION OF FAMILY LITERACY SERV2 ICES.—Section 602(a) of such Act (20 U.S.C.

3 1401(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing new paragraph:

5 ‘‘(28) The term ‘family literacy services’ has the

6 meaning given such term in section 637(4) of the

7 Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9832(4)).’’.

8 SEC. 6. REQUIREMENT OF GOOD FAITH ATTEMPT TO RE9 SOLVE CONTROVERSIES FOR REIMBURSE10 MENT OF ATTORNEY’S FEES.

11 Section 615(e)(4)(F) of the Individuals with Disabil12 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1415(e)(4)(F)) is amend13 ed—

14 (1) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘; or’’ and insert15 ing a semicolon;

16 (2) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the

17 end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

18 (3) by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(iv) the parent or guardian did not exercise

20 good faith in attempting to resolve the controversy

21 prior to filing a complaint and requesting an impar22 tial due process hearing under this section.’’.

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