II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 541 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow 

State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and schools to 

increase implementation of schoolwide positive behavioral interventions 

and supports and early intervening services in order to improve student 

academic achievement, reduce overidentification of individuals with disabilities, and reduce disciplinary problems in schools, and to improve 

coordination with similar activities and services provided under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 10, 2011 

Mr. BENNET (for himself, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. FRANKEN, and Mr. BURR) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 to allow State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and schools to increase implementation 

of schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports and early intervening services in order to improve 

student academic achievement, reduce overidentification 

of individuals with disabilities, and reduce disciplinary 

problems in schools, and to improve coordination with 

similar activities and services provided under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 541 IS

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 ‘‘Achievement Through 

5 Prevention Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to expand the use of posi8 tive behavioral interventions and supports and early inter9 vening services in schools in order to improve student aca10 demic achievement, reduce overidentification of individuals 

11 with disabilities, and reduce disciplinary problems in 

12 schools. 

13 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE ELEMENTARY AND SEC14 ONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965. 

15 (a) TITLE I STATE PLANS.—Section 1111(b) of the 

16 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

17 U.S.C. 6311(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(11) POSITIVE BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS

20 AND SUPPORTS.—In the case of a State that pro21 poses to use funds under this part to support posi22 tive behavioral interventions and supports, the State 

23 plan shall describe how the State educational agency 

24 will— 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 541 IS

1 ‘‘(A) assist local educational agencies in 

2 implementing positive behavioral interventions 

3 and supports in schools served by the local edu4 cational agency on a whole-school basis; 

5 ‘‘(B) provide technical assistance and 

6 training to local educational agencies to im7 prove and support the development, implemen8 tation, and coordination of comprehensive posi9 tive behavioral interventions and supports car10 ried out under this Act with similar activities 

11 carried out under the Individuals with Disabil12 ities Education Act; and 

13 ‘‘(C) evaluate the effects of providing posi14 tive behavioral interventions and supports. 

15 ‘‘(12) EARLY INTERVENING SERVICES.—In the 

16 case of a State that proposes to use funds under this 

17 part to support early intervening services, the State 

18 plan shall describe how the State educational agency 

19 will— 

20 ‘‘(A) assist local educational agencies in 

21 implementing early intervening services in 

22 schools served by the local educational agency 

23 to reduce the need to label children as disabled 

24 in order to address the learning and behavioral 

25 needs of such children; 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 541 IS

1 ‘‘(B) provide technical assistance and 

2 training to local educational agencies to im3 prove coordination of early intervening services 

4 provided under this Act with similar early inter5 vening services carried out under the Individ6 uals with Disabilities Education Act; and 

7 ‘‘(C) evaluate the effects of providing early 

8 intervening services.’’. 

9 (b) TITLE I STATE REPORTS.—Section 

10 1111(h)(1)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu11 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(h)(1)(C)) is amend12 ed— 

13 (1) in clause (vii), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

14 semicolon; 

15 (2) in clause (viii), by striking the period and 

16 inserting a semicolon; and 

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

18 ‘‘(ix) the number of local educational 

19 agencies in the State that implement posi20 tive behavioral interventions and supports; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(x) the number of students— 

23 ‘‘(I) who are served through the 

24 use of early intervening services; and 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 541 IS

1 ‘‘(II) who in the preceding 2-year 

2 period, received early intervening serv3 ices and who, after receiving such 

4 services, have been identified as eligi5 ble for, and receive, special education 

6 and related services under part B of 

7 the Individuals with Disabilities Edu8 cation Act.’’. 

9 (c) TITLE I LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY PLANS.— 

10 Section 1112(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary 

11 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6312(b)(1)) is amend12 ed— 

13 (1) in subparagraph (P), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

14 after the semicolon; 

15 (2) in subparagraph (Q), by striking the period 

16 and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

18 ‘‘(R) if the local educational agency pro19 poses to use subgrant funds under this part for 

20 positive behavioral interventions and supports, a 

21 description of the actions the local educational 

22 agency will take to provide positive behavioral 

23 interventions and supports and coordinate those 

24 activities with similar activities carried out 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 541 IS

1 under the Individuals with Disabilities Edu2 cation Act; and 

3 ‘‘(S) if the local educational agency pro4 poses to use subgrant funds under this part for 

5 early intervening services, a description of the 

6 actions the local educational agency will take to 

7 provide early intervening services and coordi8 nate those services with similar early inter9 vening services carried out under the Individ10 uals with Disabilities Education Act.’’. 

11 (d) TITLE I SCHOOLWIDE PROGRAMS.— 

12 (1) SCHOOLWIDE PROGRAMS.—Section 

13 1114(b)(1)(B)(iii)(I) of the Elementary and Sec14 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

15 6314(b)(1)(B)(iii)(I)) is amended— 

16 (A) by redesignating items (bb) and (cc) as 

17 items (dd) and (ee), respectively; and 

18 (B) by inserting after item (aa) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(bb) implementation of 

21 schoolwide positive behavioral inter22 ventions and supports, including 

23 through coordination with similar ac24 tivities carried out under the Individ25 uals with Disabilities Education Act, 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 541 IS

1 in order to improve academic out2 comes for students and reduce the 

3 need for suspensions, expulsions, re4 ferrals to law enforcement, and other 

5 actions that remove students from in6 struction; 

7 ‘‘(cc) implementation of early in8 tervening services, including through 

9 coordination with similar early inter10 vening services carried out under the 

11 Individuals with Disabilities Edu12 cation Act;’’. 

13 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 

14 1116(b)(4)(B) of the Elementary and Secondary 

15 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(4)(B)) is 

16 amended— 

17 (A) by redesignating clauses (iii) and (iv) 

18 as clauses (iv) and (v), respectively; and 

19 (B) by inserting after clause (ii) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(iii) shall include assistance in the 

22 implementation of schoolwide positive be23 havior supports and other approaches with 

24 evidence of effectiveness for improving the 

25 learning environment in the school and reVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:36 Mar 10, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S541.IS S541

rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 541 IS

1 ducing the need for suspensions, expul2 sions, and other actions that remove stu3 dents from instruction, including effective 

4 strategies for improving coordination of 

5 community resources;’’. 

6 (e) TITLE I ASSESSMENTS AND SCHOOL IMPROVE7 MENT.— 

8 (1) SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN.—Section 

9 1116(b)(3)(A) of the Elementary and Secondary 

10 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(3)(A)) is 

11 amended— 

12 (A) in clause (ix), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

13 the semicolon; 

14 (B) in clause (x), by striking the period 

15 and inserting a semicolon; and 

16 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(xi) specify whether the local edu18 cational agency or the school will adopt 

19 and implement policies or practices to im20 plement or improve positive behavioral 

21 interventions and supports and enhance co22 ordination with similar activities carried 

23 out under the Individuals with Disabilities 

24 Education Act; and 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 541 IS

1 ‘‘(xii) specify whether the local edu2 cational agency or the school will adopt 

3 and implement policies or practices to im4 plement or improve early intervening serv5 ices and coordinate with similar early in6 tervening services carried out under the In7 dividuals with Disabilities Education Act.’’. 

8 (2) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY IMPROVE9 MENT PLANS.—Section 1116(c)(10)(C) of the Ele10 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

11 U.S.C. 6316(c)(10)(C)) is amended by adding at the 

12 end the following: 

13 ‘‘(vii) Improving or expanding positive 

14 behavioral interventions and supports and 

15 enhancing coordination with similar activi16 ties under the Individuals with Disabilities 

17 Education Act. 

18 ‘‘(viii) Improving or expanding early 

19 intervening services and coordinating such 

20 services with similar early intervening serv21 ices carried out under the Individuals with 

22 Disabilities Education Act.’’. 

23 (f) TITLE I SCHOOL SUPPORT AND RECOGNITION.— 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 541 IS

1 (1) REGIONAL CENTERS.—Section 1117(a)(3) 

2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

3 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6317(a)(3)) is amended— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘of 2002 and comprehen5 sive’’ and inserting ‘‘of 2002, comprehensive’’; 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘and the comprehensive’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘, the comprehensive’’; and 

8 (C) by inserting ‘‘and any technical assist9 ance center on schoolwide positive behavioral 

10 interventions and supports funded under section 

11 665(b) of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu12 cation Act,’’ after ‘‘2002),’’. 

13 (2) STATEWIDE SYSTEMS FOR SUPPORT.—Sec14 tion 1117(a)(5)(B) of the Elementary and Sec15 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

16 6317(a)(5)(B)) is amended— 

17 (A) in clause (i), by striking the semicolon 

18 at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, in19 cluding by improving or expanding the use of 

20 positive behavioral interventions and supports 

21 aligned with similar activities carried out under 

22 the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

23 Act;’’; 

24 (B) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

25 the semicolon; 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 541 IS

1 (C) in clause (iv), by striking the period 

2 and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

4 ‘‘(v) review and analyze the school’s 

5 efforts to identify and assist students with 

6 poor academic achievement and students 

7 with disabilities, and assist the school in 

8 developing or improving early intervening 

9 services that are coordinated with similar 

10 activities carried out under the Individuals 

11 with Disabilities Education Act; 

12 ‘‘(vi) review and analyze the school’s 

13 efforts to address behavioral or disciplinary 

14 problems, and assist the school in devel15 oping or improving schoolwide positive be16 havioral interventions and supports that 

17 are coordinated with similar activities car18 ried out under the Individuals with Dis19 abilities Education Act; and 

20 ‘‘(vii) review the number of discipline 

21 incidents in the school and use that infor22 mation to assist the school to implement 

23 schoolwide positive behavioral interventions 

24 and supports or other early intervening 

25 services, or both.’’. 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 541 IS

1 (g) TITLE I PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT.—Section 

2 1118(e) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

3 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6318(e)) is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through 

5 (14) as paragraphs (7) through (15), respectively; 

6 and 

7 (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(6) shall provide information to school per10 sonnel, students, and parents about the school’s use 

11 of positive behavioral interventions and supports and 

12 the expectations of school personnel, students, and 

13 parents in supporting a safe learning environment 

14 for all students;’’. 

15 (h) PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION PROGRAMS.— 

16 Section 1414(c)(8) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu17 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6434(c)(8)) is amended by 

18 inserting ‘‘, including coordinating the use of positive be19 havioral interventions and supports and early intervening 

20 services to improve academic achievement and reduce dis21 ciplinary actions’’ before the semicolon at the end. 

22 (i) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 1419 of the 

23 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

24 U.S.C. 6439) is amended— 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 541 IS

1 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

2 the semicolon; 

3 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and 

4 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(3) to provide technical assistance in imple7 menting positive behavior interventions and supports 

8 and early intervening services in order to improve 

9 academic achievement and reduce disciplinary ac10 tions.’’. 

11 (j) DEFINITION.—Section 9101 of the Elementary 

12 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) 

13 is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (17) through 

15 (43) as paragraphs (18) through (44), respectively; 

16 and 

17 (2) by inserting after paragraph (16) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(17) EARLY INTERVENING SERVICES.—The 

20 term ‘early intervening services’ means early inter21 vening services described in section 613(f)(1) of the 

22 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.’’. 

Æ 


rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS