I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1330

To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to fully fund 40

percent of the average per pupil expenditure for programs under part

B of such Act.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 3, 2001

Mr. FERGUSON (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. SMITH of

New Jersey, Mr. SCHROCK, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. QUINN, Mr. LATOURETTE,

Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. PLATTS, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. SWEENEY, Mr.

GILMAN, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr.

GILCHREST, Mr. OXLEY, Mr. GRUCCI, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. NEY,

Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. REYNOLDS, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr.

MCHUGH, Mr. WALSH, Mrs. BIGGERT, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. HINCHEY, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. CONYERS, Mr.

OWENS, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. UDALL of

Colorado, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr. FRANK, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr.

THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. EHLERS,

Mr. SHERWOOD, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. LANTOS, and Mr. HOUGHTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

A BILL

To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

to fully fund 40 percent of the average per pupil expenditure for programs under part B of such Act.

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 ‘‘Helping Children Succeed

3 by Fully Funding the Individuals with Disabilities Edu4 cation Act (IDEA)’’.

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

6 Congress makes the following findings:

7 (1) All children deserve a quality education.

8 (2) In Pennsylvania Association for Retarded

9 Children vs. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (334 F.

10 Supp. 1247)(E. Dist. Pa. 1971), and Mills vs. Board

11 of Education of the District of Columbia (348 F.

12 Supp. 866)(Dist. D.C. 1972), the courts found that

13 children with disabilities are entitled to an equal op14 portunity to an education under the 14th amend15 ment of the Constitution.

16 (3) In 1975, Congress passed what is now

17 known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education

18 Act (referred to in this Act as ‘‘IDEA’’) (20 U.S.C.

19 1400 et seq.) to help States provide all children with

20 disabilities a free, appropriate public education in

21 the least restrictive environment. At full funding,

22 Congress contributes 40 percent of the average per

23 pupil expenditure for each child with a disability

24 served.

(4) Before 1975, only 1 25 ⁄5 of the children with

26 disabilities received a formal education. At that time,
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1 many States had laws that specifically excluded

2 many children with disabilities, including children

3 who were blind, deaf, or emotionally disturbed, from

4 receiving such an education.

5 (5) IDEA currently serves an estimated

6 200,000 infants and toddlers, 600,000 preschoolers,

7 and 5,400,000 children 6 to 21 years of age.

8 (6) IDEA enables children with disabilities to

9 be educated in their communities, and thus, has as10 sisted in dramatically reducing the number of chil11 dren with disabilities who must live in State institu12 tions away from their families.

13 (7) The number of children with disabilities

14 who complete high school has grown significantly

15 since the enactment of IDEA.

16 (8) The number of children with disabilities

17 who enroll in college as freshmen has more than tri18 pled since the enactment of IDEA.

19 (9) The overall effectiveness of IDEA depends

20 upon well trained special education and general edu21 cation teachers, related services personnel, and other

22 school personnel. Congress recognizes concerns

23 about the nationwide shortage of personnel serving

24 students with disabilities and the need for improve25 ment in the qualifications of such personnel.
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1 (10) IDEA has raised the Nation’s awareness

2 about the abilities and capabilities of children with

3 disabilities.

4 (11) Improvements to IDEA in the 1997

5 amendments increased the academic achievement of

6 children with disabilities and helped them to lead

7 productive, independent lives.

8 (12) Changes made in 1997 also addressed the

9 needs of those children whose behavior impedes

10 learning by implementing behavioral assessments

11 and intervention strategies to ensure that they re12 ceive appropriate supports in order to receive a qual13 ity education.

14 (13) IDEA requires a full partnership between

15 parents of children with disabilities and education

16 professionals in the design and implementation of

17 the educational services provided to children with

18 disabilities.

19 (14) While the Federal Government has more

20 than doubled funding for part B of IDEA since

21 1995, the Federal Government has never provided

22 more than 15 percent of the maximum State grant

23 allocation for educating children with disabilities.
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1 (15) By fully funding IDEA, Congress will

2 strengthen the ability of States and localities to im3 plement the requirements of IDEA.

4 SEC. 3. MANDATORY FUNDING.

5 Section 611(j) of the Individuals with Disabilities

6 Education Act (29 U.S.C. 1411(j)) is amended to read

7 as follows:

8 ‘‘(j) MANDATORY FUNDING.—For the purpose of

9 carrying out this part, other than section 619, there are

10 authorized to be appropriated, and there are

11 appropriated—

12 ‘‘(1) $8,823,685,000 for fiscal year 2002;

13 ‘‘(2) $11,323,685,000 for fiscal year 2003;

14 ‘‘(3) $13,823,685,000 for fiscal year 2004;

15 ‘‘(4) $16,323,685,000 for fiscal year 2005;

16 ‘‘(5) $18,823,685,000 for fiscal year 2006; and

17 ‘‘(6) not more than $21,323,685,000 or the

18 sum of the maximum amount that all States may re19 ceive under subsection (a)(2), whichever is lower, for

20 fiscal year 2007.’’.

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