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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Empowering Children 
with Autism through Education Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Autism is widely recognized as an urgent 
national healthcare crisis. According to the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence 
rate of autism is 0.75 percent, or one in every 150 
children born today. 
(2) Based on statistics from the Department of 
Education and other governmental agencies, autism 
is growing at the rate of ten to 17 percent per year. 
At this rate, the estimates of the prevalence of au-
tism could reach 4,000,000 Americans in the next 
decade. 
(3) While no known cure for autism exists, the 
general agreement is that early diagnosis followed by 
appropriate intervention can improve outcomes for 
later years for most children with autism. 
(4) The National Council on Disability reported 
that students with autism should be provided with 
the opportunities and encouragement necessary to 
achieve the same general outcomes that are viewed 
as essential for all students. However, the special 
characteristics of students with autism indicate cer-
tain outcomes that require increased emphasis. In 
particular, educational programs for these individ-
uals should include as objectives the development of 
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social competence and independence in the perform-
ance of life skills. 
(5) The limited access to successful evidence- 
based services for children with autism is a major 
impediment to the implementation of quality services 
in public schools. Without these programs, successful 
interventions are not provided as part of a child’s 
Individualized Education Program (IEP). As a re-
sult, individuals and families who wish to access 
services are often only able to do so through incur-
ring significant non-reimbursable costs. 
(6) The Individuals with Disabilities Education 
Act (IDEA) guarantees a continuum of education 
and service options in the least restrictive environ-
ment for students with disabilities. However, meet-
ing these requirements is challenging because many 
regular educators do not have education or practical 
experience with instruction of children with autism, 
and even experienced special education teachers may 
need additional preparation to work effectively with 
students who have autism. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) AUTISM.—The term ‘‘autism’’ means an au-
tism spectrum disorder or a related developmental 
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disability that is the result of a neurological disorder 
affecting the normal functioning of the brain and 
impacting development in the areas of social inter-
action and communication skills. 
(2) COST-EFFECTIVENESS.—The term ‘‘cost-ef-
fectiveness’’ describes an alternative that effectively 
balances costs and benefits delivering maximum ben-
efits for the investment costs. 
(3) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘‘evidence- 
based’’ means research that applies rigorous, sys-
tematic, and objective procedures to obtain valid 
knowledge relevant to autism instruction, and in-
cludes research that employs experimental, quasi-ex-
perimental, and qualitative research methods involv-
ing rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test 
the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclu-
sions drawn. 
(4) INTERVENTION.—The term ‘‘intervention’’ 
means the application of a structured, individualized 
approach to skill-development for children with au-
tism. 
(5) LEARNING MODELS.—The term ‘‘learning 
models’’ means any complimentary learning tech-
niques designed to improve classroom learning for 
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students 
with 
autism, 
incorporating 
curricula, 
courses, lessons, books, and workbooks. 
(6) PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
NEEDS.— 
The term ‘‘professional development needs’’ means 
job-embedded, ongoing professional development that 
helps teachers, administrators, and school leaders 
identify the potential indicators of autism, and im-
plement proven strategies to improve the quality of 
learning for individuals with autism. 
(7) PROMISING
BEST
PRACTICES.—The term 
‘‘promising best practices’’ means any technique, 
method, process, activity, incentive, or reward with 
demonstrated success in the learning environment. 
(8) SERVICES.—The term ‘‘services’’ means any 
complementary interventions or therapies done on an 
individual basis or integrated into an educational 
program, in an effort to help increase communica-
tion skills, develop social interaction, promote pro-so-
cial behavior, increase academic achievement, and 
provide a sense of accomplishment. 
(9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 
the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto 
Rico. 
(10) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘‘Task Force’’ 
means the Empowering Children with Autism 
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