I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5001
To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to establish a
method to provide outcome-based funding increases to States, and for
other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 21, 2002
Mr. STARK 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 establish a method to provide outcome-based funding
increases to States, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Realizing the Spirit
of IDEA Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows:
(1) Since its enactment, the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act has successfully increased
the access of children with disabilities to a free ap-
propriate public education.
(2) Maintaining the procedural safeguards de-
tailed in such Act is critical to achieving better aca-
demic outcomes for children with disabilities.
(3) When compared to children without disabil-
ities, children with disabilities are more likely to
drop out of school, complete school without a di-
ploma, not attend school regularly, and have poor
academic achievement.
(4) After leaving secondary school, individuals
with disabilities frequently do not receive postsec-
ondary education and experience high rates of unem-
ployment.
(5) Despite their disabilities, children with dis-
abilities are capable of learning and becoming pro-
ductive members of society.
(6) There is evidence that effective interven-
tions are available that will enhance the academic
and overall adaptive functioning of children with dis-
abilities.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to achieve
mandatory maximum funding for the Individuals with Dis-
abilities Education Act, and to require educational agen-
cies to demonstrate improvement in the outcomes of chil-
dren with disabilities in order to qualify for Federal fund-
ing increases.
SEC. 3. MODIFICATIONS TO FUNDING FOR ASSISTANCE
FOR EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DIS-
ABILITIES.
(a) MODIFICATION TO AGGREGATE FUNDING.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 611 of the Individ-
uals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C.
1411) is amended—
(A) in the section heading, by striking
‘‘AUTHORIZATION 
OF 
APPROPRIA-
TIONS.’’ and inserting ‘‘FUNDING.’’; and
(B) by amending subsection (j) to read as
follows:
‘‘(j) FUNDING.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—For the purpose of car-
rying out this part, other than section 619, there is
authorized to be appropriated, and there is appro-
priated, for each fiscal year after fiscal year 2002,
the amount determined under paragraph (2) for
such year.
‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNTS.—For each
fiscal year described in paragraph (1), the amount
described in such paragraph shall be determined—
‘‘(A) by multiplying—
‘‘(i) the percentage obtained by divid-
ing the aggregate amount provided by the
Secretary to States under this section for
fiscal year 2002 by the product of—
‘‘(I) the average per-pupil ex-
penditure in public elementary and
secondary schools in the United
States; and
‘‘(II) the total number of children
with disabilities, in all States, receiv-
ing special education and related serv-
ices under this part (other than under
section 619) in the most recent pre-
ceding fiscal year for which satisfac-
tory data are available;
‘‘(ii) the average per-pupil expenditure
in public elementary and secondary schools
in the United States; and
‘‘(iii) the total number of children
with disabilities, in all States, receiving
special education and related services
under this part (other than under section
619) in the most recent preceding fiscal
year for which satisfactory data are avail-
able, except that the number under this
clause may not exceed 12 percent of the
total number of all children aged 5
through 17 in all States; and
‘‘(B) by adding to the amount derived
under subparagraph (A)—
‘‘(i) 1 percent of such amount, which
shall be used to carry out subsection (b);
and
‘‘(ii) 1.226 percent of such amount,
which shall be used to provide assistance to
the Secretary of the Interior in accordance
with subsection (i).’’.
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) is amended by amend-
ing the item relating to section 611 to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘Sec. 611. Authorization; allotment; use of funds; funding.’’.
(b) 
OUTCOME-BASED
BONUS
PAYMENTS
TO
STATES.—Section 611(e) of the Individuals with Disabil-
ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1411(e)) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘(5) OUTCOME-BASED BONUS PAYMENTS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(i) REQUIREMENT.—In addition to
any amount a State otherwise receives
under the preceding provisions of this sub-
section, each State shall receive a bonus
payment determined in accordance with
this paragraph.
‘‘(ii) USE OF FUNDS.—A State shall
expend a bonus payment received under
this paragraph for educational purposes,
except that funds received under this para-
graph shall be used to supplement, and not
supplant, non-Federal funds that would
otherwise be used for educational purposes.
Such a payment shall not be subject to the
terms and conditions otherwise applicable
to the use of State allocations made under
this section.
‘‘(iii) SUBGRANTS
TO
LOCAL
EDU-
CATIONAL AGENCIES.—If a State distrib-
utes some or all of a bonus payment re-
ceived under this paragraph to local edu-
cational agencies, the State may allocate
such funds to such agencies based on—
‘‘(I) their respective populations
of children living in poverty;
‘‘(II) the severity of their respec-
tive special education populations;
‘‘(III) their respective adminis-
trative costs;
‘‘(IV) their prevention efforts; or
‘‘(V) any other factors the State
deems relevant to the cost of pro-
viding special education and related
services to children with disabilities.
‘‘(iv) FUNDING.—For the purpose of
carrying out this paragraph, there is au-
thorized to be appropriated, and there is
appropriated, for each fiscal year after fis-
cal year 2002, an amount equal to the sum
of the amounts required to be paid to each
State under this paragraph for such fiscal
year.
‘‘(B) OUTCOME INDICATORS.—
‘‘(i) INDICATORS.—Each local edu-
cational agency in a State shall measure
the differences between children with dis-
abilities receiving special education and re-
lated services under this part (other than
under section 619) from the agency, and
other children served by the agency, using
the following outcome indicators:
‘‘(I) The academic achievement
of students in elementary and sec-
ondary schools, as measured by per-
formance on the national or State as-
sessment of educational progress car-
ried out under section 1111 of the El-
ementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (29 U.S.C. 6311).
‘‘(II) The rate of average daily
attendance for students in elementary
schools and secondary schools.
‘‘(III) The dropout rate for stu-
dents in secondary schools, as deter-
mined under section 612(a)(16).
‘‘(IV) The graduation rate of stu-
dents in secondary schools, as deter-
mined under section 612(a)(16).
‘‘(V) The postsecondary edu-
cation enrollment, and the employ-
ment status, of students who are ceas-
ing to be served by the agency by rea-
son of separation from secondary
school.
‘‘(ii) 
OPERATIONAL
DEFINITIONS;
TEST ACCOMMODATIONS.—
‘‘(I) 
OPERATIONAL
DEFINI-
TIONS.—Each State, in consultation
with the Secretary, may develop oper-
ational definitions and methods of cal-
culation with respect to each of the
outcome indicators described in clause
(i), as long as the criteria used are re-
liable and valid and remain substan-
tially the same from year to year.
‘‘(II) TEST ACCOMMODATIONS.—
To the extent not prohibited under
other law, for purposes of computing
bonuses under this paragraph, special
accommodations in taking tests of
academic achievement described in
clause (i)(I) may be offered to certain
children with disabilities, as long as
such accommodations yield results
that are reliable and valid. The cri-
teria used for determining appropriate
accommodations under this subclause
must be reliable and remain substan-
tially the same from year to year.
‘‘(iii) MEASUREMENT.—A local edu-
cational agency shall make the measure-
ment described in clause (i), for each indi-
cator described in clause (i) and each fiscal
year, by comparing—
‘‘(I) the performance difference
(if any), for the most recent preceding
fiscal year, but only if satisfactory
data are available for such year; with
‘‘(II) the average of such per-
formance differences (if any) for the 3
school years that precede such most
recent preceding year, but only if sat-
isfactory data are available for all
such years.
‘‘(iv) PERCENTAGE
REDUCTION
IN
OUTCOME
DIFFERENCE.—A 
local 
edu-
cational agency shall convert each meas-
urement under clause (iii) into a percent-
age reduction (if there is a reduction), for
the most recent preceding fiscal year, in
the difference between the outcome for—
‘‘(I) children with disabilities re-
ceiving special education and related
services under this part (other than
under section 619) from the agency;
and
‘‘(II) other children served by the
agency.
‘‘(v) 
MINIMUM
PARTICIPATION
LEVEL.—In order for any measurement
made under clause (iii) to be used under
this paragraph, it must be based on data
for not less than 90 percent of the children
with disabilities for whom the applicable
local educational agency was providing spe-
cial education and related services under
this part (other than under section 619)
during the period measured.
‘‘(vi) STATISTICAL
DISAGGREGATION
OF SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS.—For
the purpose of calculating performance
with respect to outcome indicators under
this paragraph, data on a child with a dis-
ability who receives special education or re-
lated services from a local educational
agency under this part (other than under
section 619) shall be disaggregated from
the general education population of such
agency for the remainder of the child’s ele-
mentary and secondary education within
the jurisdiction of such agency, even if the
child ceases to receive special education or
related services.
‘‘(C) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY CAL-
CULATIONS.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—For purposes of
calculating the payments to States under
subparagraph (D), each local educational
agency shall receive a credit with respect
to performance on the outcome indicators
described in subparagraph (B)(i). Such
credit shall be calculated in accordance
with this subparagraph.
‘‘(ii) REDUCTION
IN
OUTCOME
DIF-
FERENCE.—
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—With respect
to each outcome indicator described in
subparagraph (B)(i) and each fiscal
year, the local educational agency
shall determine, in accordance with
subparagraph (B), the applicable per-
centage reduction, if any, in the dif-
ference between the outcome for chil-
dren with disabilities and children
without disabilities.
‘‘(II) MAXIMUM.—The maximum
percentage reduction which may be
credited for any local education agen-
cy under this clause with respect to
any individual outcome indicator is 5
percent.
‘‘(III) HIGH-PERFORMING AGEN-
CIES.—If the local educational agency
determines, in accordance with sub-
paragraph (B), that there is no meas-
urable difference with respect to an
outcome indicator between the out-
come for children with disabilities and
children without disabilities for the
most recent preceding fiscal year, the
local education agency shall be cred-
ited as if its percentage reduction
under subclause (I) were 5 percent.
‘‘(IV) 
MINIMALLY-PERFORMING
AGENCIES.—If the percentage reduc-
tion that otherwise would be credited
for a local educational agency under
this clause is greater than zero but
less than 1 percent, the local edu-
cation agency shall be credited as if
its percentage reduction under sub-
clause (I) were 1 percent.
‘‘(V) SPECIAL
RULE
FOR
LEAS
WITH FEW STUDENTS WITH DISABIL-
ITIES.—In the case of a local edu-
cational agency enrolling less than 10
children with disabilities for the fiscal
year concerned, the local educational
agency may elect to make the deter-
minations under subparagraph (B)
and this subparagraph using aggre-
gated data reflecting performance by
all local educational agencies in the
State.
‘‘(iii) DETERMINATION
OF
FUNDING
PROPORTION.—The local educational agen-
cy shall determine a funding proportion,
based on a percentage reduction calculated
under clause (ii), which shall be used by
the agency. The maximum funding propor-
tion shall be 1 percent, which shall be used
only in the case of the maximum percent-
age reduction under clause (ii) of 5 per-
cent. All other funding proportions shall be
ratably reduced below 1 percent. In any
case in which a percentage reduction under
clause (ii) is zero or less, the funding pro-
portion determined under this clause shall
be zero.
‘‘(iv) AVERAGE PER-PUPIL EXPENDI-
TURE.—The local educational agency shall
multiply the funding proportion determined
under clause (iii) by the average per-pupil
expenditure in public elementary and sec-
ondary schools in the United States.
‘‘(v) POPULATION OF CHILDREN RE-
CEIVING SERVICES.—The local educational
agency shall multiply the product deter-
mined under clause (iv) by the number of
children with disabilities receiving special
education and related services from the
local educational agency for the most re-
cent preceding year for which satisfactory
data are available.
‘‘(vi) CREDIT.—The local educational
agency shall receive a dollar amount credit
with respect to performance on each out-
come indicator described in subparagraph
(B)(i). Such credit shall equal the product