Supporting Children with Disabilities During COVID–19 Act
Bill: S.240 | Sponsor: Sen. Murphy, Christopher (D-CT)
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Supporting Children with Disabilities During COVID-19 Act
This bill provides FY2021 supplemental appropriations for grants to assist states in providing special education and related services to children with disabilities and for specified early childhood education programs for children with disabilities.
Additionally, the bill specifies reporting requirements related to the use of these funds. It also requires the Department of Education to publish on its website, and the Department of Health and Human Services to release, certain expenditure reports related to these funds.
The amounts provided by the bill are designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (PAYGO) and the Senate PAYGO rule.

To support children with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Supporting Children with 
Disabilities During COVID-19 Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) A free appropriate public education is a fundamental 
        educational right of all children with disabilities, guaranteed 
        by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) and 
        the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 
        et seq.).
            (2) More than 7,000,000 school-aged children with 
        disabilities, approximately 13 percent of the total student 
        enrollment, are currently entitled to individualized education 
        and related services mandated by the Individuals with 
        Disabilities Education Act.
            (3) Nearly 500,000 infants and toddlers, as well as their 
        families, receive supports and services under the Individuals 
        with Disabilities Education Act and these early interventions 
        have been proven to improve education outcomes.
            (4) Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 
        schools and lead agencies responsible for the administration of 
        funds under part C of the Individuals with Disabilities 
        Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) (referred to in this Act 
        as ``lead agencies'') are required to provide early 
        intervention, special education, and related services to 
        children with disabilities, an obligation that requires 
        services outlined in a child's individualized family service 
        plan (referred to as an ``IFSP'') or individualized education 
        program (referred to as an ``IEP'').
            (5) Children with disabilities have been disproportionately 
        impacted by the disruptions to education resulting from the 
        COVID-19 pandemic, with many children with disabilities needing 
        additional supports and services to meet their IEP and IFSP 
        goals as the delivery of education and services has shifted 
        from in-person to remote formats.
            (6) Local educational agencies and lead agencies face extra 
        costs associated with adjusting services and continuing to 
        provide a free, appropriate public education while children 
        with disabilities are receiving services through distance 
        learning and remote service delivery.
            (7) Schools are facing unprecedented budget challenges due 
        to the rising costs of responding to COVID-19, coupled with 
        State and local revenue shortfalls, as well as the severe and 
        persistent underfunding of the Individuals with Disabilities 
        Education Act.
            (8) To ensure that schools and lead agencies continue to 
        meet the needs of children with disabilities and their 
        families, including providing trained and certified special 
        educators and education support specialists, emergency 
        supplemental funding is needed under the Individuals with 
        Disabilities Education Act.
            (9) Emergency supplemental funding is also needed under the 
        Assistive Technology Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) 
        because services provided under that Act help ensure that 
        students with disabilities have the technology devices and 
        services they need to access equal educational opportunities.

SEC. 3. SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--The following sums are appropriated, out of any 
money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year 
ending September 30, 2021:
            (1) $11,000,000,000 for grants to States under section 611 
        of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
        1411 et seq.).
            (2) For early childhood education programs--
                    (A) $400,000,000 for preschool grants under section 
                619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 
                (20 U.S.C. 1419); and
                    (B) $500,000,000 for programs for infants and 
                toddlers under part C of the Individuals with 
                Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.).
            (3) $300,000,000 for personnel development under section 
        662 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 
        U.S.C. 1462).
            (4) $55,000,000 for the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 
        (29 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.).
    (b) Emergency Designation.--
            (1) In general.--The amounts provided by this section are 
        designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 4(g) 
        of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)).
            (2) Designation in senate.--In the Senate, this Act is 
        designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 
        4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress), the concurrent 
        resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018.
    (c) Applicability of All Terms and Conditions.--All terms and 
conditions that apply to a program under the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) or the Assistive 
Technology Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.), as the case may be, 
shall apply with respect to support provided for the program through 
funds made available under subsection (a).
    (d) General Provisions.--Any amount appropriated under this section 
is in addition to other amounts appropriated or made available for the 
applicable purpose.

SEC. 4. REPORTING.

    (a) IDEA Funds.--
            (1) In general.--Recipients of funds made available under 
        this Act for activities authorized under the Individuals with 
        Disabilities Education Act shall separately account for, and 
        report on, how such funds are spent in accordance with this 
        section.
            (2) LEAs.--Not later than 1 year after the distribution of 
        funds under this Act, local educational agencies shall report 
        the use of funds appropriated in this Act to their respective 
        State educational agencies.
            (3) SEAs.--Not later than 1 year after the distribution of 
        funds under this Act, State educational agencies shall produce 
        a publicly available report that contains information about 
        such spending by each local educational agency in the State and 
        aggregate spending of local educational agencies in the State 
        by allowable uses under Individuals with Disabilities Education 
        Act. Each State educational agency shall make that report 
        available in an accessible manner on the website of the State 
        educational agency and submit the report to the Secretary of 
        Education.
            (4) Lead agency.--Not later than 1 year after the 
        distribution of funds under this Act, each lead agency 
        responsible for the administration of funds provided under part 
        C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
        1431 et seq.) shall prepare and submit to the Secretary of 
        Education a report that contains information about how the lead 
        agency spent funds appropriated under this Act.
            (5) Secretary of education.--The Secretary of Education 
        shall release a nationally representative report on 
        expenditures under this Act and send such report to the 
        Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Health, 
        Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee 
        on Appropriations and the Committee on Education and Labor of 
        the House of Representatives. Not later than 1 year after the 
        distribution of funds under this Act, the Secretary of 
        Education's report shall be placed on the Department of 
        Education's website in an accessible format.
    (b) Assistive Technology Act of 1998.--
            (1) In general.--Recipients of funds made available under 
        this Act for activities authorized under the Assistive 
        Technology Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) shall 
        separately account for, and report on, how such funds are spent 
        in accordance with this subsection.
            (2) Secretary of health and human services.--Not later than 
        1 year after the distribution of funds under this Act, the 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services shall release a 
        nationally representative report on expenditures made available 
        under this Act for activities authorized under the Assistive 
        Technology Act of 1998.
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