CHILD Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.3636 | Sponsor: Rep. Smith, Christopher H. (R-NJ)
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Children Inflicted by Lyme Disabilities Act of 2021 or the CHILD Act of 2021
This bill expands the applicability of certain special education provisions to children with Lyme disease or other tick-borne diseases. (Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States. The disease is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected blacklegged tick and, if left untreated, can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.)
Specifically, the bill defines child with a disability for purposes of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to include a child who needs special education and related services because the child has a health impairment resulting from Lyme disease or another tick-borne disease.

To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to clarify 
 that the term ``child with a disability'' includes a child who needs 
   special education and related services due to a health impairment 
       resulting from Lyme disease or another tick-borne disease.

    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 ``Children Inflicted by Lyme 
Disabilities Act of 2021'' or the ``CHILD Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Becoming nationally reportable in 1990 by the Centers 
        for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Lyme disease reported 
        United States case numbers in 1992 were 9,908. From 2005 to 
        2010, the CDC estimated 300,000 people got Lyme disease each 
        year, and in 2021, the CDC announced that an estimated 476,000 
        people are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease in the United 
        States annually.
            (2) The bacteria that cause Lyme disease are transmitted by 
        a tick which can be as small as a poppy seed and is found in 
        backyards, fields, woods, and in other places where there is 
        ground cover. Ticks that transmit Lyme disease are now found in 
        50 percent of United States counties.
            (3) The spirochetal bacteria that causes Lyme disease can 
        attack every system in the body and can produce arthritic, 
        musculo-skeletal, gastrointestinal, neurological, 
        neuropsychiatric and cardiac manifestations, the latter which 
        is known to be able to cause death.
            (4) Early diagnosis and treatment with antibiotics is key 
        to bringing people back to health; however research has shown 
        that 10 to 15 percent or more of those treated by a regimen of 
        antibiotics progress to developing long term symptoms from this 
        not well understood disease.
            (5) Most likely due to the time spent outdoors, the range 
        of activities, and lack of awareness of the dangers posed by 
        ticks and of prevention measures, children are at some of the 
        highest risk of infection from the Lyme bacteria in the United 
        States, and based on CDC source numbers, children aged 0 to 19 
        years represented 29 percent of reported cases over the period 
        from 2001-2017.
            (6) Since one tick bite can cause more than one disease, 
        children with Lyme disease can also have other tick-borne 
        diseases or co-infections, increasing the severity and range of 
        their symptoms.
            (7) Children with Lyme disease are often out of school for 
        blocks of time--days, weeks, months, or more--and can come back 
        to school and have symptom relapse causing other periods of 
        absence.
            (8) Research has shown these children can have 
        manifestations including cognitive impairment, mental 
        confusion, memory loss, headaches, difficulty concentrating, 
        speech difficulty, visual and hearing problems, dizziness, mood 
        swings, outbursts, depression, sleep disturbance, OCD, and 
        seizure activity, all of which affect their educational 
        experience.
            (9) Schools, teachers, administrators, special services 
        teams, and medical personnel are often not aware of the issues 
        caused by Lyme disease, and the children with Lyme disease are 
        being improperly classified, may even be labeled as ``fakers,'' 
        and generally do not receive the type of help educationally 
        that other children who have some of these symptoms routinely 
        receive due to their disability.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act--
            (1) to increase the recognition of the broad range of 
        disabilities caused by Lyme disease that affect education; and
            (2) to enhance educational services for children with Lyme 
        disease in a manner consistent with the Individuals with 
        Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.).

SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF CHILD WITH A DISABILITY.

    Section 602(3)(A)(i) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
Act (20 U.S.C. 1401(3)(A)(i)) is amended by inserting ``(including Lyme 
disease and other tick-borne diseases)'' after ``other health 
impairments''.
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