By Fritz Edelstein and J.D. LaRock
May 12, 2003

On April 30, the U.S. House of Representatives approved major changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the federal law governing special education for some 6.6 million American school children. The House bill, H.R. 1350, was approved by a vote of 251-171, with 34 Democrats supporting the legislation and 7 Republicans voting against it.

IDEA guarantees students with disabilities a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. H.R. 1350, which reauthorizes IDEA, aims to amend the law by:

• reducing paperwork requirements involved in special education;
• providing intervention programs aimed at helping struggling students earlier, and;
• reducing the legal expenses of states that face lawsuits from parents seeking extra services for their disabled children.

The bill also lays out targets for federal spending on special education for the next seven years, putting Congress on track to pay up to 40 percent of the cost of educating students with disabilities by 2011. H.R. 1350 authorizes $11.1 billion in federal spending on special education in FY 2004, and $13.6 billion in FY 2005. During consideration of the bill, however, Republicans blocked several attempts by Democrats to make the federal contribution mandatory.

Currently, the federal government funds about 18 percent of all special education spending, or $8.9 billion.

"This legislation emphasizes our commitment to the education of children with special needs," said Rep. Michael N. Castle (DE), the bill's main sponsor. "Students and parents deserve improved academic results, teachers must be freed from crushing paperwork burdens, and the system must be untied from costly and unnecessary litigation."

Groups such as the Council of Great City Schools — which has worked closely with the U.S. Conference of Mayors on many education issues — have praised the bill for reducing the administrative burden schools and districts face surrounding special education. H.R. 1350 would allow parents to opt for a review of their child's Individualized Education Plan (IEP) once every three years, instead of annually.

However, others — including the Council for Exceptional Children, a major advocacy group for students with disabilities — charge that the bill makes it too easy for schools to expel disabled students. H.R. 1350 would hold students with disabilities to the same standard as non-disabled students for violations of a school's code of conduct. Under the bill, schools would also no longer be obligated to consider whether a disabled student's conduct was connected to the student's disability. Thus, say critics, a school could, for example, punish a student with Tourette's Syndrome for shouting out in class. Under current law, students with disabilities may only be expelled if they bring drugs, guns, or other weapons to school.

By a vote of 182-240, the House defeated an amendment offered by Rep. James DeMint (SC) that would have expanded the ability of students with disabilities to pursue a private education with public funds. DeMint's amendment would have established state pilot programs to give disabled students private school vouchers if their families found the public schools unsatisfactory.

The Senate bill reauthorizing IDEA is expected to be introduced before the Memorial Day recess. Senators Judd Gregg (NH) and Edward Kennedy (MA) are said to be working on a bipartisan piece of legislation that would include the paperwork reduction and academic accountability provisions in the House bill, but leave out the more contentious issues, such as the voucher and student discipline language.