Senate Set to Debate IDEA

Advocacy Needed to Keep Protections Dropped by the House

Read the Bills (in HTML format) S.1248 H.R. 1350 House Passes Special Education Bill (4/30/03) Action Alert: House Committee Weakens Special Education Law Tell Lawmakers to Reject a Bad IDEA (4/25/03) Suspending Disbelief: Moving Beyond Punishment to Promote Effective Interventions for Children with Mental or Emotional Disorders Failing to Qualify: The First Step to Failure in School? Bazelon Center Education Issues Page Bazelon Center Children's Issues Page Support the Bazelon Center. Your tax-deductible donation helps the Bazelon Center keep you informed on important developments in mental health law and policy. Not a Subscriber? Sign up now to receive action alerts and updates from the Bazelon Center.

July 9, 2003— The Senate is about to take up a bill to renew the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). With the House having passed a version that endangers access to appropriate educational services for children with mental disabilities, Senators need to hear from advocates now.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee passed S. 1248, “The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act,” just before the Independence Day recess. The bipartisan bill, sponsored by Committee Chairman Judd Gregg (R-NH) and ranking member Edward Kennedy (D-MA), includes protections that were dropped from IDEA legislation passed by the House in April. For more information on the House bill, H.R. 1350, see the Bazelon Center’s 4/25/03 Action Alert.

School Exclusion

The IDEA currently requires schools to provide educational services to special education students who are removed from their school environment for more than 10 cumulative days. During the alternative placements, schools must continue to provide the services outlined in students’ Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).

Both the House and Senate bills would allow schools to suspend students for behavior considered a violation of a school’s student conduct code. This makes it easier for schools to place children in alternative interim settings than it is under current law. However, the Senate bill keeps a crucial requirement of the current IDEA law—that schools consider the impact of a child’s disability when deciding to change his or her placement following discipline violations.

Behavioral Assessments

S. 1248 requires schools to determine whether behavior that violates conduct codes is the result of a child’s disability or of a school’s failure to implement the child’s IEP or to use appropriate behavioral interventions. If the behavior resulted from any of these conditions, the child must receive a behavioral assessment and the school must provide appropriate behavioral intervention services.

Although the Senate bill, unlike the House legislation, requires a behavioral assessment, it requires only a general assessment, rather than the more specific “functional behavioral assessment” currently mandated by the IDEA. Unfortunately, under this approach, schools would be able to rely more heavily on teachers’ notes or subjective observations, rather than using a science-based approach to determine the impetus behind the child’s behavior. Educators argue that functional behavioral assessments are essential to designing effective behavioral intervention plans to reduce or eliminate troubling behaviors.

Proven Alternatives to School Exclusion

Research demonstrates that the use of positive behavioral interventions and supports can significantly reduce discipline problems (see the recent Bazelon Center publication Suspending Disbelief). The current IDEA supports this approach, and S. 1248 would continue the requirement that schools adopt a proactive approach to manage students’ problem behavior by providing positive behavioral interventions and supports. The Senate bill would provide funds for schools to expand the use of behavioral supports and school-wide behavioral interventions—funding absent in the House-passed version of the bill.

Identification of Children Who Need Services

Neither version of the legislation directly addresses another problem: the accuracy of identification of children with a mental or emotional disorder. The federal definition of “emotional disturbance,” which is used to qualify a child for services under the IDEA, excludes many children on the basis of “social maladjustment.” But this is an ambiguous distinction that has no basis in research and lacks valid testing instruments. Recognizing problems with the use of this term, 10 states have abandoned the “social maladjustment” exclusion in their state rules. Where the term is still in use, many children who need special education services do not qualify for services under the IDEA. For more information, see the Bazelon Center study Failing to Qualify.

The House bill recognizes the problem and requires the General Accounting Office—the investigative arm of Congress—to review evaluation of children with emotional disturbance and investigate the degree to which the federal definition conforms to accepted scientific research. The Senate bill has no such provision.

Take Action Now

Although S. 1248 is far from perfect, it would not take the draconian approach of the House version, which would severely limit access to special education and related services for children with mental or emotional disorders. When the House-Senate conference committee meets later this year, a strong Senate bill must be the starting point for negotiations on Congress’ final IDEA reauthorization. For that to occur, the Senate must pass S. 1248 with its protections for children intact.

What You Can Do

Senate debate on the IDEA will largely focus on funding, but advocates need to stress other important concerns. Urge your Senators to:

• Support S. 1248. The Senate has taken a meaningful and thoughtful approach to renewing the IDEA.
• Amend the bill to specifically require “functional behavioral assessments.” It is the scientific term for a specific, proven technique for understanding children’s behaviors, so that disruptive behavior can be addressed effectively.

Contacting Senators

• Call: Contact your Senators by calling the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121.
  
• Write a letter to:
  The Honorable (first and last name)
  United States Senate
  Washington, DC 20510
  
• Email: To contact your member of Congress by email, please use the form below. Your message should be clear and concise. Most congressional offices ignore email from people outside of their districts, so make sure you introduce yourself as constituent by including your full name, mailing address and zip code.